From certainty to uncertainty
The pragmaticalisation of the Estonian epistemic particles vist ‘perhaps, probably’ and
kindlasti ‘definitely, certainly’
In this article, we examine diachronically the use of two central and frequent epistemic particles,
vist ‘perhaps, probably’ and kindlasti ‘definitely, certainly’, in written texts in Estonian
from the 16th century to the present day. Currently, these particles convey various degrees of the speaker’s epistemic assessment:
vist expresses uncertainty regarding the truthfulness of the information conveyed, while
kindlasti indicates high certainty. The meaning of vist has diminished in terms of certainty
to become an uncertainty marker. The meaning of the particle kindlasti has stayed the same over time, but a
downtoning function has developed. Thus, we observe a weakening of epistemic functions for both particles over time within the
framework of pragmaticalisation. We highlight a regularity where, during the pragmaticalisation of particles within the domain of
probability, a unidirectional functional-semantic shift occurs in the chain of certainty > assumption >
uncertainty.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction. The background and premises of the study
- 2.Method, material, and research questions
- 3.Background to pragmaticalisation: Vist and kindlasti in old sources
- 4.Pragmaticalisation of the particle vist
- 4.1Development of the functions of the particle vist
- 4.2Functions of the particle vist in modern Estonian
- 5.Pragmaticalisation of the particle kindlasti
- 5.1Development of the functions of the particle kindlasti
- 5.2Functions of the particle kindlasti in modern Estonian
- 6.Discussion
- 7.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Abbreviations
-
References
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