Overview

Imperatives and directive strategies have intrigued both formalists and functionalists. They continue to search for the answers to questions like “what are the semantics of the imperative?”, “how is it used (in the world’s languages)?” and “which factors determine the choice between imperatives and other directive strategies?”. This volume takes a broadly functional-typological perspective and contributes to the literature in several respects. It presents new data from a variety of languages, some of which have not been studied in depth before. It exemplifies the benefits of traditional methodologies as well as the potential of more innovative ones. In addition, the volume sheds new light on the imperative as a typological notion, its meaning and uses and its interaction with other grammatical categories. It also offers new insights into the relation between different directive strategies within and across languages and into the (dis)similarities between equivalent directive strategies in a language family.

Full Product Details

9789027259493

Table of Contents

Reviews

Imperatives and directives are superficially simple but, on closer inspection, rather complex. With its wide-ranging and up-to-date introduction, detailed analyses of many different languages and multifarious perspectives representative of the literature, this volume reduces the confusion. Keep calm and read it! -- Johan van der Auwera, University of Antwerp

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available