<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The article deals with EU judicial rhetoric and aims to demonstrate how a selection of modal adverbs of certainty (indeed, clearly, (not) necessarily and of course) are used in the Opinions of the Advocates General at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). To this end, it focuses on the rhetorical functions of these adverbs, such as adding emphasis, showing a high degree of commitment and backgrounding alternative viewpoints. The study applies the notions of stance and engagement (Hyland, 2005) and builds on the research into modal adverbs of certainty reported in Simon-Vandenbergen and Aijmer (2007). In summary, the analysis sheds light on the rhetorical potential of modal adverbs, stressing the dialogic dimension of legal opinion writing.</p></abstract>

The article deals with EU judicial rhetoric and aims to demonstrate how a selection of modal adverbs of certainty (indeed, clearly, (not) necessarily and of course) are used in the Opinions of the Advocates General at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). To this end, it focuses on the rhetorical functions of these adverbs, such as adding emphasis, showing a high degree of commitment and backgrounding alternative viewpoints. The study applies the notions of stance and engagement (Hyland, 2005) and builds on the research into modal adverbs of certainty reported in Simon-Vandenbergen and Aijmer (2007). In summary, the analysis sheds light on the rhetorical potential of modal adverbs, stressing the dialogic dimension of legal opinion writing.

Modal adverbs of certainty in the rhetoric of Advocates General: a dialogic view

Topics in Linguistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Modal adverbs of certainty in the rhetoric of Advocates General: a dialogic view"}

The article deals with EU judicial rhetoric and aims to demonstrate how a selection of modal adverbs of certainty (indeed, clearly, (not) necessarily and of...

Modal adverbs of certainty in the rhetoric of Advocates General: a dialogic view

Published Online: Jun 23, 2017

Page range: 48 - 58

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/topling-2017-0004

Keywords
Advocates General, EU legal discourse, engagement, judicial rhetoric, modal adverbs, stance

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Modal adverbs of certainty in the rhetoric of Advocates General: a dialogic view

Published Online: Jun 23, 2017

Page range: 48 - 58

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/topling-2017-0004

KeywordsAdvocates General, EU legal discourse, engagement, judicial rhetoric, modal adverbs, stance

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Advocates General, EU legal discourse, engagement, judicial rhetoric, modal adverbs, stance