Saturday, September 24, 2011
Modality has come to mean a variety of different things in different academic and cultural domains. In linguistics it is the cover terms for the ways that are available to a speaker within a language for expressing opinion or attitude. In particular, modality denotes the linguistic means available for qualifying any claim or commitment you make in language. Following systematic linguistics(as set out in Haliday, 1994), I shall focus on four parameters, in particular, in respect of which a speaker's utterances can be qualified: qualifications of probability, obligation, willingness, or usuality. Most of the utterances we make can be qualified in terms of strength or weakness of the probability, obligation, willingness, or usuality, with which we stand by them. Take the case of someone speaking about a new person in their life, with whom they are becoming romantically involved. If he says: "She certainly is an interesting person" he has included probability modality using the word "certainly"; if he adds "I need to think of some really fun activity to invite her to" he is using obligation modality by using "need to"; I wonder, if she'd like to go ice skating is willingness modality(here, attributed to the other party, not the speaker) I rarely meet people I feel this good about, where "rarely" carries usuality modality
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søndag den 25. september 2011
mandag den 12. september 2011
søndag den 11. september 2011
Word hoard Writing game 3
Creative writing
Writing on the word hoard
“The measure of the controversy he has around is indicative of his statute in the world of African letters.”
African letters often contain a description of a life style and a sentiment of dissatisfaction of your poor way of life. You are always lacking meaning and feelings created in an atmosphere of calmness. When you are relaxed your ability of thinking reasonably is better and you will find pleasure in enjoying life around you looking at the birds in nature sitting in the trees waiving in the wind, and the relaxation makes you feel happy and inspired by what you have experienced. You are accustomed to live that way and do not give it many thoughts that living conditions are as they actually are. You live day out day in convinced that this must be your fate. The environment you are a part of share your way of living and you do not give it many thoughts that life may be possible under other circumstances. So even if it is a sad condition you are happy as it is because you do know better conditions for making a better living. You are happy knowing that other people take control of your life and you only occupy yourself with thoughts concerning making a living day by day to be able to survive. Nature creates the frames for such people making them feel comfortable under such conditions. Such people are typically helpful and understanding and are used to live with very few means, financially and materially. They feel happy because they are not aware that life may be more pleasant. If you do not know any better, the situations to these people are sufficiently clarified.
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