Medical writing : modality in focus
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Medical writing : modality in focus
(Language and computers : studies in practical linguistics, no. 28)
Rodopi, 1999
Available at 13 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
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  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-151) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book examines the role of modal expressions in various medical genres, as well as pointing out other markers of speaker attitude. Based on new computer-readable data, and combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the book argues that the use of modal expressions reflects the institutional context of medical discourse. Modal expressions are analysed with reference to hedging, reliability, and argumentation, and it is shown that their use in different genres reflects a model of medicine leading from bio-medical hypotheses through assessment to clinical applications. The book also analyses new genres of medical writing that have developed as a response to the increasing amount of medical information. Advertisements are analysed as an example of medicalization, showing how evaluation in the texts is based on medical values.
Table of Contents
List of tables. List of figures. Abbreviations. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Professional languages and genres. 3. Modality. 4. Material and methods. 5. Modals. 6. Expressions of possibility. 7. Indicating a higher degree of commitment. 8. Obligations and recommendations. 9. Intratextual variation. 10. Comparing corpora. 11. Textual dimensions of medical genres. 12. Pragmatic aspects of modality. 13. Argumentation in medical texts. 14. Modality and the disciplinary context of medicine. 15. Medical genres. 16. Conclusion. References. Appendices. Index of authors. Index of subjects.
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