Towards a unified account of the Spanish subjunctive mood: Epistemic dominion and dominion of effective control

2014

Cognitive Linguistics

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Within the model of Cognitive Grammar, the concept of dominion is fundamental to the analysis of the conceptualizer's attitude toward an event or a proposition. However, the concept has, first and foremost, been understood in epistemic terms, whereas there has been less concern with the conceptualizer's efforts to influence and manipulate the course of events in the world. This being so, the present paper shows that the conceptualizer's dominion of effective control is relevant in a number of linguistic contexts. The analysis provides evidence for this particular feature in factive contexts, deontic contexts, contexts of volition and causation, and in adverbial clauses of purpose, manner and condition. The analysis further shows that the conceptualizer's dominion of effective control is capable of providing a conceptually grounded explanation for the occurrence of the Spanish and the Portuguese subjunctive mood in these grammatical contexts.

Section: Causation Verbs In Spanish and Portuguesementioning

confidence: 95%

Extending the dominion of effective control – Its applicability to mood choice in Spanish and Portuguese

2014

Cognitive Linguistics

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“…In fact, it could be argued that it is also capable of providing an explanation for the semantic meaning of the Spanish subjunctive mood (cf. Vesterinen & Bylund, 2013).…”

Section: Epistemic Dominionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Portuguese future subjunctive

2017

RCL

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Although the analysis of the Portuguese future subjunctive mood would contribute to a greater understanding of the general meaning of the subjunctive mood, this verb form has received considerably little attention compared to the other subjunctive forms, namely, the past and present subjunctives. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gap. Using the theoretical perspective of Cognitive Grammar, it will be shown that the Portuguese future subjunctive shares many characteristic features with other tenses of the subjunctive mood. In particular, the analysis shows that the Portuguese future subjunctive can be explained by the concept of dominion. Thus, the present paper provides a conceptually grounded and unified explanation for the meaning of the Portuguese subjunctive mood.

“…From the perspective of the present paper, the list of linguistic expressions that evoke the dominion of effective control can be further expanded to include, for example, expressions of an evaluative and deontic character. Expressions such as it is sad or it is necessary evoke the dominion of effective control by providing evidence for our attempt to influence and manipulate events in the world (see Vesterinen 2012a, b; Vesterinen & Bylund 2013). It is also interesting to note a correlation in which the Spanish counterparts of these expressions trigger the subjunctive mood.…”

Section: Dominion and Moodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The assumption is that the subjunctive mood entails a dislocation from one dominion to another, i.e. from the epistemic dominion to the dominion of effective control (Vesterinen & Bylund 2013: 194–195).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mood alternation in Spanish conditional clauses: Condition, cause and the dominion hypothesis

2015

J. Ling.

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The present paper analyzes the mood alternation between Spanish conditional clauses introduced by the particle si ‘if’, on the one hand, and by conditional conjunctions such as a condición de que ‘on the condition that’, con tal de que ‘provided that’ and siempre y cuando ‘as long as’, on the other hand. Situated within the theoretical perspective of Cognitive Grammar, the paper argues that the conceptual content of the linguistic unit that introduces the conditional clause determines mood choice. In particular, it is claimed that the indicative mood in si-clauses reflects the conceptualizer’s reasoning about the causal relation between two events. By contrast, the occurrence of the subjunctive mood in other conditional clauses is analyzed as a natural effect of the condition expressed by the conditional conjunction. The analysis further shows that the mood alternation can be explained by the concept of dominion. The particle si introduces a clause that is located within the conceptualizer’s epistemic dominion, whereas other conditional conjunctions introduce clauses that are located outside the dominion of effective control.