This thesis is concerned with pragmatic factors of deontic reasoning, namely scale of violation, aggravating and mitigating circumstances and power of source. Nine experiments are reported investigating deontic reasoning and judgement revision. Experiment 1 established scale of violation as a modifying factor of a working rule with an inferential reasoning task, however, the effects were not transferred to a deductive reasoning task in Experiment 2. Scale of violation and circumstances were found to influence the reasoning of motoring violations with a major offence and aggravating circumstances being rated as more serious and receiving greater fines than a minor offence or mitigating circumstances (Experiments 3 & 4). These effects were also observed with a judgement revision task (Experiment 5). Power of source was included as an additional pragmatic factor and was found to influence the reasoning of conditional statements (Experiment 6), inducements (Experiment 7) and ratings of credibility and probability of outcomes (Experiment 8). The final study (Experiment 9) found significant effects for scale of violation / compliance and power of source within a judgement revision task. However, no difference was observed in the reasoning of superordinate and non-superordinate statements. The findings are explained in terms of the conditional probability hypothesis.

I develop a novel semantic theory for modals that has important consequences for contemporary work in epistemology, metaphysics and ethics. My theory replaces the dominant view about semantics--that our best theory of meaning should ascribe truth-conditions to modalized sentences--with a non-truth-conditional yet fully compositional semantics for modals. Its contributions to current debates in analytic philosophy include an explanation of the possibility of modal disagreement that avoids relativism, a solution to the paradoxes about conditional obligations (including the gentle murder paradox), and new impulses for a generalized solution to the Frege-Geach problem for noncognitivism. / text

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary Copple / Modality, a concept for which linguists have struggled to come to an agreed-upon, comprehensive definition, has been the subject of many linguistic studies over the last several decades. The contemporary English modal system has a long history of semantic and morphological development, or grammaticalization, which currently consists of auxiliary modals that function with lexical verbs to express levels of obligation, necessity, ability, permission, and degrees of certainty. For native speakers of English, determining the appropriate contexts and form of a specific modal verb is second nature. However, grasping the contextual complexity of the English modal system can be difficult for English language learners. Deontic modals such as must, have to, have (got) to and should are often presented to English language learners as relatively equal in meaning and contextual appropriateness, which makes gaining a native-like command of these modals even more difficult. This study, on a small scale, describes contemporary usage through a comparison of similar studies and data from a series of sociolinguistic interviews with native speakers of American English. The participants range from the ages of 25-50. They were chosen from the local population of Manhattan, KS and have lived in Kansas for a minimum of 10 years. Through a quantitative analysis of the tokens, patterns of dialogic use will be extrapolated from the linguistic data. The research questions will seek to find established patterns of deontic modal use that in order to identify practical applications of usage-based research for textbook publishers, curriculum designers, and educators.

Esta pesquisa, concebida sob o enfoque funcionalista e norteada pelos trabalhos de Lyons (1977), Almeida (1988), Palmer (1986), Bybee, Perkins & Pagliuca (1994), Bybee & Fleischman (1995) e Verstraete (2004), objetivou discutir os marcadores de modalidade deÃntica veiculados no discurso de professores e alunos no contexto interativo da sala de aula de inglÃs como lÃngua estrangeira (LE) em trÃs (03) escolas pÃblicas da cidade de Fortaleza, CearÃ. Vale salientar que no contexto instrucional aqui considerado, as aulas de inglÃs como LE sÃo ministradas em portuguÃs por professores com pouquÃssima/nenhuma exposiÃÃo imersiva à lÃngua que ensinam, conforme revelado pelo questionÃrio Perfil do professor. Para o desenvolvimento deste estudo, tendo como norte a lÃngua como um instrumento de interaÃÃo verbal, foram considerados os aspectos sintÃticos, semÃnticos e pragmÃtico-discursivos. Para a constituiÃÃo do corpus, foram