| Abstrakt: |
A central challenge for work on modality is delineating the domain and the categories within it, due in part to the fact that both are constantly evolving. Our understanding of possible systems and their components can thus be enhanced by learning more about how they develop through time. Because modality distinctions play major roles in social interaction, examination of spontaneous interactive speech can be particularly useful for uncovering the steps by which markers can progress and the motivations behind them. One longstanding puzzle has been whether irrealis distinctions should be included within modality. Here some reasons behind the dilemma are explored by tracing developments of an irrealis category in Northern Iroquoian languages, exemplified by Mohawk (Kanien'kéha'). The examination of speech in use, coupled with insights from speakers, provides clues to likely pathways of development and the discourse and social contexts facilitating them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
