German modal particles in texts of different functional styles

Aim. To identify the functions implemented by modal particles in texts of various functional styles in the German language.

Methodology. 200 examples were selected from the DECOW 16A colloquial speech corpus, the DWDS colloquial speech subcorpus, the “Berliner Tageszeitung” and “Tagesspiegel” newspaper text corpus, as well as from German fiction: works by F. Kafka, W. Herndorf “Tschick”, the novel by W. Timm “Johannisnacht”. When working with the actual material, the following methods were used: the contextual analysis method, the continuous sampling method, and the comparative method.

Results. It is shown that each functional style is characterized by its own set of modal particles that implement the corresponding functions. In scientific-style texts, modal particles contribute to the expression of reason and consequense, dialogicity, and the formation of hypotheses. In colloquial style texts, modal particles are involved in building successful communication, reflecting the speaker’s propositional attitude and emotional state, as well as acting as a means of coherence. In journalistic texts, modal particles typical of colloquial speech are used in intertextual inclusions, bringing the described situation closer to everyday life. In fiction the use of modal particles allows us to imagine the situation of everyday communication and reflect the internal state of the characters, show the nature of their relationships, speech characteristics peculiar to certain social and age groups. In both journalistic and artistic texts, modal particles act as a means of coherence, help to create dialogicity and hypothetisis.

Research implications. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the fact that the work makes a certain contribution to the description of the functional purpose of modal particles and their role in various types of texts. The practical significance lies in the fact that the results obtained can be used in practical classes on the German language, stylistics and grammar of the text at the language faculties of universities.

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