Modality and Mood in Romance

Abstract

Modal readings o f sentence connectives in German and Portuguese Introduction: Temporal and modal linking o f sentencesThis paper1 deals with an aspect of the semantics of sentence connectives, exemplified by German and Portuguese. Following Pasch, Brauße, Breindl & Waßner (2003) and Blühdom, Breindl & Waßner (2004), we use the term sentence connective for certain elements traditionally classified as conjunctions, adverbs and particles, which share the semantic function of encoding relations between sentences. The semantic relata of sentence connectives are the meanings of the connected sentences or clauses.Since the influential work by Sweetser (1990: 76ff.) it has been widely known that one and the same connective can encode relations of different kinds. As early as the end of the nineteenth century we find the distinction between three types of causal connections in the handbook of German grammar by Blatz (1896Blatz ( /1970.): Der Grund kann 1. ein realer sein (ein Sachgrund, d.h. die Ursache einer Thatsache), z.B. Wallenstein hatte rasch ein großes Heer versammelt, denn die Zahl der unbeschäftigten Abenteurer war bedeutend,oder 2. ein logischer (Erkenntnisgrund, d.h. die Begründung einer ausgesprochenen Ansicht), z.B. Das Gemeine muß man nicht rügen; denn das bleibt sich ewig gleich (Goethe), -oder 3. ein moralischer (Beweggrund zu einer Handlungsweise), z.B. Ich muß ihn hassen; denn er hat mich schwer beleidigt. (Blatz 1896/1970: 708)2In the present paper we define factual reasons (Sachgründe) as states of affairs whose factuality results in the factuality of other states of affairs (see Blühdom 1 We are grateful to the editors of this volume and to the reviewer for their valuable comments and suggestions, as well as to Daniel Gutzmann for an important bibliographical indication.

Instructions or dominion?

“…In an interesting and thought-provoking article on mood in complementizer phrases, Dam and Dam-Jensen (2010) argue that the Spanish subjunctive and indicative mood can be explained by the instructions that they convey. Basing their analysis on the theory of Mental Spaces (Fauconnier 1994) and following previous studies conducted from a pragmatic and/or cognitive approach to mood choice in Spanish (cf.…”

“…The lexical verb of the main clause instructs the addressee to set up a mental representation of the described situation, and the verbal category of the subordinate clause instructs the addressee as to whether the described situation is to be linked with the situation of utterance or not. Examples (1-3), originally from Dam and Dam-Jensen (2010), illustrate their argumentation:…”

“…Therefore, the subjunctive mood is used. Undoubtedly, Dam and Dam-Jensen (2010) offer a most appealing explanation of mood choice in Spanish and they also represent an alternative to the traditional analysis of mood in terms of assertion and non-assertion (Lavandera 1983;Lunn 1989;Mejías-Bikandi 1994Terrell and Hooper 1974;Terrell 1995). Nonetheless, their analysis also seems to create explanatory problems.…”

“…However, the instructional explanation offered by Dam and Dam-Jensen (2010) points at two important features in order to explain the meaning of the Spanish subjunctive mood: the notions of situation of utterance and location. The standpoint taken in the present paper is that these notions, in fact, can explain the meaning of the subjunctive mood.…”

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In a highly interesting study, Dam and Dam-Jensen (2010) put forward the idea that the indicative and the subjunctive mood in Spanish complementizer phrases can be explained by the instructions they convey. The indicative instructs the addressee to locate the situation created by the verb relative to the situation of utterance, whereas the subjunctive instructs the addressee not to locate the situation described by the verb relative to the situation of utterance.

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