MODAL melek pasar modal (1)
De La Salle University
Manila
Department of English and Applied Linguistics
College of Education
Use of Modal Auxiliary Verbs in Philippine Presidents SONA
Submitted by:
Nelson C. del Mundo (11390387)
Submitted to:
Dr. Leah E. Gustilo
Professor, Semantics and Pragmatics
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 1
Use of Modal Auxiliary Verbs in Philippine Presidents SONA
Introduction
The popular role of language in the life of people and the society as a whole
cannot be under-estimated or over-emphasized. Language is used as a medium of
tranquility, persuasion and progression on one hand, and a medium of uproar, anarchy
and retrogression on another hand. Sapir (1939) in Nartey & Yankston (2014) considers
language as a purely human and non- instinctive method of communicating emotions
and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. Language is given
expression in different contexts, amongst which include media, religious, familial or
domestic and societal settings. The present study focuses on an essential and a notable
form of political speech, the Philippine President’s SONA.
Numbers of studies have investigated the language using modal auxiliary; for
example, Gustilo (2011), Fraser (2010) and Bista (2009). Most of these studies,
however, focused attention on how modals was used across genres, thereby
foregrounding elements such as semantic functions, hedging in political communication
and syntactic and semantic properties.
Gustilo (2011) analyzed the semantic functions of modal auxiliaries in a corpus of
Philippine English Newspapers. Regarding the distributional frequencies of modals will
appeared to be the most occurring device followed by can. Will semantically refers to
prediction and volition while can refers to possibilities and abilities. The occurrence of
these two modal auxiliaries, will and can, shows an interesting account in the results
and discussion of the present study.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 2
Fraser (2010) examined the use of hedging in political discourse. The semantic
implication of modal auxiliary verbs in political discourse, in general, and political
manifestos, in particular, though important, remains relatively under-researched in the
literature, albeit such verbs have the propensity to reveal very subtle meanings of the
nature of political discourse.
Bista (2009) also researched into the syntactic and semantic properties of “Yes
We Can” as used by Barack Obama, president of the United States.
The Gap in the Study
Politics in the Philippines get too much attention not only from the Filipino people
but across our neighboring countries in Asia and the whole world. The president’s state
of the nation address has become significant because it acts as the voice of
government for people. Yearly, the president of our country gives Congress and the
people an update of national situation.
The semantic implication of modal auxiliary verbs in political discourse, in
general, and political speeches, in particular, though important, remains relatively underresearched in the literature, albeit such verbs have the propensity to reveal very subtle
meanings of the nature of political discourse.
Given the paucity of studies on modality in political discourse, particularly in
political speeches, the present study sets out to fill this niche.
To clarify the aim of the study, we ask the following research questions:
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 3
1. What are the most extensively used modal auxiliary verbs in the selected
SONAs of the Philippine Presidents?
2. What meanings do these modal verbs bring to bear on the overall message
conveyed by the SONAs?
Scope of the Study:
The use of modal auxiliary verbs in the first and last state of the nation address
(SONAs) of the Philippine Presidents since the 1970s is the scope of the study. This
study is limited to the text corpus that consists of ten SONAs, two papers from each
President:
Ferdinand E. Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno S. Aquino III.
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual thrust of this study is underpinned by the concept of modality. At
the outset, we must indicate that modality is a stubbornly contentious concept that
eludes precision. For this reason, we make no pretense to provide an avalanche of
scholarly trajectories on the subject. Specifically, we shed light on some notable
taxonomies and functions of modal auxiliary verbs. Sometimes called ‘helping verbs’,
modal auxiliary verbs are ‘little’ words that precede the main verb of a sentence, and are
largely used (across registers) to express a speaker's or writer's "opinion or attitude
towards the proposition that the sentence expresses or the situation that the proposition
describes (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973). For this reason, modal auxiliary verbs may be
involved in the expression of time, necessity, possibility, permission and obligation as
well as such grammatical phenomena as negation, affirmation and questioning.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 4
Erhman (1966:9) in Nartey and Yankston (2014) explains the meaning of modal
auxiliaries as, “that closed class of verbs which may occupy the first position of a verb
phrase, which may not be immediately preceded by another verb, which may invert with
the subject in interrogation, and which is negated by ‘not’”. In this vein, Erhman
intimates that each modal verb has a basic meaning as well as a subsidiary meaning –
what she refers to as ‘overtones’. Similarly, Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002:28) in
Nartey and Yankston (2014) consider modal verbs as first verbs in a clause, and are
followed by the base form of another verb, usually a main verb. According to Halliday
(1970), the grammar and semantics of modal auxiliary verbs in native English have
engaged scholarly attention for a long time; for example, Palmer (1979), Coates (1983),
Hudlestone (1984), Quirk et al. (1985), etc. Even so, modal auxiliary verbs pose
complex problems as far as linguistic description is concerned. Classifying modal
auxiliary verbs is by no means unproblematic, since individual modals may function in
more than one category. Palmer (2001 p. 10), for instance, explains that can conveys
permission in the structure, “John can come in now”, but conveys ability in the sentence,
“John can speak French”. Given the multiplicity of possible meanings that can be
adduced from a particular modal verb, Branford (1967:144-145) in Nartey and Yankston
(2014) points out that, "It is probably better to avoid labelling any modal too specifically
(e.g. 'may' = 'possibility') but to study each according to the context as one finds it".
There is therefore no gainsaying the position that contextual cues are pivotal as far as
the most likely interpretation of a modal is concerned: this view is corroborated in the
present study.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 5
As regard the classification of modal auxiliary verbs, linguists have approached the
English modals in different ways, logically and formally. Halliday (1979: 189-210) views
modality as part of the interpersonal constituent of language and subsequently classifies
the English modal auxiliary verbs in terms of modality and modulation (i.e. the ideational
constituent of language).
Methodology
The data for this study are corpus of selected SONAs of the Presidents since the
1970s, first and last were selected because some are in vernacular form and an exact
English translation was difficult to acquire. The text corpus consists of ten SONAs; two
papers from each President: Ferdinand E. Marcos; Corazon C. Aquino; Fidel V. Ramos;
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno S. Aquino III to represent a broad cross-section
of political discourse. Transcripts of the SONA are in English version, which is archived
online in websites such as www.gov.ph. The study is essentially a qualitative content
analysis. An analytical description, the study is not supported by rigorous statistical
material (although some minimal quantitative techniques were used) but by details and
illustrations drawn from the data. Content analysis is a key methodological apparatus
that enables researchers to understand the process and character of social life and to
arrive at a meaning, and it facilitates the understanding of the types, characteristics and
organizational aspects of documents as social products in their own right as well as
what they claim.
Specifically, we employed intercoding to summarize the data by
teasing out identifiable patterns in order to find conceptual categories in the data. The
main function of open coding, in the words of Punch (1998: 210), is “to expose
theoretical possibilities in the data”. Our analysis was also guided by our research
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 6
questions as we culled the various modal auxiliary verbs, and emphasized the
meanings that could be contextually attributed to them.
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis is the occurrence of each type of modal auxiliary verbs in the
text as identified by Simple Concordance 4.09. The researcher read and analyzed
manually the text corpus because of homophones.
Results and Discussion
Research Question 1:
What are the most extensively used modal auxiliary verbs in the selected SONAs
of the Philippine Presidents? From the analysis, the researcher found that all the nine
central modal auxiliary verbs established in the grammar of English (Quirk et. al, 1985;
Gustilo 2011), with the exception of might, were used in varying proportions in the
political speeches. The modal verbs identified include could, can (not), need to, must,
shall, should, may (not), would and will. As is evident in the itemized modals, two (can
and may) were used in their negated and their non-negated forms.
