USING SFG TO ANALYZE AUTHORIAL EMPHASIZERS AND PROPOSITIONAL INTENSIFIERS: A COMPARISON OF ALBANIAN AND ITALIAN ACADEMIC WRITING

Abstract

Modality expresses high probability and total degree through boosters (Halliday 1985,Holmes 1990). Through them, writers reinforce statements with the assurance of reliableknowledge (cf. Hyland 1998b). This study compares the usage of boosting emphasizers (e.g. certainly) and intensifiers (e.g. completely) (cf. Quirk et al. 1985) and their orientation and manifestation (cf. Halliday & Matthiessen 2014) in Albanian and Italian student academic writings in L1 and English as an L2. I compiled an Italian and an Italian English corpus (around 3 million words each) as well as an Albanian corpus (around 2.2 million words) and Albanian English one (around 700,000 words). The corpora are comparable in terms of genre, disciplinary domain, gender and the division of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sciences. Since very little research has been conducted on academic writing in Albania (Toska 2015), it is essential to initiate research in this field. The results showed that boosters were significantly favored in Italian and Italian English and less favored in Albanian. Conclusively, Italians show more commitment than Albanians.