The subjunctive as a linguistic expression of the core of emotions

A contribution to Wiltschko’s (2024) view on constructed emotions

Abstract

This short essay discusses the syntactic implications of Wiltschko’s (2024) proposal concerning the structure of emotions. Based on a generative analysis of embedded subjunctive clauses cross-linguistically, it argues that the emotive component associated with the subjuncti­ve mood originates in a sub-component of the predicates licensing embedded subjunctives. This emotive component is interpreted as an attitude of desire, with respect to the situation described by the embedded clause. More specifically we argue that the relevant predicates are decomposed into a set of hierarchically organised functional projections, the highest one headed by a bouletic operator—syntactically realised as a [BOUL] feature. We contend that this feature is responsible both for the interpretation of the external argument as the bearer of an emotion and for the syntactic licensing of the subjunctive mood. That the expression of emotions is syntactically encoded into complex structures may shed light on the structure of both the linguistic and psy­chological structures of emotions.