154 Epistemic Parentheticals
hardly ever expressed adverbially in OE and ME” (221– 222). In addition to
truth intensifi ers ( soðlice , gewislice , witodlice , cuðlice ), OE has a number
of adverbs expressing evidential epistemicity ( sweotole , weotollice , openlice
‘clearly, evidently, plainly’); however, the latter are not truly disjunctive and
often express manner meanings. González- Álvarez ( 1996 : 222– 223) concludes
that “unambiguous evidential epistemicity is thus not generally expressed
adverbially in OE.” She points to a number of very rare forms used to express
low- probability logical evaluation: uncuð ‘unknown,’ wenunga ‘possibly, per-
haps, by chance,’ and gewene ‘perhaps.’
5.6.1.2 Epistemic Periphrastic Constructions. Rather than adverbi-
als, Old English has various periphrastic constructions for the expression of
epistemic modality, typically consisting of be + Adj + that (the adjective is
often one from which the epistemic adverbial later derives).^21 A list of these
forms is given by Swan ( 1988b : 128, 132; cf. also Goossens 1982 : 81– 82;
González- Álvarez 1996 : 223). The most important is wen is þæt ‘it is doubt-
less’ (defi ned in BT as ‘perhaps, perchance, may be, probably’; glossed ‘per-
haps’ by Gorrell [ 1895 : 386]). Indeed, Goossens ( 1982 : 82, 84) sees wen is as
the only important marker of Old English. Other forms include the following:
hit is sweotol þæt ‘it is clear that’ genog sweotol hit it þæt ‘it is clear enough that’
hit is soð þæt ‘it is true that’ genog open hit is ‘it is quite clear’
þæt cuð is þæt ‘it is quite clear that’ ys to gewisse ‘is certainly’
nis nan tweo ‘is no doubt’ nis þæt to geortrywianne ‘is not to be doubted’
buton tweon hit is soð ‘doubtless it is true’
21 Similar forms are also found in Middle English: þis is sikir, is it cleer and certeyn, it is pleyn,
it is vnpossybyl þat, it wer possibyl þat, soth it es (see Swan 1988b : 296).
Goossens ( 1982 ; also González- Álvarez 1996 : 223) also points to the use of
preterit- present magan with the adverb well or eaþe meaning ‘easily, possibly,
perhaps’ (s.v. BTS eaþe , def. II). Finally, Gorrell ( 1895 : 396) argues that witan
þeah should be translated ‘very probably’ and ic wat þeah þu wene as ‘prob-
ably you think.’
5.6.1.3 Epistemic Parentheticals. The existence of several fi rst- person
parentheticals in Old English is mentioned in the literature (see Goossens
1982 : 82; Swan 1988b : 132; González- Álvarez 1996 : 223; Swan 1988b :132). The
forms recognized include the following:
ic wene (þæt) ‘I suppose, believe (that)’
ic teohhi(g)e (þæt) ‘I presume, think (that)’
ic hopige (þæt) ‘I suppose (that)’
me þincð (þæt) ‘I think (that)’