in a The Swedish modal particle väl in a contrastive perspective 1

The article analyses the Swedish modal particle väl by studying how its meanings are reflected in translational correspondences into English and French. The translations will be the input for discussing the type of lexical semantics needed to account for the multifunctionality of väl . They raise questions about whether väl has a unitary meaning or if it has several meanings (polysemy) and how meanings should be related to the context.


Introduction
Modal particles are small words which are typically unstressed and uninflected. They have scope over the clause in which they occur and are restricted to a position in the so-called 'middle field' after the finite verb. Semantically they function at the speech act level and 'generally speaking, express pragmatic meanings related to the attitude or the knowledge of speaker and hearer as regards the utterance where they appear' (Cuenca 2013: 195). They are found mainly in the Germanic languages such as German and Swedish. However this does not mean that their meaning cannot be rendered also in languages which do not have modal particles, such as English.
The aim of the present study is to analyse the Swedish modal particle väl by studying how its meanings are reflected in its translations into English and French. Väl conveys that the speaker 'tentatively supposes something' and can be paraphrased by I guess that or I suppose that. However, depending on the situational context it can acquire different meanings. By using a bidirectional translation corpus (such as the English-Swedish Parallel Corpus) 2 we can get a rich description of the functions of väl in concrete situations as interpreted by the translator. The translations will be the input for discussing the type of lexical 1 I am grateful to Bengt Altenberg and to two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful commentaries to an earlier version of the text. 2 For a description of the English-Swedish Parallel Corpus, see Altenberg and Aijmer (2000) and Altenberg et al. (2001). semantics needed to account for the multifunctionality of väl. They raise questions about whether väl has a unitary meaning or if it has several meanings (polysemy) and how meanings should be related to the context. Translations into more than one language can reveal additional meanings or uses and provide evidence for meanings which are found in the translations in one language only. I will therefore compare English and French translations.
I will first discuss previous work on väl. This will be followed by an analysis of the functions of väl as reflected in its translations into and out of English. The data from the English translation will then be compared with the French translations. In the concluding discussion the results from the contrastive study and the implications for the semantic representation of väl will be discussed.

