DEONTIC MODALITY = CONVEYS THE SPEAKERS COMMISSIVE, DIRECTIVE and VOLITIVE INTENTIONALITY IN
RELATION TO THE FOLLOWING MODAL VERBS:
-COMMISSIVE type of Deontic Modality that conveys the speaker’s commitment to the fullfilment of the
process expressed by the main verb. (ex. I shall be at the airport at ten o’clock)
CAN/COULD = ABILITA’/POTENZIALITA’ WILL=INTENZIONE/PROMESSA
SHALL=PREDIZIONE PROMESSA WILL/WOULD= WILLINGNESS
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-DIRECTIVE type of Deontic Modality that expresses the speaker’s requirement from the listener to conform
to the indication s/he expresses by the main verb
CAN/COULD= PERMESSO
SHOULD/OUGHT TO= ADVICE AND RACCOMANDATION
MIGHT= REQUEST AS RACCOMANDATION
SHALL= PREDIZIONE/ PROMESSA
MUST/HAVE TO/ NEED TO= OBLIGATION
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-VOLITIVE type of Deontic Modality that expresses the speaker’s attitude of hope, wish, or fear in relation to
the process expressed by the main verb of the clause (IMPRECATIVE and OPTATIVE)
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EPISTEMIC MODALITY = CONVEYS THE SPEAKERS DEDUCTIVE/ASSUMPTIVE/SPECULATIVE judgements which are
high, median, low values of epistemic modal verbs.
Palmer complements Halliday’s view by making a clear distinction between two major kinds of Epistemic Modality:
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-JUDGEMENTS (the speaker’s strenght of inference or degree of confidence in the reality of the proposition
expressed by his or her utterance) CAN/COULD.MAY/MIGHT=POSSIBILITY, WILL/WOULD =BELIEFE/CONJECTURES
SHOULD/OUGHT TO=POSSIBILITY/EXPECTATION.MUST/CANT=LOGICAL CONCLUSION (DEDUCTION)
Deductive dimension of Judgement Modality. It signals the speaker’s logical conclusion as it indicates that the
speaker judges from other facts that the proposition expressed by his/her utterance is probably true.
Assumptive dimension of Judgement Modality. It signals the speaker’s belief that his/her statement is based on
facts about what is usually the case in such circumstances
Speculative dimension of Judgement Modality. It signals that the speaker judges from certain facts that the
proposition expressed by his/her utterance is possibly true
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-EVIDENTIALITY (type of Epistemic Modality that connotes the speaker’s assesment the evidence for his/her
statement) CAN/COULD
Quotative Evidential it indicates that someone else is the source of the statement made
Sensory Evidential it indicated that the speaker’s evidence for the truth of his/her statement is derived from the
speaker’s own sensory experience.