observadas e gravadas trÃs (03) aulas geminadas de cada um dos seis professores que aceitaram participar da pesquisa, contabilizando portanto, um total de 1.620 minutos de aula. O estudo revelou que durante o processo interativo aqui considerado, professores e alunos fizeram uso de diversos tipos de marcadores da modalidade deÃntica tais como modais (poder), expressÃes (ter quer), imperativos e outros empreendendo-lhes cargas semÃnticas dependentes do contexto situacional de uso e/ou da intenÃÃo do falante. A pesquisa revelou ainda que na interaÃÃo assimÃtrica que se estabelece no contexto de sala de aula, o professor à a fonte e o aluno, o alvo deÃntico mais freqÃente, sendo que o professor pouco se inclui na instauraÃÃo do valor deÃntico. Tais resultados poderiam indicar uma postura autoritÃria por parte do professsor, entretanto, o uso de marcas de atenuaÃÃo do valor deÃntico no discurso dos professores-sujeitos (por meio de verbos de carga semÃntica modalizadora deÃntica baixa ou da manifestaÃÃo da forÃa ilocucionÃria manifestada por (por favor) evidencia uma outra realidade: a suavizaÃÃo da carga semÃntica dos marcadores da modalizaÃÃo deÃntica; trata-se de um recurso estratÃgico utilizado pelo professor de inglÃs como LE para, entre outras coisas, envolver seu aluno na aula, chamÃ-lo a participar ativamente da interaÃÃo, orientar suas atitudes e condutas, facilitar sua aprendizagem, instruÃ-lo no uso da lÃngua. Dessa forma foi possÃvel concluir que, embora os professores participantes da pesquisa tivessem pouca ou nenhuma imersÃo na lÃngua inglesa, conseguiram manusear os marcadores da modalizaÃÃo deÃntica em portuguÃs de forma adequada a fim de garantir a eficÃcia de suas instruÃÃes e explicaÃÃes sobre a lÃngua inglesa. Por fim, o estudo se revelou fÃrtil para a elaboraÃÃo de uma proposta tipolÃgica para a modalidade deÃntica na Ãrea do ensino / This research, developed under the light of Functionalism and guided by the works of Lyons (1977), Almeida (1988), Palmer (1986), Bybee, Perkins & Pagliuca (1994), Bybee & Fleischman (1995) and Verstraete (2004), aims at discussing the deontic modality markers conveyed in the discourse of teachers and students in the interactional context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in three public schools in the city of Fortaleza, CearÃ. It is important to mention that in the instructional context taken into consideration for purposes of this research, the EFL classes are given in Portuguese by teachers with very little or no foreign-language immersion, in accordance with the Teacher-profile questionnaire. Having as major guideline the fact that the language is as verbal interactional means, aspects such as a syntactic, semantic and pragmatic-discursive ones were considered. For corpus constitution, three (03) 90-minute classes were observed and recorded for each of a total of six (06) teachers who accepted to take part in this research, amounting to a total of 1.620 minutes of class. The study revealed that during the interactional process considered for the purpose of this research, teachers and students made use of various types of deontic markers such as modals (poder) , expressions (ter que), imperatives and others, to convey shades of semantic load dependent on the situational context of use and/or speakerÂs intention. The research also revealed during the asymmetric interaction which is established between the participants of the process here focused on, the teacher is the source and the student, the most frequent deontic target. In addition, the study also showed that the teacher plays a non-inclusive role in the instauration of deontic value. The above listed results would lead to the conclusion that teachers adopt authoritarian postures in class. However, the use of markers of mitigation of deontic value in the discourse of teachers-subjects (by means of verbs of low deontic semantic load or the manifestation of illocucionary force expressed by (por favor) reveals another reality: the softening of the semantic load of deontic modality markers can be considered a strategic means used by the EFL teacher to, among other things, involve students, invite them to actively participate in the activities, ease their learning, instruct them in the use of the foreign language. Thus, it was possible to conclude that despite the teachersâ little or no immersion in the English language natural environment, they manage to use the deontic modality markers in Portuguese adequately in order to guarantee the effectiveness of their instructions and explanations about the English language. Moreover, the study revealed itself productive in the elaboration of a typology of deontic modality in the field of teaching

