Lesson plan
Modality (semantics)
Modality is the expression in language of how real, possible or necessary something said is. Languages commonly express modality using modal auxiliaries such as "could", "should", or "must"; modal adverbs such as "possibly" or "necessarily"; and modal adjectives such as "conceivable" or "probable". Modal components have also been identified in the meanings of other natural language expressions, including counterfactuals, propositional attitudes, evidentials, habituals, and generics. Modality has been studied from a variety of perspectives in linguistics. Typological linguists have traced variation in the ways different languages mark modality, with a particular focus on its interaction with tense–aspect–mood marking. Theoretical linguists have sought to analyze both the propositional content and discourse effects of modal expressions using formal tools derived from modal logic. Within philosophy, linguistic modality is often studied alongside broader metaphysical notions of necessity and possibility.
Article summary
Modality is the expression in language of how real, possible or necessary something said is. Languages commonly express modality using modal auxiliaries such as "could", "should", or "must"; modal adverbs such as "possibly" or "necessarily"; and modal adjectives such as "conceivable" or "probable". Modal components have also been identified in the meanings of other natural language expressions, including counterfactuals, propositional attitudes, evidentials, habituals, and generics. Modality has been studied from a variety of perspectives in linguistics. Typological linguists have traced variation in the ways different languages mark modality, with a particular focus on its interaction with tense–aspect–mood marking. Theoretical linguists have sought to analyze both the propositional content and discourse effects of modal expressions using formal tools derived from modal logic. Within philosophy, linguistic modality is often studied alongside broader metaphysical notions of necessity and possibility.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.