modal verbs

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A contrastive analysis of the use of modal verbs in the expression of epistemic stance in Business Management research articles in English and Spanish1
Ignacio Vázquez Orta
Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain) [e-mail] Abstract

In the present paper an intercultural quantitative and qualitative analysis of the use of modal verbs as epistemic stance markers in SERAC (Spanish-English
Research Article Corpus), a corpus of research articles (RAs) in different disciplines, is carried out. The corpus selected for this research consists of 48
Business Management research articles. Special emphasis is laid on the introduction and discussion sections of RAs, where stance devices are most frequently located to pursue convergence with the readership. This kind of intercultural analysis has been achieved through both a bottom-up research approach and a top-down research approach. The results obtained in this study point in the direction that there are obvious differences between the use of modal verbs by native writers and the use of modal verbs by non-native Spanish writers. The most remarkable aspect is that Spanish writers show a deviant handling of hedges and boosters. Therefore, they have difficulties in establishing a proper tenor when they write in English.
Keywords: research articles, modal verbs, hedges, boosters, epistemic stance.

Resumen
En este artículo se lleva a cabo un análisis intercultural, cualitativo y cuantitativo del uso de los verbos modales como marcadores de posición epistémica en
Ibérica 19 (2010): 77-96
ISSN 1139-7241

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IGNACIO VÁZQUEZ ORTA

SERAC (Spanish-English Research Article Corpus), un corpus de artículos de investigación de diversas disciplinas académicas. El corpus seleccionado para este trabajo consta de 48 artículos de Dirección de empresas. Los mecanismos de posición epistémica son

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