Francesca Dell’Oro
University of Neuchâtel
The diachronic evolution of modality and mood: cross-linguistic and corpus-based approaches
This lecture aims to provide an overview of the development of modality and mood from a cross-linguistic perspective, also employing a corpus-based approach to detect diachronic pathways in Latin and the Romance languages. The session is structured in two main parts. First, we introduce the concepts of ‘modality’ and ‘mood’, providing a state-of-the-art overview of their diachrony within a typological framework. We will discuss both common and less frequent diachronic pathways, illustrating how modality and mood develop at the interface between syntax, semantics and pragmatics, and how modal constructions can evolve into non-modal uses. The second part of the lecture focuses on practical applications, showcasing the WoPoss corpus, a richly annotated tool for investigating the diachrony of modality in Latin. This diachronic corpus enables precise queries concerning Latin modal markers and the reuse of results. Employing the WoPoss corpus, we will examine the evolution of the Latin modal system into those of Romance languages like Italian and French. The session not only highlights the theoretical implications of the investigation of modality and mood, but also demonstrates practical methodologies for linguists interested in combining historical linguistics and corpus methods.
ECLASS:
> Participants will receive a link for an e-class & dropbox.
