hedge epistemic modal disjunct - Latejami messages

Hi Rick,

I think there's some problem with the hedge epistemic modal disjunct. The polarity characterises the surprisingness of the _true_ statement.

    gaytay    It is true that ... even though there MAY be
                    reason to think otherwise.

    bigaytay  It is true that ... even though there is
                    every reason to think otherwise.

    gegaytay  It is true that ... even though there is good
                    reason to think otherwise.

    jangaytay It is true that ... even though there is
                    reason to think otherwise.

    vogaytay  It is true that ... even though there is a
                    small amount of evidence to think otherwise.

    zugaytay  It is true that ... even though there is a
                    tiny amount of evidence to think otherwise.

    jugaytay  It is NOT true that ... even though there may be
                    reason to think otherwise.

    gaytayne  It is true that ..., but what reason is there to
                    think so?

The word "jugaytay" absolutely violates this pattern, as it modifies the truth of the statement, not it's surprisingness. It must mean "it is true that ... 'even though' there is no evidence to think otherwise" = "It's no surprise that ..."

In other words, you could also make a list like this:

gaytay - It may be a suprise that ...

bigaytay - It is a miracle that ...

gegaytay - It is a big surprise that ...

jangaytay - It is a suprise that ...

vogaytay - It is a little surprise that ...

zugaytay - It is no big surprise that ...

jugaytay - It is no surprise that ...

gaytayne - Why is it a surprise that ...?

Hm, anyway, I think your sentence for "gaytayne" should be "It is true that ..., but what reason is there to think _otherwise_?"

Regards,

Stephan