Abstract :
[en] In this paper, we reconstruct the emergence of the modal and discourse marker uses of adverbial and clausal expressions with no doubt. Their history contrasts in a number of surprising ways with typical grammaticalization hypotheses. Existential expressions with no doubt emerged directly with grammatical modal meaning and developed lexicalized idiomatic uses later on. We account for this in terms of Boye and Harder's discourse approach to grammaticalization and lexicalization, according to which the former involves coded discourse secondariness whereas the latter expresses a primary point of the discourse. Like adverbial no doubt, I have/make no doubt acquired uses not only as a modal but also as a discourse marker. Invoking the principles of Kaltenbock, Heine and Kuteva's Thetical Grammar, we explain this development in terms of the positional and scopal flexibility, and the discourse functionality of these expressions.
Davidse, Kristin; Univ Leuven, English Linguist, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium.
De Wolf, Simon; Univ Leuven, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium.
Name of the research project :
K8.017.12N, 1.2.767.11.N.00
Commentary :
This study was made possible by the sabbatical leave grant K8.017.12N awarded to Kristin Davidse by FWO-Flanders Research Foundation, the postdoctoral mandate granted to An Van linden by FWO-Flanders Research Foundation (grant 1.2.767.11.N.00) and by GOA-project 12/007, "The multiple functional load of grammatical signs", awarded by the Research Council of The University of Leuven. It was further supported by grant no. HUM2007-60706/FILO of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the European Regional Development Fund. Our particular thanks go to Irma Taavitsainen and Laurel Brinton, and the two anonymous referees, whose very careful and incisive comments helped us remove many small infelicities and add many extra dimensions to the revised text.
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