Certainty-uncertainty - and the Attitudinal Space in Between -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Dedication page -- Table of contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Foreword -- 2. The concept of 'Certainty' -- 3. Certainty between truth ascription and truth negotiation -- 4. The Mood/Modality differential -- 5. The contents of this volume -- References -- Additional topically selected references -- Certainty -- 1. Foreword -- 2. 'Certainty' as a concept in accessible world semantics -- 2.1 Intersubjectivity/IS -- 2.2 What is Certainty? -- 3. Types/categories and degrees of Uncertainty? -- 3.1 German modal verbs -- 3.2 German modal particles -- 4. The axiomatics for (I)S and FCA? UG and Reference? -- 5. Shift of responsibility: Modalization in the finite predicate/ VP by source type and assessor type. -- 6. Modalization in the lexical predicate/V by modal type and force -- 7. Challenging reliability -- 7.1 Double transitivity -- 7.2 Establishing common ground: Double transitivity -- 7.3 Lexical modalizers -- 8. Summary and conclusion -- References -- Modes of modality in an Un-Cartesian framework -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Modality and the different qualities of 'double displacement' -- 3. Subjectivity warranting certainty? -- 4. Different types of long-term memory and the coding of different grammars of the possible -- 5. Summary and outlook: The linguistic basis of a non-naive realism -- References -- Counter-argumentation and modality -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Argumentation and modality -- 3. Emotions and modality -- 4. Inferential activities -- 5. Argumentative modal operators -- 6. The modal levels and degrees -- 6.1 First level -- 6.2 Optional categories: The second level -- 6.2.a At the sentence level -- 6.2.b At discourse level: The counter-argumentative chain -- 6.2.b1 REINFORCER -- 6.2.b2 REBUTTAL -- 6.2.b3 ALTERNATIVE.

6.2.b4 PRECISERS or CONDITIONERS -- 7. Conclusion -- References -- Explanation as a certainty marker in persuasive dialogue -- 1. Argument and explanation -- 2. Hempel's models of scientific explanation -- 3. Trouble with inductive-statistical explanations -- 4. More on epistemic relativity -- 5. The rhetorical use of explanation -- 6. Two illustrations -- References -- How to deal with attitude strengt in debating situations -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Background -- 3. Strategies -- 3.1 Strategy 1: Avoid forewarning opposition -- 3.2 Strategy 2: The strength of the arguments -- 3.3 Strategy 3: The repetition of reasons -- 3.4 Strategy 4: Exerting credibility -- 4. Conclusion -- References -- The role of subjective certainty in the epistemology of testimony -- 1. Subject and aim -- 2. Opening remarks -- 3. Argument -- References -- Uncertainty in polar questions and certainty in answers? -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Beliefs, desires, intentions -- 3. ℛeciprocal and lifelong interpretation system -- 4. Question types -- 4.1 Degree of certainty: Low -- 4.2 Degree of certainty: Medium -- 4.3 Degree of certainty: Great -- 4.4 Degree of certainty: Maximum -- 5. Answer types -- 5.1 Guessing at the belief: The particle is -- 5.2 Guessing at the intention: The -ni construction -- 5.3 Guessing at the desire: The particle hát -- 6. Conclusions -- References -- Lying as a scalar phenomenon -- 0. The definition of lying and the insincerity condition -- 1. Alternatives to the insincerity condition -- 1.1 Chisholm & Feehan: Graded truth values -- 1.2 Carson: Graded beliefs -- 1.3 An intermediate position -- 2. Layers of scalarity in insincere assertions -- 2.1 Intensity and propositional content -- 2.2 Intensity and illocutionary force -- 2.3 The role of illocutionary force in defining lying -- 2.4 Further dimensions of scalarity -- 3. Conclusions -- References.

Persuasion pragmatic strategies in L1/L2 Italian argumentative speech -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The corpora -- 3. Argumentative speech acts in Italian and Chinese speakers: Typologies, structures, and conversational strategies -- 4. Conclusion -- References -- What do I know as yet? -- 1. Alston's views on knowing -- 2. Wittgenstein on Moore -- 3. Malcolm's list of examples -- 4. Advanced description of ich weiß usage, with some German illustrations -- 5. On the meaning of the explicit performative -- 6. The dialogical view -- 7. Short final comment -- References -- On polar questions, negation, and the syntactic encoding of epistemicity -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Positive and negative polar questions: A view from English, German and Italian -- 3. Previous accounts of high negation in negative polar questions -- 4. The syntactic analysis -- 4.1 Polar questions -- 4.2 Negative polar questions -- References -- Epistemic uncertainty and the syntax of speech acts -- 1. Introduction -- 2 For and against the unified analysis -- 2.1 The "unified analysis" -- 2.1.1 Problems with the lexical evidence -- 2.2 Event relativity -- 3. Epistemic modality, uncertainty and truth -- 3.1 Epistemic modality and truth-conditions -- 3.1.1 Epistemic uncertainty, actuality presuppositions, and actuality entailments -- 3.1.2 Past epistemics -- 3.1.3 Root modality and uncertainty: The problem of actuality entailments -- 4. Modals and dynamic information states -- 4.1 The certainty/uncertainty distinction -- 4.2 The epistemic/root distinction revisited -- 5. Conclusion -- References -- Discursive functions of evidentials and epistemic modals -- 1. Functions of evidentials and epistemic modals in the discourse -- 2. Evidentiality and modality -- 2.1 Evidentiality -- 2.2 The relationship between evidentiality and modality -- 3. Expositive illocutionary acts and the discourse.

4. How are expositive illocutionary acts performed? -- 5. Subjectivity and objectivity -- 5. Conclusion -- References -- Vagueness, unspecificity, and approximation -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The cognitive nature of vagueness, unspecificity, and approximation -- 3. Vagueness in communication -- 4. Vagueness -- 4.1 "Vague". Etymology and definition -- 4.2 "Vague". Synonyms and Antonyms -- Anchor 123 -- 5. A comparison of linguistic expressions for approximation, vagueness, and unspecificity -- 6. Concluding remarks -- References -- Latin commitment-markers -- 1. Introduction -- 2. 'Commitment-markers' -- 3. Commitment-markers in Latin -- 4. Corpus -- 5. Scilicet and videlicet -- 5.1 Basis and contrast -- 5.2 Person of the verb -- 5.3 Directive speech-acts und future verb forms -- 5.4 Reactions -- 6. Summary -- 7. Speech act modifiers -- 8. Translation networks -- 9. Conclusion -- References -- Italian come se "as if" -- 1. Introduction -- 1.1 Vaihinger's analysis -- 1.2 After Vaihinger -- 2. The present study -- 2.1 Theoretical background -- 2.1.1 Gestalt approach -- 2.1.2 J.S. Petöfi's Atomic Text -- 2.1.3 Evidentiality and epistemicity: A psychological perspective -- 2.1.4 "Known, Unknown, Believed" model -- 2.2 Corpus and methodology -- 2.3 Results -- 2.3.1 'Come se' - 1st type: Fictive or counterfactual, impossible, unreal -- 2.3.2 'Come se' - 2nd type: Conjectural or speculative, hypothetical, possible, real -- 2.3.3 'Come se' - 3rd type: Non-literal or symbolic -- 3. Conclusion and discussion -- References -- Rhetorics of (un)certainty in religious discourse -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Religion, certitude and certainty -- 3. An "uncertain" stage of life -- 4. The research -- 4.1 Aim -- 4.2 Procedure and participants -- 5. Main results -- 5.1 Beyond positioning -- 6. Concluding remarks -- References -- Subject index.