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The grammaticalization of evidentiality in English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2022

ERIC MÉLAC Open the ORCID record for ERIC MÉLAC [Opens in a new window]
ERIC MÉLAC*
Affiliation:
Département d'Études anglophones Université Paul Valéry – Montpellier 3 Route de Mende Montpellier 34090 France eric.melac@univ-montp3.fr
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Abstract

This article argues that the data on English evidential markers indicate that evidentiality is not a grammatical category which is only applicable to some languages, but can be considered a universal semantic function that tends to trigger the grammaticalization of lexical forms. This study investigates five criteria that can help us locate linguistic forms on the lexicon–grammar continuum: reduction, desemanticization, backgrounding, decategorialization and paradigmatization. Although it has not reached the full maturity of so-called ‘evidential languages’, English provides evidence of the grammaticalization of evidentiality. Evidentiality is thus a relevant notion for English which substantially impacts the organization of the lexicon of the language, and the evolution of its grammar.

Keywords

evidentialitygrammaticalizationmodalsparentheticalsperception verbs
Type
Research Article
Information
English Language & Linguistics , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , June 2022 , pp. 331 - 359
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to thank Professor Laurel Brinton and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and detailed suggestions which allowed me to improve this article. I am also very grateful to my colleagues Debra Ziegeler, Anne Mathieu and Amanda Edmonds for their valuable feedback and kind support.

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