Previous work
The uses of väl have been discussed in the Swedish Reference Grammar (Teleman et al. 1999: 115). According to Teleman et al., väl is a modal sentence adverbial expressing a high degree of likelihood. Teleman et al. also mention the use of väl as a careful question or appeal to the listener to agree. In speech acts expressing evaluation väl signals for example that the speaker aligns herself with the evaluation and appeals to the hearer for consensus. The meaning of consensus can be strong and conventionalized for example when väl is used in declarative sentences with the function of a suggestion or advice.
Väl (and other modal particles) have also been discussed on the basis of their uses in actual speech situations by Eriksson (1988). According to Eriksson (1988: 98) 'väl expresses conventionally that the speaker does not know if the sentence is true but considers it to be likely and therefore asks the hearer to agree' (my translation from Swedish). Eriksson compares the modal particles in interviews and focus group discussions and finds differences in their function depending on the speech situation. In interviews väl was used to express the speaker's reservation about the truth of what is said and signals 'low involvement, inexactness and mitigation of evaluation' (Eriksson 1988: 100; my translation from Swedish). In the discussion data the sentences containing väl were either evaluations where the speaker wants the hearer to agree or assertions where väl indicated the presence of an objection. Väl is also used in combinations such as kan väl (can 'väl') which are equivalent to an imperative. By means of väl the speaker signals that the speech act should be understood as an appeal and not as a command. Aijmer (1996) describes the semantics of the Swedish modal particles nog ('probably'), visst ('certainly'), ju ('as you know') and väl along several dimensions and examines their translations into English on the basis of a corpus including some texts which are now part of the English-Swedish Parallel Corpus. 3 Several of the translations were shared by all the modal particles suggesting that they have closely related meanings. Aijmer emphasised that väl for example expresses both modality (attitude to the proposition), evidentiality and an appeal to the person who has the best knowledge. She also mentioned the interpersonal function of väl (associated with hedging and politeness). The overview of previous work will serve as the background for the cross-linguistic investigation of the functions of väl. To what extent do the translations confirm the functions of väl found in the reference literature? Can the method help us to discover functions which are not found in a monolingual corpus? What can the methodology contribute to our knowledge of contextual factors determining how väl is used and to its semantic representation?
3 English correspondences of väl We can assume that translations are interesting for the semantic description of lexical items: For one thing, translations take place on a very large scale and bring a desirable multi-lingual perspective into the study of lexical semantics, which traditionally is heavily monolingual in its scope, For another, the activity of translation is one of the very few cases where speakers evaluate meanings without doing so as part of some kind of metalinguistic, philosophical or theoretical reflection, but as a kind of normal linguistic activity. (Dyvik 1998:51) Translations bring in a new perspective. If väl is translated in a particular way, väl and the translation share one or several semantic features. The English correspondences of väl in the English-Swedish Parallel corpus (ESPC) indicate that väl (like other modal particles) does not have a fixed meaning but a semantic potential. Table 2a shows the English correspondences of väl in two different translation directions: Swedish originals and their English translations (SO > ET) and Swedish translations with their English sources (ST < EO). The non-recurrent translations in the data were: scarcely, don't tell me, can, it seemed, simply, most likely, perhaps, it must mean, just. In sources the following lexical items were represented only once: I thought, ought to, might, look, presumably, oh, huh.
We can conclude from the table that väl is multifunctional, having 36 different correspondences in English (including the items occurring once). In both translations and sources we find tag questions, probably, must, I suppose, surely, interrogative sentences (either affirmative or negative), will, I guess, I think, really, had better, would, no doubt. In a large number of cases väl was not translated (or did not have an obvious source in English originals; i.e. 'zero' correspondences) suggesting that the meaning of väl can be more or less desemanticized.
The correspondences are non-congruent or divergent (the modal particle does not correspond to a modal particle in the translation) (Johansson 2007: 25).  Table 3b which also includes zero examples and 'other' categories. Translations are the raw material for the semantic description. In order to describe the variability and flexibility of väl we also need to distinguish sub-functions.
The classification into sub-functions is based on the meanings of väl suggested by previous research. The functions can be either modal or interactive. Väl occurs both in declaratives expressing the speaker's certainty (or commitment to what is said) and in questions (interactive functions). The interactive functions include uses where väl is used in requests and offers. Väl can also be used as an argumentative strategy.
3. 1 Väl and modality 3.1.1 Väl with the meaning of probability Teleman et al. (1999, IV: 116) classify väl together with (other) adverbs signalling a high degree of certainty. This meaning was confirmed by the translations with probably. Probably expresses that the speaker is 'almost certain' that something is the case (probability): (2) Jag är fotograf. Jag tänkte att jag skulle plåta den där tjejen som är med och då är det bra med en intressant bakgrund. Det är ganska igenvuxet där, skyndade sig skomakaren att säga. Ni har väl en yxa liggande, sa Pettersson. (SC1) I'm a photographer. I thought of photographing the woman I've got with me and it might make an interesting background. ""It's fairly overgrown," the shoemaker said quickly. "No doubt you've got an axe lying around," said Pettersson. (SC1T) The speaker (the photographer Pettersson) wants to take a picture of a girl against the background of an ancient monument. It is highly likely that the shoemaker has an axe and can remove the vegetation.

Väl expressing a tentative statement (the hedging väl)
When väl was translated by a modal tag (a clause such as I think, I suppose or I guess) its function is only tentative. The speaker expresses some reservation about the truth of what is said while conveying the possibility that it is true.
(3) Det är väl sant att jag ingenting förstår. (PE1) I suppose it is true that I understand nothing. (PE1T) In (4) the speaker expresses a low degree of commitment or involvement as shown by the translation with I guess: (4) "Jag har haft så mycket att göra att jag väl helt enkelt har glömt bort det. (GN1T) "I've been so busy, I guess I haven't noticed. (GN1) Väl can here be regarded as a polite 'hedge' with the function to express low involvement, and mitigation. The translations maybe, perhaps similarly suggest that the speaker makes a less confident statement about what is the case in order not to sound too abrupt. In example (5) the translator has chosen simply to express that väl can also come to express distancing: (5) Kärleken tog väl slut.