Table 1. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Ferdinand E. Marcos
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
0
13
5
20
40
13
0
9.63
3.70
14.81
29.63
9.63
3
17
12
16
20
5
2.42
13.71
9.68
12.90
16.13
4.03
3
30
17
36
60
18
1.16
11.58
6.56
13.90
23.17
6.95
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 7
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
8
10
26
135
5.93
7.41
19.26
100.00
4
5
42
130
3.23
4.03
33.87
100.00
12
15
68
265
4.63
5.79
26.25
100.00
Table 2. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Corazon C. Aquino
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
3
9
9
5
8
1
2
5
20
62
4.84
14.52
14.52
8.06
12.90
1.61
3.23
8.06
32.26
100.00
16
7
4
4
7
4
5
7
29
83
19.28
8.43
4.82
4.82
8.43
4.82
6.02
8.43
34.94
100.00
19
16
13
9
15
5
7
12
49
145
13.10
11.03
8.97
6.21
10.34
3.45
4.83
8.28
33.79
100.00
Table 3. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Fidel V. Ramos
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
1
27
8
31
19
7
5
2
43
143
0.70
18.88
5.59
21.68
13.29
4.90
3.50
1.40
30.07
100.00
1
17
8
53
7
9
6
5
46
152
0.66
11.18
5.26
34.87
4.61
5.92
3.95
3.29
30.26
100.00
2
44
16
84
26
16
11
7
89
295
0.68
14.92
5.42
28.47
8.81
5.42
3.73
2.37
30.17
100.00
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 8
Table 4. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Gloria M. Arroyo
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
5
26
8
21
6
12
14
5
106
203
2.46
12.81
3.94
10.34
2.96
5.91
6.90
2.46
52.22
100.00
4
14
2
11
2
9
2
4
27
75
5.33
18.67
2.67
14.67
2.67
12.00
2.67
5.33
36.00
100.00
9
40
10
32
8
21
16
9
133
278
3.24
14.39
3.60
11.51
2.88
7.55
5.76
3.24
47.84
100.00
Table 5. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Benigno S. Aquino III
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
24
49
19
11
1
6
10
46
145
311
7.72
15.76
6.11
3.54
0.32
1.93
3.22
14.79
46.62
100.00
9
39
27
10
0
4
10
22
117
238
3.78
16.39
11.34
4.20
0.00
1.68
4.20
9.24
49.16
100.00
33
88
46
21
1
10
20
68
262
549
6.01
16.03
8.38
3.83
0.18
1.82
3.64
12.39
47.72
100.00
Table 1-5 includes the first and last SONAs delivered by the five recent
presidents of the Republic of the Philippines. Individually, the researcher tallied the
occurrence of modal auxiliary verbs based on the first SONA and the last SONA.
Basically the table shows the frequency of modal auxiliary verbs and their percentages
in different political speeches.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 9
Table 6. Overall Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs –
FIRST & LAST SONAs for the FIVE PRESIDENTS
FIRST
Modal
Auxiliar
y Verbs
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
LAST
Total
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
33
124
49
88
74
39
39
68
340
854
3.86
14.52
5.74
10.30
8.67
4.57
4.57
7.96
39.81
100.00
33
94
53
94
36
31
27
43
261
672
4.91
13.99
7.89
13.99
5.36
4.61
4.02
6.40
38.84
100.00
66
218
102
182
110
70
66
111
601
1532
4.33
14.29
6.68
11.93
7.21
4.59
4.33
7.27
39.38
100.00
It can be interpreted from Table 6 that will have the highest frequency of
occurrence in the political speeches (SONAs), occurring 601 times. This also is
manifested in the first and lasts SONAs of the Philippine President in their individual
results notice Table 1-5. Can (not) follows will as the modal with the second highest
frequency of occurrence, with an occurrence rate of 218. Must also has quite a number
of occurrences, 182 in total including would 111, shall 110, and need 102. While these
three modal verbs are fairly preponderant (as evidenced by Table 6) in the political
speeches, modals like may (occurring 66 times), should (occurring 70 times), and could
(occurring 66 times) are minimally used. The fact that the use of certain modal verbs is
more frequent than others substantiates the point that modal auxiliary verbs are
contextually deployed to achieve specific communicative intents and purposes in
different registers. Hence, we maintain that the preponderance or otherwise of specific
modals in political speeches is neither borne out of coincidence nor randomization, but
by the specific objective(s) of the SONAs, and the political speeches genre itself.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 10
Next, we discuss the possible contextual meanings and semantic functions
attributed to the modal auxiliary verbs in the political speeches.
Research Question 2: What meanings do these modal verbs bring to bear on the
overall message conveyed by the SONAs? Before proceeding with the second phase
of the analysis, the researcher must mention that the functions identified and discussed
here are by no means exhaustive. The given illustrative examples fit well with the
corresponding modality, and could be contextualized at length. The overriding purpose
here is not to provide a definitive number of functions of the modals, but to give an
integrative idea of the encompassing nature of the English modals, and to demonstrate
that these modal verbs can be taken into perspective to articulate lucidity of attitudinal
propositions. The researcher presents the functions subsequently.
Could in the SONAs is used 66 times across 10 political speeches, representing
a percentage of 4.33%. In one instance of its usage in the SONA, could is used to
express a strong possibility. The use of could in this regard buttresses Quirk et al.’s
(1973) assertion that could can be used to express a possibility (theoretical or factual).
This finding, however, repudiates Newson’s (2008) position that the traditionally
considered past tense forms of modal verbs- might, could, should and might convey
weaker propositions.
1) In this work, thankfully, the justice system has recently brought to bar highprofile pedophiles and abusers of children. [Applause] But we do need the
enactment of the Anti-Rape Bill, which could have been done in your previous
session.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 11
2) The bill could be patterned after the well-known RICO statute in the United
States.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
3) And, unlike the situation in 1997 when a battered Asia could still lean on the
strength of the advanced economies, today our main trading partners like
Japan and America are slowing down as well.
(Gloria Arroyo)
4) What if the freshness of the fish could be preserved in a cold storage facility?
You could go to the merchant and still sell your catch at full price. You would
exert the same amount of effort, but you would receive the right compensation
for it.
(Benigno Aquino III)
This supposed contravention with Newson’s position reinforces our position that
the various English modals cannot be generalized in their semantic underpinnings;
instead, they are largely influenced by the different contextual indices, discourse
determinants and situational factors. Indeed, it would be alarming and altogether
puzzling if a promise captured in political speech is expressed in a weak tone.
Can (not) occur 218 times in all SONAs, representing a total percentage of
14.29% thus, it occurs quite frequently in the political speeches. As a modal verb in the
SONAs, can is used to expresses ability and theoretical possibility. It is used to express
ability in the utterances.
5) Self-sufficiency in the production of food, especially rice, must be attained in
the shortest possible time. We must also improve and diversify our production
of export crops so that we can develop Philippine agriculture into a reliable
earner of foreign exchange.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
6) The domestic structural reform program we have initiated cannot be pursued in
earnest unless the necessary financing is made available. Fresh funding is
needed to effect adjustments in the industrial structure, to assist new ventures,
and to support our social programs. This funding cannot come from the
domestic economy. Low domestic incomes cannot generate the required
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 12
savings. Meanwhile, debt service was taking half our export earnings. Rescue
could only come from foreign sources, both official and private.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
7) Twenty-eight days ago, I entered into the presidency. Since then, my principal
object has been to know all that one can possibly know—in that brief time—of
the problems facing the nation, the opportunities open to us and the support we
can count on from our people and from our friends in the world.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
In 7), can is used to question the possibility of counting on from our people and
from our friends in the world. The use of can, as is evident in this example, nullifies any
form of uncertainty or even possibility, and emphatically presents the propositions as
factual and wholly true. Given this, the message put forward is likely to be taken
seriously and accepted by people as true. The factual proposition advanced by the use
of can in the example is likely to instigate a lack of confidence. This is because the
proposition expressed by can in the example suggests that the government is expecting
the support of our allies. These negative impressions (as can be deduced from the
example) are presented, not as assumptions, suppositions or mere conceptions, but as
facts and hard truths.
Can, in the SONA, is also used to express a theoretical
possibility, in which case it gives a strong possibility for an event to materialize and/or
be actualized. The researcher must also mention that in almost all instances that can is
used in the SONAs, it is used as a strong modal verb, and therefore used to make
strong and ‘high’ assertions, thereby corroborating Newson’s (2008) assertion that must,
can, shall and will are strong modals in almost all their uses.
