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Sequence, gaze, and modal semantics: modal verb selection in German permission inquiries

Two modal verbs of German are regularly used to express deontic possibility: können (‘can’) and dürfen (‘may’). We examine how speakers select between them, focusing on modal inquiries for permission to carry out some action ( darf/kann ich das machen , ‘may/can I do this’). Our data are video-rec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zinken, Jörg (Author) , Mack, Christina (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2025
In: Linguistics
Year: 2025, Volume: 63, Issue: 1, Pages: 159-192
ISSN:1613-396X
DOI:10.1515/ling-2023-0017
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2023-0017
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ling-2023-0017/html
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Author Notes:Jörg Zinken and Christina Mack
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Summary:Two modal verbs of German are regularly used to express deontic possibility: können (‘can’) and dürfen (‘may’). We examine how speakers select between them, focusing on modal inquiries for permission to carry out some action ( darf/kann ich das machen , ‘may/can I do this’). Our data are video-recordings of everyday face-to-face interaction, which we analyze sequentially, drawing on interactional-linguistic methods. We find that local sequential context and aspects of visible turn-design systematically enter into the accomplishment of deontic meaning. (1) Position of the modal inquiry within a course of action informs verb selection: speakers select kann to nominate an action as coming “out of the blue” and initiating a new course of action; darf to nominate an action as sequentially occasioned: a solution to an already known-in-common problem. (2) Bodily behavior (gaze, body posture) guides the interpretation of modal flavor, moving a kann -inquiry towards a deontic or a circumstantial interpretation, and moving a darf -inquiry towards a deontic or a bouletic interpretation. Overall, the study demonstrates the systematic contributions of sequential position and body behavior in the accomplishment of modal meanings.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 26. September 2024
Gesehen am 14.03.2025
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1613-396X
DOI:10.1515/ling-2023-0017

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