EPISTEMIC MODAL MARKERS IN BRITISH TALK SHOW DISCOURSE

Epistemic modality as a category is neither defined strictly, nor its limits in contemporary linguistics are clarified. The purpose of this study is to identify the way epistemic modality is represented in the discourse of British talk shows. For this reason, we analyzed the speech of talk show participants using discourse, conversational and functional analyses. The list of analyzed talk shows includes The Graham Norton Show, The Paul O’Grady Show, Top Gear, Actors on Actors (total duration of video fragments is 18 hours 37 minutes). The preliminary results of the research show that talk-show participants tend to use a great number of epistemic modal markers to express their opinion which function as discourse linkers and are often used to express courtesy and accord. The results of the study may find implication in the development of courses in theoretical grammar, discourse studies, intercultural communication.