11 August 2023
Decomposing the Meaning of Modals
Modal statements, like “The keys must be in the drawer” or “We must take the train”, involve a complex interplay of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The goal of this introductory class is to understand how we can decompose the meaning of modal words like can or must, by going through their standard quantificational analysis inherited from modal logic, with particular attention to the work of Kratzer. The class will combine insights from various disciplines: logic, philosophy and formal semantic theories of modality, cross-linguistic fieldwork, psycholinguistics experiments, and language acquisition.
Course leader
Annemarie van Dooren and Anouk Dieuleveut
Target group
Students
Fee info
EUR 490: Early student registration
EUR 690: Early non-academic registration
Scholarships
There are several scholarship options which you can read about on our website.