Future Times, Future Tenses

This insightful work explores how the future is conveyed in various languages, linking linguistic and philosophical perspectives on time and modality. Future Times, Future Tenses provides a comprehensive analysis.

In Future Times, Future Tenses, the author explores the multifaceted ways in which the future is expressed across various languages. The book delves into the intricate relationships between tense, aspect, and modality, highlighting how these linguistic elements interact with broader philosophical themes of time and modality. By examining languages such as French, Polish, Basque, Turkish, and West Greenlandic, the text reveals that the future is not a fixed entity but rather a fluid and often indeterminate concept. This perspective invites readers to reconsider traditional notions of future tense and its implications in linguistics.

The discourse surrounding future reference has gained significant attention in contemporary linguistics, with debates centering on the interplay between future tense and future time, as well as the semantics of possible worlds. Future Times, Future Tenses seeks to address these critical discussions by integrating linguistic and philosophical viewpoints, offering a comprehensive examination of the subject. Scholars from diverse backgrounds contribute their insights, drawing from linguistic typology, formal semantics, pragmatics, and the philosophy of language.

Ultimately, this book challenges the established understanding of future tense markers and emphasizes the interconnectedness of linguistic, logical, metaphysical, ontological, and epistemological issues related to the future. By linking linguistic considerations of tense and aspect to philosophical approaches, Future Times, Future Tenses serves as a valuable resource for anyone engaged in the study of time, tense, and temporal reference.