A Study Of Modal Verbs As Appraisal Resources In English Legal Discourse

Modal verb,a main expression of modality,since introduced into linguistics,has become a hot topic concerned by language learners at home and abroad.In recent years,people have analyzed modal verbs from different perspectives.But based on Appraisal Theory,most of the studies are concentrated on engagement,and few people explore the interpersonal function of modal verbs as other appraisal resources.So it is a new attempt to apply the three sub-systems of Appraisal Theory to research modal verbs.Due to the specialty and complexity of legal language,the use of modal verbs represents the will of the country and plays the role in negotiating various relationships,so it is essential to research modal verbs in English legal discourses.This thesis adopts Appraisal Theory as theoretical framework,and selects the English legal discourses of countries where English is the official language,including nine representative legal documents about politics,economy and human rights with a number of 93918 words.The purpose is to ensure the comprehensiveness and feasibility of the research.The study applies UAM Corpus Tool to analyze data and then attempts to analyze the appraisal resources of modal verbs in these nine English legal discourses collected by using quantitative and qualitative analysis.This thesis mainly explores three research questions.First,what kinds of appraisal resources of modal verbs are used in English legal discourses?Second,what is the distribution and frequency of modal verbs as appraisal resources?Third,what are the functions of modal verbs as appraisal resources in English legal discourses?Through analysis and interpretation,major findings are in the following:firstly,three appraisal resources in Appraisal Theory are all used in these English legal discourses.Secondly,the distribution is irregular.In 2377 modal verbs,attitude resources account for 65.54%,engagement resources account for 32.35%and graduation 2.1%.Finally,different appraisal resources of modal verbs have different evaluative meanings and convey different interpersonal functions.But appraisal resources are existed as a whole.So the interpersonal functions of modal verbs as appraisal resources are negotiating various attitudes,regulating behaviours,ensuring absolute authority and developing democracy.Thus,it tries to promote a kind of social and cooperative relationship with harmony,democracy and seriousness.