MODALIZATION IN THE OPINION COLUMN OF THE JAKARTA POST

This study addresses modalization used in the opinion column of The Jakarta Post. This study was based on descriptive qualitative approach. The research attempts to analyze the types of modalization used in The Jakarta Post, how it is used or realized, and to investigate why it is used the way it is. The data were collected by applying documentary techniques by collect the texts from the opinion column of The Jakarta Post especially the political text. There were 10 political texts of the opinion column taken as the source of the data. The data were analyzed by the types of modalization, value of modalization and orientation of modalization proposed by Halliday. The finding in this study indicates that there were two types of modalization used in the political text of the opinion column of The Jakarta Post, namely probability and usuality. Probability is the dominant types of modalization used in the opinion column. Modalization is used / realized by three terms in the text; they are types, value, and orientation of modalization. In terms of value of modalization , it is indicated that the medium modalization is mostly used in the text. While in the orientation of modalization subjective implicit is the most dominant orientation used in the political texts. Those findings indicate that in writing the opinion still fill with the uncertainty of the writer or the writer feels lack of confident with their opinion. This was caused by that most of the opinion talked about political event that mostly in the future and to avoid the offence of the readers.