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