Necessity Modals Research Articles

The necessity modalshave to,must,need to, andshould

AbstractWhen an ambiguous lexical item appears within a familiar string of words, it can instantly receive an appropriate interpretation from this context, thus being saturated by it. Such a context may also short-circuit illocutionary and other pragmatic aspects of interpretation. We here extract from the British National Corpus over 500 internally highly collocating and high-frequency lexical n-grams up to 5 words containinghave to,must,need to, and/orshould. These contexts-as-constructions go some way toward allowing us to group these four necessity modals into clusters with similar semantic and pragmatic properties and to determine which of them is semantico-pragmatically most unlike the others. It appears thathave toandneed tocluster most closely together thanks to their shared environments (e.g.,you may have/need to…, expressing contingent, mitigated necessity), whileshouldhas the largest share of unique n-grams (e.g., rhetoricalWhy shouldn’t I…?, used as a defiant self-exhortation).

RESTRICTED INTERPOLATION AND LACK THEREOF IN STIT LOGIC

AbstractWe consider the propositional logic equipped with Chellas stit operators for a finite set of individual agents plus the historical necessity modality. We settle the question of whether such a logic enjoys restricted interpolation property, which requires the existence of an interpolant only in cases where the consequence contains no Chellas stit operators occurring in the premise. We show that if action operators count as logical symbols, then such a logic has restricted interpolation property iff the number of agents does not exceed three. On the other hand, if action operators are considered to be nonlogical symbols, then the restricted interpolation fails for any number of agents exceeding one. It follows that unrestricted Craig interpolation also fails for almost all versions of stit logic.

On the Heuristics of JSM Research (Additions to Articles)

The logical means of detecting empirical regularities using the JSM method of automated research support are considered. Generators of hypotheses about the causes and hypotheses about predictions that are stored in sequences of expandable fact bases are determined. Many “histories of possible worlds” are considered, where “world” refers to an expandable fact base. This set is used to determine empirical regularities, that is, empirical laws, tendencies, and weak tendencies. Empirical regularities are used to determine empirical modalities of necessity (for empirical laws), possibilities (for empirical tendencies), and weak possibilities (for weak empirical tendencies). The Propositional calculi of the class ERA are proposed, that is, modal logics with two empirical modalities of necessity and possibility such that they imitate abductive inference through the axioms of abduction (◻(p → q) & Tq) → ◻p), (◇(p → q) & Tq) → ◇p), where ◻, ◇, T are operators of necessity, possibility, and truth (“it is true that…”). A series of definitions related to the characterization of data mining using heuristics of the JSM method of automated research support is given.

Fuzzy relational modalities admitting truth-valueless propositions

We introduce fuzzy relational modalities of necessity and possibility designed to handle propositions that can be truth-valueless. We identify several important types of these modalities, corresponding to families of connectives and quantifiers of fuzzy partial logic (Bochvar, Sobociński, Kleene) and show some of their properties. We also present a faithful syntactic translation of the resulting fuzzy partial modal logic to first-order fuzzy partial logic.

CROSS-CULTURAL VARIATION IN THE EXPRESSION OF PERSUASIVE POWER IN THE GENRE OF TECHNICAL MANUALS: THE CASE OF DIRECTIVES

The paper provides a cross-cultural analysis of selected linguistic realizations of persuasion in technical manuals as typical representatives of technical discourse. It aims to identify differences and similarities between the ways persuasive power is expressed in this type of specialized discourse in English and Czech L1 texts. The data comprises manuals to various technical devices and amounts to slightly more than 200,000 words. This specialized corpus (15 manuals in English and 15 in Czech) is assumed to enable the comparison of the ways in which technical communicators express persuasion. The investigation, which is conducted from the perspectives of corpus analysis and discourse analysis, focuses on the ways in which the interactive and dynamic process of persuasion is explicitly manifested: 1. directly (i.e. using directives expressed by imperatives of full verbs, modals of obligation, necessity, prohibition, and predicative adjectives expressing the writer’s judgement of the necessity to perform an action) and 2. indirectly (i.e. using other language means than directives, such as other modals than those related to obligation, necessity or prohibition, conditional clauses, rhetorical questions). The findings are expected to be relevant and applicable in the education domain to raise technical writers’ awareness of directives as useful persuasive strategies suitable for the production of effective well-written technical manuals since their quality including the appropriate degree of persuasiveness can influence prospective consumers to make a purchase of a particular technical device.

