GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT
This paper examines modality in Awàrà-Igbo. Descriptive approach was used in the analysis
of data. The paper provides confirmation that modality is a semantic-pragmatic category
anchored on context. Four forms of the modal verbs were established: the modal auxiliary
verbs (example kweshi), the bound modal auxiliary verbs (examples ga, ma, ka), the
periphrastic (examples nwe ike, kwe mee, ike kwe) and the modal suffix (example -lifo,).
These modal forms were analyzed and the results revealed that they either express deontic or
epistemic or both meanings. Also, the study reveals that tone plays a vital role in the dialect.
KEYWORDS: Modality, Awàrà-Ìgbò and Semantic-Pragmatic Analysis