Към семантичното описание на модалните глаголи (върху материал от българския и английския език)

Considering in brief some studies on the English modals, the author concludes that, when used independently, neither the objectively logical approach nor the subjectively pragmatic approach can account for the enormous semantic load and great diversity of uses of the units under discussion. So, it has been suggested in the paper that the sense (m) of a modal predication may be represented as a multilayered structure by means of the formula m = [p(L)], where (L) stands for its logical substructure, and (p), for its presuppositional force. The latter, in turn, is determined by a pre-suppositional system of the modals, set up a priori, comprising all those factors which signal the various presuppositional forces of the modals. The interaction between (L) and (p) accounts for the more specific modal meanings. The comparison with Bulgarian serves as a further check on some of the conclusions.