The Relevance of Constructions for the Interpretation of Modal Meaning

The Case of Must

Bibliographic Data

ID8865240
AuthorsFerdinand De Haan (corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume93
Issue6
Pages700-728
Publication date2012-09-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnglish Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-838X • E-ISSN: 1744-4217
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0013838x.2012.700587
OpenAlexW2067696488
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited19

This paper is concerned with the interpretation of the meanings of the modal must as seen from the perspectives of constructions. Based on an examination of the occurrences of must in the Brown and Switchboard corpora, it will be seen that constructions play an important role in how modal meanings are conveyed and perceived. Different registers use different constructions and certain constructions have different favoured interpretations depending on whether they are used in spoken or written language. This paper focuses on a number of different phenomena, namely the interaction of person and modal meaning, with emphasis on the interaction of first person singular and on impersonal constructions, and on the collocations of must and other verbal material. It is shown that must behaves differently in spoken and written registers with respect to these parameters, using different constructions in each register. These findings are checked against findings from comparable studies. It has been claimed that must is losing ground in favour of modals such as have to and need to . This paper interprets these claims as a sign that must is realigning its use with respect to the constructions it appears in. This is exemplified by looking at the use of must and progressive constructions and at the use of must in constructions with a main verb

Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Modal · Modal verb · Register (sociolinguistics · Relevance (law · Sign (mathematics · Verb · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Linguistics and Discourse Analysis · Mathematics · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Law · Philosophy