A Pragmatic Analysis of the Uses of 'May' in the Anglican Communion's Rubrics for the Eucharistic Services

Abstract

Language is logical and dynamic; there is meaning and connotation for every word used. The use of modal auxiliary 'may' in the rubrics of the Holy Eucharist in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (BCP 2007) has not really been recognised for its grammatical implications by the worship leaders and congregation. Therefore, there is the need to call the attention of the leadership of the Church to the direct implications of the verb used in the rubrics. The study adopted the quantitative methodology using the Speech Act theory of J.L Austin 1975 to bring out meaning in the context of the rubrics and the interpretative application it has on both the worship leaders and members, in order to note the linguistic and the conventional meanings of the verb 'may' in the rubrics.  Findings revealed that this work is geared towards pointing out the confusions in the different meanings that the uses of modal auxiliary 'may' pose in the rubrics, like: 'A hymn may be sung', 'Gloria in Excelsis may be said or sung', 'Silence may be kept', 'The President may say this or an alternative BLESSING', as instructions, and 
considering the linguistic features that denote 'possibility', 'probability' or 'politeness'; it is responsible to making the worshippers  not to follow the implied meanings of the verb but make it a conventional rite.

The study confirmed that despite the linguistic features of the verb 
'may', the worshippers have already formed an understanding that the Church has a long-standing order that is binding.