This thesis is essentially a portfolio of four disjoint yet thematically related articles that deal with some semantic aspect or another of natural language conditionals. The thesis opens with a brief introductory chapter that offers a short yet opinionated historical overview and a theoretical background of several important semantic issues of conditionals. The second chapter then deals with the issue of truth values and conditions of indicative conditionals. So-called Gibbard Phenomenon cases have been used to argue that indicative conditionals construed in terms of the Ramsey Test cannot have truth values. Since that conclusion is somewhat incredible, several alternative options are explored. Finally, a contextualised revision of the Ramsey Test is offered which successfully avoids the threats of the Gibbard Phenomenon. The third chapter deals with the question of where to draw the so-called indicative/ subjunctive line. Natural language conditionals are commonly believed to be of two semantically distinct types: indicative and subjunctive. Although this distinction is central to many semantic analyses of natural conditionals, there seems to be no consensus on the details of its nature. While trying to uncover the grounds for the distinction, we will argue our way through several plausible proposals found in the literature. Upon discovering that none of these proposals seem entirely suited, we will reconsider our position and make several helpful observations into the nature of conditional sentences. And finally, in light of our observations, we shall propose and argue for plausible grounds for the indicative/subjunctive distinction.distinction. The fourth chapter offers semantics for modal and amodal natural language conditionals based on the distinction proposed in the previous chapter. First, the nature of modal and amodal suppositions will be explored. Armed with an analysis of modal and amodal suppositions, the corresponding conditionals will be examined further. Consequently, the syntax of conditionals in English will be uncovered for the purpose of providing input for our semantics. And finally, compositional semantics in generative grammar will be offered for modal and amodal conditionals. The fifth and final chapter defends Modus Ponens from alleged counterexamples. In particular, the chapter offers a solution to McGee’s infamous counterexamples. First, several solutions offered to the counterexamples hitherto are all argued to be inadequate. After a couple of observations on the counterexamples’ nature, a solution is offered and demonstrated. the solution suggests that the semantics of embedded natural language conditionals is more sophisticated than their surface syntax indicates. The heart of the solution is a translation function from the surface form of natural language conditionals to their logical form. Finally, the thesis ends with a conclusion that briefly summarises the main conclusions drawn in its preceding chapters.

This diploma thesis examines functions of the modal verb should in nominal content clauses introduced by the conjunction that. The Czech counterparts of the English sentences are considered as well. The research focuses on the so-called putative should which occurs after main clauses with directive, epistemic, attitudinal, evaluative and volitional expressions. Should expressing intrinsic (root) modality (expressing permission, obligation or ability) is left out of account. The work pays attention to the basic classification of nominal content clauses deriving from a verbal form alternating with putative should. Two kinds of putative should will be dealt with, namely should after directive and volitional expressions which could have its alternative form in the present subjunctive and should after epistemic, attitudinal and evaluative expressions which could possibly alternate with the indicative. The work examines these verbal forms in relation to the intentional modality of the sentence in an independent form (e.g. declarative, interrogative or imperative sentence). The work is divided into two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part of the work describes the basic classification of all central modal verbs in English and putative should in terms of its relation towards the...

