A quoi sert la modalisation a posteriori ?

Abstract

This paper explores Paul Larreya’s concept of a posteriori modalisation. We first come back on Larreya’s distinction between a priori and a posteriori modalisation and suggest that his typology of the uses and functions of a posteriori modalisation requires further enquiry. After commenting on the link between modality and illocutionary force, we provide a classification of the different instances of a posteriori modalisation according to their illocutionary forces; the assumption being that this kind of modalisation affects the illocutionary force of the utterance. We then re-assess the concept from a theoretical perspective in the light of the data, which leads us to make minor adjustments to its definition, both extensionally and intensionally.

Keywords

• A posteriori modalisation
• sentence-modality
• illocutionary force