DEONTIC MODALITY IN EPIDEICTIC DISCOURSE: SPEECH ACTS FACET (BASED ON COVID-ASSOCIATED TEXTS)
DEONTIC MODALITY IN EPIDEICTIC DISCOURSE: SPEECH ACTS FACET (BASED ON COVID-ASSOCIATED TEXTS)

Summary/Abstract: The paper explores a new facet of the “modality-directives pragmatics” correlation in epideictic discourse. It is identified that the strongest degree of directive illocution and obligative modality characterizes direct strong directives, marked by imperative mood and performatives. Direct weak directives, marked by modal verbs of obligation, is the second-leveled on the modality scale. Middle degreed illocutionary force and correlative scope of obligative modality is distinctive for hedged directives, conveyed by modals of obligation in passive, mitigations, conditional structures, inclusive pronouns, introductory “justifications”. Low degreed directive illocution and soft obligative modality is marked by nominalized obligation, encoded by nouns of “prohibition”, “obligation” and “restrictions”, impersonal structures and implicated addressee of directives. The lowest degree illocutionary strength borders on permissive modality. It is characteristic of indirect hedged directives, whose illocution is contextually bound and may rely on discursive implicature. It is implied under the constatives, mitigated by impersonalization, passivation, nominalization and conditionals.

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