MODAL MODIFIERS AS THE MAIN MEANS OF REALIZATION OF MODAL SEMANTICS IN MODERN CHINESE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of modal modifiers as the main means of realization of modal semantics in modern Chinese. At the moment, the research of the sinological direction is quite popular and offers different approaches to the study of the Chinese language. We can say that communicatively directed research of a language allows to thoroughly explore it and solve a whole range of scientific problems. Modality as conceptual and as a semantic category is a separate object for functionalistic research. The article touches upon the fact, that modality actually denotes the interpretation of phenomena and facts of the surrounding reality and the choice of appropriate formal means for the verbalization of certain fragments of extralingual reality in accordance with the concepts enshrined in its cognitive space. We consider the modal modifiers (modal verbs, adverbs, particles) as one of the central means of realizing semantics of modality. Modal modifiers represent lexical modality, the system of modal modifiers in the Chinese language is rather extensive and serves as a formal means for implementing modality.
Modal verbs in contemporary Chinese can realize the semantics of opportunity, necessity, opacity and motivation. Being the central components of the realization of one meaning, modal verbs also have the ability to be peripheral components of the implementation of another value within the category. The function of modal adverbs is to express the semantics of reliability, confidence, clarification, doubt, obligation, motivation, desire, accentuation, etc. Just like modal verbs and adverbs, modal particles are a means of implementing modality in the modern Chinese language. In terms of modality, it is a compulsory element, since it is used to show the connection between sentence and linguistic situation, as well as to meet the needs of the listener, to promote communication.
Thus, the study of a system of modal modifiers is an analysis of the entire system of interconnected language means, which serve to express a complex of semantic features and their variants within the semantic category of modality in the modern Chinese language.