Modal Predicates Research Articles

Actuality Entailments

In 1999, Rajesh Bhatt observed a curious interaction between modality and grammatical aspect: Under imperfective marking, ability modals describe “pure,” potentially unrealized abilities, but their perfectively marked counterparts instead describe actual events. These apparently nonmodal interpretations are known as actuality entailments. The effect has resisted straightforward explanation on standard semantic approaches to both aspect and modality: Perfective aspect is typically taken to introduce a bounded or episodic temporal perspective, and there is no obvious reason that this should erase the core contribution (i.e., hypotheticality) of a modal predicate. This article discusses the scope and distribution of actuality entailments, including their extension to nonabilitative and necessity modals. I survey a number of proposed accounts of the phenomenon, focusing in turn on the structural (compositional) interaction between modality and aspect and on the individual semantic contributions of the implicated elements. I conclude by noting some aspects of the phenomenon that—despite a wealth of literature—have yet to be thoroughly explored and may thus help to adjudicate between existing analyses.

Модальные предикаты в конструкциях с инфинитивом в русской письменности XV–XVII вв.: семантика и дистрибуция

The paper is dedicated to the analysis of competition between modal predicates in constructions with an infinitive clause in Middle Russian writing. The focus is on the constructions with modal predicates (verbs, nouns, adjectives, predicatives) podobati, nadlezhati, nalezhati, dolzhenstvovati, iměti, dolzhenъ, dolzhno, nadobě, nadobětь, nadobno, nado, nuzhno, nuzha, nuzhda, combined with an infinitive. The data were collected from the Middle Russian Subcorpus of the Russian National Corpus, from the 15 th – 17 th century sources. Frequency, semantics, distribution in various writing genres, and dynamics of change are studied. It is shown that the systems of modal predicates in higher and lower code writing were significantly different, the literary language had a broader system, while in lower code writing the predicates of the group nadobě, nadobětь, nadobno were predominantly used, and the predicate dolzhen was employed occasionally. At the same time, the group nadobě, nadobětь, nadobno does not have a clear semantic specialization and is quite often used to express different types of necessity, while constructions with podobati show deontic necessity, and constructions with iměti express ontological necessity. In the late Middle Russian period, the process of gradual restructuring of the Middle Russian system of modal predicates begins: new types of predicates emerge and start to compete with the old ones.

Algorithmic properties of modal and superintuitionistic logics of monadic predicates over finite Kripke frames

Abstract We show that the monadic fragment of the modal predicate logic of a single Kripke frame with finitely many possible worlds, but possibly infinite domains, is decidable. This holds true even for multimodal logics with equality, regardless of whether equality is interpreted as identity or as congruence. By the Gödel–Tarski translation, similar results follow for superintuitionistic predicate logics, with or without equality. Using these observations, we establish upper algorithmic bounds, which match the known lower bounds, for monadic fragments of some modal predicate logics. In particular, we prove that, if $L$ is a propositional modal logic contained in $\textbf{S5}$, $\textbf{GL.3}$ or $\textbf{Grz.3}$ and the class of finite Kripke frames validating $L$ is recursively enumerable, then the monadic fragment with equality of the predicate logic of finite Kripke frames validating $L$ is $\varPi ^{0}_{1}$-complete; this, in particular, holds if $L$ is one of the following propositional logics: $\textbf{K}$, $\textbf{T}$, $\textbf{D}$, $\textbf{KB}$, $\textbf{KTB}$, $\textbf{K4}$, $\textbf{K4.3}$, $\textbf{S4}$, $\textbf{S4.3}$, $\textbf{GL}$, $\textbf{Grz}$, $\textbf{K5}$, $\textbf{K45}$ and $\textbf{S5}$. We also prove that monadic fragments with equality of logics $\textbf{QAlt}^=_{n}$ and $\textbf{QTAlt}^=_{n}$ are decidable. The obtained results are easily extendable to the multimodal versions of the predicate logics we consider and to logics with the Barcan formula.

When must not is not forbidden

The present paper describes an empirical investigation into an English modal predicate with the auxiliary verb must, the negative particle not and the bare infinitive of the main verb. Typically, the negator not changes the meaning of must from obligation or strong recommendation to forbiddance. This, however, takes place only with the root flavor of must. Epistemic must does not interact with not in this way. The study uses authentic language samples retrieved from the online version of The Corpus of Contemporary American English. The analysis adapts the model of the semantic field of modal expressions developed by Kratzer (1991), and it attempts to find what lies behind the said lack of interaction between must and not. After a scrutiny of the conversational backgrounds influencing the studied modal meanings, the study found that the meaning expressed by a speaker with must not depends on whether the speaker evaluates the propositional circumstances directly or infers from them. Moreover, the study proposes patterns of must-not interfaces with regard to the modal flavor.

