英语论文网

ed a starting point andfoundation for the later study of modality in natural language.Halliday andMatthiessen’s(2004)study represents one of the most noteworthy and systematicstudies of this concept.In 2004,Halliday and Matthiessen made a systematicclassification and description of the theory of modality,which makes the system ofmodality more complete.Therefore,this thesis will also rely on this classification toexplore,and elaborate on subsequently.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Previous studies on linguistic subjectivity

This section elaborates on the concept of linguistic subjectivity and reviews andsorts out the research on linguistic subjectivity from three aspects:semantics,pragmatics,and the cognitive linguistics,thereby indicating the significance of theresearch on linguistic subjectivity.

2.1.1 Linguistic subjectivity in semantics

Many concepts in linguistics have their origins in philosophy,and so does theconcept of“subjectivity”.However,it has not been taken seriously in the context ofscientism,where it is considered a relative concept to“objectivity”.Benveniste(1971)argues that a language cannot be called a language without its subjective mark,and therefore its subjectivity is considered to be the most essential property oflanguage.The perception that the subject of language is the self has brought attentionto the concept of linguistic subjectivity.Therefore,language subjectivity is now alsoconsidered as the most essential property of language.A landmark study of linguisticsubjectivity followed,namely Lyons’(1977)book Semantics,in which the conceptof linguistic subjectivity was first recorded in books.Lyons(1977:739)says:“Theconcept of subjectivity is extremely important when a passage is uttered and thespeaker simultaneously comments on it and indicates his or her attitude.”After further exploration and research,the understanding and definition of linguisticsubjectivity have been further developed.Lyons(1982)argues that subjectivity is acharacteristic of language in which the speaker inevitably leaves an imprint of“ego”in his or her discourse,unconsciously carrying his or her own position,attitude,andfeelings about what is being said.This definition is regarded as the classic concept of“subjectivity”and is greatly accepted and perpetuated.Lyons is credited withenriching the study of semantic subjectivity by examining the concept of subjectivityfrom a semantic perspective.He notes that modal verbs have a clear role in theexpression of emotions and attitudes,and have a distinction between subjective andobjective meanings.

2.2 Previous studies on modality

In this section,the concept of modality is elaborated on,and the research onmodality is reviewed and sorted out from pragmatics,cognitive linguistics andsystemic functional linguistics,with a view to indicating the research significance ofmodality.

2.2.1 Modality in pragmatics

The study of modality in linguistics is based on the further development of thestudy of modality within the field of philosophy.Aristotle was the first to focus onthe notion of modality,mainly from a logical perspective(Perkins,1983).The focuson modality from a linguistic point of view started in the 20th century,and since thenthere have been different views on modality in linguistic schools.

Lyons(1977)considers modality as an evaluative function,and c本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。