We are happy to announce a talk by Prarthanaa Bharadwaj (Frankfurt) in the Semantics Colloquium.
The talk will take place on campus in IG 4.301.
If you wish to participate virtually via Zoom, please contact Lennart Fritzsche for the link.
Date: February 6, 2025
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm c.t.
Title: Deconstructing Modal Necessity in Kannada
Abstract:
The study of modality in semantics has long focused on modal flavour (epistemic vs. root modality; Kratzer 1977, 1991) and modal force (possibility vs. necessity; Rullmann et al. 2008). More recent research has explored the previously understudied dimension of modal strength, particularly the distinction between weak and strong readings (Vander Klok and Hohaus 2020; Weingartz and Hohaus 2024). Languages employ diverse strategies to denote modal strength distinctions (von Fintel and Iatridou, 2008). Certain languages (English, German) mark this distinction lexically, while others employ morphological means, such as counterfactual constructions (Greek, French) or specialized derivational suffixes (Javanese). In some cases, this distinction remains unmarked (Afrikaans, Samoan). Kannada presents a novel case where strong necessity arises by exhaustifying over a necessity modal, a phenomenon that contrasts with existing literature, where exhaustification typically applies to possibility modals (Leffel 2012; Grubic and Mucha 2021).