EVIDENTIALITY AND ILLOCUTIONARY MOOD IN CHEYENNE

In Cheyenne (Algonquian), evidentials and markers of illocutionary mood (e.g., imperative, interrogative) form a single morphological paradigm: the mode paradigm. Morphologically, these distinct grammatical categories form a natural class. Here I argue that they also form a natural semantic class, contributing similar kinds of meanings. In addition, there is a rich interaction between the semantic contributions of these two grammatical categories, not only in Cheyenne but cross-linguistically. The Cheyenne mode paradigm is discussed in depth, with a detailed description of the general use and interpretation of each of the illocutionary mood markers and evidentials. Specific semantic properties of the evidentials are also discussed, locating Cheyenne within an emerging semantic classification of evidentials.