The negated form of can (cannot), conversely, is used in the SONA to express
inability and impossibility as is respectively exemplified by the extracts below.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 13
8) The atomized jurisdictions in the metropolis cannot deal with problems that are
collective in nature. The only answer is a metropolitan administration that will
deliver basic services effectively to all of Metro Manila.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
9) But the government cannot do it alone. It cannot do it alone in customs, it
cannot do it alone in fighting graft, it cannot do it alone in fighting poverty. I’m
not a miracle worker. All of us must do our share. We have to think Filipino, buy
Filipino, and invest Filipino. I invite the taipans and other business people all
over the country to start pump-priming the economy by investing once again in
the Philippines. I invite you to create jobs, accelerate progress, and thereby
address the root causes of the crime and unrest that so much alarm us.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
Need to, occurring 102 times in the SONAs (6.68 per cent), need to is used to
express necessity in all instances of its usage in SONAs. The examples below confirm
this position.
10) At least six areas of economic management need to be subjected to further
action and reform for the rest of 1985 and 1986.
To succeed at this, however, we need to be concerned about providing support
to our armed forces, instead of denying it the wherewithal to fight the
insurgency. Let us face the fact squarely that the reduction of the defense
budget in 1983 and 1984 has done much to sap the potency of our programs.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
11) We do, however, have a dire need to improve our intelligence, logistics, and
communication services. Given our limited resources, we must improve our
ratio of patrols to contacts, and our capability to maximize such combat
opportunities as present themselves.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
12) Alongside the monetary program, we need to improve the fiscal position of the
Central Bank.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 14
Must, a strong deontic modal auxiliary verb (Newson, 2008), must is used in the
political speeches to express (strong) obligation and/or compulsion and logical
necessity appearing 182 times or 11.93 percent. In the two constructions below, must is
used to express strong obligation.
13) We must curtail unnecessary expenditures and limit the period for active
campaigning. I therefore propose legislation limiting the expenses of any
candidate to four times the annual salary for the position to which he aspires.
14) We must remove the infirmities of the fundamental law. And perhaps, it is now
time also to prevent the deadlocks in the Senate, by providing for an increase
in its membership.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
15) Still our march towards nationhood must be undeterred and any threat to its
progress will be countered with all the resources available to us, wielded with
as much passion as self-preservation can muster.
16) To give the people greater power over their lives is the essence of democracy
that we must strive to bring out completely.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
17) Our goal must be to attain a just, comprehensive, peaceful, and lasting
resolution of the internal armed conflict that has cost the nation and our people
so dearly.
18) We must awaken and energize all our regions—all our islands—all our
provinces and cities and municipalities—to the possibilities of modernization.
And we must tap the talent pool that still lies dormant in our 69 million people,
the majority of whom are under 40 years of age. We must break the remaining
concentration of economic and political power in a few—so that we can
unleash the creativity, the resourcefulness, and the entrepreneurship in the
many.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 15
19) To succeed, the template of our national agenda must revolve around four
components—apat na elemento ng pakikibaka sa kahirapan.
20) Peace and development are inseparable twins. But our framework must not
compromise constitutionality, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
21) Confusion is not an option, and you must have a response for every question,
suggestion, and criticism—and you must have all the answers even before the
questions are asked. This is not an easy job, and I am only human, one who at
times is also capable of feeling apprehension.
22) We also aim to complete the construction of 7,176 housing units in other areas
by June of next year. I must ask for your understanding.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
In 13), must is used to strongly assert that it is extremely needful, and therefore
obligatory to curtain unnecessary expenditures. Like 15) and 16), must is also used in
17) to vehemently opine that the government policy is obliged to address national
adversaries. In the SONAs, must is also used to express logical necessity as is
demonstrated by the example in 21) and 22). In this example, the use of must relates to
us the stance that it is logically necessary for a government in power to change to a
system that encourages strong institutions, rather than one that encourages strong
men. Though a reasonable and a sensible idea, the current government, the example
suggests, has not been able to achieve this feat, perhaps, because they lack the mettle
and expertise to or simply because the government might even not have recognized the
need to effect such a change, albeit plausible. Hence once again, we see the readiness
and inventiveness, supposedly, of the current government – this is covertly intimated by
the use of must in the example. The interest of the nation at heart and has even
identified a loophole that logically warrants urgent attention.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 16
Shall, in ten SONAs, is used 110 times, representing a percentage of 7.21. In all
the instances of its usage, shall, invariably, expresses intention, thereby confirming
Greenbaum’s (1996) postulation that of all the meanings that can be attributed to shall,
the intention function is widespread and most prevalent. The use of shall to express
intention in the SONAS is illustrated below.
23) This administration is prepared to find the means for the implementation of land
reform. If necessary, we shall consider the sale of government properties not
immediately needed to realize the funds for the proposed Land Bank. The
Agricultural Credit Administration must be reoriented to permit a total
concentration of its resources on land reform cases.
24) Fifth, we shall revitalize the agricultural sector, which is envisioned to propel
national recovery and sustain economic growth in the coming years.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
25) In the next six years, we shall have to pay $20.4 billion to our official and
private creditors.
26) To this end, we shall continue to exhaust measures and avenues that will
involve all our people in the task of moral and material reconstruction and
national unity.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
27) At the end of my term, the question will no longer be whether we can compete
but where else in the world shall we take an indisputable competitive
advantage.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 17
These intentions are pre-meditated, and hopefully the presidents would expect
that such good intentions would get them into the public. Though the good intentions
expressed by the SONAs in the examples above can be considered conjectured future
events, and therefore could pass off as indefinite intentions of futurity, it still stands to
reason the intention of SONA by giving solid promises to assure public needs.
There are also instances where shall is used to express strong obligation,
supporting Newson’s (2008) claim that shall is a strong modal verb. These instances are
presented below.
28) There shall be created an Investment Office which shall furnish all the
information that may be required by prospective investors, foreign or domestic.
Such an office should be ready to recommend openings for investment and to
help to extend all facilities in both the public and the private sectors to the
entrepreneurs.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
29) I would also hope that our proposed revisions of the Tariff Code and the
rationalization of the government corporate sector shall be among the
Congress’ first concerns; these being two areas that I find require the common
counsel of executive and legislature.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
30) I assure you we shall also be much more assertive in negotiating with our
creditors to gain better terms.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 18
31) We shall redeem in earnest the promise of land reform, a commitment that
spans several presidents. Isa pa itong pangakong hindi dapat mapako.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
Unlike in the previous examples of the use of shall, in 28), Ferdinand E. Marcos
considers the establishment of an Investment Office that will furnish all the information
that may be required by prospective investors, foreign or domestic. As a duty that office
should be ready to recommend investment and extend all facilities to both private and
public.
Should is used 70 times (4.59 percent) in which case it is put to obligation and
putative uses. These two uses are exemplified below.
32) Sixth, we shall strive to raise the efficiency of our public health services to a
level which should meet the minimum requirements of our people.
33) We know too that in spite of all the hectoring from others about how democracy
should develop in our land, we can only trust and listen to our experiences and
our needs.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
Should is obligatorily and putatively used in 32) and 33) respectively, that every
Filipino people are entitled for a quality health services and democracy.
As a
worthwhile obligation every individual SHOULD aspire to and indeed desire strongly to
have in 32), while in 33), the use of should expresses an ideal situation which is thought
to be or is supposed to be, but is not.
Extracts for should listed below also denotes the same meaning or interpretation.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 19
34) I should make it clear that the Kabisig, and the whole movement of people’s
organizations that I have tried to encourage, will be campaigning hard for one
candidate only—the Filipino people and no one else.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
35) Third, let us improve our institutional and professional capability for crime
prevention and crime suspension at both national and local levels. These
measures should include a stricter firearms control law and more effective
actions by our peace and order councils.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
36) Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco, and not from books. Tax hazards
to lungs and livers, do not tax minds.
The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue
assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
37) Let us use ARMM as an example. Governor Mujiv Hataman has said that he
could not remember a time in his life when Lanao del Sur did not suffer a failure
of elections. We should note that this was the first time that the ARMM
elections were synchronized with the national elections. This means that, in the
past, the full force of the State was focused on just one region, and yet it still
had to call for a failure of elections.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
May (not) is used 66 times in the SONAs, representing a percentage of 4.33. In
the SONAs, may (not) is used solely to express possibility and/or likelihood. The
examples below are extracts from the data, and they illustrate the possibility/likelihood
function of may (not).
