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moodconjunction

Moodconjunction is a proposed grammatical category referring to a class of conjunctions or discourse particles whose primary function is to encode the speaker's mood or evaluative stance toward the content of the following clause. Unlike ordinary mood on verbs, moodconjunctions operate at the clause boundary to signal attitude rather than grammatical tense or aspect.

Origin and usage: The term was coined in theoretical linguistics to describe discourse-level devices found in

Distribution and semantics: Moodconjunctions typically attach to the preceding clause and introduce a second clause, or

Typology and cross-linguistic evidence: Some languages employ dedicated moodconjunction particles with limited distribution; others reuse familiar

Example sentences: It is late, moodconjunction I fear we have made a mistake. The plan is risky,

See also: mood, conjunction, discourse marker.

a
small
number
of
typologically
diverse
languages.
The
status
of
moodconjunction
as
a
distinct
category
is
debated:
some
analysts
treat
moodconjunctions
as
independent
particles;
others
analyze
them
as
pragmatic
modifiers
or
illocutionary
markers
rather
than
syntactic
constituents.
they
may
appear
as
free-standing
discourse
markers.
They
encode
epistemic
(certainty,
doubt),
deontic
(obligation,
permission),
or
evaluative
stance
(surprise,
sympathy).
They
interact
with
intonation
and
discourse
context;
their
interpretation
can
be
scope-limited
or
broad.
conjunctions
with
specialized
senses.
The
cross-linguistic
evidence
is
sparse,
and
criteria
for
delimiting
moodconjunction
from
related
devices
(discourse
markers,
mood-specified
complementizers)
are
still
under
discussion.
moodconjunction
perhaps
we
should
reconsider.