CONSTRUCTING CREDIBILITY AND AGENCY:

AN INTERPERSONAL METAFUNCTION ANALYSIS OF MOOD AND MODALITY IN A CIVILIAN WAR TESTIMONY

Abstract

This study investigates how peace-oriented discourse is linguistically constructed in Suspilne Media through the lens of systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Specifically, it examines the realization of experiential and interpersonal meanings in the article “The Death of My Friends Was a Painful Experience. Teenagers Tell Their Stories About Life Under Russian Occupation” by Maria Semenchenko. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, the study analyzes 137 clauses using Halliday’s transitivity system, mood structure, and modality framework, and interprets the findings in relation to Galtung’s concept of peace journalism. The findings reveal that material processes are the most dominant transitivity type, followed by relational, mental, existential, verbal, and behavioral processes, highlighting experiences of victimization, displacement, trauma, and resilience among civilians. Interpersonal analysis shows a predominance of declarative mood, which supports the factual representation of lived experiences, while modalization and modulation reflect uncertainty, recurring hardship, personal agency, and coercion under occupation. These linguistic choices contribute to peace-oriented discourse by foregrounding civilian perspectives, documenting human consequences of conflict, and promoting people-oriented and truth-oriented journalism. The study demonstrates that experiential and interpersonal meanings work together to transform war reporting from a focus on military events into a human-centered narrative that emphasizes empathy, testimony, and the realities of everyday life in conflict settings.