Modality (Oxford Surveys in Semantics and Pragmatics)

301 Pages·2009·3.73 MB·English

by  Paul Portner

Modality
OXFORD SURVEYS IN SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS
general editors: Chris Barker, New York University, and Chris Kennedy,
UniversityofChicago
advisory editors: Kent Bach, San Francisco State University; Jack
Hoeksema,UniversityofGroningen;LaurenceR.Horn,YaleUniversity;William
Ladusaw, University of Southern California; Beth Levin, Stanford University;
RichardLarson,StonyBrookUniversity;AnnaSzabolsci,NewYorkUniversity;
Mark Steedman, University of Edinburgh; Gregory Ward, Northwestern
University
published
1 Modality
PaulPortner
in preparation
Reference
BarbaraAbbott
IntonationandMeaning
DanielBüring
Questions
VeneetaDayal
Indefiniteness
DonkaFarkas
Aspect
HanaFilip
LexicalPragmatics
LaurenceR.Horn
Mood
PaulPortner
DimensionsofMeaning
ChrisPotts
Modality
PAUL PORTNER
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp
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Portner,Paul.
Modality/PaulPortner.
p. cm.–(Oxfordsurveysinsemanticsandpragmatics)
ISBN978–0–19–929243–1–ISBN978–0–19–929242–4
1. Modality(Linguistics) 2. Modality(Logic) I. Title.
P299.M6P67 2009
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ISBN 978–0–19–929242–4(Hbk.)
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1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Contents
ListofFiguresandTables viii
Acknowledgments ix
GeneralPreface xi
1 Introduction 1
2 ModalLogic 9
2.1 Whymodalityisimportanttologicandtosemantics 9
2.2 Somebasicideasfrommodallogic 11
2.2.1 Framesandmodels 11
2.2.2 Validity 18
2.2.3 Possibleworlds 20
2.2.4 Axiomaticsystems 24
2.3 Alinguisticallyrealisticversionofmodallogic 29
2.3.1 TheSimpleModalLogicHypothesis 30
2.3.2 Necessityandpossibility 32
2.3.3 Accessibilityrelations 33
2.3.4 ProblemswiththeSimpleModalLogic
Hypothesis 38
2.3.5 Theindexicalityofmodals 40
2.3.6 Summary 45
2.4 Lookingahead 45
3 MajorLinguisticTheoriesofModality 47
3.1 TheworkofAngelikaKratzer 47
3.1.1 Frommodallogictorelativemodality 48
3.1.2 Kratzer(1977) 50
3.1.3 Orderingsemantics 56
3.2 Modalityindynamiclogic 85
3.2.1 Thedynamicviewofmeaning 87
3.2.2 Proto-dynamiclogic 91
3.2.3 Dynamicmodaloperators 93
3.2.4 Expectationpatterns 99
vi contents
3.2.5 Evaluationofdynamicsemanticsfor
modality 102
3.3 Modalityincognitiveandfunctionallinguistics 105
3.3.1 Modalityasrepresentingforcedynamics 110
3.3.2 Thecognitive-functionalresponsetoformal
semanticanalysesofmodality 116
3.3.3 Subjectivityandintersubjectivity 122
3.3.4 Evaluationofideasaboutmodalityincognitive
andfunctionallinguistics 129
3.4 Lookingahead 131
4 SententialModality 133
4.1 Semanticcategoriesofsententialmodality 134
4.1.1 Epistemic,priority,anddynamicmodals 135
4.1.2 Otherclassifications 138
4.1.3 Modalforce 141
4.1.4 Syntacticrepresentation 143
4.2 Issuesinthesemanticsofepistemicmodality 144
4.2.1 Thenon-truthconditionalanalysis 145
4.2.2 Evidentiality 167
4.2.3 Performativity 172
4.2.4 Relativism 177
4.3 Issuesinthesemanticsofprioritymodality 184
4.3.1 Sub-varietiesofprioritymodality 185
4.3.2 Theargumentstructureofprioritymodals 187
4.3.3 Performativity 188
4.4 Issuesinthesemanticsofdynamicmodality 196
4.4.1 Volitionalmodality 196
4.4.2 Quantificationalmodality 213
4.5 Lookingahead 220
5 ModalityandOtherIntensionalCategories 221
5.1 Modalityandtime 221
5.1.1 Thetemporalorientationofmodalsentences 222
5.1.2 Themodalityoftense 236
5.1.3 Themodalityofaspect 243
contents vii
5.2 Conditionals 247
5.2.1 Therelationbetweenconditionalsand
modality 247