FundaÃÃo de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Cearà / Objetivando analisar de que modo expressÃes lingÃÃsticas da modalidade deÃntica atuam no sentido de viabilizar a adesÃo do auditÃrio a pontos de vista defendidos em discursos polÃticos, pesquisamos, sob o prisma da orientaÃÃo funcionalista, quarenta e quatro discursos proferidos por Deputados Federais no plenÃrio da CÃmara por ocasiÃo das discussÃes envolvendo a proposta de reforma no regime previdenciÃrio dos servidores pÃblicos, ao longo do primeiro semestre de 2003. Entendida como a modalidade relacionada à possibilidade ou necessidade de atos executados por agentes moralmente responsÃveis, a modalidade deÃntica foi analisada do ponto de vista sintÃtico, semÃntico e pragmÃtico. A pesquisa revelou a existÃncia de uma relaÃÃo entre pressÃo social sob os oradores e freqÃÃncia de uso de expressÃes deonticamente modalizadas, a saber, quanto maior a pressÃo em torno da aprovaÃÃo/rejeiÃÃo do projeto em tramitaÃÃo, mais freqÃentemente se valeram os parlamentares de expressÃes capazes de, entre outras funÃÃes, apresentÃ-los à opiniÃo pÃblica como autoridades dispostas a lutar pelos interesses da comunidade. Quanto aos meios lingÃÃsticos de expressÃo da modalidade deÃntica, constatamos a alta produtividade do verbo auxiliar modal, destacando-se o verbo dever na instauraÃÃo de obrigaÃÃes. Observamos tambÃm a elevada produtividade da exclusÃo do orador do alvo sobre o qual recai o valor deÃntico instaurado. A predileÃÃo dos parlamentares por apresentarem-se à opiniÃo pÃblica como indivÃduos que jà arcaram com o Ãnus que lhes competia na execuÃÃo de uma tarefa, ou por levar a audiÃncia a crer que a competÃncia para a realizaÃÃo de algo à de outrem, cabendo-lhes denunciar e cobrar, à justificada na medida em que essa estratÃgia revelou-se mecanismo de atenuaÃÃo da pressÃo por parte do auditÃrio sobre a figura do orador, transferindo expectativas e cobranÃas a outros indivÃduos ou a instituiÃÃes. / The study aimed at investigating in which way linguistic expressions of the deontic modality act in a sense of making the audienceâs participation possible in standpoints defended in political speeches and, thus, it was analyzed, under a functionalist theory, forty-four speeches delivered by Representatives at the Lower House of Congress. They discussed the reformation proposal on the welfare state along the first semester of the year 2003. Being understood as the modality related to the axis of the obligation, the deontic modality is, in the present research, as a whole, analyzed under the manifestation of syntactic, semantic and pragmatic-discourse aspects. The research revealed the existence of a relation between the reformation processâ stage, what is directly related to the social pressure over the politicians, and the usage frequency of deontic modalizator expressions. Concerning the linguistc means of the deontic modality expression, one could perceive a high production of the modal verb, standing out the verb âmustâ in the consolidation of obligations. One could also observe a high frequency of the lack of a targetâs explicitation in which the deontic value was established as well as an exclusion strategy in relation to the target, when the latter was specified. The politiciansâ preference for presenting themselves to the public as the ones who took the responsibilities in a task execution, or for making the audience believe that this responsiblity belongs to somebody else, weakens the audienceâs pression over the politicianâs figure, then transferring this responsibility to other individuals or to institutions. For these reasons, in general terms, one can observe the politiciansâ preference for keeping some distance from the established deontic valueâs incidence target.

The cloud computing paradigm introduces an efficient utilisation of huge computing resources by multiple users with minimal expense and deployment effort compared to traditional computing facilities. Although cloud computing has incredible benefits, some governments and enterprises remain hesitant to transfer their computing technology to the cloud as a consequence of the associated security challenges. Security is, therefore, a significant factor in cloud computing adoption. Cloud services consist of three layers: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Cloud computing services are accessed through network connections and utilised by multi-users who can share the resources through virtualisation technology. Accordingly, an efficient access control system is crucial to prevent unauthorised access. This thesis mainly investigates the IaaS security enhancement from an access control point of view.