38) Our financial policy therefore will be so designed that the public sector may not
unduly tax the existing credit sources in competition with the private sector.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 20
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
39) The organized participation of the people in daily government may provide the
stabilizing element that government has always lacked.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
40) The recent speculative attack on the peso may have been a blessing in
disguise because it gave us Filipinos the opportunity to enhance the
competitiveness of the Philippine peso.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
In 41, the use of may suggests that there is a high possibility that the recent
attack on the peso may have been a blessing in disguise; hence, gave the opportunity
to Filipinos in enhancing competitiveness. Again, it is discernible that the attack on the
peso may have positive effect.
Would, although Newson (2008) posits that would is a weak modal verb like
should, we found the opposite in this study – in all instances in which it is used in the
SONAs, would is used as a strong verb. Specifically, would is used to express
willingness and intention.
41) I therefore recommend legislation which would prohibit any campaign activity
such as the printing and distribution of any poster, advertisements for
candidates, or activity of any candidate seeking insertion of such
advertisements before such period allowed by law for campaigning.
42) This would enable the private sector to continue its dynamic role in our
economic recovery in the context of a free enterprise economy.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 21
This is a strong claim by Marcos that brings the event expressed in the
proposition above to pass as legislation. Would is also used in the SONAs to express
future intention. This function primarily conveys the presidents intended plans for the
country. Examples in this regard are presented below.
43) I would also hope that our proposed revisions of the Tariff Code and the
rationalization of the government corporate sector shall be among the
Congress’ first concerns; these being two areas that I find require the common
counsel of executive and legislature.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 22
44) I would urge Congress therefore to consider one comprehensive “Government
Reorganization Act” that will enable us to streamline the entire executive
branch, including the Office of the President.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
45) Instead, let us recognize that we have a multiethnic society which should be
founded on social justice for all and institutionalized accommodation of ethnic
traditions. This would finally introduce a new culture in our nation’s attitude
towards Mindanao.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
46) I would also like to propose to Congress several laws that will help us sustain
and improve on the reforms we have established.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
In the examples above, some actual intentions of the presidents on SONAs are
foregrounded by the use of the modal would. These futuristic intentions are likely to
endear the presidents by the public, given their positive appeal.
Will in SONAs is the most preponderantly used modal verb, occurring 601 times
(representing 39.38 percent). Similarly, in Gustilo (2011) study of modal auxiliaries in
Philippine English, it appears that will is also the most fashionable modal auxiliary
verbs.
In the speech, there are several instances where will is used to express intention,
reinforcing Quirk et al.’s (1973) stance that will indicates an intention or a promise.
Examples are presented below.
47) We will irrigate an additional quarter of a million hectares and undertake river
control projects in eight regions and 38 localities.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 23
48) We will continue to use the persuasive powers of the Presidency to prevent the
spiraling of prices in key sectors and products.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
Greenbaum (1996)’s postulation that will is used to convey certainty is also made
evident severally in the SONAs – this function is illustrated below.
49) The current imports will beef up our buffer stocks for the lean months of July
through September.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
50) Our premise is that, for as long as free market forces dictate the dynamics of
the business environment, the private sector will respond aggressively.
51) Participatory democracy will end the practice of punishing provinces and
municipalities for the wrong vote in the last poll. It will separate elections, where
the people vote for their favorites, from the provision of public service which
every Filipino has a right to expect from the government, regardless how he
voted.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
Again in the SONAs, will is used to express determination, as is demonstrated by
the example below.
52) Through the budget, we shall pump-prime the economy; stimulate growth by
focusing public investments on programs with the highest productive and
economic returns; and provide social services and productivity programs that
will empower the majority among us who are now without the means to lead
decent and useful lives, particularly the farming, fishing, and labor sectors.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Additionally, will is used in the SONAs to promise the people, as is reflected in
the examples below.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 24
53) We will pursue our fight against heinous crimes with greater vigor even as we
continue to cleanse government of the scalawags and grafters within its ranks,
whether in the executive, the legislative or judicial branch.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
54) To improve the quality of education as required by the new economy, we will
increase the number of textbooks per student as well as the quality of
instruction. This year all public school students will have textbooks for priority
subjects in grades 1 to 4 and in the 1st and 2nd years of high school.
55) We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1 billion.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
56) Apart from all these, the Jalaur River Project will create around 17,000 jobs;
and once it becomes fully operational, an estimated 32,000 Filipinos will be
given decent livelihoods. This project was first conceived in 1960—the same
year I was born.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
Given that will is a strong modal verb (Newson, 2008), it is used in the SONAs to
express strong intentions, certainty, determination and promise as has been highlighted
in the foregoing paragraphs. Essentially, all the uses of will reinforce the exact objective
of a political speech– to win the heart of the public. SONA is no exception to this rule;
hence, consistently, will is used in the speech to reassure the public of a better country.
That the SONAs are preponderant with the modal will is not surprising. Indeed, it can be
considered intentional and strategic given that by bombarding people with tons of
realistic promises, a political speech is likely to be given a chance by the public.
Conclusion
The main objective of the present study was to examine the semantics of modal
auxiliary verbs in the first and last SONAs of the Philippine Presidents since the 1970s.
Premised on the assumption that writers of political speeches do find modal auxiliary
verbs a very useful persuasive strategy to deploy in an attempt to forcefully and
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 25
cogently transmit the message that they want to conveyed to the public, we set out to
show in this study that the use of modal auxiliary verbs in political speeches is neither
haphazard nor coincidental. Instead, it is informed by reason of a specific
communicative intent. Given the results of the study, the following conclusions can be
drawn. First, the nine modal auxiliary verbs identified in the SONAs have varying levels
of preponderance; will being the most frequently used.
Second, the modal auxiliary
verbs were strategically deployed and fastidiously instantiated to positively project the
message, while at the same time highlight the supposed inefficiencies and
incompetence of the incumbent government. To this end, we affirm that modal auxiliary
verbs have a persuasive connotation in political discourses, in general, and in political
speeches, in particular. Third, the findings of the study show that modal auxiliary verbs
do not have definitive meanings; rather, they are appropriately decoded in a given
context and are informed by certain germane situational factors, including type of
register.
These findings bear implications for pedagogy, the theory of modality, text
construction and/or composition and further discourse analytical studies on political
speeches, in general, and political speeches, in particular. From the discussion above
coupled with the fact that this study covered only the five recent presidents of the
Philippines and their first and last SONAs it is suggested that:
First, similar studies can, for instance, be conducted on the SONAs of other
Presidents in order to ascertain the extent to which the findings of the present study can
be generalized. Second, other studies could adopt a comparative approach to examine
the SONAs of other Philippine Presidents in a bid to establish whether or not the use of
modal auxiliary verbs in SONAs is conditioned by politics specific tendencies. Third, it
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 26
should be possible for future studies to compare Philippine presidents SONAs with the
state of the nation address of presidents in our neighboring Asian countries. Finally, the
present study examined modality in the SONAs from a general perspective. It would be
useful to investigate the specific type of modal (for example, epistemic, deontic or
dynamic) that is prevalent in political speeches and the possible reason(s) behind such
prevalence.
References
Bista, K. (2009). “On ‘Yes, We Can’: Linguistic power and possibility.”Journal of English
for Specific Purpose 3.24: pgs. 34- 50.
Fraser, B. (2010). Hedging in political discourse: The Bush 2007 press conferences.In
U. Okulska & P. Cap (Eds.), Perspectives in politics and discourse (pp. 201213). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Greenbaum
Greenbaum, S. (1996).The Oxford English Grammar.New York: Oxford University
Press.
Gustilo, L. (2011) Modal Auxiliaries in Philippine English Newspapers: a Corpus-based
Analysis, Philippine ESL Journal, Vol. 6.