Väl with the meaning of epistemic certainty
Must was the most frequent modal auxiliary among the English correspondences. It is associated with epistemic certainty and has inference as an additional evidential dimension (cf seem with inferential meaning as a translation of väl): The light did n't reach down here. It was up above. He could see it. But it had no effect down here. The well shaft was too deep. Someone had dug and dug, confidently hopeful at first because the divining rod had turned down just there, then in sheer rage. Eventually, he must have dug on from sheer pigheadedness, whoever it was. Not Alda's husband. It must have been whoever had cleared the forest and built the cottage. (KE1T) The speaker is convinced that the man did the digging out of pigheadedness. This can be inferred from what he could see. The well shaft was for example too deep. In (7) the speaker infers that the hearer must have spies since he had discovered him hidden behind a palm tree: (7) Jag såg att du var intresserad av mitt morgondopp. Du borde pröva på det själv. Det skulle stärka din hälsa. Det är en gåta för mig hur han kunde upptäcka mig bakom palmen. Han har väl sina rapportörer. (LH1) "I saw you were interested in my morning swim. You should try it yourself. Do you a power of good. "It's a mystery to me how he was able to detect me behind that palm tree. He must have his spies. (LH1T) 3.2 Väl with interactive functions 3.2.1 Väl asking the hearer to respond Väl functions as a pragmatic cue turning the declarative sentence into a yes-no question. The clauses in which väl occurs can be regarded as 'careful questions' or 'queclaratives'. Queclaratives are declaratives which are intended as questions rather than as declarative statements (Downing 2006: 42;following Geluykens 1987 andSadock 1974). They can be followed by a question mark but do not have the syntactic form of questions. Väl fits into contexts where the speaker does not know whether something is true but thinks that the hearer knows and appeals to the hearer for consensus.
In (8) the queclarative sentence containing väl is positive. The translator has used a negative interrogative sentence to render the meaning of väl. A positive hearer response is expected ('she had been happy'). The 'old' assumption ('she had not been happy') is negative but new evidence now suggests that she is happy. The expected response is positive (you will need comfort).
Väl could also be translated as a (negated) tag question asking the hearer to agree with the content in the (positive) host sentence.
(11) Men han var väl gammal. (GT1) But he was old, was n't he?" (GT1T) The speaker is not sure whether what is said is true and therefore asks the hearer to confirm the claim.
Similarly, example (12) contains a negative tag question after the positive host sentence. A positive response is expected ('There is an explanation why Johan cannot have told on Torsten'): (12) In (13) väl has been translated by an interrogative tag sentence with think.
(13) Det låter väl spännande? (HM1) "That sounds exciting, don't you think?" (HM1T) Väl is concerned with stance (attitudes and emotions). The speaker invites the hearer to align herself with a particular emotion ('something is exciting'). However opposition (disalignment with the hearer or what is said) seems to be more frequent than alignment when väl is used as is apparent from its other translations.

3.2.2Väl implying resistance
When the queclarative sentence containing väl is negated it implies some resistance from the hearer. A question form (an affirmative interrogative sentence) has been used in the translation in the next example: In such a sentence a negative interrogative sentence could not have been used in the translation (don't you think…). The sentence contains a challenge (you should not think you are smarter than T).
In (15) väl in the negated queclarative has been translated with really: (15) Med glada tjut kom hon farande ut mellan ett par täta granar, och där rände hon rakt på Birk. Då sköt ilskan upp i henne igen. Inte ens i skogen fick man nu vara i fred! "Se dej för, rövardotter", sa Birk. "Så bråttom har du väl inte?" (AL1) Shouting with joy, she came shooting out between a couple of close-growing firs and ran straight into Birk. Then rage welled up in her again. She could no longer have any peace even in the forest! "Look where you're going, robber's daughter," said Birk. "Are you really in that much of a hurry?" (AL1T) The implication is that should not be in such a hurry). By means of really the speaker can also express surprise or annoyance directed at the hearer. Ronia had hoped to be at peace in the woods when she ran into Birk. Another English correspondence of väl implying resistance is surely. Surely like must is a marker of evidentiality (inferencing). However, it has a different function from must since it is argumentative (it takes a stance towards contrary assumptions). In (16)  Surely has several meanings simultaneously. It marks certainty, 'contrary assumptions', the source of information (inference or perceptual evidence) and an appeal to the hearer to answer. Because of its argumentative function surely can also acquire a deontic bias ('you ought to know this') (cf. Downing 2006: 44). But surely makes reference to contradictory assumptions as is also indicated by but. A woman has been found dead and is believed to have committed suicide. The speaker judges that the hearer should have been worried by the barbiturate in the whisky glass. In addition surely can express a negative attitude if it is clear that the hearer is involved and does not do what he should do: I dare say (expressing uncertainty rather than certainty) suggests that the speaker is contemplating (taking up a position towards) possible reasons why he should not be all right.