Speaker-audience interaction in British and Belarusian public speeches

The article is dedicated to the speaker-audience interaction in British and Belarusian oratory. Two t ypes of speeches are analyzed: epideictic and argumentative. Some genre and culture-specific features are revealed. In particular, the speaker in epideictic speech interacts with their audience mainly via inclusive we and appeals to shared k nowledge while interaction in the argumentative speech has a more sophisticated nature. British speakers tend to use less categorical directives (let’s +infinitive constructions, modals of necessity, performative constructions) while in Belarusian speeches obligatory modals prevail. The peculiarities are based on different culture types: individualistic – for British orators and collectivistic – for Belarusian counterparts.

Analisis Wacana Kritis Berita Politik dalam Surat Kabar Koran Kaltim

This study aims to describe the form of language expression and the political news discourse perspective of Koran Kaltim using Roger Fowler's model. In using Roger Fowler's analysis, clarification can be seen how the same event is translated into different languages. These different words are not seen as technical but are seen as an ideological practice. This type of research is a qualitative descriptive study. Sources of data used in this research are journalistic products of printed mass media, namely Koran Kaltim. Data collection techniques are reading, listening, and note-taking techniques. The data presentation technique in this study contains an explanation of the forms of language expression and perspective. Overall the results of the study show the following two conclusions. First, the forms of language expression based on political news discourse modalities include necessity modality, desire modality, truth modality as well as various types of metaphors. This form of language expression represents the views, values, ideas and beliefs of journalists in the Kaltim newspaper. Second, the pro-government perspective dominates the political news in the Kaltim newspaper.

THE MODE OF ‘MUST’ IN THE MODALITY OF NECESSITY IN ENGLISH AND ITS EQUIVALENTS IN INDONESIAN

The analysis of this research basically concern issue of the cultural in the context of the mode of ‘must’ in the modality of necessity in English and its equivalents in Indonesia. The method used in this research is descriptive research method. The data taken in the form of written language manner with consideration that written manner shows more consistent characteristics in usage of the sentence structure and word choice as well. The data is taken from novels in English and also in the form of its translation in Indonesian. Syntactically, the result of the analysis shows thatthe mode of ‘must’ is actualized in modal forms (modals/modal auxiliaries) refers to ‘the rules for modal verbs’. Modal patterns, in general, used M + Vinf, where modals are always followed by infinitives or main verbs. Semantically, the mode of must is the expression of logical necessity and belongs to an epistemic modality that has a subjective meaning of certainty. The disclosure of epistemic modalities is indicated by the arising of the speaker's certainty involving his knowledge or his beliefs. The equivalent mode must in Indonesian becomes 'must' .

The relationship between irrealis mood and deontic modality in Paresi (Arawak)

This article presents a description and analysis of the deontic modality and its relationship with mood category (realis vs irrealis) in Paresi, a language of the Arawak family, spoken in Brazil. Data were collected from two questionnaires on deontics and texts. For the analysis of the data, we used, as the theoretical framework on mood and modality, the works of Feldman (1986), Hacquard (2006, 2010); Mithun (1995, 1999) and Palmer (2001). First, we show how the realis/irrealis mood marking occurs in Paresi. In the sequence, we describe the Paresi as a language that lexically marks the type of modality, but not the modal force. We present two markers of deontic modality in this language: maika and wa(iye)hena, which indicate both necesssity and possibility. These markers exhibit particle properties and occupy high positions in the sentence structure. Finally, we describe the deontic modality of necessity, showing that there are two types of obligations in Paresi: one indicated by the maika particle; and another, by the particle wa(iye)hena. The first figures, preferably, in contexts in which a participant is directly responsible for the realization of the event and seems to be associated to the realis mood. On the other hand, wa(iye)hena is employed in contexts of laws and general rules, which describe how a state of affairs should be, and co-occurs, predominantly, with the irrealis marker.