Doct. thesis Univ. of Manchester, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ausgehend von der Frage nach der Funktionsrelevanz des Konjunktivs als Anzeiger für 'Indirekte Rede' wird in einem zweiten Schritt das modale Funktionspotential von Indikativ, Konjunktiv I und II im Spannungsfeld von Sprachnorm, Sprachvariation und Sprachsystem diskutiert. Im Fokus stehen dabei die so genannte 'Berichtete Rede' und abhängige Verbletztsätze. Die anschließende empirische Untersuchung erhebt mittels speziell entwickelter Lückensätze, inwieweit mit der Modusverwendung in beiden Strukturen textsortenstilistische Empfehlungen und textgrammatische Regeln befolgt werden. Eine zusätzliche Befragung zielt darauf ab, ob ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Verwendung einer Modusform und dem Ausdruck einer Sprechereinstellung (Zustimmung, Neutralität, Skepsis und Ablehnung) zum Wahrheitsgehalt der wiedergegebenen Information feststellbar ist. Die statistische Auswertung ergibt einerseits, dass die Mehrheit sowohl der nichtmuttersprachlichen, als auch der muttersprachlichen Studierenden die wiedergegebene fremde Rede entweder gar nicht oder nicht konsequent als solche kenntlich macht und damit gegen die Wahrung geistigen Eigentums verstößt. Andererseits führt auch die Beobachtung eines häufig unsystematischen Modusformengebrauchs in beiden Probandengruppen nicht zum Nachweis, dass mit diesen grammatischen Mitteln mehrheitlich spezifische Sprechereinstellungen ausgedrückt würden.

Notre recherche porte sur la compréhension approfondie de la chronogenèse italienne et, en son sein, de l'expression du futur, selon les principes théoriques et méthodologiques guillaumiens. Notre étude comparative associe les approches diachronique et synchronique. Nous étudions l'évolution de l'expression du futur de l'ancien italien à l'italien contemporain écrits grâce à un 1er corpus construit à partir du texte original du Decamerone de G. Boccaccio, de sa traduction en italien contemporain proposée par A. Busi et de sa traduction en français par J. Bourciez. Nous comparons l'expression du futur dans trois romans graphiques rédigés en italien (par des auteurs originaires de Vénétie et de Sicile) et en français, à l'aide d'une 2e série de corpus extrapolée à partir des transcriptions de ces BD. Nous observons, d'une part, les différences entre le français et l'italien standards contemporains, d'autre part, les réalisations de l'italien standard selon l'influence des substrats régionaux. Grâce à un 3e corpus, nous étudions l'expression du futur en napolitain en comparant les textes de chansons napolitaines du XIXe au XXIe, avec leurs traductions en italien et français standards. Notre confrontation des diverses solutions pour le futur couvre d'Ouest en Est la Romania occidentale (français standard, italien régional de Vénétie), la position centrale qu'occupe l'italien standard issu du florentin littéraire, la Romania orientale (italien régional de Sicile, napolitain). Nous étudions la distribution des formes morphologiques du futur (synthétiques, analytiques), leurs emplois (temporels, modaux) ainsi que les solutions alternatives d'expression du futur (autres temps, CC de temps). Nous discutons les concepts d'aspect, d'accompli et d'inaccompli, de perfectif et d'imperfectif et étudions leur distribution dans les formes morphosyntaxiques de l'expression du futur. / Our research focuses on the deep understanding of the Italian chronogenesis, and within it, of the expression of future, based on the theoretical and methodological principles of G. Guillaume. Our comparative study combines diachronic and synchronic approaches. We study the evolution of the expression of future from former Italian to contemporary Italian literature through a first corpus built from the original text of the Decameron of G. Boccaccio, its contemporary translation proposed by A. Busi and its French translation by J. Bourciez. We compare the expression of future in three Italian (by authors from the Veneto and Sicily) and French graphic novels, with a second series of corpus extrapolated from the transcripts of these comics. We observe, on one hand, the differences between French and Italian contemporary standards, and on the other hand, the achievements of the Italian standard according to its substrates' regional influence. With a third corpus, we study the expression of future by comparing Neapolitan songs texts from the XIXth to the XXth century, with their translations in Italian and French. Our comparison of the various solutions for future covers, from West to East, the western Romania (standard French, Veneto regional Italian), and the central position of the Italian literary standard from Florentine, Eastern Romania (Sicilian regional Italian, Neapolitan). We study the distribution of future's morphological forms (synthetic, analytic), uses (temporal, modal) and alternative expression of future (other times, adverbial phrase of time). We discuss the concepts of aspect, accomplished and unaccomplished, perfective and imperfective and study their distribution in the morphosyntactic forms of future's expression.