Gregg,
I agree certainly that these auxiliaries have evolved over time and
now carry a multitude of meanings, depending on context. I also think
that flexibility is natural and good and that we shouldn't try to
constrain it with strict rules about what they are supposed to mean.
All the pure modals were once main verbs, went through stagesw when
they could be main verbs and auxiliaries,but now function only as
auxiliaries and serve to ground a statement within the judgement of the
speaker. The grammaticalization path for "will" seems to have gone from
intention to prediction, and I think "shall" includes those two
meanings. "I will be there at four" equals intention. "It will rain
around four" denotes prediction. It seems to me that "shall" is more
likely to mean intention, but I certainly don't think we should insist
on that by rule.
An earlier contributor talked about deontic and epistemic meanings.
"Deontic" has to do with judgement about the social world: obligation,
permission, desirability, and the like. "Epistemic" has to do with a
more objective "historical" judgement, the relative certainty of
something happening or having happened. "Can", for example, can denote
ability (I can leap tall buildings with a single bound), possibility
(We can win if we get good pitching), and permission (You can be
excused). "Should" can denote obligation ("You should pay your taxes")
or strong certainty ("She should be there by now").
I think of modality as a metafunction, with the modal auxiliaries at
the center of that, but only one way in which we wrap judgement around
our statements. This is from Talmy Givon: "The propositional modality
associated with a clause may be likened to a shell that encases it but
does not tamper with the kernel inside....The modality codes the
speaker's attitude toward the proposition" (Syntax, vol. 1, p. 300).
I believe we should pay much more attention to this, not only in the
grammar we teach, but in response to student writing.
Craig
Craig,
> I agree with you, and, while there is a history of language
> instruction that has structured our usage, I see a natural arch in
> our common usage of verbs that moves from intention with the
> infinitive form through the consideration of action depending on
> different conditions to the realization of the act as it becomes part
> of being, history, and a perfected quality. In considering the
> probability of our intentions coming to fruition, can helps us
> consider our ability to carry them out, will focuses on the force of
> our intention, and shall addresses a sense of obligation created by
> circumstances around us. Could, would, and should focus more on the
> situations that might have an effect upon what happens. These usages
> serve our need to allow our imaginations to grapple with our
> intentions over time in order to help us realize who we want to be in
> this world.
> Given the limited number of words we can bring to this task, there
> will be multiple purposes served by these terms, giving language the
> strength and flexibility that comes from being ambiguous and
> connected to different frameworks. But, for teaching grammar as a
> tool that empowers us to take action, I like seeing shall as turning
> our attention to outside forces that may affect our choices.
>
> Gregg
>
>
> On Jun 5, 2011, at 1:49 PM, Craig Hancock wrote:
>
>> John,
>> In this case, I think "shall" denotes obligation rather than
>> determination, maybe as an attempt to soften the order. It's
>> interesting that it's also passive. What I see in many restaurant
>> restrooms is "Employees must wash hands before returning to work." It
>> seems to me this is intended to do the same work (lay down the rule)
>> without appearing to be dictatorial.
>>
>> Craig
>>
>>
>>> Here is Random House's basic summary of "shall" usage:
>>>
>>> The traditional rule of usage guides dates from the 17th century
>>> and says
>>> that to denote future time shall is used in the first person ( I
>>> shall
>>> leave. We shall go ) and will in all other persons ( You will be
>>> there,
>>> won't you? He will drive us to the airport. They will not be at the
>>> meeting ).
>>> The rule continues that to express determination, will is used in
>>> the
>>> first
>>> person ( We will win the battle ) and shall in the other two
>>> persons (
>>> You
>>> shall not bully us. They shall not pass ). Whether this rule was ever
>>> widely
>>> observed is doubtful. Today, will is used overwhelmingly in all
>>> three
>>> persons and in all types of speech and writing both for the simple
>>> future
>>> and to express determination. Shall has some use in all persons,
>>> chiefly
>>> in
>>> formal writing or speaking, to express determination: I shall
>>> return. We
>>> shall overcome. Shall also occurs in the language of laws and
>>> directives:
>>> All visitors shall observe posted regulations. Most educated
>>> native users
>>> of American English do not follow the textbook rule in making a
>>> choice
>>> between shall and will.
>>>
>>> shall. (n.d.). *Dictionary.com Unabridged*. Retrieved June 04,
>>> 2011, from
>>> Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/shall
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>> On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 10:09 PM, Kathleen Ward
>>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've always heard it called the deonatic use ofnthe modal --
>>>> something
>>>> that imposes an obligation on the hearer of an utterance. It is a
>>>> characteristic of modals in English that they have both deonatic and
>>>> epistemically (degree of certainty) uses.
>>>>
>>>> Kathleen M. Ware.
>>>>
>>>> University of California, Davis
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Saturday, June 4, 2011, Jane Saral <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>> Friends have just returned from their annual pilgrimage to Ashland,
>>>> Oregon, and on one flight they saw a sign in the flight
>>>> attendants' area
>>>> that said, "Hands shall be washed before serving food or drink."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> What is this use of "shall" called?
>>>>>
>>>>> Jane Saral
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