The Heuristics of Detection of Empirical Regularities by JSM Reasoning

The heuristics of the detection of empirical regularities by the JSM method of automated support of scientific research is considered. This heuristic consists of applying the JSM reasoning for JSM research, which consist of recognizing the preservation of hypotheses about the causes and hypotheses about predictions that form empirical dependencies for embedded database sequences. Mechanisms for detecting empirical regularities are causal forcing (CF), through which the necessity modalities (for empirical laws), the possibility modality (for empirical tendencies) and the modality of weak possibilities (for suspicious tendencies) are determined. The means of approximate detection of empirical regularities are determined and the results of their application for detecting the possibility of diabetes mellitus in patients with chronic pancreatitis are presented.

The semantic roots of positive polarity: epistemic modal verbs and adverbs in English, Greek and Italian

Epistemic modal verbs and adverbs of necessity are claimed to be positive polarity items. We study their behavior by examining modal spread, a phenomenon that appears redundant or even anomalous, since it involves two apparent modal operators being interpreted as a single modality. We propose an analysis in which the modal adverb is an argument of the MUST modal, providing a meta-evaluation $$\mathcal {O}$$ which ranks the Ideal, stereotypical worlds in the modal base as better possibilities than the Non-Ideal worlds in it. MUST and possibility modals differ in that the latter have an empty $$\mathcal {O}$$ , a default that can be negotiated. Languages vary in the malleability of this parameter. Positive polarity is derived as a conflict between the ranking imposed by $$\mathcal {O}$$ —which requires that the Ideal worlds be better possibilities than Non-Ideal worlds—and the effect of higher negation which renders the Ideal set non-homogenous. Applying the ordering over such a non-homogeneous set would express preference towards both p and $$\lnot p $$ worlds thus rendering the sentence uninformative. Negative polarity MUST and possibility modals, on the other hand, contain an empty $$\mathcal {O}$$ , application of higher negation therefore poses no problem. This account is the first to connect modal spread to positive polarity of necessity modals, and captures the properties of both in a unified analysis.

Generics and Weak Necessity

A prevailing thought is that generics have a covert modal operator at logical form. I claim that if this is right, the covert generic modality is a weak necessity modal. In this paper, I provide evidence for this claim and I sketch a theory. In particular, I will show that there are some important distributional parallels between generics and sentences with overt weak necessity modals: both sorts of sentences share behavior in nonmonotonic reasoning environments and also lack genuine epistemic readings. Acknowledging these parallels and the connection here is in the service of both our understanding of genericity and of weak necessity. Finally, I propose an understanding of generics as involving a covert weak necessity modal and argue that this is a promising path to pursue in relation to different issues related to the interpretation of generics.

Особенности функционирования лексических экспликаторов модальности необходимости в Ветхом и Новом Завете (на примере Синодального перевода на русский язык)

Особенности функционирования лексических экспликаторов модальности необходимости в Ветхом и Новом Завете (на примере Синодального перевода на русский язык)

Modality, Weights and Inconsistent Premise Sets

This paper investigates two types of data that appear to motivate complicating the semantics for weak necessity modals. I argue that these data can be captured using the same conceptual resources within a conservative extension of the standard quantificational semantics. The resulting analysis illuminates previously puzzling and underappreciated semantic and pragmatic properties of weak and strong necessity modals, and clarifies the special role that expressions of weak necessity play in conversation, deliberation, and planning.

The Use of Modal Auxiliary Verbs in Horoscope: A Corpus-Based Study

Horoscope is a regular content in women’s magazine. Horoscope contains modal auxiliary verbs which are used to establish familiarity and relationship. As modal auxiliary verbs are among the most problematic grammatical items in teaching and learning of English, horoscope can be used as authentic teaching and learning material. The present study is a corpus-based approach which seeks to investigate word frequency and examine the use of modal auxiliary verbs in the horoscope section of English women’s magazines. Three bestselling Malaysian female magazines from the year of 2011 to 2013 were analysed. The corpus consists of horoscope from 108 magazine issues. The data were analysed using AntConc and Editpad Pro to generate frequency lists and concordance lines. Both the frequency lists and the concordance lines were analysed to discover the use of modal auxiliary verbs in horoscope. It was found that the most frequent modal auxiliary verbs used in horoscope are will and may to express prediction and possibility. The least used modal auxiliary verbs are should and must which are modals of necessity and obligation. The pronoun you is the most frequent lexis in every horoscope entry. Based on findings from this study, horoscopes can be used to teach the modal auxiliary verbs in addition to prescribed Malaysian textbooks.

