Article published in:
Certainty and Uncertainty in DialogueEdited by Andrzej Zuczkowski
[Language and Dialogue 4:1] 2014
► pp. 42–57
Probability and certainty markers in French and in Spanish (sans doute / sin duda)
Elisabeth Miche | Universitat Pompeu Fabra de Barcelona, Spain
In this article, we analyse the modal forms sans doute and sin duda. (lit. without doubts or undoubtedly). Despite their formal similarity, they do not always represent the same degree of certainty in French and Spanish. After a detailed analysis of their use in both languages, our conclusions show that sans doute is a probability marker, whereas sin duda is an (almost) certainty marker. After examining the relationship of these modal markers with evidentiality, we underscore the epistemic character of both markers; they are related to belief and subjectivity, thus the nature of certainty that they express is indirect and subjective. Sin duda manifests a higher degree of conviction than sans doute.
Keywords: evidential, discourse genres, modal, certainty, probability
Published online: 20 May 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.4.1.03mic
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.4.1.03mic
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Cited by
Cited by 3 other publications
Bourmayan, Anouch & Fumitake Ashino
Miche, Elisabeth
Miche, Elisabeth
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