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Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran
Toimituksia 231
Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne
231
Arja Koskinen
Toiminnan välttämättömyys ja
mahdollisuus. Pohjoissaamen modaalisten ilmausten semantiikkaa
ja syntaksia
The Necessity and Possibility of Action.
The Semantics and Syntax of Modal Expressions in Northern
Saami
The primary goal of this research is to
make a description of the modal field in Northern Saami,
restricted to the so-called modality of action. The research
is based on the semantic definition of modality, though
tightly linked to the syntactic structure of the modal
expressions. The linguistic elements in Northern Saami –
lexical, morphological and syntactic elements – are
analyzed in relation to the semantic categories of obligation,
necessity, will, permission and ability, covering both the
semantic and syntactic features of the elements.
It is also focused on the development of
Northern Saami with regard to time and language contacts. The
time aspect deals with the differences in the modal field when
comparing old and modern written texts. In addition to time, a
central role in the language change is played by language
contacts: the research shows how contacts with the majority
language have influenced the Northern Saami language in Norway
and in Finland. Some remarks on the development of modal
meanings and the grammaticalization process are also made.
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