Epistemic possibility adverbs in East African Bantu – a typological-comparative overview

Abstract This article constitutes a pioneering comparative study of the use of epistemic possibility adverbs (EPAs) – i.e., sentence or clausal adverbs expressing neutral epistemic support (reminiscent of English ‘perhaps’) – in the Bantu languages of East Africa. In a sample of a total of 77 languages, the semantic and syntactic inter- and intra-clausal distribution of EPAs and the way they interact with other modal markers is investigated. Next, the semasiological background of the East African Bantu EPAs and the range of additional functions they may serve to co-express is explored. Based on the semantic characteristics of the EPAs, their etymons and the linguistic categories they additionally convey, it is proposed that the common conceptualization underlying these patterns of polysemy is the notion of scalarity, and more precisely that of an in-between position between a positive and a negative pole, thus conveying a neutral, indeterminate or interchangeable stance. Through these endeavors, this study offers the first thorough, comparative-based investigation of the development and distribution of epistemic adverbs in Bantu languages, broadening our understanding of expressions of modality and the use of adverbs more generally, both within Bantu languages and beyond.