Title Multifunctionality of modal markers: Lithuanian epistemic adverbials gal and galbūt 'perhaps/maybe' vs. their translational correspondences /
Translation of Title Modalinių žymiklių multifunkcionalumas: lietuvių kalbos episteminiai adverbialai gal ir galbūt bei jų vertimo atitikmenys.
Authors Šolienė, Audronė
DOI 10.15388/Klbt.2015.8947
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Is Part of Kalbotyra.. Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. 2015, t. 67, p. 155-176.. ISSN 1392-1517. eISSN 2029-8315
Keywords [eng] multifunctionality ; epistemic modality ; adverbials ; corpus-based analysis ; frequency ; contrastive analysis
Abstract [eng] The present paper deals with the multifunctionality of Lithuanian modal adverbials. The aim of the analysis is to show that the Lithuanian modal adverbials gal 'perhaps' and galbut 'maybe' and their English correspondences are multifunctional and to retrieve their meaning variants. This contrastive corpus-based study makes use of quantitative and qualitative methods of research. The results show that the adverbials under study exhibit a variety of functions: though mostly they qualify the proposition in terms of the degree of likelihood, i. e. epistemic modality, they can also acquire several other functions in addition to qualifying the proposition. Though the adverbial gal 'perhaps' is more functionally versatile than galbut 'maybe', it is clear that both adverbials have developed post-modal uses. The markers exhibit a diversity of functional variants in different types of discourse: they can act as mitigating devices reducing the illocutionary effect of an imperative or making a suggestion or offer more polite; as interrogative particles; or as approximators estimating a figure, number or quantity; or playing a part of non-factual markers in epistemic lists.
Published Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2015
CC license CC license description