Chapter 8
The French future
Evidentiality and incremental information
Alda Mari | Institut Jean Nicod, CNRS/ENS/EHESS
We propose a new analysis for the French future, which treats it as a modal-evidential, articulating two perspectival points – a conjectural and a ratificational one. Considering that future also contributes a relative tense, we explain a variety of uses covering previously unexplained cases, including those in which the speaker knows that the prejacent is true. Finally, our account sheds some light on cross-linguistic facts and most notably on the relation between the ratificational French future and the conjectural future in Italian (akin to an epistemic modal), paving the way for a typological distinction between two types of languages: ‘conjectural future type’ languages and ‘ratificational future type’ ones.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Disentangling future from epistemic modality
- 3.The temporal and the ‘present ratification’ use
- 3.1
fut and past, scoping relations and relative tense
- 3.2Temporal and present ratification uses: truth conditions, inferences and direct evidence constraint
- 3.2.1The truth conditional dimension
- 3.2.2Deriving the inference of ignorance
- 3.3The direct evidence constraint of ratificational modals
- 3.4First set of predictions
- 4.Epistemic reading
- 4.1The epistemic interpretation of future with past
- 4.2Summary
- 5.Synchronic and cross-linguistic variation: the epistemic interpretation of simple future sentences
- 5.1Conjectural future and the competition with ‘devoir’
- 5.2Synchronic variation with eventives: a new hypothesis
- 5.3A note on cross-linguistic variation
- 6.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgement
-
Notes
-
References
References (55)
References
Aikhenvald, A. 2004. Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Berretta, M. 1997. Sul futuro concessivo: Riflessioni su un caso (dubbio) di degrammaticalizzazione. Linguistica e Filologia, 5, 7–40.
Bertinetto, P. M. 1979. Alcune ipotesi sul nostro futuro (con alcune osservazioni su potere e dovere). Rivista di Grammatica Generativa, 4, 77–138.
Boogaart, R. 2007. The past and perfect of epistemic modals. In L. de Saussure, J. Moeschler, & G. Puskas (Eds.), Recent advances in the syntax and semantics of tense, aspect and modality (47–70). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Boogaart, R., & Trnavac, R. 2011. Imperfective aspect and epistemic modality. In A. Patard, & F. Brisard (Eds.), Cognitive approaches to tense, aspect and epistemic modality (217–248). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Broekhuis, H., & Verkuyl, H. 2013. Binary tense and modality. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 32, 973–1009.
Caudal, P. 2012. Relations entre temps, aspect, modalité et évidentialité dans le système du français. Langue Française, 173, 115–129.
Condoravdi, C. 2002. Temporal interpretation for modals. Modals for the present and modals for the past. In D. Beaver, S. Kaufmann, B. Clark, & L. Casillas (Eds.), Stanford Papers on Semantics (59–87). Stanford: CSLI.
Copley, B. 2002. The Semantics of the Future. PhD dissertation, MIT.
Dalrymple, M., Kanazawa, M., Kim, Y., Mchombo, S., & Peter, S. 1998. Reciprocal expressions and the concept of reciprocity. Linguistics and Philosophy, 21, 159–210.
Dendale, P. 2001. Le futur conjectural versus devoir épistémique: différences de valeur et restrictions d’emploi. Le Français Moderne, 69(1), 1–20.
Enç, M. 1996. Tense and modality. In S. Lappin (Ed.), Handbook of contemporary semantic theory (345–358). Oxford: Blackwell.
Falaus, A., & Laca, B. 2014. Les formes de l’incertitude. Le futur de conjecture en espagnol et le présomptif roumain. Revue de Linguistique Romane, 78, 313–366.
Faller, M. 2002. Semantics and pragmatics of evidentials in Cuzco Quechua. PhD dissertation, Stanford University.
von Fintel, K., & Gillies, A. 2010. Must…stay…strong! Natural Language Semantics, 18, 351–383.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2012. The future of Greek and Italian: An epistemic analysis. Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung, 17, 255–270.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2013. A two dimensional analysis of the future: modal adverbs and speaker’s bias. Proceedings of the 19th Amsterdam Colloquium, 115–122.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2014. The future in Greek and Italian: metaphysical and epistemic dimensions. Ms. University of Chicago and Institut Jean Nicod.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2015. A unified analysis of the future as epistemic modality: the view from Greek and Italian. Ms. University of Chicago and Institut Jean Nicod.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2017a. Epistemic future and epistemic MUST: non-veridicality, evidence and partial knowledge. In J. Blaszczak, A. Giannakidou, D. Klimek-Jankowska, & K. Mygdalski (Eds.), Mood, aspect, modality revisited. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2017b. La dimension évaluative du futur: le rôle des adverbes. In L. Baranzini, & L. de Saussure (Eds.), Le Futur dans les Langues Romanes. Bern: Peter Lang.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2017c. A unifies analysis of the future as epistemic modality. The view from Greek and Italian. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory.