Justification as faultlessness

According to deontological approaches to justification, we can analyze justification in deontic terms. In this paper, I try to advance the discussion of deontological approaches by applying recent insights in the semantics of deontic modals. Specifically, I use the distinction between weak necessity modals (should, ought to) and strong necessity modals (must, have to) to make progress on a question that has received surprisingly little discussion in the literature, namely: ‘What’s the best version of a deontological approach?’ The two most obvious hypotheses are the Permissive View, according to which justified expresses permission, and the Obligatory View, according to which justified expresses some species of obligation. I raise difficulties for both of these hypotheses. In light of these difficulties, I propose a new position, according to which justified expresses a property I call faultlessness, defined as the dual of weak necessity modals. According to this view, an agent is justified in $$\phi$$ -ing iff it’s not the case that she should [/ought] not $$\phi$$ . I argue that this ‘Faultlessness View’ gives us precisely what’s needed to avoid the problems facing the Permissive and Obligatory Views.

Must, knowledge, and (in)directness

This paper presents corpus and experimental data that problematize the traditional analysis of must as a strong necessity modal, as recently revived and defended by von Fintel and Gillies (in Nat Lang Semant 18(4):351–383, 2010). I provide naturalistic examples showing that must p can be used alongside an explicit denial of knowledge of p or certainty in p, and that it can be conjoined with an expression indicating that p is not certain or that not-p is possible. I also report the results of an experiment involving lotteries, where most participants endorsed a sentence of the form must not-p despite being instructed that p is a possibility. Crucially, endorsement was much higher for must in this context than for matched sentences with knowledge or certainty expressions. These results indicate that the requirements for felicitous use of must are weaker than for know and certain rather than being at least as strong, as the epistemic necessity theory would predict. However, it is possible to account for these data while retaining the key insights of von Fintel and Gillies’ analysis of the evidential component of must. I discuss several existing accounts that could be construed in this way and explain why none is completely satisfactory. I then propose a new model that embeds an existing scalar theory into a probabilistic model of informational dynamics structured around questions and answers.

Research of Democritus teachings on necessity, chance and possibility using means of modern logic

The article studies the categories of necessity, chance and possibility modality. Logical calculus is constructed, where formalization of these modality categories is made.

‘You’ve got to sort of eh hoy the Geordie out’: modals of obligation and necessity in fifty years of Tyneside English

This article examines the use of the semi-modalshave to, have got toandneed toin theDiachronic Electronic Corpus of Tyneside English(DECTE), a corpus of spoken Northeastern English dating from the late 1960s to the present day. It will be shown that the semi-modals have, in many contexts, replaced the historically oldermustas markers of obligation and necessity in this variety. Moreover, the two most frequent variants in the corpus,have toandhave got to, will be examined in the light of current theories of grammaticalisation. Internal and external constraints, which have been shown in the literature on root modality to have played an important role in the distribution of variants in other regional varieties of British and North American English, will be tested in DECTE. The article will also examine the rise ofneed toin this northeastern variety, as the most recent addition to the group of variants marking obligation and necessity.

Root Modal Uses of Should, Ought to and Be Supposed to in Present-Day English: From Patterns and Profiles to Proficiency Guidelines

Many non-native speakers of English find it hard to use modal auxiliaries correctly. As far as the so-called “weak” root modals of necessity are concerned, (learner) grammars fail to provide clear guidelines about the use of these modals in specific usage contexts. While differences between should and ought to are minimised, be supposed to tends to be marginalised and its semantic profile remains vague. A study of 1200 corpus examples reveals the overlapping and distinctive usage contexts of these auxiliaries and allows us to derive the parameters that play a role in their usage: source, discourse context and strength. The article offers precise definitions of each parameter and provides a clear semantic profile for each auxiliary, thus paving the way towards more useful proficiency guidelines in (learner) grammars.