Understanding Modality and its Role in Language: Epistemic and Deontic Perspectives, Slides of Psychology

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Modality and the editorial

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 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 o’clock. He’s got school tomorrow’ is an order or obligation

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

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 can’t have left’ (epistemic) from You can’t leave now (deontic)

A PERSONAL VIEW

• Modality is the speaker’s 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 non- temporal 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

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 speaker’s choice of modal expressions signals both the degree and type of involvement a speaker has in the content of his/her message

Type of modality: Epistemic

• Epistemic or extrinsic modality: commitment to the truth of the proposition: i.e. the speaker’s 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