Halliday, M. A.K. (1970). A course in spoken English: Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Huddleston, R. (1972). The sentence in written English: A syntactic study based on the
analysis of scientific texts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Nartey M. & Yankston, F. (2014). A Semantic Investigation into the Use of Modal
Auxiliary Verbs in the Manifesto of a Ghanaian Political Party International
Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol.4, No. 3
Newson, M. (2008). The Even Yearbook 8. Department of English Linguistics, Eötvös
Loránd University, Budapest ISSN 1218- 8808
Punch, K. F. (1988). Introduction to Social Science research: Quantitative and
qualitative approaches. London: Sage.
Quirk, R., & Greenbaum, S. (1973). A University of grammar of English. Harlow:
Longman.
Quirk, R., & Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. & Svartvik, J. (1985). A comprehensive grammar
of the English language. London: Longman.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 27
Manila
Department of English and Applied Linguistics
College of Education
Use of Modal Auxiliary Verbs in Philippine Presidents SONA
Submitted by:
Nelson C. del Mundo (11390387)
Submitted to:
Dr. Leah E. Gustilo
Professor, Semantics and Pragmatics
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 1
Use of Modal Auxiliary Verbs in Philippine Presidents SONA
Introduction
The popular role of language in the life of people and the society as a whole
cannot be under-estimated or over-emphasized. Language is used as a medium of
tranquility, persuasion and progression on one hand, and a medium of uproar, anarchy
and retrogression on another hand. Sapir (1939) in Nartey & Yankston (2014) considers
language as a purely human and non- instinctive method of communicating emotions
and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. Language is given
expression in different contexts, amongst which include media, religious, familial or
domestic and societal settings. The present study focuses on an essential and a notable
form of political speech, the Philippine President’s SONA.
Numbers of studies have investigated the language using modal auxiliary; for
example, Gustilo (2011), Fraser (2010) and Bista (2009). Most of these studies,
however, focused attention on how modals was used across genres, thereby
foregrounding elements such as semantic functions, hedging in political communication
and syntactic and semantic properties.
Gustilo (2011) analyzed the semantic functions of modal auxiliaries in a corpus of
Philippine English Newspapers. Regarding the distributional frequencies of modals will
appeared to be the most occurring device followed by can. Will semantically refers to
prediction and volition while can refers to possibilities and abilities. The occurrence of
these two modal auxiliaries, will and can, shows an interesting account in the results
and discussion of the present study.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 2
Fraser (2010) examined the use of hedging in political discourse. The semantic
implication of modal auxiliary verbs in political discourse, in general, and political
manifestos, in particular, though important, remains relatively under-researched in the
literature, albeit such verbs have the propensity to reveal very subtle meanings of the
nature of political discourse.
Bista (2009) also researched into the syntactic and semantic properties of “Yes
We Can” as used by Barack Obama, president of the United States.
The Gap in the Study
Politics in the Philippines get too much attention not only from the Filipino people
but across our neighboring countries in Asia and the whole world. The president’s state
of the nation address has become significant because it acts as the voice of
government for people. Yearly, the president of our country gives Congress and the
people an update of national situation.
The semantic implication of modal auxiliary verbs in political discourse, in
general, and political speeches, in particular, though important, remains relatively underresearched in the literature, albeit such verbs have the propensity to reveal very subtle
meanings of the nature of political discourse.
Given the paucity of studies on modality in political discourse, particularly in
political speeches, the present study sets out to fill this niche.
To clarify the aim of the study, we ask the following research questions:
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 3
1. What are the most extensively used modal auxiliary verbs in the selected
SONAs of the Philippine Presidents?
2. What meanings do these modal verbs bring to bear on the overall message
conveyed by the SONAs?
Scope of the Study:
The use of modal auxiliary verbs in the first and last state of the nation address
(SONAs) of the Philippine Presidents since the 1970s is the scope of the study. This
study is limited to the text corpus that consists of ten SONAs, two papers from each
President:
Ferdinand E. Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno S. Aquino III.
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual thrust of this study is underpinned by the concept of modality. At
the outset, we must indicate that modality is a stubbornly contentious concept that
eludes precision. For this reason, we make no pretense to provide an avalanche of
scholarly trajectories on the subject. Specifically, we shed light on some notable
taxonomies and functions of modal auxiliary verbs. Sometimes called ‘helping verbs’,
modal auxiliary verbs are ‘little’ words that precede the main verb of a sentence, and are
largely used (across registers) to express a speaker's or writer's "opinion or attitude
towards the proposition that the sentence expresses or the situation that the proposition
describes (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973). For this reason, modal auxiliary verbs may be
involved in the expression of time, necessity, possibility, permission and obligation as
well as such grammatical phenomena as negation, affirmation and questioning.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 4
Erhman (1966:9) in Nartey and Yankston (2014) explains the meaning of modal
auxiliaries as, “that closed class of verbs which may occupy the first position of a verb
phrase, which may not be immediately preceded by another verb, which may invert with
the subject in interrogation, and which is negated by ‘not’”. In this vein, Erhman
intimates that each modal verb has a basic meaning as well as a subsidiary meaning –
what she refers to as ‘overtones’. Similarly, Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002:28) in
Nartey and Yankston (2014) consider modal verbs as first verbs in a clause, and are
followed by the base form of another verb, usually a main verb. According to Halliday
(1970), the grammar and semantics of modal auxiliary verbs in native English have
engaged scholarly attention for a long time; for example, Palmer (1979), Coates (1983),
Hudlestone (1984), Quirk et al. (1985), etc. Even so, modal auxiliary verbs pose
complex problems as far as linguistic description is concerned. Classifying modal
auxiliary verbs is by no means unproblematic, since individual modals may function in
more than one category. Palmer (2001 p. 10), for instance, explains that can conveys
permission in the structure, “John can come in now”, but conveys ability in the sentence,
“John can speak French”. Given the multiplicity of possible meanings that can be
adduced from a particular modal verb, Branford (1967:144-145) in Nartey and Yankston
(2014) points out that, "It is probably better to avoid labelling any modal too specifically
(e.g. 'may' = 'possibility') but to study each according to the context as one finds it".
There is therefore no gainsaying the position that contextual cues are pivotal as far as
the most likely interpretation of a modal is concerned: this view is corroborated in the
present study.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 5
As regard the classification of modal auxiliary verbs, linguists have approached the
English modals in different ways, logically and formally. Halliday (1979: 189-210) views
modality as part of the interpersonal constituent of language and subsequently classifies
the English modal auxiliary verbs in terms of modality and modulation (i.e. the ideational
constituent of language).
Methodology
The data for this study are corpus of selected SONAs of the Presidents since the
1970s, first and last were selected because some are in vernacular form and an exact
English translation was difficult to acquire. The text corpus consists of ten SONAs; two
papers from each President: Ferdinand E. Marcos; Corazon C. Aquino; Fidel V. Ramos;
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno S. Aquino III to represent a broad cross-section
of political discourse. Transcripts of the SONA are in English version, which is archived
online in websites such as www.gov.ph. The study is essentially a qualitative content
analysis. An analytical description, the study is not supported by rigorous statistical
material (although some minimal quantitative techniques were used) but by details and
illustrations drawn from the data. Content analysis is a key methodological apparatus
that enables researchers to understand the process and character of social life and to
arrive at a meaning, and it facilitates the understanding of the types, characteristics and
organizational aspects of documents as social products in their own right as well as
what they claim.
Specifically, we employed intercoding to summarize the data by
teasing out identifiable patterns in order to find conceptual categories in the data. The
main function of open coding, in the words of Punch (1998: 210), is “to expose
theoretical possibilities in the data”. Our analysis was also guided by our research
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 6
questions as we culled the various modal auxiliary verbs, and emphasized the
meanings that could be contextually attributed to them.
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis is the occurrence of each type of modal auxiliary verbs in the
text as identified by Simple Concordance 4.09. The researcher read and analyzed
manually the text corpus because of homophones.
Results and Discussion
Research Question 1:
What are the most extensively used modal auxiliary verbs in the selected SONAs
of the Philippine Presidents? From the analysis, the researcher found that all the nine
central modal auxiliary verbs established in the grammar of English (Quirk et. al, 1985;
Gustilo 2011), with the exception of might, were used in varying proportions in the
political speeches. The modal verbs identified include could, can (not), need to, must,
shall, should, may (not), would and will. As is evident in the itemized modals, two (can
and may) were used in their negated and their non-negated forms.
