The Semantic Field of Modal Certainty: A Corpus-Based Study of English Adverbs (Topics in English Linguistics)

In spite of the vast literature on modality in English, very little research has been done on modal adverbs as a group. While there are studies of individual adverbs, the semantic and pragmatic relations between them have been left largely unexplored. This book takes a close look at the whole field of modal certainty as expressed by adverbs in English. On the basis of corpus data the most frequent adverbs of certainty, including __certainly, indeed__, and __no doubt__, are examined from the point of view of their syntactic, semantic and pragmatic characteristics. The corpus used is the __International Corpus of English - Great Britain__, supplemented by data from other present-day English corpora, and questionnaires testing native speakers' intuitions on fine-grained similarities and differences between closely related adverbs. The methodology also includes the study of cross-linguistic equivalents as indicators of semantic-pragmatic relations between adverbs. Translation corpora yield correspondences in Swedish, Dutch, French and German. A detailed study of those correspondences adds useful information for setting up a semantic-pragmatic profile of each adverb, showing where their meanings overlap and where the boundaries are. The concept of semantic maps is relied on for plotting these relations. The book not only provides a thorough empirical study of English adverbs expressing certainty, it also contributes to a better theoretical understanding of the complexity of modal certainty, how it is related to speakers' goals and to other semantic areas. It is the first in-depth study of this kind, combining rich information on English as well as opening up perspectives for further empirical and theoretical research into modality.

In spite of the vast literature on modality in English, very little research has been done on modal adverbs as a group. While there are studies of individual adverbs, the semantic and pragmatic relations between them have been left largely unexplored. This book takes a close look at the whole field of modal certainty as expressed by adverbs in English. On the basis of corpus data the most frequent adverbs of certainty, including certainly, indeed, and no doubt, are examined from the point of view of their syntactic, semantic and pragmatic characteristics. The corpus used is the International Corpus of English - Great Britain, supplemented by data from other present-day English corpora, and questionnaires testing native speakers' intuitions on fine-grained similarities and differences between closely related adverbs. The methodology also includes the study of cross-linguistic equivalents as indicators of semantic-pragmatic relations between adverbs. Translation corpora yield correspondences in Swedish, Dutch, French and German. A detailed study of those correspondences adds useful information for setting up a semantic-pragmatic profile of each adverb, showing where their meanings overlap and where the boundaries are. The concept of semantic maps is relied on for plotting these relations.

The book not only provides a thorough empirical study of English adverbs expressing certainty, it also contributes to a better theoretical understanding of the complexity of modal certainty, how it is related to speakers' goals and to other semantic areas. It is the first in-depth study of this kind, combining rich information on English as well as opening up perspectives for further empirical and theoretical research into modality.

Frontmatter Table of contents Chapter 1. Aims, methodology and data Chapter 2. Establishing meaning relations: Problems and solutions Chapter 3. The linguistic categories of modality and evidentiality Chapter 4. An integrated model for describing adverbs of certainty Chapter 5. Classification of adverbs of certainty Chapter 6. The epistemic certainty adverbs certainly, definitely, indeed: Syntagmatic and paradigmatic dimensions Chapter 7. The epistemic certainty adverbs no doubt, surely: Syntagmatic and paradigmatic dimensions Chapter 8. Evidential, expectation and speech act adverbs: Syntagmatic and paradigmatic dimensions Chapter 9. Adverbs of certainty and the wider context: Text types and genres Chapter 10. Semantic-pragmatic relations: Networks and maps Chapter 11. Semantic-pragmatic relations: Parameters and features Chapter 12. Conclusions Backmatter This Book Provides A Detailed Account Of The Syntactic, Semantic And Pragmatic Properties Of Modal Adverbs Of Certainly In Present-day English. Methodologically If Relies On Three Types Of Data: Monolingual Corpora, Translation Corpora And Informant Testing. It Is The First In-depth Study In Which The Semantic Field Of Certainly As Realised By English Adverbs Is Explored, Combining Rich Information On English As Well As Opening Up Perspectives For Further Empirical And Theoretical Research Into Modality.--jacket. By Anne-marie Simon-vandenbergen, Karin Aijmer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [371]-386) And Indexes. Provides an account of the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of modal adverbs of certainty in English. This book relies on three types of data: monolingual corpora, translation corpora and informant testing. It explores the semantic field of certainty as realised by English adverbs Review text: "There is no doubt that this book will inspire similar studies in the domain of modality and in other domains."Ilse Depraetere in: Journal of English Language and Linguistics 3/2009?>