Specifics of Modal Verbs in Intercultural English Communication: Implications for Communicative Competence Development

This article examines the pragmatic and linguo-functional role of modal verbs in English-language intercultural communication and their implications for the development of communicative competence. Modality, as a universal and culture-sensitive phenomenon, serves not only as a grammatical category but also as a key pragmatic tool for expressing speaker stance, intention, politeness, and interpersonal positioning. The study integrates theoretical perspectives from pragmatics, contrastive linguistics, and intercultural communication to analyze how modal verbs such as can, may, must, should, might, and would function across intercultural contexts. Empirical examples drawn from real-life intercultural exchanges, corpora, and classroom interactions demonstrate both pragmatic divergences and miscommunication patterns due to culturally encoded modal usage. The paper argues for the inclusion of pragmalinguistic training into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curricula with a focus on modal variation and awareness-raising strategies. It concludes with pedagogical recommendations on enhancing learners’ pragmatic competence through focused modality-based instruction in communicative and intercultural competence development.