Table 1. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Ferdinand E. Marcos
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
0
13
5
20
40
13
0
9.63
3.70
14.81
29.63
9.63
3
17
12
16
20
5
2.42
13.71
9.68
12.90
16.13
4.03
3
30
17
36
60
18
1.16
11.58
6.56
13.90
23.17
6.95
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 7
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
8
10
26
135
5.93
7.41
19.26
100.00
4
5
42
130
3.23
4.03
33.87
100.00
12
15
68
265
4.63
5.79
26.25
100.00
Table 2. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Corazon C. Aquino
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
3
9
9
5
8
1
2
5
20
62
4.84
14.52
14.52
8.06
12.90
1.61
3.23
8.06
32.26
100.00
16
7
4
4
7
4
5
7
29
83
19.28
8.43
4.82
4.82
8.43
4.82
6.02
8.43
34.94
100.00
19
16
13
9
15
5
7
12
49
145
13.10
11.03
8.97
6.21
10.34
3.45
4.83
8.28
33.79
100.00
Table 3. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Fidel V. Ramos
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
1
27
8
31
19
7
5
2
43
143
0.70
18.88
5.59
21.68
13.29
4.90
3.50
1.40
30.07
100.00
1
17
8
53
7
9
6
5
46
152
0.66
11.18
5.26
34.87
4.61
5.92
3.95
3.29
30.26
100.00
2
44
16
84
26
16
11
7
89
295
0.68
14.92
5.42
28.47
8.81
5.42
3.73
2.37
30.17
100.00
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 8
Table 4. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Gloria M. Arroyo
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequenc
y
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
5
26
8
21
6
12
14
5
106
203
2.46
12.81
3.94
10.34
2.96
5.91
6.90
2.46
52.22
100.00
4
14
2
11
2
9
2
4
27
75
5.33
18.67
2.67
14.67
2.67
12.00
2.67
5.33
36.00
100.00
9
40
10
32
8
21
16
9
133
278
3.24
14.39
3.60
11.51
2.88
7.55
5.76
3.24
47.84
100.00
Table 5. Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs – Benigno S. Aquino III
FIRST
LAST
Total
Modal
Auxiliary
Verbs
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Frequency
Percentage
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
24
49
19
11
1
6
10
46
145
311
7.72
15.76
6.11
3.54
0.32
1.93
3.22
14.79
46.62
100.00
9
39
27
10
0
4
10
22
117
238
3.78
16.39
11.34
4.20
0.00
1.68
4.20
9.24
49.16
100.00
33
88
46
21
1
10
20
68
262
549
6.01
16.03
8.38
3.83
0.18
1.82
3.64
12.39
47.72
100.00
Table 1-5 includes the first and last SONAs delivered by the five recent
presidents of the Republic of the Philippines. Individually, the researcher tallied the
occurrence of modal auxiliary verbs based on the first SONA and the last SONA.
Basically the table shows the frequency of modal auxiliary verbs and their percentages
in different political speeches.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 9
Table 6. Overall Distribution of Modal Auxiliary Verbs –
FIRST & LAST SONAs for the FIVE PRESIDENTS
FIRST
Modal
Auxiliar
y Verbs
Could
Can
Need to
Must
Shall
Should
May
Would
Will
TOTAL
LAST
Total
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
33
124
49
88
74
39
39
68
340
854
3.86
14.52
5.74
10.30
8.67
4.57
4.57
7.96
39.81
100.00
33
94
53
94
36
31
27
43
261
672
4.91
13.99
7.89
13.99
5.36
4.61
4.02
6.40
38.84
100.00
66
218
102
182
110
70
66
111
601
1532
4.33
14.29
6.68
11.93
7.21
4.59
4.33
7.27
39.38
100.00
It can be interpreted from Table 6 that will have the highest frequency of
occurrence in the political speeches (SONAs), occurring 601 times. This also is
manifested in the first and lasts SONAs of the Philippine President in their individual
results notice Table 1-5. Can (not) follows will as the modal with the second highest
frequency of occurrence, with an occurrence rate of 218. Must also has quite a number
of occurrences, 182 in total including would 111, shall 110, and need 102. While these
three modal verbs are fairly preponderant (as evidenced by Table 6) in the political
speeches, modals like may (occurring 66 times), should (occurring 70 times), and could
(occurring 66 times) are minimally used. The fact that the use of certain modal verbs is
more frequent than others substantiates the point that modal auxiliary verbs are
contextually deployed to achieve specific communicative intents and purposes in
different registers. Hence, we maintain that the preponderance or otherwise of specific
modals in political speeches is neither borne out of coincidence nor randomization, but
by the specific objective(s) of the SONAs, and the political speeches genre itself.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 10
Next, we discuss the possible contextual meanings and semantic functions
attributed to the modal auxiliary verbs in the political speeches.
Research Question 2: What meanings do these modal verbs bring to bear on the
overall message conveyed by the SONAs? Before proceeding with the second phase
of the analysis, the researcher must mention that the functions identified and discussed
here are by no means exhaustive. The given illustrative examples fit well with the
corresponding modality, and could be contextualized at length. The overriding purpose
here is not to provide a definitive number of functions of the modals, but to give an
integrative idea of the encompassing nature of the English modals, and to demonstrate
that these modal verbs can be taken into perspective to articulate lucidity of attitudinal
propositions. The researcher presents the functions subsequently.
Could in the SONAs is used 66 times across 10 political speeches, representing
a percentage of 4.33%. In one instance of its usage in the SONA, could is used to
express a strong possibility. The use of could in this regard buttresses Quirk et al.’s
(1973) assertion that could can be used to express a possibility (theoretical or factual).
This finding, however, repudiates Newson’s (2008) position that the traditionally
considered past tense forms of modal verbs- might, could, should and might convey
weaker propositions.
1) In this work, thankfully, the justice system has recently brought to bar highprofile pedophiles and abusers of children. [Applause] But we do need the
enactment of the Anti-Rape Bill, which could have been done in your previous
session.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 11
2) The bill could be patterned after the well-known RICO statute in the United
States.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
3) And, unlike the situation in 1997 when a battered Asia could still lean on the
strength of the advanced economies, today our main trading partners like
Japan and America are slowing down as well.
(Gloria Arroyo)
4) What if the freshness of the fish could be preserved in a cold storage facility?
You could go to the merchant and still sell your catch at full price. You would
exert the same amount of effort, but you would receive the right compensation
for it.
(Benigno Aquino III)
This supposed contravention with Newson’s position reinforces our position that
the various English modals cannot be generalized in their semantic underpinnings;
instead, they are largely influenced by the different contextual indices, discourse
determinants and situational factors. Indeed, it would be alarming and altogether
puzzling if a promise captured in political speech is expressed in a weak tone.
Can (not) occur 218 times in all SONAs, representing a total percentage of
14.29% thus, it occurs quite frequently in the political speeches. As a modal verb in the
SONAs, can is used to expresses ability and theoretical possibility. It is used to express
ability in the utterances.
5) Self-sufficiency in the production of food, especially rice, must be attained in
the shortest possible time. We must also improve and diversify our production
of export crops so that we can develop Philippine agriculture into a reliable
earner of foreign exchange.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
6) The domestic structural reform program we have initiated cannot be pursued in
earnest unless the necessary financing is made available. Fresh funding is
needed to effect adjustments in the industrial structure, to assist new ventures,
and to support our social programs. This funding cannot come from the
domestic economy. Low domestic incomes cannot generate the required
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 12
savings. Meanwhile, debt service was taking half our export earnings. Rescue
could only come from foreign sources, both official and private.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
7) Twenty-eight days ago, I entered into the presidency. Since then, my principal
object has been to know all that one can possibly know—in that brief time—of
the problems facing the nation, the opportunities open to us and the support we
can count on from our people and from our friends in the world.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
In 7), can is used to question the possibility of counting on from our people and
from our friends in the world. The use of can, as is evident in this example, nullifies any
form of uncertainty or even possibility, and emphatically presents the propositions as
factual and wholly true. Given this, the message put forward is likely to be taken
seriously and accepted by people as true. The factual proposition advanced by the use
of can in the example is likely to instigate a lack of confidence. This is because the
proposition expressed by can in the example suggests that the government is expecting
the support of our allies. These negative impressions (as can be deduced from the
example) are presented, not as assumptions, suppositions or mere conceptions, but as
facts and hard truths.
