Search

Abstract: Van linden and Verstraete (2008) present a compelling typological investigation of counterfactuals in simple clauses, showing that they are usually marked by both a modal element and a marker of tense. They propose that polarity reversal in the counterfactual represents a Generalised Conversational Implicature derived via the Gricean maxim of quantity, applied to a modalised past tense clause; in some languages this has grammaticalised, they suggest, into a coded rather than implicated meaning. In this note I attempt to do two things. First, I point to what seems to me to be a weakness of this pragmatic proposal: it fails to recognise the variety of meanings that can be coded by modal categories of the types employed in counterfactuals. This raises doubts about the universality of the suggested grammaticalisation pathway. Second, I examine one of the languages in their sample, Gooniyandi, and argue that the mono-clausal counterfactual is not double-marked in the way Van linden and Verstraete (2008) presume. It is double-marked paradigmatically rather than syntagmatically. I conclude with an alternative explanation that links counterfactuals to negative constructions, and may provide another motivation for their double marking in some languages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a descriptive analysis of discourse structuring devices in written texts. It discusses typologies of metadiscourse (Hyland, 1998; Hyland and Tse, 2004) and establishes a categorisation of organisational metadiscourse markers, i.e. linguistic items that signpost the discourse organisation on the metadiscourse level. One particular group of these markers, sequencers, will be defined more precisely and described by means of a qualitative analysis of their structural parameters. A manual corpus analysis (Degand and Bestgen, 2004), allying quantitative and qualitative analyses, gives a detailed picture of their actual use in written discourse and of their distribution among the three text genres of academic writing, journalese and fiction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The article presents a typology of silence in social interaction, based on a number of features, including the number of participants in the interaction, the identity of the text that is left unsaid, and the intention of the silent person. Four types are proposed—conversation, thematic, textual and situational. Since conversational silence has been extensively discussed elsewhere, the focus of the article is on the other three types, and several problematic cases are discussed concerning not only the classification of instances of silence but also whether what has been called silence is in effect silence. The types of silence are illustrated by examples such as silence in the library, during classroom lessons, in political speeches, remembrance ceremonies, and theatrical and musical performances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This is the second part of a two-part article which critically reviews eight recent works in the field of mood and modality. Part I explored three different theoretical approaches – generative, cognitive–pragmatic, and typological – with the main focus on languages other than English. It also examined an in-depth account of the modal verb system in Danish. In Part II, the emphasis is on (mostly corpus-driven) work in relation to (primarily) English and on non-verbal as well as verbal carriers of modal meanings. Thus, description and analysis move purposefully towards a more comprehensive account of the field, to embrace modal expressions such as modal lexical verbs, modal adverbs, and modal adjectives. The pragmatics of modality; the discursive functions of modal expressions, especially modal adverbs; and the treatment of modality in modern descriptive grammars of English are also covered. The article reflects mounting interest in recent years in modality studies. Whilst broadening the scope of modality studies to include treatment of non-verbal modal expressions is to be welcomed, comparatively little attention has so far been given to how different types of modal expression may combine in text to create modal synergy. Following a case study investigation into pragmatics and modality, the paper ends by outlining an agenda for further research within a discourse and pragmatic perspective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]