The thesis aims at developing approaches to transport policy decisions, based on suggestions and ideas originating from moral philosophy and philosophical decision theory.Paper I analyzes the Swedish transport policy goals, and the problem of combining policygoals with welfare economics. A problem of circularity arises as the Swedish transport policygoals are conflicting, and hence must be subject to trade-offs, while several of the goals themselves entail statements on how to prioritize or restrain goals in case of conflict.Paper II analyzes rationality in road safety policy. Problematic features are identified and discussed. The paper argues that the Swedish road safety goal is rational, since it is actionguiding and achievement-inducing.Paper III includes a model of rational choice under risk with biased risk perception. Under certain plausible conditions, a regulator should raise the population’s risk exposure. By deteriorating the environment the regulator can motivate drivers to choose behaviour that is less biased.Paper IV provides a formal representation of goal systems. The focus is on three properties:consistency, conflict, and coherence. It is argued that consistency is adequately regarded as a property relative to the decision situation or, more specifically, the set of alternatives that the agent faces. Conflict is adequately regarded as a relation over subsets of a given goal systemand should likewise be regarded as relative to the set of alternative that the agent faces.Coherence is given a probabilistic interpretation, based on a support relation over subsets of goal systems.Paper V investigates problems associated with standard deontic logic. A deontic predicate is derived, which avoids some of the major paradoxes in the area. In particular, paradoxes occurring when one obligation is derived by logical necessity from another obligation are dealt with. / QC 20100806

There is a lack of exhaustively investigation for the public speech and the modality of politicians’ speech is been researched for the very first time. The society is highly interested in politics and it has a big influence on the users of language. The paper deals with the modality conception and its expression ways in politicians’ speech. The political discussions program’s “Spaudos klubas” materials are used for studies. After analysis of politicians spoken language was made, some bents for modality usage came to light. In a case of epistemic modality possibility and reality, that embrace real facts, are expressed in politicians’ speech. And in a case of deontic modality possibility and necessity, that encompass will acts, are expressed. The usage of dynamic modality in politicians’ speech is very rare. Realis is put into words by indicative mood and irrealis – by subjunctive and imperative mood. Another way politicians express irrealis is future tense. All basic senses of primary modality - reality, possibility and necessary, are introduced in politicians’ spoken language. In discussions programs politicians mostly use reality meaning sentences (65,35 percent). In telecasts people in politics use all types of basic modal sentences. Direct sentences are used in the most part, it is evade a usage of incentive sentences and the number of interrogative sentences is the least. Secondary modality categorical reliability expression cases are more frequent than the problematic... [to full text]

MENEZES, Léia Cruz de. Expressões linguísticas modalizadoras deônticas em função argumentativa: um exercício de análise retórico-funcional. 2011. 334f. – Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Letras Vernáculas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Linguística, Fortaleza (CE), 2011. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-08-26T12:25:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2011_tese_lcmenezes.pdf: 3729325 bytes, checksum: 75ce0ffca891806b5eb92fa940afe182 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-08-26T12:52:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2011_tese_lcmenezes.pdf: 3729325 bytes, checksum: 75ce0ffca891806b5eb92fa940afe182 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-26T12:52:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2011_tese_lcmenezes.pdf: 3729325 bytes, checksum: 75ce0ffca891806b5eb92fa940afe182 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / The goal of this research is to comprehend the actuation of the deontic linguistic expression in the construction of the argumentative speech, which is understood as a movement which the starting point is the audience agreement concerning the premises which the one who argues bases the theses he defends and draws conclusions authorized by argumentative techniques. Assuming that the linguistic uses are adjusted to the speakers´ communicative intention ,the deontics modal linguistic expressions vary according to the different