Jean-Christophe Verstraete

Coming to terms with subjectivity

Abstract In this study, we argue that the increasingly popular concept of subjectivity is in need of a more fine-grained analysis, and we make an attempt to set up a typology of distinct sub-categories. We first discuss a number of problems that emerge from the literature, such as the conflicting views on the nature of subjectivity, and the general vagueness of the way speaker-involvement is defined in order to detect subjectivity. On the basis of two case studies, we then propose to distinguish between at least three types of subjectivity, one pragmatic type relating to the use of an expression, and two semantic types where speaker-involvement pertains to the meaning of an expression. The distinction between the latter two types is based on syntactic criteria, and semantically relates to whether a particular item functions in the build-up of the content of a message, or in the enactment of the speakers position with respect to this content.

Subjective and objective modality: interpersonal and ideational functions in the English modal auxiliary system

This study deals with the distinction between subjective and objective modality on the basis of the English modal auxiliaries. I show that this distinction is still very poorly understood, both in terms of the criteria that have been proposed to support it, and in terms of the actual delineation of subjectivity and objectivity in the modal domain. After identifying the empirical and theoretical problems in the literature, I propose an alternative, semiotic account, which tries to explain the divergent grammatical behavior of subjective and objective modality in terms of the function they fulfill. The central factor in this semiotic explanation is the performative versus non-performative status of the modals, which can explain their divergent behavior with respect to tense, interrogation, and conditionality. On the basis of this alternative analysis, I also propose a more accurate delineation of subjective and objective functions in the English modal auxiliary system.

Rethinking the coordinate-subordinate dichotomy : interpersonal grammar and the analysis of adverbial clauses in English

This study argues that the domain traditionally covered by ‘coordination’ and ‘subordination’ in English can be neatly subdivided into four distinct construction types which differ in the grammatical encoding of speaker-attitude and speaker-interlocutor interaction. The four semantically, syntactically and pragmatically coherent construction types make sense of the many conflicting criteria proposed in the literature to distinguish subordinate constructions from coordinate ones.

The semantics and pragmatics of composite mood marking: The non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia

Abstract This paper investigates a system of composite mood marking in the non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia, which generally mark modal meanings through combinations of prefixes and suffixes of the finite verb. The analysis focuses on the category of irrealis, which is typically marked with a specific prefix, and covers both meanings of counterfactuality (when combined with a past tense suffix) and of potentiality (when combined with non-past tense suffixes). The central problem in describing this category, as with irrealis categories more generally, is how to reconcile the feature of non-actualization found in the counterfactual uses with the feature of potentiality found in all other uses (including the counterfactual one). On the basis of the formal systematics of prefix-suffix combinations, as well as the internal semantic structure of counterfactual constructions, it is shown that non-actualization can be derived from past potentiality by general Gricean principles. In addition, this analysis suggests that some exceptional non-Pama-Nyungan systems that do not have an irrealis prefix can be diachronically related to the basic system with an irrealis prefix. The analysis proposed has implications for the more general typology of irrealis categories and for their relation with negation.

Construing confrontation. Grammar in the construction of a key historical narrative in Umpithamu

This study provides a linguistic perspective on the structure and the interpretation of a key historical narrative in Umpithamu (a Pama-Nyungan language of Cape York Peninsula, Australia), against the background of a larger corpus of narrative texts in Umpithamu. The analysis focuses on the role of participant tracking devices in the macro-structure of the narrative, and the role of case marking in the build-up of narrative motifs. It is argued not only that marked types of participant tracking serve to mark the boundaries of episodes, as often noted in the literature, but also that some types have additional functions within episodes, which leads to a proposal for refinement of Foxs (1987) Principle of Morphosyntactic Markedness. On a micro-structural level, it is shown how a rare system of case marking is used by the narrator to construe white–Aboriginal interactions as events in which the Aboriginal participants experience an extreme lack of control.

The semantic development of essential and crucial: Paths to deontic meaning

In the literature on modality, much attention has been devoted to modal auxiliaries, whereas adjectival predicates have only rarely been discussed (some synchronic accounts are Riviere and Nuyts). This study tries to fill a gap in the literature by presenting two case studies of English adjectives that have developed deontic meaning from various types of non-deontic meaning. More specifically, we will describe the semantic development of the adjectives essential and crucial, which can serve as templates for other adjectives that acquired deontic meaning, such as vital or critical. As a working definition, we take deontic modality to express the degree of desirability of a certain State of Affairs (SoA)—a more detailed discussion of deontic meaning follows below. Examples of deontic utterances with the two adjectives are given in (1) and (2).

A and O as each other's mirror image? Problems with markedness reversal

Abstract This article provides a critical examination of the widespread idea that A and O (and Agents and Patients) are each others mirror image in terms of case marking and semantic features. We examine patterns of differential case marking for nouns in a sample of 185 languages, showing that the behaviour of A cannot be captured in terms of markedness reversal based on models for O marking. We highlight pecularities of A marking that are not found with O marking, like sensitivity to the feature of motivity, and syntactic restrictions on use as A, and use these to develop an independent account of A marking.

Distinguishing Animacy Effects for Agents: A Case Study of Australian Languages

This study investigates construction-level effects of animacy for Agents in a set of Australian languages. It is shown that the presence of an inanimate Agent can not only affect the marking of the Agent, but also the marking of the verb and of the Undergoer. On the basis of a detailed study of the extent of these effects in specific languages, it is shown that they are not always directly related to animacy, but can also be related to factors that are typically but not exclusively associated with animacy, like unusual instigation and unusual affectedness. It is also shown that there is a correlation between the part of the construction that is affected, and the type of motivation. Special marking of the Agent tends to be a direct animacy effect, while special marking of verbal transitivity is an effect of unusual instigation, and special marking of the Undergoer is an effect of unusual affectedness.

Experienced action constructions in Umpithamu: Involuntary experience, from bodily processes to externally instigated actions

Abstract This paper is a semantic analysis of ‘experienced action’ constructions in Umpithamu, a Paman language from Cape York Peninsula (Australia). The basic argument is that these constructions are related to the better-attested category of experiencer object constructions (e.g. Evans, Non-nominative subjects 1: 69–192, 2004), which in Umpithamu describe involuntary experience of bodily processes. Experienced action constructions extend the feature of ‘involuntary experience’ from processes within the body to actions originating outside the body, and thus provide a semantically marked alternative for standard transitive clauses. The constructions are typologically interesting because they show the need to identify different loci of experiential semantics in a construction, and they help to clarify the status of control for human Undergoers within semantic typologies of reduced transitivity.

The Functions of Represented Speech and Thought in Umpithamu Narratives

This paper analyses the functions of represented speech and thought (RST) in narratives in Umpithamu, a Pama-Nyungan language of Cape York Peninsula (Australia). The paper first surveys the different mechanisms available for marking a shift from the narrators deictic centre to a narrative participant, including a number of constructions that use perception and motion predicates to signal RST. The analysis then focuses on the narrative functions of RST, showing that it has a macrostructural function beyond the representation of a specific participants speech and thought, more specifically highlighting the central episodes of a narrative. The evidence comes from an analysis of three genres with a different macrostructure: one (personal history) for which the classic Labovian schema of complication–resolution works well and two others (both dealing with the supernatural world) that rely on different structuring principles. It is shown that RST is systematically associated with central episodes across the three genres, and that the location and nature of RST co-vary with the different location and nature of these episodes in the three genres. In narratives of supernatural encounter, for instance, RST conveys modal negotiation about the interpretation of the central events in terms of the supernatural world.