Can, in the SONA, is also used to express a theoretical
possibility, in which case it gives a strong possibility for an event to materialize and/or
be actualized. The researcher must also mention that in almost all instances that can is
used in the SONAs, it is used as a strong modal verb, and therefore used to make
strong and ‘high’ assertions, thereby corroborating Newson’s (2008) assertion that must,
can, shall and will are strong modals in almost all their uses.
The negated form of can (cannot), conversely, is used in the SONA to express
inability and impossibility as is respectively exemplified by the extracts below.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 13
8) The atomized jurisdictions in the metropolis cannot deal with problems that are
collective in nature. The only answer is a metropolitan administration that will
deliver basic services effectively to all of Metro Manila.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
9) But the government cannot do it alone. It cannot do it alone in customs, it
cannot do it alone in fighting graft, it cannot do it alone in fighting poverty. I’m
not a miracle worker. All of us must do our share. We have to think Filipino, buy
Filipino, and invest Filipino. I invite the taipans and other business people all
over the country to start pump-priming the economy by investing once again in
the Philippines. I invite you to create jobs, accelerate progress, and thereby
address the root causes of the crime and unrest that so much alarm us.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
Need to, occurring 102 times in the SONAs (6.68 per cent), need to is used to
express necessity in all instances of its usage in SONAs. The examples below confirm
this position.
10) At least six areas of economic management need to be subjected to further
action and reform for the rest of 1985 and 1986.
To succeed at this, however, we need to be concerned about providing support
to our armed forces, instead of denying it the wherewithal to fight the
insurgency. Let us face the fact squarely that the reduction of the defense
budget in 1983 and 1984 has done much to sap the potency of our programs.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
11) We do, however, have a dire need to improve our intelligence, logistics, and
communication services. Given our limited resources, we must improve our
ratio of patrols to contacts, and our capability to maximize such combat
opportunities as present themselves.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
12) Alongside the monetary program, we need to improve the fiscal position of the
Central Bank.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 14
Must, a strong deontic modal auxiliary verb (Newson, 2008), must is used in the
political speeches to express (strong) obligation and/or compulsion and logical
necessity appearing 182 times or 11.93 percent. In the two constructions below, must is
used to express strong obligation.
13) We must curtail unnecessary expenditures and limit the period for active
campaigning. I therefore propose legislation limiting the expenses of any
candidate to four times the annual salary for the position to which he aspires.
14) We must remove the infirmities of the fundamental law. And perhaps, it is now
time also to prevent the deadlocks in the Senate, by providing for an increase
in its membership.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
15) Still our march towards nationhood must be undeterred and any threat to its
progress will be countered with all the resources available to us, wielded with
as much passion as self-preservation can muster.
16) To give the people greater power over their lives is the essence of democracy
that we must strive to bring out completely.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
17) Our goal must be to attain a just, comprehensive, peaceful, and lasting
resolution of the internal armed conflict that has cost the nation and our people
so dearly.
18) We must awaken and energize all our regions—all our islands—all our
provinces and cities and municipalities—to the possibilities of modernization.
And we must tap the talent pool that still lies dormant in our 69 million people,
the majority of whom are under 40 years of age. We must break the remaining
concentration of economic and political power in a few—so that we can
unleash the creativity, the resourcefulness, and the entrepreneurship in the
many.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 15
19) To succeed, the template of our national agenda must revolve around four
components—apat na elemento ng pakikibaka sa kahirapan.
20) Peace and development are inseparable twins. But our framework must not
compromise constitutionality, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
21) Confusion is not an option, and you must have a response for every question,
suggestion, and criticism—and you must have all the answers even before the
questions are asked. This is not an easy job, and I am only human, one who at
times is also capable of feeling apprehension.
22) We also aim to complete the construction of 7,176 housing units in other areas
by June of next year. I must ask for your understanding.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
In 13), must is used to strongly assert that it is extremely needful, and therefore
obligatory to curtain unnecessary expenditures. Like 15) and 16), must is also used in
17) to vehemently opine that the government policy is obliged to address national
adversaries. In the SONAs, must is also used to express logical necessity as is
demonstrated by the example in 21) and 22). In this example, the use of must relates to
us the stance that it is logically necessary for a government in power to change to a
system that encourages strong institutions, rather than one that encourages strong
men. Though a reasonable and a sensible idea, the current government, the example
suggests, has not been able to achieve this feat, perhaps, because they lack the mettle
and expertise to or simply because the government might even not have recognized the
need to effect such a change, albeit plausible. Hence once again, we see the readiness
and inventiveness, supposedly, of the current government – this is covertly intimated by
the use of must in the example. The interest of the nation at heart and has even
identified a loophole that logically warrants urgent attention.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 16
Shall, in ten SONAs, is used 110 times, representing a percentage of 7.21. In all
the instances of its usage, shall, invariably, expresses intention, thereby confirming
Greenbaum’s (1996) postulation that of all the meanings that can be attributed to shall,
the intention function is widespread and most prevalent. The use of shall to express
intention in the SONAS is illustrated below.
23) This administration is prepared to find the means for the implementation of land
reform. If necessary, we shall consider the sale of government properties not
immediately needed to realize the funds for the proposed Land Bank. The
Agricultural Credit Administration must be reoriented to permit a total
concentration of its resources on land reform cases.
24) Fifth, we shall revitalize the agricultural sector, which is envisioned to propel
national recovery and sustain economic growth in the coming years.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
25) In the next six years, we shall have to pay $20.4 billion to our official and
private creditors.
26) To this end, we shall continue to exhaust measures and avenues that will
involve all our people in the task of moral and material reconstruction and
national unity.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
27) At the end of my term, the question will no longer be whether we can compete
but where else in the world shall we take an indisputable competitive
advantage.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 17
These intentions are pre-meditated, and hopefully the presidents would expect
that such good intentions would get them into the public. Though the good intentions
expressed by the SONAs in the examples above can be considered conjectured future
events, and therefore could pass off as indefinite intentions of futurity, it still stands to
reason the intention of SONA by giving solid promises to assure public needs.
There are also instances where shall is used to express strong obligation,
supporting Newson’s (2008) claim that shall is a strong modal verb. These instances are
presented below.
28) There shall be created an Investment Office which shall furnish all the
information that may be required by prospective investors, foreign or domestic.
Such an office should be ready to recommend openings for investment and to
help to extend all facilities in both the public and the private sectors to the
entrepreneurs.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
29) I would also hope that our proposed revisions of the Tariff Code and the
rationalization of the government corporate sector shall be among the
Congress’ first concerns; these being two areas that I find require the common
counsel of executive and legislature.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
30) I assure you we shall also be much more assertive in negotiating with our
creditors to gain better terms.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 18
31) We shall redeem in earnest the promise of land reform, a commitment that
spans several presidents. Isa pa itong pangakong hindi dapat mapako.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
Unlike in the previous examples of the use of shall, in 28), Ferdinand E. Marcos
considers the establishment of an Investment Office that will furnish all the information
that may be required by prospective investors, foreign or domestic. As a duty that office
should be ready to recommend investment and extend all facilities to both private and
public.
Should is used 70 times (4.59 percent) in which case it is put to obligation and
putative uses. These two uses are exemplified below.
32) Sixth, we shall strive to raise the efficiency of our public health services to a
level which should meet the minimum requirements of our people.
33) We know too that in spite of all the hectoring from others about how democracy
should develop in our land, we can only trust and listen to our experiences and
our needs.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
Should is obligatorily and putatively used in 32) and 33) respectively, that every
Filipino people are entitled for a quality health services and democracy.
As a
worthwhile obligation every individual SHOULD aspire to and indeed desire strongly to
have in 32), while in 33), the use of should expresses an ideal situation which is thought
to be or is supposed to be, but is not.