Väl interacting with speech acts
Declaratives with kan väl often correspond to an English imperative in the translation. Väl is mitigating and appealing. In (19) the translator has used the emphatic imperative do: (19) Men Natalie stirrade bara ut genom en dimmig ruta som varken vindrutetorkare eller defroster på maxfart kunde rå på. "Ni kan väl vara tysta, barn", bad hon utan att egentligen höra ett ord av vad de sa. (FW1T) But Natalie just said, peering through a misty windscreen, which neither wipers nor demister at full blast would clear: "Do be quiet, children," without actually hearing a word they were saying. (FW1) In (20) please has the similar function to signal that the imperative should be taken as a polite request expressing appeal: Beneath that, smaller type: Give Us a Hand, Huh? (SK1) In (22) the English text uses an imperative followed by a polite tag question ('will you'), corresponding to a declarative with (kan) väl: (22) Om kriminalarna i Norfolk lägger vantarna på Visslaren, kan du väl ta dig en titt på honom åt mig och kolla så att han inte också är vår kille i Battersea?" (PDJ1T) If the Norfolk CID do lay their hands on the Whistler, take a look at him for me, will you, check he isn't our chap in Battersea." (PDJ1) Aren't you going to renders a polite offer made by kan väl (no imposition is involved): (23) Morsan, som gått ut och fixat i köket, sa att du kan väl ha en nattmacka tillsammans med Krister, innan du smiter av. (PP1) Mum, who'd been out doing things in the kitchen, said, Aren't you going to have a sandwich with Christopher before you go home? (PP1T) In (24), neither Swedish not English uses an imperative. The Swedish original ('you can't 'väl' manage to') is translated not by an imperative but by a queclarative containing couldn't with the illocutionary force of a (polite) request: (24) Du rår väl inte med att ta in vattne. (KE2) "You couldn't manage to bring in some water...?" (KE2T) The subject is also important for how väl is interpreted. In examples (24) and (25)  And as for them foul-minded old crows up on the hill who might run back to him with a pack of lies -why don't we just take the back road to the cane field? (GN1) One example contained får väl (Swedish får ='may', 'be allowed to', 'must'). The translator has used 'you'd better' to change the command into a reluctant admission.

Zero correspondences
Zero correspondences were frequent. In 34.6 % of the examples väl had no correspondence in the English translations. In the sources the percentage was even higher (40.9%). In other words, there was no correspondence of väl in the English originals. The examples of nontranslation are interesting because they suggest that väl can lose its meaning in some contexts.
Modal particles frequently occur with other modal expressions. According to Nuyts (2001: 257), 'a quite prominent feature of the particles is that they show a strong tendency to co-occur with other epistemic expression types'. It is also suggested that they appear as 'supportive' only rather than as an 'independent epistemic expression type' (Nuyts, ibidem). As a result a modal expression is not needed for idiomatic reasons in the English translation but is sufficiently expressed by the modal auxiliary. This is an example of a context in which the particle may lose its meaning, illustrated in (28) and (29), where väl has disappeared in the translation. The translator could have translated both antagligen (lit. 'probably') and väl (e.g. I suppose) but is sensitive to how modal concord is expressed in the target language and in many cases chooses a single modal expression. In (32) the English source contains a tag question and the Swedish translation a modal combination (väl and a tag question): (32) För det var väl det du menade, eller hur?" (GN1T) That's what you meant, wasn't it?" (GN1) In (33) the Swedish translation contains a complex modal cluster. Surely corresponds to nog ändå and måste väl to didn't they in the English original: (33) Ett våldsamt åskväder hade skingrat dem innan hon kom hem, men hon såg de slängda plakaten från fönstret i sin limousin. GUD FÖRBANNE ERS KUNGLIG HÖGHET! Ett misstag, tänkte hon, nog måste de väl ändå ha menat "Gud välsigne..."? På kvällen samma dag märkte hon att tjänstefolket var surmulet och samarbetsovilligt. (ST1T) A violent thunderstorm had dispersed them before she returned, but she saw the discarded placards from the window of her limousine. "GOD DAMN YOU MA'AM" An error, she thought, surely they meant "God Bless", didn't they? That evening, she noticed that her staff were surly and uncooperative. (ST1) The translations give evidence of a large number of functions that väl can have. Table 3c below summarises some of the information from the translations: To judge from the correspondences of väl in the CPSF (shown in Table 4a) the French data support many of the observations about the functions of väl made on the basis of the English-Swedish Parallel Corpus. 13 of the correspondences are shared (in particular sans doute, devoir, bien, pourtant). The number of zero-correspondences is roughly the same as in the English translations (38.5). In the source texts it was slightly higher (41.8%).
Similar grammatical means are used in the two languages (see Table  4b). However a difference with English is that French has a 'congruent' modal particle bien placed after the final verb in French. The noncongruent correspondences are adverbs, modal auxiliaries, connectives, clauses. The imperative was also used as a correspondence of väl (in particular as a translation of kan väl). There are several differences from the English correspondences. As mentioned, French uses the modal particle bien with no correspondence in English. Connectives with adversative meaning were not found in the English translations. Negative interrogative sentences were frequent in both French and Swedish but negative 'queclaratives' were only found in the French translations. Finally, the number of zero expressions is somewhat greater in the French translations than in the English translations. The French correspondences thus confirm that väl is both a marker of modality and a question marker.