Semiproducts, Products, and Modal Predicate Logics: Some Examples

Semiproducts, Products, and Modal Predicate Logics: Some Examples

Predicate counterparts of modal logics of provability: High undecidability and Kripke incompleteness

Abstract In this paper, the predicate counterparts, defined both axiomatically and semantically by means of Kripke frames, of the modal propositional logics $\textbf {GL}$, $\textbf {Grz}$, $\textbf {wGrz}$ and their extensions are considered. It is proved that the set of semantical consequences on Kripke frames of every logic between $\textbf {QwGrz}$ and $\textbf {QGL.3}$ or between $\textbf {QwGrz}$ and $\textbf {QGrz.3}$ is $\Pi ^1_1$-hard even in languages with three (sometimes, two) individual variables, two (sometimes, one) unary predicate letters, and a single proposition letter. As a corollary, it is proved that infinite families of modal predicate axiomatic systems, based on the classical first-order logic and the modal propositional logics $\textbf {GL}$, $\textbf {Grz}$, $\textbf {wGrz}$ are not Kripke complete. Both $\Pi ^1_1$-hardness and Kripke incompleteness results of the paper do not depend on whether the logics contain the Barcan formula.

When Moldovan meets Russian

This article offers an analysis of Moldovan complex predicates, focusing on the differences between structures with aspectuals and modals. It is shown that, under the influence of Russian, a minor pattern found in old Moldovan, whereby aspectuals and embedded infinitives instantiate a monoclausal construction, was generalized. As a consequence, pronominal clitics became free to raise to the matrix aspectual predicate, since they were no longer blocked by phasal (CP) barriers. Conversely, modal predicates, which select in both Russian and Moldovan full CP-complements, do not display clitic-climbing since clitics cannot skip over phasal boundaries. Following an overview of Romance and Slavic complex predicates, Moldovan complex predicates containing both aspectual and modal verbs are analysed. In this analysis infinitival complements and subjunctive complements, which show different syntactic behaviours, especially with respect to the phenomenon of clitic-climbing, will be treated separately. Finally, the special case of Moldovan within (Daco-)Romance is discussed, since Moldovan appears to be the only variety which has started to systematically display clitic-climbing out of subjunctive clauses introduced by să.

ON TWO ENGLISH MODAL PREDICATES HARD TO FIND IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR BOOKS

The paper offers a summative discussion of empirical investigations into two English modal predicates: can with the perfect infinitive and must not with the perfect infinitive. Both these predicate constructions tend not to be mentioned or discussed in grammars of English; some books even forbid them. Thus, one may get an impression that they do not exist or are non-normative. The corpus studies discussed in this paper have shown the opposite, however. The analyzed modal predicates have been reported in both contemporary and historical American English, and also in British English. Moreover, they are not accidental constructions since they have been reported in numerous texts, of different levels of formality, produced by various speakers or writers. The study has also shown that can with the perfect expresses the meaning of speaker’s reasoning about a potential past situation or speaker’s certainty about the non-occurrence of a past situation. Thus can interacts with the perfect and expresses the epistemic flavor. Moreover, the meaning of speaker’s certainty results from the interaction of can with a negative context. Speaker’s certainty that an event did not take place in the past is also a meaning expressed by must not with the perfect. In addition, this modal predicate can express the meaning of a prohibition of a past event. Thus, must not with the perfect can express either the epistemic or the root modal flavor. The latter emerges as a result of modality-negation interaction. The perfect projects the event in the past, i.e. in the retrospective viewpoint. Hence, the study proposes a number of norms thanks to which these two, supposedly non-normative, modal predicates have occurred.

