FORMAL, FUNCTIONAL AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF MODAL VERBS IN SCOTS (THE EVIDENCE OF TEACHING AND REFERENCE GRAMMARS)

Constructions with multiple modal verbs (CMMV) such as might could, might can, might should, etc. as well as analytic grammatical forms of the modals are considered to be distinctive grammatical features of the southern dialects of the Scots language (the Scottish Borders region). It seems that reference and teaching grammars as sources are of particular importance, since mentioning in them a morphological or syntactic feature assigns to it the status of a differential feature of the linguistic system of the Scots language. In addition, it, in fact, allows us to interpret the differential feature mentioned in them as a Scotticism. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to assess to what extent the phenomenon of CMMV as well as that of analytic verbal forms of the modals are covered in popular grammars of Scots, and to what extent these phenomena can be considered as a differential feature of the system of this idiom. Four well-known reference and/or teaching grammars published throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries were selected as primary material. Judging by the evidence of the four abovementioned sources, it is possible to conclude that CMMVs and analytic grammatical forms of the modals constitute a notable element of the Scots language system, although they must be treated as a regional feature. If any noticeable phenomenon or feature of the linguistic system is not inherent in all territorial variants, but only in some of them, this can be separately noted and commented on in the grammar, which is what the authors-compilers of the three grammars in question did, unable to ignore such a notorious regional feature of Scots as CMMVs. It can be stated that the grammars of lesser-used languages, which do not have a generally accepted standardized variety, represent an important type of source for studying the morphology and syntax of such idioms. The special status and special value of such sources are constituted by their “diagnostic” nature provided by the expertise of their compilers, who, as a rule, are native speakers of the idioms in question and experts in them, what allows one to expect objectivity, sufficient reliability and completeness of the descriptions provided by them.