An Analysis Of The Modality System In The UNCAC

As the main semantic carrier of interpersonal function, modality has gained an important position beyond logic and traditional grammar. Nowadays, it has caught the attention of linguists in the world and has been studied mainly in literature or general legislative discourse such as domestic law discourse. As one of sources of international law, international convention is somewhat different from general law, specifically, from domestic law, in making or enforcement. Therefore, the author intends to explore modality in international convention and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) has been chosen as the research data. Has modality been employed in the UNCAC? If so, are there any specific features in the adoption of modality in the Convention? Bearing these questions in mind the author carries out the following research.The research aims to describe the specific features of the modality system in the Convention, to explore the interpersonal meaning revealed by the modality system, to provide a theoretical framework as well as practical reference for analyzing international convention from a linguistic perspective, and to promote cooperation between linguists and legal experts so as to improve enactment of statutes.The research conducted in this thesis can be roughly divided into two parts. Chapter two forms the first part, which is a literature review. Among the contents discussed in this part are research on modality at home and abroad, the framework of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) and a brief review on legal discourse analysis. Through the discussion, the author provides a theoretical framework for the thesis.The second part is composed of three chapters, analyzing the modality system in the Convention in accordance with the framework presented in the first part.Halliday's theories of modality provide a complete framework to research modality in discourse, based on which the modal expressions in the Convention are analyzed in chapter three. By the analysis, it is found that only modal operators and expansion of the predicator are employed in the Convention.Chapter four proceeds to explore the interpersonal meaning revealed by the modality system in the Convention under Halliday's model of interpersonal meaning. In order to have a clearer discussion of interpersonal meaning, Halliday's context theory: field, tenor and mode of situational context, is adopted to help explain the context of the Convention. Through an analysis of the modal meaning of each modal verbal operator, orientation and value, the author reaches the conclusion that the Convention expresses the States Parties'personal view or attitude towards the event of preventing and fighting worldwide corruption, and this is the interpersonal meaning revealed in the Convention.Chapter five from a more profound perspective investigates the modality system. By analyzing modal responsibility, source of the modality, context of the Convention and on the basis of the previous analyses of the modality system, the author has explored the ideology in the Convention and revealed the dialectical and unitary relationship between the ideology and the modality. Meanwhile, this chapter further reinforces argumentation of the specific features of the modality system in the Convention in chapter three.In summary, this research has made the following contributions to the analysis of the Convention. Firstly, this research has broken a new ground in study of the Convention by introducing SFG to it. Secondly, this research strengthens the link between functional grammar and legislative discourse analysis and proves further the practicality of functional grammar. Thirdly, through the analysis of the ideology in the Convention, the author of the present study has found that ideology is not always concerned with power relations or inequality between the ruling class and the class governed; in the Convention, the ideology expresses the common belief of preventing and countering corruption shared by the States Parties in an equal position.