Superextension, Modal Assertability, and Hypothetical Discernibility:

We argue that Russell’s treatment of propositions containing non-existent denotations is the prelude of a strategy for discerning the predictive content of any proposition with descriptions (and incomplete symbols), insofar as its indeterminacy is classifiable as a possible extension. We argue, further, that Russell’s theory of propositional functions is dedicated to explaining the discernibility of hypothetical propositions, through representing (what we call) the superextension of assertoric modal propositions. The indeterminacy of the truth of hypothetical propositions is thus paired with a second- order classification condition, expressing its conjectural content as the projected scope of instantiation of a propositional function; which in turn is the superextension of a modal predicate. Russell’s theory is his non-pragmatic answer to the problem of assertability in unstable and uncertain conditions. It involves a sophisticated thesis about the discernibility of complex contents, such as those represented by analogical and approximate denotations (descriptions, fictions, etc.), which classify more than one possibility of instantiation in different modal and intensional contexts. We will conclude this article by testing the assumption that Russell’s theory favors a coherentist theory, seeing that as it admits assertability conditions that are super-mapped in a system, or that derive from different orders of referential layers.

Konstrukcje bezosobowe z podmiotem arbitralnym i generycznym w gramatyce kaszubskiej i śląskiej na tle gramatyki polskiej

This paper presents a preliminary contrastive overview of impersonal constructions in the Kashubian and Silesian grammars against the background of Polish grammar. The research, based both on corpus texts and on additional native speaker data, has shown that the systems of impersonal constructions in Polish, Kashubian and Silesian are similar in most cases. Namely, the only significant difference between Polish and Silesian revealed by the research so far is the availability of the auxiliary be in the Silesian -no/-to construction. This construction is absent from Kashubian, which also differs from Polish and Silesian in the case of generic uses concerning modal predicates such as may, which are inflected for the third person singular masculine here.

ОБЪЕКТИВНАЯ МОДАЛЬНОСТЬ ПРОПОЗИЦИИ В АСПЕКТЕ РАЗГРАНИЧЕНИЯ УТВЕРЖДЕНИЙ О ФАКТАХ И МНЕНИЙ В СУДЕБНОЙ ЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКОЙ ЭКСПЕРТИЗЕ

The article deals with one of the most complicated problems in forensic linguistic examination - the distinction between factual statements and opinions. The publication highlighted a new criterion for determining the form of statements with negative information. At the stage of analysis of the semantic level of the statement the objective modality of the proposition is established. Determination of modality is required in conditional statements, in statements about the internal state of the other person, as well as in statements with modal predicates of possibility, which in linguistic semantics refer to contexts of removed affirmation. The possibility of the selection of implicatures or presuppositions indicates the presence of information in the statement in the form of a statement of fact.

Тактика эмоционального усиления аргументации в письменном научно-гуманитарном дискурсе

The aim of the article is to reveal the specifics of the implementation of the tactic of emotional amplification of argumentation in the written discourse of the humanities. The research is carried out on the material of Russian-language articles on sociology, psychology, cultural studies, linguistics, journalism, published in peer-reviewed academic journals for 2001-2019. Methodologically, the work is related to convergent theory, which ensures the integration of descriptive and normative dimensions of argumentation using qualitative analytical methods: description, functional-semantic, contextual and propositional analysis. The tactic of emotional amplification of argumentation involves the choice of communicative speech actions that actualize the emotional dominant of message perception. According to the results obtained, in the written discourse of the humanities, this cognitive attitude is realized at three levels: structural, verbal, and metatextual. Structural amplification of argumentation is associated with conceptual amplification and provides for a special construction of reasoning using the techniques of manipulating with concepts: emphasizing key concepts; creating a certain emotional evaluating background of the discourse; contrasting concepts. At the verbal level, emotional amplification of argumentation is embodied in two subtactics: psychological accentuation and para-argumentation. The techniques of psychological accentuation include the following: use of expressions with the meaning of evidence, reliability of a fact (knowledge) that convey categorical confidence; use of quantifiers with meaning of “general” and intensive words; expansion of standard argumentative verbalizers by intensifying lexemes; activation of language forms of negation; contact use of modal predicates, as well as semantically close or equivalent verbs in different temporal modes; selection of pragmatically strong verbs with argumentative semantics; use of authorized constructions that include various means of verbal amplification. The methods of paraargumentation are speech actions using rhetorical means, primarily metaphors (especially conceptual ones), as well as irony/sarcasm. Metatextual amplification of argumentation is achieved with graphic accentuation, which are typographic means (font emphasis) and techniques of expressive graphics (as a rule, exclamation constructions with appropriate punctuation). The maximum amplification of argumentation is provided by the syncretic use of structural, verbal, and metatextual means. The author concludes that the effectiveness of the tactics of emotional amplification of argumentation in the written discourse of the humanities depends on how much the speech actions that implement this tactic are consistent with rational criteria for evaluating the quality of scholarly justification and comply with the institutional norms of scholarly communication.

