媒体语篇中的情态动词分析

An Analysis on Modal Verbs in Media Discourse

新闻语篇作为语篇的一种重要形式在传递信息的同时更多的是对态度和立场的表达。情态动词作为人际意义态度编码的一种重要形式与语篇中的多种声音来源一起构成了新闻语篇真实性、立体性和客观性的重要尺度。以批评话语分析为理论框架,以系统功能语言学为依托,比照《纽约时报》,对《中国日报》在报道当地新闻时情态动词的使用情况作了统计分析,认为《中国日报》在情态动词与报道声音的结合方面缺乏灵活性,从而限制了新闻语篇与读者在人际意义态度层面上的磋商和意义交流,同时也削弱了新闻报道的可读性,降低了新闻语篇的故事性。

Media text, a form of discourse, functions more than conveying the information, for a larger part, it is used to express the attitude and value position. As an important means for the realization of interpersonal meaning, modal verbs interacting with the heteroglossia in the media work as the criteria for the qualified news report, i. e. truthful- ness ,vividness and objectivity. From the critical discourse analysis perspective and based on systemic functional linguistics, this article holds that home news in China Daily is not so much successful in employing modal verbs as that in The New York Times to hamper the communication with the audience at the interpersonal meaning level, and both the tellibility and readability of the news report in China Daily are weakened.