Diploma Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, University of Bucharest (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures), language: English, abstract: Modality is a semantic concept that covers notions such as possibility, probability, permission, ability, volition, necessity and obligation. The class of modals is in many languages both syntactically and semantically highly irregular and unpredictable: modals frequently have idiosyncratic conjugational patterns and are subject to highly specialized syntactic rules. One of the main characteristic of modal verbs is their relatively imprecise and indeterminate meaning, their ambiguity: the same modal can be deontic (i.e. based on rules and regulations), but it may also involve processes, sets of knowledge or belief systems, and thus get an epistemic interpretation. In order to define the class of modals or to provide a set of environments in which a modal may be correctly or appropriately used, one must refer to many levels of language: the purely syntactic environment, as well as the logical structure, the context of the utterance, the assumptions that are shared by the speaker and the addressee, the social situation assumed by the participants in the discourse, the impression the speaker wants to make on the addressee, and so on. There is also the question of the appropriate context environments, that is, the semantic-pragmatic issue. Therefore, a complete analysis of a particular modal can only be achieved by looking both at its syntactic features and at its semantic structure; in other words, the syntax of a modal verb is based on its semantics, and these two dimensions are inseparable.

The present volume, originally prepared to celebrate Jan Firbas' 80th birthday, unfortunately is presented only belatedly, to commemorate one of the most outstanding personalities of functional and structural linguistics. Its contributors have been inspired by the richness and penetrating invention of Firbas, contained in his analysis of functional sentence perspective and of many other aspects of sentence and discourse.

Over the last forty years, the functionalist approach to linguistic description and explanation has given rise to several major schools of thought that share two crucial assumptions: (i) form is not independent of meaning/function or language use; and (ii) linguistic description and explanation need to take into account the communicative function of language. This volume offers readers interested in functional linguistics a selected sample of studies that jointly prove the efficacy of the analytical tools and procedures broadly accepted within the functionalist tradition in order to investigate language and discourse, with special focus on key pragmatic/discourse notions such as contextualization, grammaticalisation, reference, politeness, (in-)directness, discourse markers, speech acts, subjective evaluation and sentiment analysis in texts, among others. In addition, this volume offers specific corpus-based techniques for the objective contextualisation of linguistic data, which is crucial given the central role allotted to context in both functional linguistics and pragmatics/discourse analysis.

This book offers a systemic-functional account of Spanish, and analyses how Spanish grammatical forms compare and contrast with those of English. The authors analyse Spanish according to the three main 'metafunctions': ideational, interpersonal, and textual. The result is a comprehensive examination of Spanish grammar from the clause upwards. Presupposing little or no knowledge of Spanish, this book will be of interest to researchers in Spanish language, systemic functional linguistics or contrastive linguistics.

Translation and Cultural Identity: Selected Essays on Translation and Cross-Cultural Communication tackles the complexity of the concepts mentioned in its title through seven essays, written by most highly regarded experts in the field of Translation Studies: José Lambert (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium), Raquel Merino (University of the Basque Country, Spain), Rosa Rabadán (University of Leon, Spain), Julio-César Santoyo (University of Leon, Spain), Christina Schäffner (Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom), Gideon Toury (Tel-Aviv University, Israel) and Patrick Zabalbeascoa (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain). The essays are varied and innovative. Their common feature is that they deal with various aspects of translation and cultural identity and that they contribute to the enrichment of the study of communication across cultures. These major readings in translation studies will give readers food for thought and reflection and will promote research on translation, cultural identity and cross-cultural communication.

This textbook is for three groups of people involved with Spanish: first, for the students enrolled in Spanish/English linguistics courses; second, for college and university librarians; and third, for every Spanish language teacher/professor. We suggest that those who have courses of this type consider this book as a text for those classes. For those that do not have them, we recommend that you offer them and use this book. We also believe that it would also be an ideal book for libraries in which people interested in the topic can go to find out information, since there are no available texts as comprehensive as this one. It is also a book that all Spanish teachers/professors should have on their desks and shelves for reference purposes, being that it contains a lot of information about linguistics and grammar.