Past habitual actions as relative future? On an unexpected use of the Konkani future participle and its likely origin

In this paper we focus on the functions of the future participle in Goan Konkani. In addition to the more-or-less expected functions of a future participle, such as nominal attribution or marking a future or modal predicate in various subordinate and main clauses, the future participle in Konkani can also mark main predicates with a past habitual interpretation in a construction which we refer to as the “promise-construction”, as it is only found with a small class of main predicates such as promise, intend, think, etc., which take an object complement clause. We argue that the future participle originally denoted an atemporal event and later came to include habitual events with any temporal value (past, present or future), and that this has since grammaticalized with exclusively past habitual temporal reference in this one construction, as this was likely the most common environment in which habitual events of this semantic class of verbs occur.

Actualistic interpretations in French

Actuality Entailments (AEs), which are standardly described in relation to modal predicates, are known to only occur in the perfective. This article argues that modal predicates are stative and, for that reason, only compatible with the perfective if coerced. Being the reflex of an aspectual coercion, which I label ‘actualistic’, the AE phenomenon is broader than usually assumed: it obtains with modal and non-modal predicates alike. At the core of the actualistic coercion is a presupposition, in the form of a necessary and sufficient condition, whose effects can be detected, for example, under negation. EARLY ACCESS

Pragmatics of Communicative Tonality in Prohibiting Acts in English Educative Converse

Communicative tonality is introduced in terms of the utterance style that expresses the speaker’s opinion on the topic, assessment of interpersonal relations with the partner, in a pair with self-presentation in converse acts. It specifies the utterance proposition with the language means that are to transfer thoughtful, contemptuous, adverse, facetious, ironical, other emotional shades of speech. The research explores the notion of communicative tonality and methodology of its study in the theory of discourse and Cross-Cultural communication; examines the communicative tonality of prohibition as an aspect of pragmatic stylistics of communication; specifies its linguistic means in English-related tradition of educative converse. We propose that communicative tonality in the situation of prohibition is stylistically flexible and assembles symbolic obstacles or restrictions in a child’s conduct. Aimed at educative socializing goals, in traditional English converse communicative tonality of prohibition is characterized by dynamic unity of prohibiting genre conventions with paternalism and/or liberal-and-democratic mitigation tactics or authoritative intensification, variability of direct and indirect volition pressure acts. Mitigation in prohibition is achieved with modal verbal predicates and conditional syntactic constructions of utterances that are used by adults to explain reasons of banning or refusal. Signifying the status, the adult gives reasonable arguments, describes psychological states of sadness or disappointment. The alternations of thoughtful and friendly tonality make provision for variability of vertical and horizontal vectors of social distance while communicating with a child. Intensification of authoritativeness is marked by speech acts of strict banning, refusal, objections, which point to vertical vector of excessive control.

A corpus-based analysis of the modal can with the perfect in American English from a synchronic and diachronic perspective

ABSTRACT The paper discusses an analysis of the modal predicate with can and the perfect in American English. The study uses language samples excerpted from The Corpus of Contemporary American English and The Corpus of Historical American English, and it takes both a synchronic and diachronic approach. The investigation has four aims: (i) examining the meaning(s) expressed by can with the perfect, (ii) establishing the semantic field of can in predicates with the perfect, (iii) pinpointing the factors that are responsible for the particular meanings, and (iv) describing the development and contemporary status of the studied construction. The study has shown that can with the perfect expresses either speaker’s reasoning about a hypothetical past possibility or speaker’s certainty about the non-occurrence of a past situation; thus epistemic modality. It has also proven that modality interacts with the perfect and negation, yielding epistemic readings of can. In addition, the study has extended the array of the negative contexts that influence the modality of can in the analysed predicate type. Further, the investigation has established that can with the perfect is generally a rare construction, with the most intensive use recorded before the 20th century. At present, we may be witnessing its obsolescence.

On Root Modality Predicates and their Radical Clausal Desires

In Modern Hebrew some root modality predicates which express volition, obligation and need show a phenomenon which is known in the cross-linguistic literature as 'subject obviation' – a requirement of predicates such as 'want' for disjoint reference between the matrix subject and a pronominal subject of a subordinate clause. This paper approaches the phenomenon from a diachronic perspective and examines the clausal complement requirements of 'want' in Classical Hebrew and their developments. In light of the historical data presented, this work suggests understanding the synchronic disjoint reference construction as a coerced clause with the extended meaning of a wish or request for root modal predicates, and proposes that their core complement is non-finite and coreferential and is strongly associated with intent.

