The lewis kratzer account provides a theory of this. On kratzer s 1986 theory of conditionals, an ifclause restricts the domain of the modal. Then, the restrictor analysis of lewis kratzer heim is introduced as a theory of how conditional meanings come about compositionally. Since there is no unique syntactic category expressing modality it can be.
In linguistics, modality is a system of linguistic options that allows for expressing a speakers general intentions or illocutionary point as well as the speakers belief as to whether the proposition expressed is true, obligatory, desirable, or actual. What must and can must and can mean, the notional category of modality, partition and revision, conditionals, an investigation of the lumps of thought, and facts. Sometimes, the term mood is used to refer to both mood. Anankastic conditionals are just conditionals the analysis of conditionals is a generalization of the analysis of modals. Third, modi ed modality, in which scalarity is induced extrinsically by another expression. An approach to modality, conditionals, and their interpretation due to david lewis and. Throughout the advanced research literature is referenced while the discussion stays largely nontechnical. Despite its linguistic prominence, this view of the word if has played little role in the philosophical discussion of conditionals. The correct answer is one person in statement 1, and two people in statement 2. Paul portner, modality oxford surveys in semantics and. One way to do this is by following franks suggestionmodal conditionals treated as doubly modalizedto improve on kratzers semantics frank 1997. Kratzer semantics for modality and conditionals premise semantics ordering semantics the restrictor analysis of conditionals conditionals with nonepistemic modals in the consequent 1 some inference patterns the following observations about inference.
Furthermore, conditionals are usually not considered in connec tion with modality. Though not dedicated to conditionals, both works provide important background. Angelika kratzer abstract the book contains new editions of a selection of authors works on modals and conditionals. Lastly, the interactions of conditionals i with modality and ii with tense and aspect are discussed. See also mackay 2015 for an empirical challenge to modal past theories. In this dissertation, i describe and analyze the tam system of badiaranke, an atlantic nigercongo language spoken in senegal, guinea, and guineabissau. A conditional has the structure modalantecedentconsequent. Then, the restrictor analysis of lewiskratzerheim is intro duced as a theory. Anankastic conditionals are just conditionals semantics and. Second, imprecise modality, in which scalarity is a pragmatic property of use of the modal in communication. Endorsements for angelika kratzers modals and conditionals angelika kratzers classic work on modality and conditionals is one of the major achievements of contemporary formal semantics. Most formal analyses of the semantics of tense, aspect, and modality tam have been developed on the basis of data from a small number of wellstudied languages. But what is most gratifying is that kratzer substantially revised the.
Sandy might be home says that there is a possibility. Is a possibleworlds semantics of modality possible. Christopher potts professor of linguistics and, by courtesy, of computer science, and director of csli verified email at stanford. We argue that the puzzle is problematic for the standard kratzerstyle analysis of modality. The quest for certainty approaching ideals practical inference conditionals onclusion it would be considered naive today to attempt, as did. Modality and language modality is a category of linguistic meaning having to do with the expression of possibility and necessity. Modal options can be realized by word order, modal auxiliaries and modal adjuncts. A note on conditionals and restrictors daniel rothschild. An approach to modality, conditionals, and their interpretation due to david lewis and angelika kratzer has gained widespread acceptance in linguistic circles. A semantic constraint on the logic of modal conditionals.
Modal bases represent the factual premises the truth of a modal statement might depend on. The function of the ifclause is to restrict the modal base. All chapters have been given new introductions and were revised and updated. Kratzer semantics for modality and conditionals premise semantics ordering semantics the restrictor analysis of conditionals conditionals with nonepistemic modals in the consequent 1 some inference patterns the following observations about inference patterns are relevant for any analysis of conditionals. We show that there is no sensible way of assigning values to these. Veltman 2005, in that it evaluates counterfactuals in a background that the antecedent helps to dene as relevant. Lewis 1981 discusses the equivalence between an ordering semantics for counterfactual conditionals and the premise semantics from kratzer 1979kratzer, 1981kratzer, 1991a kratzer, 2012. This collection of six of her pathbreaking papers on the topic is invaluable. This book contains updated and substantially revised versions of angelika kratzers classic papers on modals and conditionals, including what must and can must and can mean, partition and revision, the notional category of modality, conditionals, an investigation of the lumps of thought, and facts. Kratzer, poole, conditionals and meansend reasoning esslli16.
