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Article published In:
Evidentiality, Modality and Grammaticalization
Edited by Eric Mélac
[Studies in Language 48:3] 2024
► pp. 513–542
Position paper

The links between evidentiality, modality, and grammaticalization

ORCID logo | Université Paul Valéry – Montpellier 3
This paper introduces the main notions that are addressed in this special issue, namely evidentiality, modality, and grammaticalization. It defines each notion and briefly synthesizes the literature. It also presents some of the controversies which surround the ideas that prevail in these research fields. Crosslinguistic examples illustrate the main evidential and modal categories, and clarify why the two domains are both distinct and related. The paper then sketches the main pathways of grammaticalization of modal and evidential markers as they have been documented in typological work. Finally, it introduces the contributions to this special issue, highlights the new insights, and discusses what remains to be investigated on the links between evidentiality, modality, and grammaticalization.
Keywords: evidentiality, modality, grammaticalization, function
Article outline
  • 1.Setting the scene
  • 2.Defining evidentiality and modality
    • 2.1How to define evidentiality?
    • 2.2How to define modality?
    • 2.3How are evidentiality and modality linked?
  • 3.The grammaticalization of evidentiality and modality
    • 3.1What is grammaticalization?
    • 3.2What do we know of the grammaticalization of modals and evidentials?
  • 4.The contributions of this volume: New insights
  • 5.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 8 April 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.24011.mel
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