Japanese mood and modality in systemic functional linguistics

Japanese mood and modality in systemic functional linguistics is a collection of four papers that center on the issues of Japanese mood and modality from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL).On the one hand, it offers elaboration of Japanese interpersonal metafunction, contributing to the research scope of SFL on particular languages.On the other hand, as language can mirror cultural complexity, its detailed description of the language reflects the specific characteristics of Japanese, which will further provide insights into the styles of communication and conveying interpersonal meanings within the Japanese cultural context.Therefore, with the collection of the research, this collection is able to enrich the general discussion of language, function, and the cultural connotation.The major objective of this collection is to offer a cross-linguistic and interdisciplinary exploration of modality.The cross-linguistic concern touches upon the function of modality by comparing the notion in different languages, which promotes the language particularity in SFL description.In doing so, the interpersonal metafunction in SFL contributes to the understanding of various cultural and social backgrounds.As for the interdisciplinary approach, this collection compares the perspectives on modality from both the traditional Japanese linguistic angle and the SFL, and highlights the similarities and differences, which provides a comprehensive understanding of Japanese mood and modality.This collection contains five chapters.It starts with the introduction (Chapter 1) and then lays a foundation by presenting the system of Japanese modulation (Chapter 2).Following this, contrastive studies between Japanese and English interpersonal metaphors (Chapter 3) and modality systems (Chapter 4) are explored with detailed description.Lastly, an appliable topic of pragmatic impairment is addressed from the modality perspective to tackle the social issue (Chapter 5).Chapter 1 is the introduction by Ken-Ichi Kadooka from Ryukoku University.In the introduction, after briefly defining the notion of modality, he outlines the structure of the book and provides an overview for each of the following chapters.Chapter 2, entitled "The system of modulation in Japanese", is authored by Ryuichi Iimura from Tamagawa University.It mainly explores the following aspects: