Indirect Speechact

1. General

1.1. Label

Indirect Speech Act Construction I (Can/could you X)

1.2. Reasons for construction status

The construction contributes form and meaning aspects not provided by the lexical material inside the construction.

1.3. Examples

i. Can you pass the salt?

2. Language Information

2.1. Comments

2.2. Language

English

2.3. Variety

The construction seems to occur in all spoken, dialogical varieties of English.

2.4. Speech Community

It is not restricted to a particular speech communicty.

2.5. Language Contact

2.6. Time Period

2.7. Stage of Acquisition

3. Form

3.1. Syntax

3.1.1. Comments

3.1.2. Internal

3.1.2.1. Valency

3.1.2.2. Constituency

[SUBJ2P can VP] # cf. example i. above

3.1.3. External

3.1.3.1. Category

3.1.3.2. Structural Position

The construction occurs at the beginning of a new speaker turn.

3.2. Morphology

3.2.1. Comments

3.2.2. Internal

3.2.2.1. Morphological Properties of Elements

3.2.3. External

3.2.3.1. Morphological Properties of Construction

4. Meaning

4.1. Semantics

4.1.1. Comments

4.1.2. Internal

4.1.2.1. Frame

4.1.2.1.1. Event

4.1.2.1.2. Participants

4.1.2.2. Truth-Conditional Information

4.1.2.2.1. Negation

4.1.2.2.2. Scope

4.1.3. External

4.1.3.1. Semantic Class

4.1.3.2. Relation to Construction-External Semantic Elements

4.1.3.3. Truth Relations

4.1.3.3.1. Semantic Presuppositions

4.1.3.3.2. Semantic Entailments

4.2. Pragmatics

4.2.1. Comments

Construction is interpreted against the background of a speech act scenario, which following Panther and Thornburg includes the following kinds of knowledge (Panther and Thornburg 1998:759)

Simplified scenario for requests The BEFORE: H can do A; S wants H to do A The CORE: S puts H under a (more or less strong) obligation to do A The RESULT: H is under the obligation to do A The AFTER: H will do A

example: The BEFORE: Can you pass me the salt; I need the H can do A; S wants H to do A The CORE: S puts H under a (more or less strong) obligation to do A The RESULT: H is under the obligation to do A The AFTER: H will do A

4.2.2. Internal

4.2.3. External

4.2.3.1. Indexical Properties

4.2.3.1.1. Deixis

4.2.3.1.2. Intertextuality

4.2.3.2. Interpersonal Function

4.2.3.3. Speaker attitude

4.2.3.4. Speech Act Function

none.

4.2.3.5. Rhetorical Function

4.2.3.6. Style

none.

4.2.3.7. Pragmatic Presuppositions / Implicature

4.3. Discourse Properties

4.3.1. Internal

4.3.1.1. Turn Constructional Status

It occurs turn-initially after a previous speaker's contribution but does not constitute a TCU itself.

4.3.1.2. Within-Turn Position

turn-initial

4.3.2.External

4.3.2.1. Sequential Context

The construction occurs turn-initially after an utterance produced by the communication partner.

4.3.2.2. Position in Text- and Dialogue-Structure

The construction occurs turn-initially after an utterance produced by the communication partner. It claims that the current utterance is related relevantly to the previous.

4.3.2.3. Sequence Type

4.4. Information Structure

4.4.1. Internal

4.4.1.1. Topic - Comment

4.4.1.2. Focus

4.4.2. External

4.4.2.1. Signaled Information Status

4.4.2.2. Information Status Requirements

4.5. Data

4.5.1. Introspection

4.5.2. Authentic data

4.5.2.1. Source data properties

The construction occurs ubiquitously in spontaneous conversation/dialogue.

4.5.2.2. Methods of Analysis

4.6. Literature

Anatol Stefanowitsch (2003): A construction-based approach to indirect speech acts. In Klaus-Uwe Panther and Linda Thornburg (eds.), Metonymy and pragmatic inferencing. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: Benjamins

5. Relations to other constructions

5.1. Subtypes

5.1.1. Diachronic

5.1.2. Synchronic

5.2. Supertypes

5.2.1. Diachronic

5.2.2. Synchronic

5.3. Paradigmatic Relations