An Inquiry into the Concept of Subjectivity Involving Modal Verbs in Persian

The aim of this paper is to study the concept of subjectivity associated with two Persian modal verbs- bayad and tavanestan- as well as investigating speaker-orientation vs. content-orientation within this domain. While offering examples taken from native Persian speakers, the present paper deals with the above-mentioned verbs in terms of subjectivity, their polysemy from semantic and pragmatic perspectives, and their formal convergence along deontic, dynamic and epistemic dimensions. The results of this study indicate that the boundary between objectivity and subjectivity is by no means clear-cut in modal verbs, and that the two concepts are inseparable. In addition, a thorough understanding of modal expressions is a function of the integration of contextual elements and encyclopedic knowledge of the outside world. Finally, the derivation of epistemic meaning from deontic meaning is not possible merely through truth-based semantic criterion. Also relevant in this respect are pragmatic aspects such as conversational implicatures.