The use we make of language in our communication actions is always mediated by intentions: to clarify certainty, doubt, obligation, feelings, among others. This purpose is so present in our daily lives that it materializes in the structure of our language.
Ducrot, professor of philosophy and French linguist of the 20th century, was the one who founded this idea and stated that language is fundamentally argumentative, since when we interact, whether through speech or writing, we are printing our ideas and arguments intended. Thus, thinking that argumentation is an intrinsic characteristic of human relations, we at Brasil Escola have prepared a text to present the argumentative markings.
The elements that act as argumentation indicators are called discursive modalizers. They are responsible for evidencing the point of view taken by the speaker and ensuring the way in which he elaborates the speech.
As previously presented in the introduction to the text, there are several intentions that we make explicit in our daily interactions and, therefore, there are different types of discursive modalizers. As Castilho and Castilho claim
1 (1993, p. 217), different linguistic resources are at the service of this argumentative action: verbal modes, auxiliary verbs, adjectives, adverbs, among others.Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
We will use here the classification made by Castilho and Castilho:
By defining and observing some examples of discursive modalizers, we can conclude that there is no communicative interaction without modalization, since, whenever we express ourselves, we are indicating our point of view on the subject in question. Modalization, however, can be more explicit or more contained.
That's it, now you have a great base to start your studies in relation to the discursive modality and to develop a greater command in relation to the resources of our language. Come on?
1note: CASTILHO, A. T.; CASTILHO, C. M. M of. Modalizing adverbs. In: ILARI, Rodolfo (Org.). Grammar of spoken Portuguese. 2. ed. Campinas: Unicamp Publisher, 1993. v. II.
by Mariana Pacheco
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PACHECO, Mariana do Carmo. "What are discursive modalizers?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/portugues/o-que-sao-modalizadores-discursivos.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
