9.4.5 Evidentials

Use this section for verbal auxiliaries, affixes, adverbs, and particles that indicate evidentials. An evidential is when the speaker indicates the source of the information on which an assertion about a situation is based. The following definitions are taken from Bybee, Joan, Revere Perkins, and William Pagliuca. 1994. The evolution of grammar. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

  • direct evidence: the speaker claims to have witnessed the situation, but does not specify the type of sensory evidence.
    I was there and...,
  • visual evidence: the speaker claims to have seen the situation described.
    with my own eyes I saw...,
  • auditory evidence: the speaker claims to have heard the situation described.
    with my own ears I heard...,
  • sensory evidence: the speaker claims to have physically sensed the situation described. This can be in opposition to one or both of the above senses (i.e. any other sense), or it can indicate sensory evidence that is not further specified (i.e. any sensory evidence).
  • indirect evidence: the speaker claims not to have witnessed the situation, but does not specify further whether the evidence is reported or simply inferred.
    I wasn't there but...,
  • reported evidence: the speaker claims to know of the situation described via verbal means, but does not specify whether it is second-hand, hearsay, or via folklore.
    I heard that...,
  • second-hand evidence: the speaker claims to have heard of the situation described from someone who was a direct witness.
  • evidence from hearsay: the speaker claims to have heard about the situation described, but not from a direct witness.
    it is rumored that...,
  • evidence from folklore: the speaker claims that the situation described is part of established oral history (e.g., mythology).
    according to our ancestors...,
  • inferred evidence: the speaker infers the event/action, but does not specify whether the inference is based on observable results or on a purely mental process.
  • inference from results: the speaker infers the situation described from the evidence at hand (i.e. from the observable results of the causing event/action.)
    from the results I would say...,
  • inference from reasoning: the speaker infers the situation described on the basis of intuition, logic, a dream, previous experience, or some other mental construct.
    I figure that..., I conclude that...,

    • 9.4.5.1 Evaluator

    Use this domain for words indicating who is evaluating the proposition.

  • What words indicate who is evaluating the proposition?
    to, in my opinion,
  • What words indicate that you heard what you are saying from someone else?
    according to, rumor has it, they say, people say, there is talk of, apparently, supposedly, be rumored to be,