EPISTEMICITY OF WORDS DENOTING CERTAINTY / UNCERTAINTY

The article explores epistemic nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs that convey different levels of confidence/uncertainty. material the study was a selection fiction texts modern English literature for 1 million words. nature words used to indicate certainty / uncertainty is studied. Epistemicity defined as property manifest properties calculated ratio number (EW) total indicating in according formula Eep÷Et*100%, where Eep uses word, Et this word selection. place EWs utterances considered were separated from non-epistemic ones. Epistemic adjectives, nouns occur affirmative, negative, interrogative object-determining before subordinate part statement. verbs interjections any utterance, marking it epistemically. EW are not past future tenses phrases with personal pronouns other than I, we positive you questions. We also impersonal expressions. cannot be adjacent words, discursive markers, action. analysis 28 showed epistemicity ranges 0‒95%, most think, seem, know, see. For 21 0‒75%, sure, impossible possible, certain, possible. Adverbs show highest level (50‒100%), among 25 maybe, really, probably, kind of, sort perhaps often. Nouns lowest range 0‒50%, 17 fact, feeling, doubt, idea, chance often used.