Documentation

Linglib.Fragments.Statimcets.Modals

St'át'imcets (Lillooet Salish) Modal Inventory #

[Mat16] [RMD08]

St'át'imcets (ISO 639-3 lil, also known as Lillooet) modal system. The system demonstrates two key typological properties:

  1. Single morpheme, multiple forces: the enclitic =ka can express either deontic permission or obligation depending on context ([Mat16] example 1).
  2. Dedicated ability morpheme: the circumfix ka-...-a is restricted to ability/circumstantial possibility, contrasting with the force-variable =ka ([matthewson-2005]).
  3. Lexicalized epistemic/circumstantial split: epistemic and circumstantial modality are expressed by distinct morphological strategies. Epistemic modals are typically second-position clitics (ima, gat-type elements, shared with related Salish languages), while circumstantial modals are predicative verbs or circumfixes.

St'át'imcets modal expressions (from [RMD08]) #

FormTypeFlavourForce
=kaencliticdeonticposs + nec
ka-...-acircumfixcircumstantialpossibility
source
def Statimcets.Modals.ka :
Semantics.Modality.Typology.ModalExpression

Deontic enclitic: variable force (permission or obligation). [Mat16] example 1:

  • wá7=ka s-lep' i=k'ún7=a ku=pála7 máqa7 'The eggs can/have to stay in the ground for a year.'
Equations
Instances For
    source
    def Statimcets.Modals.kaCircumfix :
    Semantics.Modality.Typology.ModalExpression

    Ability circumfix: fixed possibility force, circumstantial flavour. [matthewson-2005]:

    • ka-xílh-ts-tal'í-ha 'could do it the fastest'
    Equations
    Instances For
      source
      def Statimcets.Modals.allExpressions :
      List Semantics.Modality.Typology.ModalExpression
      Equations
      Instances For

        Force analysis #

        source
        def Statimcets.Modals.forceAnalysis :
        Semantics.Modality.Typology.ModalExpression → Semantics.Modality.ForceAnalysis

        =ka is variable-force (single deontic flavour, both forces). ka-...-a is fixed possibility.

        Equations
        Instances For

          Background classification #

          Both St'át'imcets modals formalized here are factual-circumstantial: =ka is deontic (norms as ordering source) and ka-...-a is ability (circumstantial facts). The factual-evidential and content-evidential classes in St'át'imcets are expressed by the evidential elements k'a and lákw7a, which are not formalized here.

          source
          def Statimcets.Modals.backgroundClass :
          Semantics.Modality.Typology.ModalExpression → Semantics.Modality.BackgroundClass
          Equations
          Instances For

            Typological properties #

            source
            theorem Statimcets.Modals.ka_satisfies_iff :
            Semantics.Modality.Typology.satisfiesIFF ka.meaning = true

            =ka satisfies IFF (trivially: single flavour, variable force = Cartesian product {poss, nec} × {deontic}).

            source
            theorem Statimcets.Modals.ka_satisfies_sav :
            Semantics.Modality.Typology.satisfiesSAV ka.meaning = true

            =ka satisfies SAV: varies on force axis only.

            source
            theorem Statimcets.Modals.kaCircumfix_satisfies_iff :
            Semantics.Modality.Typology.satisfiesIFF kaCircumfix.meaning = true

            ka-...-a satisfies IFF (singleton meaning).

            source
            theorem Statimcets.Modals.all_satisfy_iff :
            (allExpressions.all fun (e : Semantics.Modality.Typology.ModalExpression) => Semantics.Modality.Typology.satisfiesIFF e.meaning) = true

            All St'át'imcets modals satisfy IFF.