Date of Publication

2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English Language Education

Subject Categories

Linguistics

College

Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC College of Education

Department/Unit

Dept of English and Applied Linguistics

Honor/Award

Outstanding Thesis Award

Thesis Advisor

Shirley N. Dita

Defense Panel Chair

Leah E. Gustilo

Defense Panel Member

Philip Adrianne A. Rentillo
Ariane M. Borlongan

Abstract/Summary

This study investigates the frequencies and semantics of nine central modals and eleven quasi-modals in the Philippine English press using a corpus-based approach. Drawing on a self-collected corpus of 2022 press articles from five major news agencies and six news categories, a tripartite semantic framework was employed to analyze modal auxiliary usage across deontic, epistemic, and dynamic domains. While overall frequency patterns in PhE press largely align with trends observed in established AmE and BrE supervarieties, several notable deviations were observed. Among modals of necessity and obligation, must has seen a sharp decline to a frequency now paralleling that of need to, whereas should has become the primary carrier of both deontic and epistemic meanings. Conversely, have to exhibits a weaker deontic presence compared to previous findings. Among modals of possibility, permission, and ability, can remains the predominant marker for dynamic modality, and may exhibits trends that suggest that it’s heading toward an increasingly monosemic epistemic interpretation. Might and could reveal distinct semantic trends in temporal and hypothetical uses. Additionally, be able to shows evidence of a decline in expressing dynamic ability, focusing instead on its semantic niche in expressing dynamic possibility. Among modals of prediction and volition, will and would are still the primary tokens for epistemic meaning, while shall, though infrequent, appears to have become the default modal for deontic necessity in bureaucratic or legalistic contexts. Quasi-modals such as be going to and be about to occur infrequently seemingly due to their niche expressions of epistemic meaning, and want to emerges as a key agent in expressing dynamic volition, particularly in less formal press categories.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

English language—Verb; English language—Modality; Corpora (Linguistics)

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