A Cognitive Study On Modals In English Medical Instructions

Modality has always been the focus of logic and philosophy. The development of linguistics witnessed the growing interest of researchers in this topic at home and abroad. Linguists have done extensive researches into modality with various methods and received different findings. Naturally, these studies have their own strengths, and limitations as well. Most researchers limited the discourse to literary works, speeches and classroom dialogues, etc, while it lacks the analysis of modal verbs (modals for short) in practical writing. This thesis attempts to analyze modals in English Medical Instructions (EMIs for short) from a cognitive perspective by using the force dynamic, dynamic evolutionary model and prototype category theory. The thesis owns two purposes. One is to illustrate the meanings of modals in the selected EMIs and interpret the way how the meanings generate; the second is to summarize the general patterns of modals in EMIs which is expected to help the language receiver having a full understanding and to apply the modals in a more comprehensive and appropriate way.The thesis is composed of five chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction to the thesis, encompassing rationale of the thesis, research questions, object, research procedure and methodology, and the organization of the thesis. Chapter two traces the historical study of modals in both the functional and cognitive perspectives at length, which serves as a literary review on the research work concerning the modals, modality and provides a research review of EMIs in the linguistic studies. Chapter three constructs a cognitive model for the modals in EMIs, drawing the force dynamic theory, dynamic evolutionary model and prototype theory. Chapter four will give a concrete analysis of the modals in EMIs from cognitive perspectives. At this stage, the main purpose is to present how an analysis in terms of force dynamics, dynamic evolutionary model and prototype category can account for the semantic interpretations of the modals in EMIs. Chapter five, the concluding section, will summarize a number of drawbacks and limitations of this research both for the analysis of modals and for the study EMIs to show the necessity of future research in this field.This thesis is a tentative attempt to explore modals in EMIs within the framework of cognitive linguistic theories, which hopes that the theoretical and practical significance of the analysis of modals can provide the inspirations and novel insights in the academic fields of researching modals.