TITLE:
Critical Discourse Analysis of Modal Verbs in 2017 BRICS Talk—A Perspective of Functional Systemic Grammar
AUTHORS:
Xuemei Lu
KEYWORDS:
Modal Verbs, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), BRICS Talk, Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG)
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.3,
March
9,
2022
ABSTRACT: Modality received considerable attention from both a synchronic and
diachronic perspective. Modality can be realized by finite modal operators and
modal adjuncts. This paper tries to analyze modal verbs used by five hosts of
different nations in the 2017 BRICS Talk, a special program made by CGTN ahead
of the ninth BRICS Summit. Based on systemic functional grammar (SFG) on the
sub-systems of modality, five small corpora are established and quantified to
investigate the number, frequency and distribution of modal verbs. Through the
corpus-based research, the author finds that there are similarities and
variations on the use of modal verbs in different anchors, which reveals
different power relations behind their utterances. The findings are interpreted
in terms of individual, cultural differences between the five moderators. This
paper contributes to research that probes into power relations in the context
of media from a CDA perspective and provides further understanding of modality
in the public discourse.