Modality : Oxford Surveys in Semantics & Pragmatics - Paul Portner

Modality

By: Paul Portner

Hardcover | 29 January 2009

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $267.95

$157.95

41%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $39.49 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 5 to 10 business days

This is a book about semantic theories of modality. Its main goal is to explain and evaluate important contemporary theories within linguistics and to discuss a wide range of linguistic phenomena from the perspective of these theories. The introduction describes the variety of grammatical phenomena associated with modality, explaining why modal verbs, adjectives, and adverbs represent the core phenomena. Chapters are then devoted to the possible worlds semantics for modality developed in modal logic; current theories of modal semantics within linguistics; and the most important empirical areas of research. The author concludes by discussing the relation between modality and other topics, especially tense, aspect, mood, and discourse meaning.
Paul Portner's accessible guide to this key area of current research will be welcomed by students of linguistics at graduate level and above, as well as by researchers in philosophy, computational science, and related fields.
Industry Reviews
`Modality lives up to [its] billing. It serves as an introduction, giving an overview of the main theories of modality, from modal logic, through Angelika Kratzers seminal work (Kratzer 1981, 1991), to more recent approaches.... The book is also a valuable reference for experts. It summarizes major areas of active debates (e.g. truth-conditional status of epistemic modality), presents novel issues and challenges to current theories (e.g. issues of graded modality), and offers new solutions and directions, which will certainly inspire future research.' Valentine Hacquard, Language

Other Editions and Formats

Paperback

Published: 29th January 2009

More in Linguistics

Bringing Words to Life : Robust Vocabulary Instruction 2nd Edition - Isabel L. Beck
Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education : 4th Edition - Janet Fellowes
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - John Koenig

RRP $39.99

$32.95

18%
OFF
Auslan Alphabet : The Wiggles Emma - The Wiggles

RRP $17.99

$16.25

10%
OFF
Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish - Margarita Madrigal

RRP $39.99

$35.35

12%
OFF
Oxford Study Indonesian Dictionary : 2nd Edition - Wendy Sahanaya

RRP $35.95

$22.50

37%
OFF
News Literacy Across the Undergraduate Curriculum - Amy M. Damico
Debates in Translation Studies - Susan Bassnett

RRP $284.00

$200.95

29%
OFF
Debates in Translation Studies - Susan Bassnett

RRP $77.99

$62.75

20%
OFF
Radical : A Life of My Own - Xiaolu Guo