Differences in the Perceived Reliability of Information Expressed by the Four Evidentials in Contemporary Bulgarian: a Survey-based Study

Krasimira Aleksova
Mihaela Moskova,
Danka Apostolova,
Yana Sivilova,
Laska Laskova,
Patrik Mihaylov
Sofia University
Institute for Bulgarian Language Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2024-6-5KM

Abstract. This study analyzes the differences between the indicative, inferential, renarrative and dubitative forms in contemporary Bulgarian based on their perceived degree of reliability, as evaluated through a survey conducted with 950 Bulgarian native speakers. The primary objective is to investigate how they perceive distinctions in reliability across six experimental scenarios that combine forms of all four evidentials. The results are used to examine the degrees of reliability in each pair of evidentials. Additionally, the study revisits the discussion on whether subordinate relationship exists between the features of subjectivity and renarrativity (reportedness) which form the oppositions between the four evidentials in contemporary Bulgarian.
Keywords: contemporary Bulgarian language; evidentiality; indicative; conclusive; renarrative; dubitative; subjectivity; renarrativity (reportedness); survey; reliability distance; perceptual linguistics

Свързани статии:

The Evidentiality of the Bulgarian Verb in Learning Bulgarian as a Foreign Language The Replacement of the Imperfect Active Participle by the Aorist Active Participle in Modern Bulgarian: a Linguodidactological Perspective The Acquisition of the Conclusive in Bulgarian as a Foreign Language Preferences for Competing Temporal Forms in Subordinate Clauses in Contemporary Bulgarian. An Analysis of Survey Data