Ordering combination for modal comparison background. Angelika kratzers classic work on modality and conditionals is one of the major achievements of. This book contains updated and substantially revised versions of angelika kratzer s classic papers on modals and conditionals, including what must and can must and can mean, partition and revision, the notional category of modality, conditionals, an investigation of the lumps of thought, and facts. Moreover, it can be argued on general grounds that the restrictor view of conditionals developed in kratzer 1986 and lewis 1975 leads to counterexamples to modus ponens cp. Note on possibility modals and npi licensing journal of. Modality phil 6710ling 6634 spring 2012, cornell university time. This article discusses some of the ways in which natural language can express modal informationinformation which is, to a. Modals and conditionals paperback angelika kratzer oxford. They are best used in tandem with the readings from these and other sources as indicated at the end of every chapter. The notional category of modality, conditionals, an investigation of. Portner 2009 is of particular interest in presenting a general introduction to kratzers work on modality and conditionals, of enormous impact in the field see references to kratzers work in natural language semantics. A note on conditionals and restrictors daniel rothschild abstract within linguistic semantics, it is near orthodoxy that the function of the word if in most cases is to mark restrictions on quanti cation. I give an account of the compositional semantics of unconditionals e.
On kratzers 1986 theory of conditionals, an ifclause restricts the domain of the modal. Counterfactual conditionals are evaluated to be plausibly true if they are sup. In kratzers semantics, modals are evaluated relative to a pair of conversational backgrounds. Conditionals kratzer i ifclauses restrict the modal base. How many people are referred to either explicitly or implicitly in each statement. We discuss the semantic significance of a puzzle concerning ought and conditionals recently discussed by kolodny and macfarlane. First, gradable modality, in which scalarity is an inherent semantic property of the modal. Ordering sources represent nonfactual, typically normative, premises. Endorsements for angelika kratzers modals and conditionals. Two layers of modality i the ifclause constitutes a higher structure, in whose consequent the advice modal claim is embedded i modal 1 if you want to go to harlem.
Paul portner, modality oxford surveys in semantics and pragmatics. An international handbook of contemporary research, ed. Although some of these simple past theories address important related. Relatedly, several commentators argue that epistemic modality expresses a comment on the proposition expressed by the rest of the utterance. Deliberative modality under epistemic uncertainty springerlink. A semantic interpretation of modality in counterfactual. Only and monotonicity in conditionals 65 as we mentioned above, one main ingredient of our account is what we call scalar monotonicity.
Angelika kratzer has gained widespread acceptance in. Kratzer aims at providing an anal ysis of modality that, at the same time, clarifies the relation between modality and conditional sentences and analyzes the. In kratzers 1981 analysis of modality, modals are interpreted relative to. In this remark, i first show that a lewiskratzervon fintel style semantics of conditionals and modals lewis 1973. Unconditionals involve an alternativedenoting adjunct in english in particular, a questiondenoting adjunct that supplies domain restrictions pointwise in the sense of hamblin to a main. This standard approach to modality has deficiencies that kratzer 1977. Although this may be due in part tothe fact thatfew competitors have been presented in the linguistic literature, the approach is attractive in itself, incorporating some good ideas. Modality, conditionals, vagueness, taught at the university of graz in spring 2014. A problem for kratzers semantics the graduate center, cuny. Modals combine with conditionals to produce conditional modalities. Kratzers classic papers on modals and conditionals, including what. If i say to you 1 there is a bag of potatoes in my pantry you may not know whether what i said is true.
A semantic interpretation of modality in counterfactual conditionals. Diagnosing modality in predictive expressions journal of. Whoever goes to the party, it will be fun that explains their relationship to if conditionals in the lewiskratzerheim tradition. The books contents add up to some of the most important.
Lastly, the interactions of conditionals i with modality and ii with tense and. The notes are based mainly on priest 2008 and sider 2010. She is an influential and widely cited semanticist whose expertise includes modals, conditionals, situation semantics, and a range of topics relating to the syntaxsemantics interface. Yet, ifclauses very often serve to restrict modals in an explicit or implicit way. A simpler semantics in a dyadic framework, motivated by the need for a satisfactory treatment of instrumental or. The semantics of conditional modality semantic scholar. On robertss 1989 view, modal subordination is simply a covert conditional, restricting the domain anaphorically. I argue that angelika kratzers introduction of an ordering source parameter into the semantics for natural language modals was a mistake, at least for normative modals. Some recent alternatives to the restrictor analysis are sketched. The information admits some possibilities and excludes others. The chapter derives a typology of possible modal expressions from three parameters.
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