Interpreting texts
Texts occur and are understood in their
discourse settings which comprise all the
linguistic, situational, social, psychological and
pragmatic factors that influence the
interpretation of any instance of language in
use
Modality
A term used in syntactic and semantic
analysis to refer to meanings connected with
degrees of necessity, obligation or desirability
It is expressed mainly by verbs but also by
associated forms
Modality is a general term which describes
unrealised states and possible conditions
and the forms of language which encode them
such as:
possibly, perhaps, could be, should be and
ought to be
Modality is normally conveyed by modal verbs
Modal verbs
May express more than one kind of modality
E.g He must be in bed, because we have
looked everywhere else is a conjecture
He must be in bed by nine oclock. Hes got
school tomorrow is an order or obligation
The interpersonal function of
language
the speakers or writers attitude towards or
point of view about a state of the world
Certainty or possibility or probability
Trying to get things done or trying to control
the course of events; degrees of obligation
and whether something is necessary,
desirable permitted or forbidden, volition and
instructions
Modal adverbs
Modality can also be signalled by modal
adverbs such as: possibly, probably,
presumably, definitely - as well as by related
adjectives or nouns
Functions of modal forms
Modal forms are an interpersonal aspect of
grammar and are central to all spoken and
written language use
In conversational discourse they serve to
mark out personal relationships and to convey
important features such as politeness,
indirectness, assertiveness etc
Subjective assessment
Modality in language underlines our
subjective assessment of things
E.g adverbs like: probably, generally,
apparently;
Phrases like: it is certain, I am sure
Verbs such as: it seems, it appears
Or the use of the present tense
Degrees of subjectivity
All these encode different degrees of
subjective response in the view of the speaker
or writer
Forms and meanings
Modality also covers indications either of a
kind of speech act or the degree of certainty
with which something is said
He left at once differs in modality from Leave
at once
He cant have left(epistemic) from You cant
leave now (deontic)
Forms and meanings
contd
You must leave (obligation) differs from You
can leave if you like (permission)
perhaps he has left differs from He has
definitely left
A PERSONAL VIEW
Modality is the speakers assessment of the
probabilities inherent in the situation
(epistemic modality)or of the rights and duties
(deontic modality)
It allows the speaker to introduce a personal,
subjective view of the non-factual and nontemporal event
Interpersonal meanings
Modality is concerned with assertion and
assertiveness, tentativeness, commitment,
detachment and other crucial aspects of
interpersonal meaning (as opposed to
ideational or content meanings)
They form a part of the tenor of discourse
They are part of how a person presents
his/her self through language
Two things
Verb phrases without a modal auxiliary are
about the subject of a sentence. They state
a proposition
Statements or questions which contain a
modal auxiliary are about two things:
1. the proposition and
2. the speakers or (in the case of questions)
the listeners opinion or judgement of it
assertion
All messages choose some form of modality
even if it is only the neutral choice of bold
assertion absence of explicit modality still
expresses a high degree of certainty
The simple present is used to express
universal truths
The sun rises in the east
Wood floats on water
Signalling involvement
The speakers choice of modal expressions
signals both the degree and type of
involvement a speaker has in the content of
his/her message
Distancing
So called past forms are not related to past
time but rather to remoteness or distance this
can be in terms of:
time,
relationship or
likelihood.
This is useful to remember when looking at
politeness conventions and issues of register
Type of modality:
Epistemic
Epistemic or extrinsic modality: commitment
to the truth of the proposition: i.e. the
speakers confidence in the truth of the
proposition expressed, and reflect the
certainty and the authority of these
propositions.
It refers to the logical status of events or
states, assessments of likelihood. Associated
with confidence and lack of confidence but
also with power and authority
Type of modality 2: Deontic or
intrinsic modality
The system of duty, attitude to the degree of
obligation which the speaker does not expect
to be disputed on.