Väl as a marker of modality
Bien was a frequent translation. Le Petit Robert (1984) defines the meaning of bien as 'réellement', 'véritablement', 'vraiment', 'tout à fait', all of which express certainty and emphasis. Consider the following example: (34) Du ser väl att vi är mitt i skogen (Queffelec ST) Tu vois bien que nous sommes en pleine forêt. (Queffelec FO) Bien after a verb of perception expresses certainty rather than doubt. In (35) bien modifies je le pense. The sentence expresses more certainty than the same sentence without bien. Correspondences of the emphatic use of väl were not found in the English data: Je crois expresses the speaker's reservation to the truth of the sentence and has a hedging function. The translations can spell out a meaning which is not apparent on the basis of a single language. In (38) the meaning is concessive. The speaker went shopping once or twice but it was usually his wife who went. The implication associated with the translation 'il m'est arrivé de' (corresponding to någon gång 'some time') is that the speaker is little involved.

Väl with the function of interactive modality
We also find evidence for the 'question' function of väl. The tag question invites a positive response from the hearer.
In (42) and (43) väl corresponds to a negative-interrogative question also biased towards consent from the hearer: An utterance with väl can also be rendered by a negative declarative sentence intended as a question (as marked by the question mark) and biased towards a positive response (a negative queclarative). These correspondences were not found in the English data but do not seem impossible to use: Väl can also be rendered as pourtant, quand même, tout de même which can have an adversative quality. However as a translation of väl they seem to be used for mitigation rather than for argumentation. In (47) pourtant is used in an affirmative declarative biased towards a positive response ('yes I did').

Summarising French translations of väl
There are both similarities and differences between the English and French translations of väl. Both languages use modal adverbs, modal tags and tag questions. French, however, has a modal particle bien corresponding to väl which is used with emphatic function. The French translations confirm that väl can also express a high degree of certainty and that it often has a hedging or mitigating function. Moreover it is used in interactive contexts to appeal to the hearer and ask for a positive or negative response as indicated by translations as interrogative sentences or 'queclaratives'. It could also be translated by a connective with adversative meaning The translations also show that väl can be used as a conventional marker of appeal in imperatives. Finally, zero correspondences were frequent in both English and French.

Conclusion
The translations give a panoramic picture of how the meanings or functions of väl in the concrete communicative situation have been interpreted by the translator. They are compatible with a description of modal particles as flexible and variable in the context. Moreover the translations can bring out the polysemous nature of väl. The English correspondences of väl in English highlight semantic aspects or sub-functions of väl such as certainty, hedging, asking for a response, appeal, argumentative uses where the speaker pretends to know best. Some of the translations focus on the modal functions of väl to express a high or low degree of certainty while others highlight the function to appeal to the hearer as 'the best knower'. However uncertainty and invitation to the hearer to answer can also be present in the same example (or certainty and opposition). The semantic description of väl must take into account both the speaker's perspective (how certain the speaker is) and the interactive use (asking the hearer to respond). The core aspects have an important role. Väl conventionally expresses a high degree of likelihood but it has developed new interactive uses. We have seen for example that väl was frequently translated with a sentence which could be interpreted as a question. Opposition was another frequent function of väl in interactive discourse. Väl is used by the speaker to take up a stance to contrary assumptions. If the hearer is involved it can acquire a deontic bias (eg you shouldn't do this). The translations also show that väl can express the speaker's negative attitudes such as reproach or annoyance. Väl furthermore interacts with imperatives and can change the command into a polite imperative with an appealing function.