Modals in the Languages of Europe: A Reference Work (Empirical Approaches to Language Typology [EALT], 44)

This book is the first comprehensive survey of modals and modal constructions in the languages of Europe. It is a collaborative effort between scholars from Europe and the United States, stemming from a workshop on Modals in the Languages of Europe in Valencia. The aim of this book is to describe the properties of modals and modal constructions in the European area and to compare the systems in individual languages or language families from an areal and genetic perspective. For the sake of contrast, the book also looks at the expression of modality in some languages just outside of Europe. The book consists of fourteen chapters on modal systems in individual languages or language families, written by experts in the respective languages, and an introductory and concluding chapter, written by the editors. The book gives both a description of the modals in the individual languages and an account of the nature and status of modals in general. It provides the reader with a theoretical account of how modals and modal constructions are grammaticalized. This theoretical account is informed by the parameters of grammaticalization of Christian Lehmann. These parameters were chosen because they are language-independent, as opposed to more language specific criteria (for instance, the NICE-criteria for English). The parameters themselves are examined as well for their suitability as part of any theory of grammaticalization. The book thus gives readers access to a collection of data on modality that surpasses most works in this field and also provides a fresh perspective on issues of grammaticalization and language contact. It is therefore of interest to scholars of modality, language contact and areal linguistics, grammaticalization theory and typology. Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 List of contributors 8 Abbreviations used in glossing 13 1. Introduction 16 2. Modals in the Germanic languages 26 3. Modals in Irish 86 4. Modals in the Romance languages 122 5. Modals in Greek 154 6. Modals in the Slavonic languages 182 7. Modals in Baltic 214 8. Modals in Albanian 244 9. Modality in Romani 282 10. The grammaticalisation of modal auxiliaries in Maltese and Arabic vernaculars of the Mediterranean area 340 11. Modal verbs in Balto-Finnic 378 12. Modals in Hungarian 418 13. Mood and modality in Berber 446 14. Modality in Basque 472 15. Modals in Turkic 502 16. Concluding chapter: modal constructions in the languages of Europe 526 Backmatter 576 Review text: "This book provides excellent new research on modality in languages where studies on modal constructions are rarely conducted. It also emphasizes the impact of language contact in modality."Stella Gevorgyan-Ninness in Linguist List 22.186 "This is a useful reference guide for students of comparative linguistics."In: Scitech Book News Book News Inc. 2/2010 Edited By Björn Hansen, Ferdinand De Haan. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.