Associated with power and formality
Directives (warnings, requests, advice,
suggestions, permissions)
Commands, instructions
Forms expressing
modality
Epistemic: modal verbs, modal lexical verbs,
modal adverbs, phrases and expressions,
perception verbs
Deontic: modal verbs, deontic expressions,
evaluative adverbs and adjectives
Degrees of modality
(LOW) Permission - volition - duty -
obligation insistence - command (HIGH)
(LOW) Possibility - probability logical necessity prediction factuality (HIGH)
Idiomatic phrases with modal
meanings
Be to (for orders, fixed events, desirable
states, hypothetical future)
Be going to (firm predictions based on
evidence at time of speaking)
Had better (desirable or advisable actions)
Have got to (obligations from outside)
Would rather (preferring one state to another)
Other modal expressions with
be
Be about to
Be able to
Be bound to
Be due to
Be likely to
Be meant to
Be obliged to
Be supposed to
be sure to
More modal meanings
Nouns, adjectives and adverbs like
appearance, apparent, apparently
certainty, certain, certainly
Evidence, evident, evidently
Inevitability, inevitable, inevitably
Necessity, necessary, necessarily
Possibility, possible, possibly
Probability, probable, probably
Some informal
expressions
For certain
For definite
For sure
Modality can tell us how a person feels about
what they are telling us, their stance or
attitude, whether they are assertive or
tentative, how committed or how detached
they are and other crucial aspects of
interpersonal meaning. It is part of the tenor
of discourse
It is more than just modal verbs
stance is a refracting and
structuring medium
Different newspapers and news broadcasts
report differently, both in content and
presentation
They express affiliations and disaffections in
the way they represent or mediate by means
of transformation or differential treatment in
presentation
The editorial is the voice of the papers
opinions
Exploring stance
How speakers and writers pass judgements on
people generally,
on other writers and speakers and their
utterances, on material objects, on
happenings and states of affairs
and thereby form alliances with those who
share these views
and distance themselves from those who
dont
Exploring
How attitudes, judgements and emotive
responses are explicitly presented in texts
and how they can be more indirectly
implied, presupposed or assumed.
How the expression of such attitudes and
judgements is, in many instances, carefully
managed so as to take into account the ever
present possibility of challenge or
contradiction from those who hold differing
views.
Reporting and
commenting
Editorial
Voice of the newspaper
Unsigned
Op-ed (opposite the editorial)
Comment article
Functions of the editorial
Persuade
Create a consensus of opinion with the
readers
Matter of Consent
The Times January 17, 2008
Convincing many more people to register as organ
donors is the right approach
Give us justice
The Sun January 17, 2008
POLICE catch criminals. Courts punish them.
Thats the bargain between citizen and state. We
call it justice.
But justice means nothing when decent parents
are murdered on their doorstep by drunken thugs.
Editorial language
Emotive vocabulary
Modality authority
Generic statements (show authority, the
editorial claims total knowledge)
Argumentative e.g. rhetorical questions
Pronouns - we
A PERSONAL VIEW
Modality is the speakers assessment of the
probabilities inherent in the situation
(epistemic modality)or of the rights and duties
(deontic modality)
It allows the speaker to introduce a personal,
subjective view of the non-factual and nontemporal event
The right to assess or
appraise
Stance, appraisal and assessment are all
about relative positions
Who is in a position to appraise
Positions of authority
Voice of the Mirror
Respect is due for our soldiers
The disgraceful protests against soldiers in
the Royal Anglian Regiment returning
home have no place in Britain.
Those men who were waving placards that
attack our brave soldiers as "butchers"
only shamed themselves.
Our soldiers have a right to respect and
pride when they return from a tour of duty.
They have given their all for their country.
The Sun says
Mob rule
OUR brave troops have enough to put up with as they risk
life and limb in Afghanistan and Iraq.
To top it all, now they fly home to vicious abuse from Islamic
fanatics.
The Royal Anglians had to face a chanting mob waving grotesque
placards accusing THEM of terrorism and child murder.
Astonishingly, this despicable demo went ahead with police
approval.
When it turned predictably ugly, who did our brave bobbies
arrest?
Not the extremists who started the trouble, but a couple
of locals who rallied to Our Boys defence.
Voice of the Mirror
Blacklists ruin lives
Blacklisting workers is wrong and must be
stamped out completely.
The disclosure that some of Britain's biggest
companies secretly banned individuals from
jobs demands a strong Government response.
Men and women deprived of their livelihoods
were unable to challenge allegations that
were often inaccurate.
And a person's political views should never
be a bar to employment in a democracy.
International paedophile register is
needed
The worrying case of the convicted
paedophile found working as a children's
nurse in an NHS hospital raises serious issues.
The need for a comprehensive, international
register is clear so paedophiles aren't able to
sneak undetected from country to country.
The safety of our kids must never be
compromised
