Critical Discourse Analysis of Modal Verbs in 2017 BRICS Talk—A Perspective of Functional Systemic Grammar

Abstract

Modality received considerable attention from both a synchronic and diach-ronic perspective. Modality can be realized by finite modal operators and modal adjuncts. This paper tries to analyze modal verbs used by five hosts of different nations in the 2017 BRICS Talk, a special program made by CGTN ahead of the ninth BRICS Summit. Based on systemic functional grammar (SFG) on the subsystems of modality, five small corpora are established and quantified to investigate the number, frequency and distribution of modal verbs. Through the corpus-based research, the author finds that there are similarities and variations on the use of modal verbs in different anchors, which reveals different power relations behind their utterances. The findings are interpreted in terms of individual, cultural differences between the five moderators. This paper contributes to research that probes into power relations in the context of media from a CDA perspective and provides further understanding of modality in the public discourse.