Giannakidou, A., & Mari, A. 2017d. The semantic roots of positive polarity: epistemic modal verbs and adverbs in Greek and Italian. Ms. University of Chicago and Institut Jean Nicod.
de Haan, F. 1999. Evidentiality and epistemic modality: setting boundaries. Southwest Journal of Linguistics, 18, 83–101.
de Haan, F. 2001. The relation between modality and evidentiality. In R. Müller, & M. Reis (Eds.), Modalität und Modalverben im Deutschen (201–216). Hamburg: Buske.
de Hoop, H., Foolen, A., Mulder, G., & van Mulken, V. this volume. I think and I believe: evidential expressions in Dutch.
Homer, V. 2010. Epistemic modals, high ma non troppo. Proceedings of Nels 40.
Laca, B. 2012. On modal tenses and tensed modals. Cahiers Chronos, 25, 163–198.
Lee, J. 2012. Temporal constraints on the meaning of evidentiality. Natural Language Semantics, 21, 1–41.
Mari, A. 2009. Disambiguating the Italian Future. Proceedings of Generative Lexicon, 209–216.
Mari, A. 2014. Each Other, asymmetry and reasonable futures. Journal of Semantics, 31(2), 209– 261.
Mari, A. 2015a. Modalités et temps. Des modèles aux données. Bern: Peter Lang.
Mari, A. 2015b. French future: exploring the future ratification hypothesis. Journal of French Language Studies 26(3), 353–378. d
Mari, A. 2016. Assertability condition of epistemic (and fictional) attitudes and mood variation. Proceedings of SALT 26, 61–81.
Mithun, M. 1986. Evidential diachrony in Northern Iroquoian. In W. Chafe, & J. Nichols (Eds.), Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology (89–112). Norwood: Ablex.
Mulder, G. this volume. (Yo) creo que: as a marker of evidentiality and epistemic modality.
Narrog, H. 2012. Modality, subjectivity, and semantic change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Palmer, F. R. 1986. Mood and modality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Prior, A. 1957. Time and modality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reichenbach, H. 1947. Elements of symbolic logic. New York: Macmillan.
Rocci, A. 2000. L’interprétation épistémique du futur en Italien et en Français: Une analyse procédurale. Cahiers de Linguistique Française, 22, 241–274.
de Saussure, L., & Morency, P. 2011. A cognitive-pragmatic view of the French epistemic future. Journal of French Language Studies, 22, 207–223.
Sthioul, B. 2007. Informations conceptuelle et procédurale: La piste beauzéenne. In L. de Saussure, J. Moeschler, & G. Puskas (Eds.), Information temporelle, procédures et ordre discursif (105–121). Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi.
Squartini, M. 2004. Disentangling evidentiality and epistemic modality in Romance. Lingua, 114, 873–895.
Sueur, J. P. 1979. Analyse sémantique des verbes ‘devoir’ et ‘pouvoir’. Le Français Moderne, 2, 97–119.
Sweetser, E. 1990. From etymology to pragmatics: Metaphorical and cultural aspects of semantic structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tasmowski, L. 1980. Un ‘devoir’ opérateur. Travaux de Linguistique, 1, 43–58.
Tasmowski, L., & Dendale, P. 1998.
Must/will and doit/futur simple as epistemic modal markers. Semantic value and restrictions of use. In J. E. van der Auwera (Ed.), English as a human language. To honour Louis Goossens (325–336). Munich: Lincom Europa.
Thomason, R. 1984. Combination of tense and modality. In D. Gabbay, & F. Guenthner (Eds.), Handbook of philosophical logic: Extensions of classical logic (135–165). Dordrecht: Reidel.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Ippolito, Michela & Donka F. Farkas
2022.
Assessing alternatives: the case of the presumptive future in Italian.
Linguistics and Philosophy 45:4
► pp. 943 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 9 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.