Is 'more possible' more possible in German?

Authors

  • Elena Herburger Georgetown University
  • Aynat Rubinstein The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3765/salt.v24i0.2717

Abstract

While some modals are clearly gradable (e.g. likely), the gradablity of possibility modals is controversial. We argue that one of the major reasons to think that possibility modals can be graded, namely the appearance of German möglich ('possible') and kann ('can') in a comparative construction involving eher, should be rethought. We argue that eher is not a simple comparative marker and propose an analysis of eher möglich in which degrees of epistemic commitment are compared, not degrees of possibility.

Author Biographies

  • Elena Herburger, Georgetown University
    Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
  • Aynat Rubinstein, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    The Mandel Scholion Interdisciplinary Research Center in the Humanities and Jewish Studies

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Published

2014-08-05

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Section

Articles