Epistemic modality, particles and the potential optative in Classical Greek
- Author
- Ezra la Roi (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- This paper challenges the commonly held view that the Classical Greek potential optative has a subjective epistemic semantics, the result of a conceptual confusion of subjectivity and epistemic modality inherited from our standard grammars. I propose that this view becomes less convincing when the optative’s unique interaction with the subjective particles ἦ and ἄρα is incorporated into the analysis. Rather, the potential optative has a non-subjective epistemic semantics presenting an epistemic judgment as interpersonally accessible to the conversational participants. Frequencies of combination with ἦ and ἄρα, linguistic tests for subjectivity on the potential optative, and contrastive contextual analyses corroborate this view.
- Keywords
- potential optative, epistemic modality, subjectivity, particles, eta, alpha rho alpha, ANCIENT-GREEK, RELEVANCE, NU
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8631347
- MLA
- la Roi, Ezra. “Epistemic Modality, Particles and the Potential Optative in Classical Greek.” JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, pp. 58–89, doi:10.1163/15699846-01901002.
- APA
- la Roi, E. (2019). Epistemic modality, particles and the potential optative in Classical Greek. JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS, 19(1), 58–89. https://doi.org/10.1163/15699846-01901002
- Chicago author-date
- Roi, Ezra la. 2019. “Epistemic Modality, Particles and the Potential Optative in Classical Greek.” JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS 19 (1): 58–89. https://doi.org/10.1163/15699846-01901002.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- la Roi, Ezra. 2019. “Epistemic Modality, Particles and the Potential Optative in Classical Greek.” JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS 19 (1): 58–89. doi:10.1163/15699846-01901002.
- Vancouver
- 1.la Roi E. Epistemic modality, particles and the potential optative in Classical Greek. JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS. 2019;19(1):58–89.
- IEEE
- [1]E. la Roi, “Epistemic modality, particles and the potential optative in Classical Greek,” JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 58–89, 2019.
@article{8631347,
abstract = {{This paper challenges the commonly held view that the Classical Greek potential optative has a subjective epistemic semantics, the result of a conceptual confusion of subjectivity and epistemic modality inherited from our standard grammars. I propose that this view becomes less convincing when the optative’s unique interaction with the subjective particles ἦ and ἄρα is incorporated into the analysis. Rather, the potential optative has a non-subjective epistemic semantics presenting an epistemic judgment as interpersonally accessible to the conversational participants. Frequencies of combination with ἦ and ἄρα, linguistic tests for subjectivity on the potential optative, and contrastive contextual analyses corroborate this view.}},
author = {{la Roi, Ezra}},
issn = {{1566-5844}},
journal = {{JOURNAL OF GREEK LINGUISTICS}},
keywords = {{potential optative,epistemic modality,subjectivity,particles,eta,alpha rho alpha,ANCIENT-GREEK,RELEVANCE,NU}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{58--89}},
title = {{Epistemic modality, particles and the potential optative in Classical Greek}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1163/15699846-01901002}},
volume = {{19}},
year = {{2019}},
}
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