goals along the argumentative movement. Aiming the understanding of the persuasive effects of these variation, two theoretic-methodological perspectives were discussed in the research: the New Rhetoric and the Linguistics of functional base. While the understructure of the functional Linguistics, as a grammar theory, gives us support to the description and linguistic analysis of the category of the modality in use, the New Rhetoric understructure gives us support to the understanding of the linguistic expressions of the modality concerning the construction of the argumentative speech. The corpus for this work is made of twenty nine typed registers of talks given by Federal Representatives during sessions at Câmara dos Deputados (House of Representatives) throughout 2007 and early 2008. All talks were about the need of national security policies able to stop the increase of violence in Brazil. The research reveals the preference for the subjective use of deontic modal expressions ,in which it is observed the dilution of the speaker´s commitment with his desire for the actions recommended by him. By restoring deontic logic which source presents itself like him, the speaker, in accord with all men and women taken as normal who compose the country public opinion, the one who gives the talk bases his recommendation on what is taken as normal. There underlies the authority of the argumentative strategy of the “massive number”. The research also unveiled the preference for direct non-indication of the deontic targets, as a way to avoid confrontation with personal meaning. The predilection for the indirect indication of targets was observed in 319 occurrences out of 464 modal expressions contained in this corpus. When considered the speaker´s behavior in relation to deontic targets, the research confirmed the option for the inclusion. When the speaker put himself among those who bear the need to do something or to prevent something negative to happen, he increases the listeners´ adhesion to his recommendations by showing himself willing to act. Instead of restoring obligations and prohibitions, he presents himself as the one convoking partners to action. / O objetivo desta pesquisa é compreender a atuação das expressões linguísticas modalizadoras deônticas na construção do modo de discurso argumentativo, o qual é entendido como um movimento cujo ponto de partida é o acordo do auditório sobre premissas nas quais aquele que argumenta alicerça as teses que defende e conduz a conclusões autorizadas por técnicas argumentativas. Partindo do pressuposto de que os usos linguísticos são ajustados aos intentos comunicativos dos falantes, as expressões linguísticas modalizadoras deônticas variam em conformidade com distintos propósitos no transcurso do movimento argumentativo. Visando à compreensão dos efeitos persuasivos dessas variações, duas perspectivas teórico-metodológicas foram postas em diálogo na pesquisa: a Nova Retórica e a Linguística de base funcional. Enquanto o arcabouço da Linguística funcionalista, como teoria gramatical, dá-nos suporte para a descrição e análise linguística da categoria modalidade em uso, o arcabouço da Nova Retórica dá-nos suporte para a compreensão das expressões linguísticas da modalidade em função da construção do discurso argumentativo. O corpus constituído para esse trabalho é formado de vinte e nove registros taquigráficos de proferimentos de Deputados Federais em sessões plenárias na Câmara dos Deputados ao longo do ano de 2007 e início de 2008. Todos os proferimentos versam sobre a necessidade de uma política de segurança nacional capaz de frear a escalada da violência no Brasil. A pesquisa revelou a predileção por usos subjetivos das expressões modalizadoras deônticas, nos quais se observa a diluição do comprometimento do orador com a desejabilidade das ações que recomenda. Ao instaurar valor deôntico cuja fonte se apresenta como ele, orador, em consonância a todos os demais homens e mulheres adultos tidos como normais que compõem a opinião pública do País, aquele que profere o discurso alicerça suas recomendações naquilo que é tido por normal. Subjaz a estratégia argumentativa da autoridade do “grande número”. A pesquisa também revelou a predileção pela não-indicação direta de alvos deônticos, como meio de evitar confrontos com conotação pessoal. A predileção pela indicação indireta de alvos fez-se notar em 319 ocorrências das 464 expressões modalizadoras constantes no corpus. Quanto ao comportamento do orador em relação a alvos deônticos, a pesquisa constatou a opção pela inclusão. Ao se colocar entre aqueles sobre os quais recai a necessidade de realizar algo ou de evitar que algo se produza, o orador aumenta a adesão dos ouvintes às recomendações que apresenta por mostrar-se alguém disposto a agir. Ao invés de instaurador de obrigações e proibições, ele apresenta-se como aquele que convoca parceiros à ação.

