Mood and Modality in Beja

version avant révision Two intriguing, and crosslinguistically unfrequent, formal means for the expression of modality are discussed in this paper: (i) the cliticization of a nominal copula to finite verb forms, and (ii) the cliticization of a special set of bound object pronouns to finite verb forms. The source and direction of evolution of these constructions are discussed in light of typological data embedded in a more general perspective concerning the commonalities between focus construction and deontic modality