Join us on Patreon to listen to this and 60+ other bonus episodes. In this month’s bonus episode we get enthusiastic about the word “like”! We talk about why “like” falls prey to the frequency and recency illusions, why linguists get excited about “like” and other function words, and other important dispatches from the world of “like” (apparently people who use “like” are perceived as more attractive!). In Italian Sign Language and American Sign Language the forcefulness of the modal (such as the difference between “should” and “must”) is indicated through having modals that are performed faster or larger or have a more intensive expression in how they’re signed. We also talk about neat things modals do in various languages: in Nsyilxcen, the modal is a separate word, whereas in Nez Perce, it’s an affix on the verb, and in German, there are also modal adverbs. In this episode, your hosts Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about modals! We talk about the nine common modals in English, the gloriously-named quasimodals (no relation to the bellringer but I would absolutely read the Quasimodo/Quasimodal crossover, I’m just saying), and how people use the ambiguity between permission and believability in English modals for comic effect. In other words, we use a part of language known as modals and modality! What will happen (or would, if only we should have known!) What we must and shall end up with. Other times, we get more hypothetical, and talk about how things could be. Sometimes, we use language to make definite statements about how the world is. Lauren: They’re called “modals,” but you might also know them as “modal auxiliaries.”Įpisode 69: What we can, must, and should say about modals Gretchen: We have “can,” “could,” “shall” and “should,” “will” and “would,” and the triplet, “may,” “might,” and “must.” They’re easy to identify in English because there are nine that are commonly used. Lauren: We’re definitely talking using modals. Gretchen: We “might” be talking about modals already. Lauren: Yeah, we “could” introduce modals. Gretchen: We probably “should” introduce modals. Lauren: Yes, you “may” talk about modals. Lauren: If you’d like to listen to this and all of our other bonus episodes, you can go to /lingthusiasm. But first, our most recent bonus episode was on the different uses of “like” in English and the very long history of them. Today we’re getting enthusiastic about what we can, must, and should say about modals. Lauren: Welcome to Lingthusiasm, a podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics! I’m Lauren Gawne. Links to studies mentioned and further reading can be found on the episode show notes page. Listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s been lightly edited for readability. This is a transcript for Lingthusiasm episode ‘What we can, must, and should say about modals’.
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