CouldCan

CouldCan is a term used in theoretical linguistics and natural language processing to describe the interaction between two modal notions: ability (can) and possibility (could). The term combines could and can to emphasize contexts where potentiality and capability intersect.

Definition and scope: CouldCan denotes a hypothetical composite modality operator or a set of analytical rules that capture when an action is both potentially permissible and practically executable. In formal semantics, it can be modeled as a joint evaluation of an agent’s possible actions together with permission or likelihood conditioned by context.

In linguistics, CouldCan analyzes sentences with nuanced modality, helping distinguish between mere possibility and realizable ability. It also accounts for cross-linguistic variation in how languages encode modality and how discourse context licenses different inferences.

In computational semantics and natural language processing, CouldCan has been proposed as a modeling device for dialogue systems and reasoning engines. Treating ability and possibility as interacting features can improve inference of user goals and feasible responses under uncertainty.

History and reception: The term appears in scholarly discussions of modality and semantics in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and remains a specialized concept used mainly in academic literature rather than standard grammars or mainstream NLP pipelines. See also modal logic and natural language semantics.