The expression of certainty and uncertainty in Italian speaking children

• Main Author: Maria Silvia Barbieri
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bologna 2014-04-01
• Series: Ricerche di Pedagogia e Didattica
• Subjects: language development; pragmatic development; modality acquisition; epistemic modality
• Online Access: http://rpd.unibo.it/article/view/4294

Epistemic modality expresses the speaker’s attitude of certainty/uncertainty toward the fact/event mentioned in the proposition. In conversation, the use of epistemic modality informs the listener on how much s/he should rely on the pieceof information offered. Languages express epistemic modality in many ways. In the Italian language epistemic modality is expressed by the modal verbs dovere “must” and potere “may”, “can”, but also by other grammatical devices: nouns e.g. possibilità “possibility”, adjectives e.g. possibile “possible”, adverbs e.g. possibilmente “possibly”, forse “perhaps”. Though children’s use of modal verbs has been the most extensively investigated issue in the study of modality acquisition, modal verbs may not be the most frequently used linguistic means. This study investigates the elicited production of expressions of certainty/uncertainty in typically developing Italian children.