Annotatsiaya

Modality
In semiotics, a modality is a particular way in which information is to be encoded for presentation to humans, i.e. to the type of sign and to the status of reality ascribed to or claimed by a sign, text or genre. It is more closely associated with the semiotics of Charles Peirce (1839–1914) than Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) because meaning is conceived as an effect of a set of signs. In the Peircean model, a reference is made to an object when the sign (or representamen) is interpreted recursively by another sign (which becomes its interpretant), a conception of meaning that does in fact imply a classification of sign types.
Modality is one of the two ingredient parts of predication, the other being temporality. Modality and temporality are the two ingredient parts of predication.
Modality is the speaker’s attitude towards what he is speaking about. In the wide sense of the word it is any attitude - in this meaning it is normally used in literal criticism meaning the emotional key-note. According to the narrower approach modality as the speaker’s attitude from the point of view of the reality of the action - the degree of reality of the action. In the later approach two spheres of modality are to be distinguished:
- modality of reality/unreality proper which is usually marked by the category of mood - the morphological way of expressing modality;
- modality of necessity, probability, which is usually expressed by means modal verbs, words and expressions.
Modality always carries some elements of subjectivity which is clear from the very definition, but considering the two spheres we see, 1st sphere is more objective and the 2nd is more subjective.
Modality can be expressed at all the lingual levels:
- phonetically (intonation, emphatic stresses);
- lexically (modal verbs, phrases, words);
- grammatically (morphologically - morphologically modality is marked by the Moods);
- syntactically it can be expressed by certain syntactic structures which are not special ways of expressing modality but which may acquire some special modal change: tags, pseudo-questions and pseudo-subordinate clauses (And he is a scoundrel, that brother of yours. You ’re ready, aren't you? (in both cases - the modality of reality and assurance)). By pseudo-questions we mean sentences which are constructed like questions, but which are not questions but assertions: Do you know him? - Do I know him! (Мне ли его не гнать!) By pseudo-subordinate clauses we mean constructions, which look like subordinate clauses, which are introduced by certain subordinate conjunctions, but which are also complete assertions: As if you have never heard of it! - Как будто ты не знаешь об этом! All these structures are expressively charged and they all carry the subjective modality of assurance and the objective modality of reality.
Modality can also be expressed through nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
Modal nouns: possibility, probability, certainty, obligation, necessity, requirement
Modal adjectives: possible, probable, obligatory, necessary, required, determined, likely, certain
Modal adverbs: possibly, probably, maybe, perhaps, sometimes, always, never, certainly, definitely
Epistemic vs. deontic modality
Epistemic modals are used to indicate the possibility or necessity of some piece of knowledge. In the epistemic use, modals can be interpreted as indicating inference or some other process of reasoning involved in coming to the conclusion stated in the sentence containing the modal. However, epistemic modals do not necessarily require inference, reasoning, or evidence. One effect of using an epistemic modal (as opposed to not using one) is a general weakening of the speaker's commitment to the truth of the sentence containing the modal. However, it is disputed whether the function of modals is to indicate this weakening of commitment, or whether the weakening is a by-product of some other aspect of the modal's meaning.
Examples of the expression of epistemic modality in English are: he might be there (low probability, substantial doubt), He may be there (possibility), He should be there by now (high probability), and He must be there by now (certitude, no doubt).
In contrast, deontic modality is concerned with possibility and necessity in terms of freedom to act (including ability, permission, and duty). English examples include She can go (ability), You may go (permission), You should go (request), and You must go (command). In English as in many other languages, some of the same words are used for deontic modality as for epistemic modality, and the meaning is distinguished from context: He must be there by now (epistemic) versus He must be there tomorrow at noon (deontic).
Sentences with only one predication are called simple sentences. Those with more than one predication have usually no general name. We shall call them composite sentences.
In a composite sentence each predication together with the words attached is called a clause.
Composite sentences with coordinated clauses are compound sentences.
She's a very faithful creature and I trust her. (Cronin).
Composite sentences containing subordinated clauses are complex sentences.
If I let this chance slip, I'm a fool. (Cronin).
In a complex sentence we distinguish the principal clause (I'm a fool) and the subordinate clause (If I let this chance slip) or clauses.
Standing on such ground, I would like to point out tasks and aims of my work
1. The first task of my work is to give definition to term «sentence».
2. The second task is to give the classification of sentences in English.
3. The last task of my work is to characterize types of composite sentences.
In our opinion the practical significance of our work is hard to be overvalued. This work reflects modern trends in linguistics and we hope it would serve as a good manual for those who wants to master modern English language. Also this work can be used by teachers of English language for teaching English grammar.
The present work might find a good way of implying in the following spheres:
1. In High Schools and scientific circles of linguistic kind it can be successfully used by teachers and philologists as modern material for writing research works dealing with English verbs.
2. It can be used by teachers of schools, lyceums and colleges by teachers of English as a practical manual for teaching English grammar.
3. It can be useful for everyone who wants to enlarge his/her knowledge in English.
After having proved the actuality of our work, I would like to describe the composition of it:
My work consists of four parts: introduction, the main part, conclusion and bibliography. Within the introduction part we gave the brief description of our course paper. The main part of the work includes several items. There we discussed such problems as the types of sentences in English, their classification, the problem of composite sentences and etc. In the conclusion to our work we tried to draw some results from the scientific investigations made within the present course paper. In bibliography part we mentioned some sources which were used while compiling the present work. It includes linguistic books and articles dealing with the theme, a number of used dictionaries and encyclopedias and also some internet sources.