TYPES OF MODALITY IN THE ARABIC JOURNALISTIC DISCOURSE

Abstract

This article aims to provide a systematic analysis of the types of modality found in contemporary Arabic journalistic discourse. The purpose of this study is to develop a semantic-pragmatic classification of objective and subjective modal meanings and to determine their role in shaping journalistic discourse. The article sets out to trace the connection between formal means of expressing modality and the genre nature of journalistic utterances in the contemporary Arab media space. The following methods were used to address these objectives: the descriptive method – to systematize the theoretical and methodological foundations underlying the study; linguistic pragmatic analysis – to classify lexical-grammatical and intonational means of expressing modality in the context of their discourseforming role (the formation of various speech genres); contextual analysis – to clarify the influence of context and presuppositions on the interpretation of the semantic-pragmatic spectrum of various types of modal meanings in contemporary Arabic journalism. The results of the study indicate that modality in Arabic journalistic discourse is a fundamental semanticpragmatic category that extends beyond the boundaries of a single sentence and structures the entire scope of a media message; that is, it plays a discourse-constituting role as an element in the construction of various speech genres within the studied material. It has been found that modality, realized in two main types – objective and subjective – with several subtypes, is expressed formally (explicitly) and implicitly. The formal expression of objective and subjective modality in Arabic journalistic discourse is realized through lexical-grammatical and intonational means. The implicit expression of modality, linked to the interpretation of the addresser’s emotional and evaluative attitude toward the discourse, is established within the context and presuppositions of contemporary Arabic journalistic discourse. This leads to the conclusion that without a semantic-pragmatic approach to modality as a discourse-constituting category, it is impossible to interpret its meaning and role in communication comprehensively. A potential application of this study’s results is the creation of a linguistic pragmatic typology of discourse types in the context of expressing corresponding modal meanings.