A Systemic Functional Study of the System of Modality in Chinese

In previous systemic functional studies of modality in Chinese, the systems of types and degrees of modality have been discussed; however, the system that characterizes the realization of types and degrees of modality has been largely neglected, and realizations of modality have not been systematically explored. This paper explores the system of MODALITY in Chinese and realizations derived from the system from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics. In this study, the systems of types and values of modality in Chinese are re-examined. The system of types of modality excludes usuality, since it distinguishes itself from modalization and modulation essentially. The system of values of modality is treated as a cline. More importantly, the study gives a systematic and comprehensive description of the system of MANIFESTATIONS that describes the realization of modality, which distinguishes among explicitly subjective, explicitly objective, and implicitly subjective realizations of modality. The present study is the first attempt to systematically and critically examine the systems of types, values, and realizations of modality in Chinese. It may contribute to a better understanding of modality in the particular language of Chinese, and may lend support to system-based typology, supplementing structure-based typology.