韩礼德的情态悖论之说是非谈

A Defence of Halliday's View that There is a Paradox in the Use of Modal Expressions

本文试图从缺省语义学(default semantics)角度阐明Halliday有关情态使用的悖论之说的合理性。本文指出:(1)情态形式或多或少涉及不确定因素,因此非情态极性形式具有比高量值情态形式更强的确定性;(2)极性形式在有些语境中的肯定程度与情态形式之所以没有区分是因为它默认了情态意义;(3)评价大都属于非情态极性化语义范畴,体现了非情态意义的主观性,但评价有时也可隐喻情态,与客观情态相融合。

From the angle of default semantics the paper attempts to verify Halliday＇s view that there is a paradox in the use of modal expressions. The paper makes three claims ： First, the use of any modal form involves, more or less, an element of uncertainty. Therefore a non - modal polar form is stronger in certainty than a high value modal form. Second, a polar form is no longer stronger in certainty when it implies a default modality in a context. Third, evaluation mostly belongs in the non - modal meaning category of the polar form, reflecting the subjectivity of the latter. In some cases, however, evaluation can be modality metaphor, merging into the objective modality.