Clauses Emerging as Epistemic Adverbs in Estonian Conversation

Leelo Keevallik

《Linguistica Uralica》 46卷2期 (2010/06) Pp. 81-101

並列摘要

The paper shows how four combinations of 1(superscript st) person pronoun+epistemic verb emerge as adverbs in contemporary spoken Estonian, arguing that word classes have fuzzy boundaries. Excerpts from naturally occurring conversations demonstrate how ma tean 'I know', ma usun 'I believe', ma arvan 'I think', and mai tea 'I don't know' are used in varying positions in relation to the commented clause with the prosody that usually suggests their integration into these units. The items display somewhat divergent semantics as compared to their components, expressing degrees of epistemic certainty and uncertainty as well as personalized stance.

並列關鍵字

epistemic phrases ； epistemic adverbs ； emergence ； grammaticalization ； parentheticals ； prosodic integration ； Estonian