Tidbits of Philology no. 2

Welcome to Tidbits of Philology no. 2!

This time I will not spill the beans and will let you contribute with the corresponding structure in your language!

Today’s topic is the theme of my current research - Modality.

In a nutshell, Modality is a remarkable characteristic of human languages to talk about possible worlds, i.e., alternative realities that might not necessarily exist:

I wish I could buy a new car.

I wish she would call me.

I wonder how life would be if I were rich.

There is a lot of conflicting work on the taxonomy of modal meanings. This is, however, a very rough summary:

1. Epistemic - requires some degree of knowledge (or guessing!) and is object-oriented:

She should be home by now.

The lights are on, she must be home.

1. Root - does not presupose any knowledge (epistémi) and is subject-oriented.

2.1. Deontic - expresses obligation and permission:

I must go now.

May I leave now?

2.2. Dynamic - expresses ability and will.

2.2.1. Ability

I can speak German.

2.2.2. Volition

I want to leave now.

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OK, let’s focus today on “ability” and “permission”. There are many studies on Germanic languages which prove that the modal verb “may” can now be used with overlapping meanings of “ability” and “permission”:

You may go now. = You can go now.

In fact, “can” is, according to corpora-based studies, much more productive (i.e., used more often) than “may”.

This seems to be true in German as well:

Du darfst gehen. = Du kannst gehen.

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In order to express ability, English uses “can” in the present, “could” in the past and “be able to” in the future:

I can speak German.

I could speak German when I was a child.

I will be able to speak German when I finish the German course.

Modal auxiliaries are a common feature in all Germanic languages and have very similar structures: [modal] + [verb in the infinitive], although German and Dutch use SOV in such cases, while English and Swedish keep the SVO syntax:

I can speak German.

Jag kan tala tyska.

Ik kan Duits spreken.

Ich kann deutsch sprechen.

Icelandic uses the past participle (að tala > talað) following the modal auxiliary!

Jég geta talað þýsku.

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The Romance languages, however, don’t have special modal verbs, and use regular, fully-conjugated verbs instead (some authors call them “semi-modals”):

Eu sei falar alemão.

Another possibility is to delete the semi-modal and use the main verb only:

Eu falo alemão. (This alternative is true for English and many Germanic languages as well).

This seems to work with some verbs, but not with others:

Ela sabe nadar. (She can swim)

Ela nada. (She swims = she is a professional swimmer > not a modal meaning)

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More languages will be added soon!

See y'all soon,
Rafael