Abstrct The function of epistemic modal words can be negatively transferred to a prag-matic function in specific contexts,appearing"pseudo-conjecture"in semantics,and being used as a tone-softening marker in pragmatics.Externally,pseudo-conjecture protects the face of the listener and follows the principle of politeness by softening and weakening the tone.Internally,it highlights the speaker's cautious attitude and leaves leeway for the speaker himself.According to the context used,it can be divided into the polite expression type,the disclaimer statement type,the reserved recognition type,and the metaphorical consent type.Pseudo-conjecture is most commonly used in polite expressions,which is es-sentially a pragmatic strategy adopted by the speaker to intentionally adjust the subjective probability difference between the current information and the listener's expectation,which can be named"counter-expectation reduction".The modal words in pseudo speculative sen-tences do not affect the speaker's judgment of the certainty of the proposition,and the mis-match between their cognitive state and cognitive stance is always due to some communica-tive intention.The listener can obtain the true conversational meaning through pragmatic in-ference.
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