Article published in:
Cross-linguistic Semantics of Tense, Aspect, and ModalityEdited by Lotte Hogeweg, Helen de Hoop and Andrej L. Malchukov
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 148] 2009
► pp. 155–178
Irrealis in Yurakaré and other languages
On the cross-linguistic consistency of an elusive category
Rik van Gijn | Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Sonja Gipper | Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
The linguistic category of irrealis does not show stable semantics across languages. This makes it difficult to formulate general statements about this category, and it has led some researchers to reject irrealis as a cross-linguistically valid category. In this paper we look at the semantics of the irrealis category of Yurakaré, an unclassified language spoken in central Bolivia, and compare it to irrealis semantics of a number of other languages. Languages differ with respect to the subcategories they subsume under the heading of irrealis. The variable subcategories are future tense, imperatives, negatives, and habitual aspect. We argue that the cross-linguistic variation is not random, and can be stated in terms of an implicational scale.
Published online: 30 November 2009
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.148.07gij
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.148.07gij
Cited by
Cited by other publications
Fan, Xiaolei
Salmon, William
van Gijn, Rik
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 23 december 2020. 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.