FREITAS, Erasmo de Oliveira. Modalidade no gênero webcomentário do jornal O Povo: efeitos de sentido e relação com o mídium digital. 2012. 133f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Letras Vernáculas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Linguística, Fortaleza (CE), 2012. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-06-10T14:31:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_eofreitas.pdf: 1863403 bytes, checksum: 21855fa8ebcf8514bbf2224c024ea99f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-06-10T14:40:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_eofreitas.pdf: 1863403 bytes, checksum: 21855fa8ebcf8514bbf2224c024ea99f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-10T14:40:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_eofreitas.pdf: 1863403 bytes, checksum: 21855fa8ebcf8514bbf2224c024ea99f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / This paper aims to articulate a general description of epistemic and deontic modal marks the production of meaning effects on speech genre webcomentário. The research part of the paucity of studies pertaining to gender and webcomentário mainly research about modalization in virtual continuum of language. The central problem of research focuses on investigating what is the main type of modality and which brands most commonly used modes of expression as argumentative-persuasive strategies found by the readers of The People webnewspaper (www.opovo.br) to produce the communicative purposes of criticism, complaint, compliment or suggestion. For this, we use corpora: a corpus of textual samples consisting of 155 webcomentários published between June and December 2011 and January-March 2012, belonging to five specific topics: Politics, Economics, Culture, Sports and Urban Violence, and a corpus modalizadoras of occurrences of expressions in their respective contexts, in webcomentários, totaling 200 events. The events were analyzed with a view nine categories: i) type of modality, ii) communicative purpose, iii) issue, iv) modes of expression of deontic and epistemic modalities, v) values deônticos, vi) font deontic, vii) type of target deontic, viii) epistemic value and ix) epistemic nature. The survey results indicate that the subject policy achieved the highest number of webcomentários (79.5%) and the epistemic modality showed higher number of events (55%), including the assertion irrealis predominated (60%), followed by realis (36.4%). Regarding the deontic modality (45%), presented as the predominant value deontic permission (51.2%), followed by requirement (46.6%). In this sense, "modalizing" meant "relativize" a genre in the democratic and interactive. The research indicates that there is a direct relationship between the effects of meaning intended by the subject enunciator with modal choice of brands and which modality will be adopted for the construction of argumentation. It seems therefore that, as subjects Bakhtin, the enunciators are aware of their linguistic choices, even if they do not describe the act of writing metalinguistically digital webcomentários. / Este trabalho tem o objetivo geral de articular a descrição das marcas modais deônticas e epistêmicas à produção de efeitos de sentidos no gênero discursivo webcomentário. A pesquisa parte da escassez de estudos concernentes ao gênero webcomentário e principalmente de pesquisas acerca da modalização no continuum virtual de linguagem. O problema central da pesquisa se concentra em investigar qual é o principal tipo de modalidade e quais as marcas de expressão modais mais usadas como estratégias argumentativo-persuasivas encontradas pelos leitores do webjornal O Povo (www.opovo.br) para produzirem os propósitos comunicativos de crítica, denúncia, elogio e sugestão. Para tanto, usamos os corpora: um corpus de amostras textuais constituído por 155 webcomentários publicados entre junho e dezembro de 2011 e janeiro a março de 2012, pertencentes a cinco temas específicos: Política, Economia, Cultura, Esportes e Violência Urbana, e um corpus de ocorrências de expressões modalizadoras em seus respectivos contextos, nos webcomentários, totalizando 200 ocorrências. As ocorrências foram analisadas tendo em vista nove categorias: i) tipo de modalidade, ii) propósito comunicativo, iii) tema, iv) modos de expressão das modalidades deôntica e epistêmica, v) valores deônticos, vi) tipo de fonte deôntica, vii) tipo de alvo deôntico, viii) valor epistêmico e ix) natureza epistêmica. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que o tema Política alcançou o maior número de webcomentários (79,5%) e que a modalidade epistêmica apresentou maior número de manifestações (55%), entre as quais predominou a asserção irrealis (60%), seguida da realis (36,4%). Já em relação à modalidade deôntica (45%), apresentou como valor deôntico predominante a permissão (51,2%), seguido de obrigação (46,6%). Nesse sentido, “modalizar” significou “relativizar” em um gênero de natureza democrática e interativa. A pesquisa indica que há relação direta entre os efeitos de sentido pretendidos pelo sujeito enunciador com a escolha das marcas modais e de qual modalidade será adotada para a construção da argumentação. Parece-nos, portanto, que, como sujeitos bakhtinianos, os enunciadores são conscientes de suas escolhas linguísticas, mesmo que não as descreva metalinguisticamente no ato da redação digital dos webcomentários.