Extracts for should listed below also denotes the same meaning or interpretation.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 19
34) I should make it clear that the Kabisig, and the whole movement of people’s
organizations that I have tried to encourage, will be campaigning hard for one
candidate only—the Filipino people and no one else.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
35) Third, let us improve our institutional and professional capability for crime
prevention and crime suspension at both national and local levels. These
measures should include a stricter firearms control law and more effective
actions by our peace and order councils.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
36) Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco, and not from books. Tax hazards
to lungs and livers, do not tax minds.
The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue
assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
37) Let us use ARMM as an example. Governor Mujiv Hataman has said that he
could not remember a time in his life when Lanao del Sur did not suffer a failure
of elections. We should note that this was the first time that the ARMM
elections were synchronized with the national elections. This means that, in the
past, the full force of the State was focused on just one region, and yet it still
had to call for a failure of elections.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
May (not) is used 66 times in the SONAs, representing a percentage of 4.33. In
the SONAs, may (not) is used solely to express possibility and/or likelihood. The
examples below are extracts from the data, and they illustrate the possibility/likelihood
function of may (not).
38) Our financial policy therefore will be so designed that the public sector may not
unduly tax the existing credit sources in competition with the private sector.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 20
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
39) The organized participation of the people in daily government may provide the
stabilizing element that government has always lacked.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
40) The recent speculative attack on the peso may have been a blessing in
disguise because it gave us Filipinos the opportunity to enhance the
competitiveness of the Philippine peso.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
In 41, the use of may suggests that there is a high possibility that the recent
attack on the peso may have been a blessing in disguise; hence, gave the opportunity
to Filipinos in enhancing competitiveness. Again, it is discernible that the attack on the
peso may have positive effect.
Would, although Newson (2008) posits that would is a weak modal verb like
should, we found the opposite in this study – in all instances in which it is used in the
SONAs, would is used as a strong verb. Specifically, would is used to express
willingness and intention.
41) I therefore recommend legislation which would prohibit any campaign activity
such as the printing and distribution of any poster, advertisements for
candidates, or activity of any candidate seeking insertion of such
advertisements before such period allowed by law for campaigning.
42) This would enable the private sector to continue its dynamic role in our
economic recovery in the context of a free enterprise economy.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 21
This is a strong claim by Marcos that brings the event expressed in the
proposition above to pass as legislation. Would is also used in the SONAs to express
future intention. This function primarily conveys the presidents intended plans for the
country. Examples in this regard are presented below.
43) I would also hope that our proposed revisions of the Tariff Code and the
rationalization of the government corporate sector shall be among the
Congress’ first concerns; these being two areas that I find require the common
counsel of executive and legislature.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 22
44) I would urge Congress therefore to consider one comprehensive “Government
Reorganization Act” that will enable us to streamline the entire executive
branch, including the Office of the President.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
45) Instead, let us recognize that we have a multiethnic society which should be
founded on social justice for all and institutionalized accommodation of ethnic
traditions. This would finally introduce a new culture in our nation’s attitude
towards Mindanao.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
46) I would also like to propose to Congress several laws that will help us sustain
and improve on the reforms we have established.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
In the examples above, some actual intentions of the presidents on SONAs are
foregrounded by the use of the modal would. These futuristic intentions are likely to
endear the presidents by the public, given their positive appeal.
Will in SONAs is the most preponderantly used modal verb, occurring 601 times
(representing 39.38 percent). Similarly, in Gustilo (2011) study of modal auxiliaries in
Philippine English, it appears that will is also the most fashionable modal auxiliary
verbs.
In the speech, there are several instances where will is used to express intention,
reinforcing Quirk et al.’s (1973) stance that will indicates an intention or a promise.
Examples are presented below.
47) We will irrigate an additional quarter of a million hectares and undertake river
control projects in eight regions and 38 localities.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 23
48) We will continue to use the persuasive powers of the Presidency to prevent the
spiraling of prices in key sectors and products.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
Greenbaum (1996)’s postulation that will is used to convey certainty is also made
evident severally in the SONAs – this function is illustrated below.
49) The current imports will beef up our buffer stocks for the lean months of July
through September.
(Ferdinand E. Marcos)
50) Our premise is that, for as long as free market forces dictate the dynamics of
the business environment, the private sector will respond aggressively.
51) Participatory democracy will end the practice of punishing provinces and
municipalities for the wrong vote in the last poll. It will separate elections, where
the people vote for their favorites, from the provision of public service which
every Filipino has a right to expect from the government, regardless how he
voted.
(Corazon C. Aquino)
Again in the SONAs, will is used to express determination, as is demonstrated by
the example below.
52) Through the budget, we shall pump-prime the economy; stimulate growth by
focusing public investments on programs with the highest productive and
economic returns; and provide social services and productivity programs that
will empower the majority among us who are now without the means to lead
decent and useful lives, particularly the farming, fishing, and labor sectors.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
Additionally, will is used in the SONAs to promise the people, as is reflected in
the examples below.
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 24
53) We will pursue our fight against heinous crimes with greater vigor even as we
continue to cleanse government of the scalawags and grafters within its ranks,
whether in the executive, the legislative or judicial branch.
(Fidel V. Ramos)
54) To improve the quality of education as required by the new economy, we will
increase the number of textbooks per student as well as the quality of
instruction. This year all public school students will have textbooks for priority
subjects in grades 1 to 4 and in the 1st and 2nd years of high school.
55) We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1 billion.
(Gloria M. Arroyo)
56) Apart from all these, the Jalaur River Project will create around 17,000 jobs;
and once it becomes fully operational, an estimated 32,000 Filipinos will be
given decent livelihoods. This project was first conceived in 1960—the same
year I was born.
(Benigno S. Aquino III)
Given that will is a strong modal verb (Newson, 2008), it is used in the SONAs to
express strong intentions, certainty, determination and promise as has been highlighted
in the foregoing paragraphs. Essentially, all the uses of will reinforce the exact objective
of a political speech– to win the heart of the public. SONA is no exception to this rule;
hence, consistently, will is used in the speech to reassure the public of a better country.
That the SONAs are preponderant with the modal will is not surprising. Indeed, it can be
considered intentional and strategic given that by bombarding people with tons of
realistic promises, a political speech is likely to be given a chance by the public.
Conclusion
The main objective of the present study was to examine the semantics of modal
auxiliary verbs in the first and last SONAs of the Philippine Presidents since the 1970s.
Premised on the assumption that writers of political speeches do find modal auxiliary
verbs a very useful persuasive strategy to deploy in an attempt to forcefully and
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 25
cogently transmit the message that they want to conveyed to the public, we set out to
show in this study that the use of modal auxiliary verbs in political speeches is neither
haphazard nor coincidental. Instead, it is informed by reason of a specific
communicative intent. Given the results of the study, the following conclusions can be
drawn. First, the nine modal auxiliary verbs identified in the SONAs have varying levels
of preponderance; will being the most frequently used.
Second, the modal auxiliary
verbs were strategically deployed and fastidiously instantiated to positively project the
message, while at the same time highlight the supposed inefficiencies and
incompetence of the incumbent government. To this end, we affirm that modal auxiliary
verbs have a persuasive connotation in political discourses, in general, and in political
speeches, in particular. Third, the findings of the study show that modal auxiliary verbs
do not have definitive meanings; rather, they are appropriately decoded in a given
context and are informed by certain germane situational factors, including type of
register.
These findings bear implications for pedagogy, the theory of modality, text
construction and/or composition and further discourse analytical studies on political
speeches, in general, and political speeches, in particular. From the discussion above
coupled with the fact that this study covered only the five recent presidents of the
Philippines and their first and last SONAs it is suggested that:
First, similar studies can, for instance, be conducted on the SONAs of other
Presidents in order to ascertain the extent to which the findings of the present study can
be generalized. Second, other studies could adopt a comparative approach to examine
the SONAs of other Philippine Presidents in a bid to establish whether or not the use of
modal auxiliary verbs in SONAs is conditioned by politics specific tendencies. Third, it
Semantics and Pragmatics – Nelson C. del Mundo 26
should be possible for future studies to compare Philippine presidents SONAs with the
state of the nation address of presidents in our neighboring Asian countries. Finally, the
present study examined modality in the SONAs from a general perspective. It would be
useful to investigate the specific type of modal (for example, epistemic, deontic or
dynamic) that is prevalent in political speeches and the possible reason(s) behind such
prevalence.
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