I suspect at least some of the motivation for "shall" in this statement is the statement's status as a fulfillment of a legal requirement. "Shall" isn't just (very) formal in American English, it's heavily associated with legal and pseudo-legal genres (like bylaws). Ask someone to imitate legalese, and "shall" will typically show up right alongside "party of the first part" and "make known and publish." I think OSHA requires a sign like that, although I don't think the "shall" part is mandatory (if it's not OSHA, then it's just about every state government in the country).
--- Bill Spruiell
I've always heard it called the deonatic use ofnthe modal -- something
that imposes an obligation on the hearer of an utterance. It is a
characteristic of modals in English that they have both deonatic and
epistemically (degree of certainty) uses.
Kathleen M. Ware.
University of California, Davis
Friends have just returned from their annual pilgrimage to Ashland, Oregon, and on one flight they saw a sign in the flight attendants' area that said, "Hands shall be washed before serving food or drink."
What is this use of "shall" called?
Jane Saral
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