The Essential Basic, Intermediate and Advanced English Grammar and Composition are a great resource anywhere you go; it is an easy tool that teaches the rules of sentences, noun, verbs, question mark, adjectives, and adverbs; prepositions, propositions, and pronoun pronouncements; punctuation; possessives; and proofreading skills for all communication. Essential Basic, Intermediate and Advanced English Grammar and Composition for explaining everything from basic sentence structure to the finer points of grammar with exercises. This eBook will help you to communicate more effectively and make the right impression every time and it will be very useful for everyone (home, school, students, travel, teachers, interpreting and learning English). Just remember one thing that learning never stops! Read, Read, Read! And Write, Write, Write! A thank you to my wonderful wife Beth (Griffo) Nguyen and my amazing sons Taylor Nguyen and Ashton Nguyen for all their love and support, without their emotional support and help, none of these educational language eBooks and audios would be possible. Lo imprescindible Básico, Intermedio y Avanzado Inglés-Español Gramática y Composición son un gran recurso donde quiera que vaya; es una herramienta fácil que enseña las reglas de frases, sustantivo, verbos, signo de interrogación, adjetivos y adverbios; preposiciones, proposiciones y pronunciamientos pronombre; puntuacion; posesivos; y habilidades de corrección de pruebas para todas las comunicaciones. Esencial Básico, Intermedio y Avanzado Inglés-Español Gramática y Composición para explicar todo, desde la estructura básica de la oración de los puntos más finos de la gramática con ejercicios. Este libro electrónico le ayudará a comunicarse de manera más efectiva y hacer la impresión correcta en todo momento y que será muy útil para todo el mundo (el hogar, la escuela, los estudiantes, los viajes, los maestros, la interpretación y el aprendizaje de Inglés). Sólo recuerda una cosa que el aprendizaje nunca se detiene! Leer, leer, leer! Y escribir, escribir, escribir! Un agradecimiento a mi maravillosa esposa Bet (Griffo) Nguyen y mis hijos increíbles Taylor Nguyen y Ashton Nguyen por todo su amor y apoyo, sin su apoyo emocional y ayuda, ninguno de estos libros electrónicos de lengua educativos y audios sería posible.

Writing has always been a part of my life. I have expressed myself through poems and personal reflections on various topics, but I had never ventured into writing anything related to academics—until now. Despite my dedication to learning, I found that many of the English grammar books I read were difficult to understand, and I realized this challenge is shared by many people. In today’s world, having a strong grasp of English is more important than ever, which is why I decided to write this book, Apprendre English Grammar, after conducting extensive research. This book covers every topic in English grammar, but what sets it apart from others is its simplicity. Here, you will find clear meanings, examples, and practical uses of every grammatical concept, all explained in easy-to-understand language. While English grammar can be a complex subject, my goal was to present it in such a way that anyone, regardless of their prior knowledge, can read, understand, and apply the concepts. In over 298 pages, I have provided detailed and comprehensive explanations on every topic, ensuring that this book is a valuable resource even for those who are completely new to English. I believe that through this book, even beginners will be able to study English in a structured and effective manner, ultimately improving their command of the language. My hope is that Apprendre English Grammar will be a helpful guide for all readers seeking to enhance their understanding of English grammar.

This volume brings together a selection of the papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Modality in English, held in Madrid on 9–11 September 2010. The book is divided into two parts, with the first encompassing contributions focusing on the notions of modality, evidentiality and temporality, and the second those that explore modality and its connection with stance and evaluation in specific genres and discourse domains.

This book will be of particular interest to anyone interested in the application of corpus linguistic techniques to language study and instruction. This volume includes selected papers from the Fourth North American Symposium, held in Indianapolis and hosted by the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) in November, 2002. These papers – from authors representing eight countries including the U.S., Belgium, China, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain – provide a wide range of views of and approaches to corpus linguistic. Topics range from theory and analysis to classroom application, and include the study of oral discourse as well as the study of written discourse, including internet-based discourse. Consequently, this volume is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on the use of corpus linguistics in the analysis of spoken and written discourse; the second section focuses on the direct pedagogical application of corpus linguistics, reflecting the applied foundation of this branch of linguistics.