Epistemic modality and discourse connectivity

Abstract

This article sets out to account for the relation between the so-called epistemic modals and discourse and pragmatic markers such as BUT and ALTHOUGH. I will try to show that the notion of dependent relevance is powerful enough to account for this relation. In this analysis, the role of discourse and pragmatic markers is to guide the addressee's attention towards a piece of evidence that is, in one way or another, inconsistent with the modalized proposition. As a result, the speaker's confidence or commitment to the truth of the modalized proposition is weakened.