Semantic analysis of the possibility and probability meanings of the modal verb “can” (a comparative study of English and Uzbek)

Abstract

This article provides a detailed analysis of the semantic features of the English modal verb can related to possibility and probability on the basis of modern theories of modality, and comprehensively examines its functional equivalents in Uzbek from a comparative-typological perspective. In order to explore the phenomenon from several angles, the study employs comparative-typological, semantic-componential (semic) and corpus analysis methods. It is substantiated that the ability, root possibility and permission meanings inherent in the verb can are expressed in Uzbek by a range of distinct devices, namely the form -a/-y ol-, the word mumkin, and the construction -sa bo‘l-. Furthermore, it is established that in English the verb can cannot express epistemic probability, this function being taken over by the modal verbs may and might, whereas in Uzbek probability is conveyed through separate lexical and morphological means such as ehtimol, balki, and the affix -dir. The results of the study, obtained on the basis of the semantic map of modality and the analysis of differential semes, reveal both the similar and the different aspects of the field of possibility and probability in the two languages under comparison. The conclusions obtained are of considerable theoretical and practical significance for comparative grammar, translation studies and the methodology of teaching English as a foreign language.