Epistemic predicates in the arithmetical context

Abstract In this paper, we investigate epistemic predicates in extensions of arithmetic. We use as our case study Kurt Gödel’s 1951 thesis that either the power of the human mind surpasses that of any finite machine or there are absolutely unsolvable problems. Because Gödel also claimed that his disjunction was a mathematically established fact, we must ask the following: what sort of syntactical object should formalize human reason? In this paper, we lay the foundations for a predicate treatment of this epistemic feature. We begin with a very general examination of the Gödel sentence in the arithmetical context. We then discuss two systems of modal predicates over arithmetic. The first, called coreflective arithmetic or ${\textsf{CoPA}}$, extends ${\textsf{PA}}$ with a coreflective modal predicate but does not contain a consistency statement. The second, called doxastic arithmetic or ${\textsf{DA}}$, has as its characteristic feature the consistency statement but does not contain coreflection or its instance, the ${\textsf{4}}$ axiom. We examine the logical properties of, motivations for and criticisms of both systems. We close with a brief comparison of the systems in the context of Gödel’s disjunction.

The Barcan formulas and necessary existence: the view from Quarc

The Modal Predicate Calculus gives rise to issues surrounding the Barcan formulas, their converses, and necessary existence. I examine these issues by means of the Quantified Argument Calculus (Quarc), a recently developed, powerful formal logic system. Quarc is closer in syntax and logical properties to Natural Language than is the Predicate Calculus, a fact that lends additional interest to this examination, as Quarc might offer a better representation of our modal concepts. The validity of the Barcan formulas and their converses is shown by Quarc to be a result of the specific incorporation of quantification in the Predicate Calculus, and not as reflecting a feature of the interaction of quantification and modality more generally. Necessary existence is shown to follow from the identification, in the Predicate Calculus on its canonical interpretation, of particular quantification, ascription of existence and the ‘there is’ construction, three constructions which are distinguished in both Quarc and Natural Language. The issues surrounding the Barcan formulas, their converses and necessary existence are thus shown to be an artefact of a specific logic system, not an essential feature of our relevant modal concepts or of formal logic.

About variations in translation non-finite forms of the verb from English into Russian in the belles-lettres

This article deals with the peculiarities of the translation of non-finite forms of the verb from English into Russian in the belles-lettres. This problem is not studied well enough in modern scientific literature, while when translating non-finite forms into Russian one can face some difficulties.Sometimes while translating a text the accent falls on the lexical aspect, first of all on the shades of meaning, but sometimes invisible syntactic mistakes lead not only to stylistic mistakes, but also the misrepresentation of the meaning. Non-finite forms can be used as a subject, a predicative, part of a compound verbal and modal predicate, an object, an adverbial modifier and an attribute.The infinitive has some nominal characteristics and can be used as a subject, part of a compound nominal predicate, an object and an attribute. As for its verbal characteristics it can take a direct object and has tense and voice distinguishes. As a subject, predicative and adverbial modifiers, it can be translated with the help of the infinitive or a noun. Complexes with the infinitive can be translated by subordinate clauses. If the infinitive is passive, the Russian subordinate clause should have either a passive construction or a non-finite form. If the infinitive is perfect the predicate in the Russian sentence should be used in the past tense. If the perfect infinitive has a passive form the predicative in the Russian subordinate clause should be used in the past tense and have passive voice or a non-finite form.Complex object can be translated by a subordinate clause, while complex subject can be translated only by a compound sentence.The gerund is such a non-finite form, which cannot be found in the Russian language. It can be translated into the Russian language with the help of the infinitive, a verbal noun or a subordinate clause.The combination of the gerund with a possessive pronoun or a noun in the possessive case form an equivalent of a subordinate clause.Russian present participles can be used only as an attribute, when used in the active voice, while English participles active can be used not only as an attribute, but also as an adverbial modifier. When translating a text, one should pay attention to the place of the participle in the sentence. If it is an attribute it is translated by a Russian participle, if it is used as an adverbial modifier, it is translated by a Russian adverbial participle in the imperative aspect.Participial constructions have no any equivalents in the Russian language, so they should be translated by an adverbial subordinate clause.