Publications

Publication details [#29875]

Myhill, John. 1995. Change and continuity in the functions of the American English modals. Linguistics 33 (2) : 157–211.

Publication type

Article in journal

Publication language

English

Keywords

function | future | historical linguistics | modal verb | obligation

Language as a subject

English, American

Place, Publisher

De Gruyter Mouton

ISBN

0024-3949

Journal WWW

www.degruyter.com/journal/key/LING/html

Annotation

This paper provides a functional analysis of the development of the modal system of American English since 1824, focusing on the modal usages of obligation, root possibility and future tense. Old and new modals are shown to overlap in some general functions, but within they have been used for clearly different types of functions.