Mood and Modality

From Static to Interactive Maps: Drawing Diachronic Maps of (Latin) Modality with Pygmalion

“…At the same time, the maps are also used as a reference tool for our study of modal markers. At this stage, as explained in (2), they result from the organisation of lexicographic information in the theoretical and more abstract schema of the semantic maps of modality devised by van der Auwera and Plungian (1998) and Magni (2005Magni ( , 2010. However, on a more advanced stage of the project, this first version of the maps will be compared against the evidence obtained from the annotated WoPoss corpus.…”

“…This is done by detecting the relations between the different meanings of a lemma, based on their semantics and on previous studies. An important reference for this operation is represented by the models illustrated in van der Auwera and Plungian (1998), in a cross-linguistic perspective, and Magni (2005Magni ( , 2010, for an application to Latin. The former elaborated a ground-breaking model of a cross-linguistic modal map, illustrating semantic relations involving premodal, modal and postmodal concepts in both synchrony and diachrony.…”

“…The former elaborated a ground-breaking model of a cross-linguistic modal map, illustrating semantic relations involving premodal, modal and postmodal concepts in both synchrony and diachrony. 11 Building on this model, Magni (2005Magni ( , 2010 developed a comprehensive map specific to Latin. Her map is based on the analyses of the modal pathways of debeo, licet, necesse (est) '(it is) necessary', oportet 'it is right, proper', and possum (for a further discussion of the interplay between our maps and previous studies, see 3.2 below).…”

Modal markers in co-occurrence: a study on Terence's comedies

“…Bolkestein (1980), Núñez (1991), and Fruyt and Moussy (2002) have published relevant volumes on this topic. Bertocchi and Orlandini (2001), Fruyt and Orlandini (2003), Fruyt (2004), Magni (2005Magni ( , 2010, among others have contributed to the study of specific aspects of Latin modal markers (both lexical and morphological, including verbal mood), both in synchrony and diachrony.…”

“…The construction patterns of the impersonal phrases aequum est, dubium est, opus est, and the impersonal verbs decet and licet all require an argument clause functioning as a subject. The verb possum allows for a one-slot pattern with an infinitive complement, or a two-slot pattern where it is used as an auxiliary, with a nominative subject and an infinitive complement (Pinkster 2015: 210-215;Magni 2010 for an overview of the construction patterns of Latin modal verbs; cf. also Bolkestein 1980).…”