Future reference and covert modality in Khalkha Mongolian

Abstract

An open question in semantic theory is whether the future is best characterized as a temporal operator or as a future-oriented modal operator (see Bochnak 2019). Based on original field data from Khalkha Mongolian (Eastern Mongolic), I argue that the temporal reference of the tense morpheme -n and its morphosyntactic interaction with negation support an analysis of future reference as the combination of two morphemes: a covert modal, which is overtly realized under negation, and a prospective aspect, which is covert. This work adds to cross-linguistic analyses of future reference, expanding our existing typology of future marking (Matthewson et al. 2022; Mucha 2016; Pancheva & Zubizarreta 2023; Tonhauser 2011).