Modality in Halide Edip Adivar's novel Çaresaz

Modality has a long and complex history. This concept, which was first encountered in the field of logic, developed as a sub-category of logic independently of its linguistic use. Linguistic expressions were needed to explain the close relationship between the forms of thinking and logic that constitutes the basis of this concept. With this need, the foundations of modality were laid along with the field of logic. Although many researchers examined the formal and lexical aspects of the concept of modality, a consensus could not be reached. Researchers produced various definitions based on different perspectives. In general terms, modality is defined as a lexical category that contextually and formalistically expresses the writer's attitude towards thoughts expressed in sentences. The category of modality is a phenomenon in which a lexical structure is emphasized rather than a formal one. Humans are beings that talk and think. They express their emotions, knowledge, thoughts and experiences through language. In order for language to be utilized and comprehended accurately, a good understanding of the lexical aspect of language is required as well as that of its formal aspect. In the present study, the modality markers in Halide Edip Adıvar's novel Çaresaz were identified based on Palmer's (2001) classification of modality, and the semantic fields of these markers were determined. The sample of the present study is constituted by the novel Çaresaz, which reflects written and standard Turkey Turkish. The novel was examined using the document analysis method. As a result of the present study, it was observed that the concept of modality could be marked with grammatical categories such as verbs, words and adverbs apart from other grammatical categories such as modes and tenses.