An Analysis Of The Evolution Of English Modality: From The Perspective Of Historical Pragmatics

Modality is concerned with subjective characteristics of an utterance, involving expressions of necessity, permissibility, probability, as well as negations of them in the domain of linguistics. It has undergone constant evolution with its dramatic alterations in meaning and usage.Modality has always been one of the most pervasive and intriguing issues for scholars in logic, philosophy, and especially in linguistics. The study of modality can be traced back to Aristotle's era. Studies have been approached from the perspectives of traditional and transformative-generative grammar, semantics, systemic-functional grammar, pragmatics, and typology by scholars in different domains. Such studies, however, are relatively separated, and cannot be reached within a whole framework. In addition, such previous researches are mainly conducted from the synchronic perspective, with few emphases on the diachronic perspective which are limited in the aspects of syntax and semantics.Historical pragmatics is a newly derived discipline dealing with language change as well as its motive and mechanism, with its focus on the communicative use of language, which inaugurates the renaissance of historical linguistics. With the employment of both synchronic and diachronic research approaches and adoption of historical data from both spoken and written texts, this discipline makes it distinguished from traditional pragmatics which focuses on spoken texts and historical linguistics which emphasizes on written texts. The evolution of data is approached from two main branches of historical pragmatics, viz. pragmaphilology and diachronic pragmatics. The latter includes two subcategories, namely, form-to-function mapping and function-to-form mapping.This thesis attempts to explore the evolution of English modality within the framework of form-to-function mapping, investigating how the transference accomplished from original independent verbs to functional words, and further to more functional grammatical elements (i.e. the component of the subjunctive mood), and seeking its motives as well as mechanisms.It is argued that the evolution of English modality is actually a process of grammaticalization which contains internal change and external change. This process is motivated by internal factors such as strategic interaction, pragmatic inference, and external factors like social-cultural influences, iconicity, and language acquisition. It is conducted under the mechanisms of reanalysis, analogy, and fossilization and vanishing.This thesis is composed of seven chapters. Chapter One is an introduction, which outlines the background and purposes of the study, its data, methodology as well as the structure of the thesis. Chapter Two releases the definition and classification of English modality, and reviews previous researches on English modality from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. Chapter Three provides a theoretical background for analysis of English modality. Historical pragmatics is introduced from its origin, scope, and methodology. Then grammaticalization is approached with a general introduction. Chapter Four describes the evolution of English modality in a diachronic form-to-function mapping framework, taking the subjunctive mood and five modal auxiliaries, viz. must, can, may, will, and ought to as its case study. Based on the study of Chapter Four, Chapter Five explores the factors which motivate the evolution of modality in English. Chapter Six explores its mechanisms. Chapter Seven concludes the thesis by summarizing the major findings of the study, pinpointing its significance, acknowledging its limitations, and then offering some suggestions for further research.