From Epistemic Modality to Deontic Modality: Evidence from Hebrew: Evidence from Hebrew

Modality is a semantic domain which" covers a broad ränge of semantic nuances: jussive, desiderative, intentive, hypothetical, potential, obligative, dubitative, hortatory, exclamative, etc."(Bybee-Fleischman 1995: 2). Influenced by modal logic, many linguists describing modality in natural language use a distinction between'deontic'and'epistemic'modality. Epistemic modality has to do with the possibility or necessity of the truth of propositions, and is thus involved with knowledge and belief (Lyons 1977: 793). Deontic (or'root') modality, ...