The meaning and use of the modals HAFTA, NEEDTA and WANNA in children's speech

Abstract This study attempts to investigate the meaning of the three modal-catenative forms HAFTA, NEEDTA and WANNA in the speech of two 3-year-olds. The analysis suggests that the children have organized the three forms in terms of a system of contrasts: HAFTA  ‘external’/‘compulsion’; NEEDTA ‘internal’/‘compulsion’; and WANNA  ‘internal’/‘volition’. Another result of this study is that different patterns of use have been identified for the modals of constraint (HAFTA and NEEDTA) which reflect variation in speaker attitude. That is, at times, the modals of constraint are used descriptively to represent a pre-existing condition. Other times, the same forms are used performatively as a means of bringing about a belief that a particular condition exists, i.e. that the situation should be viewed in terms of the meaning projected by the modal — whether or not there are independent grounds for this belief. To capture the differences in use-types the analysis provides an overarching framework for viewing the modals in terms of core uses vs. peripheral uses.

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