Epistemic distance
In addition to its time reference function, tense can also signal epistemic distance. In other words, polysemy is not restricted to the open-class elements: tense, as part of the closed-class semantic system also exhibits polysemy. This means that the tense system has a range of distinct schematic meanings associated with it (Tyler and Evans 2001a). One illustration of this point relates to the use of tense in hypothetical constructions such as ‘if A then B’, which we briefly discuss in this section. Consider example (16).
A and B refer to the two propositions that make up this complex sentence. In example (16), A stands for the antecedent: the President agrees with the senator’s funding request and B stands for the consequent: the senator has nothing to worry about. According to Mental Spaces Theory, ‘if A then B’ constructions set up two successive spaces in addition to the base which is the reality space. The two successive spaces are the foundation space and the expansion space. The foundation space is a hypothetical space set up by the space builder if. The expansion space is set up by the space builder then. While the foundation space is hypo thetical relative to the base, whatever holds in the expansion space is ‘fact’ relative to the foundation space, in the sense that it is entailed by the information in the foundation space (see Figure 11.22).
In other words, if A (the foundation) holds, then B (the expansion) follows. In order to uncover the role of ‘if A then B’ constructions in epistemic distance, consider the sentences in example (17).
The first sentence expresses a neutral epistemic stance while the second expresses epistemic distance. Epistemic stance relates to the speaker’s assessment of how likely a particular foundation-expansion sequence is relative to a particular reality base space. As we have seen, the term ‘epistemic’ relates to the speaker’s knowledge or opinion concerning likelihood, possibility, certainty or doubt, and the terms ‘epistemic stance’ and ‘epistemic distance’ both rely on the speaker’s metaphorical ‘distance’ from a particular state of affairs: the speaker’s ‘position’ or judgement regarding the likelihood of a particular situation coming about. Notice that in sentence (17a), the if clause is in the present tense, although it refers to (hypothetical) future time. This example illustrates that the English present tense is not restricted to referring to present time. In (17a), the speaker is making no assessment in relation to epistemic distance; this sentence is purely hypothetical. In other words, the speaker takes a neutral or ‘open’ position with respect to the likelihood of winning the lottery. Observe that this sentence would be appropriate in a context in which the speaker regularly plays the lottery and therefore has a chance of winning.
The sentence in (17b) is also a hypothetical, but here the speaker is indicating epistemic distance by the use of the past tense in the if clause. This sentence might be uttered in a scenario in which the speaker doesn’t actually play the lottery, or judges his or her chances of success as minimal or non-existent. This type of if . . . then . . .sentence, which refers to a non-existent situation, is called a counterfactual. Finally, compare the form of the modal verbs in the then clauses in these two examples. The form will in (17a) is traditionally described as the present tense form, while the form would in (17b) is described as the past tense form.
As the examples in (17) illustrate, the tense system can be used for more than signalling reference time. It can also be used to signal epistemic stance. The examples considered so far have not been marked for grammatical aspect: (17a) is in the ‘simple present’ and (17b) is in the ‘simple past’. However, if we introduce perfect aspect into the if clause, the result is striking. Consider the following example:
This counterfactual example is in the past perfect form and is therefore marked for both past tense and perfect aspect. The result is increased epistemic distance. This example might be appropriate in a context where the speaker did in fact play the lottery but lost.
