Mikael Tsiouris: Modal auxiliaries in Elfdalian

Abstract

This thesis examines the modal auxiliaries in Elfdalian from a semantic perspective. Modal auxiliaries in smaller, traditionally non-standardised languages have received little attention, and the thesis aims to partially fill this gap by providing an in-depth study of such a language. As there is no established set of the Elfdalian modal auxiliaries, a first step is to identify verbs that can qualify as such. Discussions are conducted regarding the criteria that should be used to define the category. The commonly held view that morphosyntax is central to determining category membership is argued to have several shortcomings, and a semantic definition is adopted instead. According to this definition, auxiliaries with modal meaning are considered to be modal. Modal meaning, in turn, is defined as pertaining to the semantic category of modality and its subcategories: dynamic, deontic, and epistemic modality.

Drawing on information in grammar books and dictionaries, 16 verbs are identified as modal auxiliaries. These are examined in a self-compiled text corpus consisting of literary prose, periodical texts and transcriptions of dialect recordings. A key informant study is conducted as a complement. The following verbs are examined: bella, byöva, dugå, edd ulað, fą̊, fą̊ luv, fą̊ luv um, kunna, lär, mą̊, mą̊tte, munde, slippa, ula, wårå tundjin and werda. 

On a general level, the modal auxiliaries behave similarly to those in other Germanic languages. The same polysemic pattern by which the auxiliaries are used to express several modal meanings is also present in Elfdalian. At a more detailed level, however, the investigated forms exhibit certain distinctive features. These regard the semantic behaviour of individual verbs (notably, some verbs have a different semantic makeup than related ones in other languages) and the expression of some of the modal meanings. For instance, Elfdalian lexicalises meanings that other Germanic languages generally do not. Other findings include empirical support for the view that inferential meaning, often conveyed by modal auxiliaries, cannot be analysed as expressing a secondary modal meaning. The thesis also discusses the extent to which the modal auxiliaries form a coherent category. As these auxiliaries also convey other, non-modal meanings, the category is found to be rather loose.