From tolerance to commitment: A force-dynamic account of Finnish implicative verbs of ability
Résumé
This paper explores the meaning construction of expressions of dynamic possibility from a cognitive semantic perspective. The focus is on a set of Finnish semi-lexical implicative verbs expressing ability in terms of tolerance (e.g. sietää), energy (jaksaa), daring (tohtia), sensitivity (ra[a]skia), and
commitment (malttaa). They all indicate that it is possible for a state of affairs to take place “given the relevant circumstances” (Kratzer 1991), and despite a counteracting force (Gärdenfors 2024). They are all more or less specific concerning these circumstances (Flint 1980). Moreover, they all display affinity to negative contexts (Kiuru 1977). The paper first tracks the specific force-dynamic pattern underlying the semantics of these verbs (Talmy 1988, 2000). The circumstantial modal base can be of physical (e.g. temperature, space), subjective (attention, emotion), or intersubjective (social norms and relations) type, depending on the lexical component incorporated in the verbs’ semantic structure. Some of the verbs cover more than one of these types (sietää ‘tolerate [physical/ subjective/intersubjective]), some display a more limited lexical scope (tarjeta ‘tolerate cold’).
The
paper sheds light on the interconnections between the conceptual forces of different order that underlie the types of ability, from tolerance to commitment, from physical to intersubjective. What does the semantics of these verbs tell us about the position of the schematic structure of ability within the overall ecology of force-dynamic patterns of modality? How can Force dynamics deal with the negative affinity of these verbs? By describing the elaborate system of verbs of dynamic possibility in Finnish and the modal semantics of tolerance, daring and related concepts, the paper contributes to developing “a more sophisticated taxonomy of forces” (Copley 2019). In doing so, it addresses the status of dynamic possibility among modal possibilities. The analysis is based on a corpus of contemporary language use in media and literature, as well as transcriptions of dialectal interviews, available in the Language Bank of Finland (Kielipankki), https://www.kielipankki.fi/language-bank/.