A metalinguistic analysis of the terminology of evidential categories: experiential, conjecture or deduced?

Abstract While evidential categories have similar meanings and uses cross-linguistically, the names given to tend vary. This article surveys terms for evidentials used in descriptive grammars of 51 languages that at least three categories. Comparing find common terminological tendencies can provide useful insights into descriptions There is great deal term synonymy polysemy, but each category has its typical are semantically motivated. The result emphasizing different semantic aspects categories, which leads variable choices. overlap between involving sensory perception (i.e. visual, direct, nonvisual evidentials), inference, second-hand information, suggests they may not always be considered sufficiently conceptually distinct merit unique terms, especially when inferential assumptive frequently created from same words. variation terminology also connected how understanding evidentiality relationship other adjacent developed.