5.2.2 Conditionalsandtruthconditions 254
5.3 Modality,mood,andevidentiality 257
5.3.1 Mood 258
5.3.2 Evidentiality 263
5.4 Lookingforward 265
Bibliography 267
Index 285
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
2.1.Themodel(18) 16
2.2.Intersectionreversesthesubsetrelation 35
2.3.DeonticMustpentailsdeonticshouldp 35
3.1.Dogsdenotestheelementsofalattice 57
3.2.Aconversationalbackgroundgeneratesanordering 64
3.3.Acomplexordering 68
3.4.Theresultofcomputings[p→q]M 92
3.5.Thedynamicmodal♦ 94
3.6.Langacker’srepresentationsofadesireverb(top)andanepistemicmodal
(bottom) 127
4.1.Thegroupknowledgesituationfor(200) 163
5.1.Asetofhistorieswhicharealikeupuntiltimet 233
5.2.Werner’sanalysis 234
5.3.Lewis’ssemanticsforcounterfactuals 253
Tables
2.1.Someimportantaxiomsformodallogics 26
2.2.Somesystemsofmodallogicandtheiraxioms 26
2.3.Somesystemsofmodallogicandequivalentdefinitionsofvalidityin
framesemantics 28
2.4.Revisionstothesemanticsystem 42
2.5.Summaryofdifferencesbetweenthetraditionalframe-basedsemanticsof
modallogicandtherevisedsystem 45
3.1.ForceofGermanmodalsinKratzer(1981) 71
3.2.ForceofEnglishmodalsinKratzer(1991b) 72
3.3.Examplesofforcedynamicsfordeonticandepistemicmodality 113
3.4.Readingsof(153)inKratzer’ssemantics 120
4.1.Semanticclassificationsformodality 140
5.1.Majorclausetypesandassociatedsententialforces 263
Acknowledgments
Writing this book has been one of the most enjoyable scholarly exer-
cises I’ve ever undertaken. It has given me the opportunity to study
a wide range of literature, to learn a tremendous amount, and finally
to share my opinions with an audience. So I would like to express my
appreciationtoallofthosewhohavehelpedthisprojecttohappen.
To begin with I thank the editors of the series Oxford Studies in
Semantics and Pragmatics, Chris Kennedy and Chris Barker, for the
confidence they have shown in me and their support in defining and
then redefining the project. John Davey at Oxford University Press
has combined a knowledge of the publishing world with an under-
standing of the vagaries of research and writing. I thank Georgetown
University for essential support in the form of a year of sabbati-
cal and research leave, and I very much appreciate the welcome I
received from the National Tsing Hua University during that time.
The beautiful Tsing Hua campus was the perfect place to concentrate
while the largest part of this book was written. I also thank the Stan-
ford Linguistics Department for allowing me to be a visiting scholar
during several summers, thereby giving me access to the Stanford
Libraries.
I have made good use of my access to the knowledge and wisdom
of fellow linguists while working on this book. I particularly thank
the following people for more extended discussions: Raffaella Zanut-
tini, Miok Pak, Elena Herburger, Graham Katz, Steve Kuhn, Valentine
Hacquard, and Dylan Tsai; I especially thank Steve Kuhn and Valen-
tine Hacquard for extensive comments on the pre-final manuscript.
Several research assistants and students provided important logistical
help,includingGoldieAnnDooley,EricFlaten,andHuiChinTsai.I’m
probably forgetting one or more important conversation I had along
the way, and for that I apologize. I presented small parts of this work
at the University of Texas at Austin, the International Conference on
LinguisticsinKoreaatSeoulNationalUniversity,theWorkshoponPhi-
losophy and Linguistics at the University of Michigan, National Tsing
Hua University, the University of Maryland, and Rutgers University. I
thankalltheinviters,organizers,andparticipants.