A systemic functional account of modal verbs in late modern English women’s instructive writing (1700–1900)

Abstract

This study traces changes in the use of modal verbs in women’s instructive writing between 1700 and 1900, examining how these forms shaped interpersonal meaning within the systemic functional framework. Drawing on the Corpus of Women’s Instructive Texts in English (CoWITE), the analysis explores shifts in modalisation and modulation in recipe writing as an example of technical discourse of the period. The findings reveal a move away from strong obligation markers (must, shall) towards more advisory modals (may, might, should), suggesting a shift in rhetorical strategies to engage readers in a more consultative manner. Statistical analyses highlight significant changes in modal preferences, particularly a growing reliance on modalising forms in the 19th century. These patterns suggest that women adapted their instructive writing to balance authority with accessibility in an attempt to make their discourse both authoritative and engaging for their readership.