The problem of interpreting modality in Russian and foreign linguistics

The article presents a comprehensive theoretical overview of modality as a multifaceted linguistic phenomenon. Modality is considered as a means of expressing the speaker's attitude towards the content of the utterance, encompassing evaluations of reality, veracity, possibility, necessity, and desirability. The study synthesizes key interpretations of modality from both Russian and Western linguistic traditions, laying the groundwork for comparative analysis. The main focus is on the classification of modal meanings, including deontic, epistemic, dynamic, bulletin, and affective modalities. The object of research is the linguistic category of modality in language. The subject of the study includes specific classifications, means of expression, and interlanguage realizations of modality, with a particular emphasis on a comparative analysis of Russian, English, and German languages. Objectives: to systematize the theoretical foundations of modality based on the works of leading Russian and foreign linguists; to define and illustrate the main types of modal meanings; to identify and compare grammatical and lexical means of expressing modality in Russian, English, and German languages. The study employs a comparative-descriptive method, theoretical analysis and synthesis of existing linguistic literature, comparative analysis of linguistic data from Russian, English, and German languages, contextual and semantic analysis of utterance examples to illustrate modal meanings, and componential analysis to distinguish modality from other grammatical categories. The study concludes that modality is a crucial component of semantics and pragmatics, necessary for culturally sensitive communication. By comparing examples from English, German, and Russian languages, the article highlights the grammatical, lexical, and contextual strategies used in these languages and differentiates modality from related grammatical categories such as tense and aspect. The novelty of this research lies in its synthetic and comparative approach, which integrates various classification systems of domestic linguistics (for example, V. V. Vinogradov's subjective-objective modality, A. V. Bondarko's six meanings) with established typologies of Western linguistics (for example, categories proposed by linguists such as D. Crystal and R. T. Lakoff). By applying this unified structure to the analysis of three linguistically distinct languages (Russian, English, and German), the article offers a unified perspective on universal and linguistically specific features of modality.