On Hindi Conditionals - Ghanshyam Sharma
Résumé
In logic it is commonly believed that a conditional sentence is an aggregate of two propositions, namely the antecedent p and the consequent q, combined together exactly in the same manner as in the case of conjunction and disjunction. From our analysis of Hindi data, it emerges that the antecedent, or protasis, is not a real proposition, but rather a proposition-al function and thus carries a speaker's split modal meaning. In addition, this paper claims that the notion of 'conditional clause inversion' should be looked at from the pragmatic point of view. Hindi data suggest that it is not the protasis which moves rightward as a result of speaker's 'after-thought', but rather the proposition employed in apodosis which is dislocated leftward for different pragmatic reasons, leaving the apodosis marker in its canonical place. If this hypothesis proves to be true in other languages as well, then it can be safely concluded that the clause order universal (p → q) remains unaltered in all languages. Such a hypothesis may also controvert the thesis according to which protases are adverbial clauses and may serve to advance the idea that conditionals are one of many other topics where pragmatic intrusion into syntax can be easily attested.
Domaines
Linguistique
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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