Análise funcionalista da modalidade deôntica na coluna Confronto das Ideias do jornal "O Povo"

Abstract

This study analyzes how linguistic expressions of deontic modality act in defense of points of view on texts from “Confronto das Ideias” column of a Brazilian newspaper called “O Povo”. We analyzed based on a functionalist view of language the manifestation of deontic modality in sixty texts produced over thirty topics each one with two contrary points of view. The topics covered in the column are about social issues of community interests. These texts were published in 2013 and 2014. Seen as the type of modality that is related to the possibility or need of acts performed by morally responsible agents, the deontic modality was analyzed in its syntactic, semantic and pragmatic aspects. With regard to the linguistic expressions of deontic modality, we verified that the modal auxiliaries were the most frequent of them with 62.7% of frequency. Among them, the auxiliary verb must was recurrent in establishing obligation, followed by the modal auxiliary can, that had an occasional frequency in establishing prohibition by negative polarity cannot. The obligation value was the most frequent with 65.9% of recurrence followed by permission value, often manifesting suggestions. With regard to semantic aspects, the deontic source that most introduced the modality was enunciator with 63.2% of frequency, since the authors, in most cases, speak on behalf of them and of a supposed common sense. The most common deontic target on which fall the deontic values was the common-area with 49.2% of presence in the texts. This type of deontic target relates to the whole community including the enunciator. When the target is defined by a third person, it was most frequent references to institutions. The tense in which the modal auxiliary verbs most appear was the Present, with 68.6% of frequency, and the Indicative, with 75.7% of recurrence. We conclude that the authors use these resources to present their ideas about obligations, permissions, suggestions and prohibitions related to topics of social interests. Some linguistic expressions were used to assert or attenuate the illocutionary force with which the authors defend their points of view, aiming to persuade the readers to practices presented by them as ideals. The deontic modality is therefore set as a category that introduces notions about conduct and citizenship in defense of points of view about social issues pointed in the column.