Home Chapter 4. Secondary and deviant uses of the imperative for requesting in Italian
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Chapter 4. Secondary and deviant uses of the imperative for requesting in Italian

  • Giovanni Rossi
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
To Publisher Page
Imperative Turns at Talk
This chapter is in the book Imperative Turns at Talk

Abstract

The use of the imperative for requesting has been mostly explained on the basis of estimations of social distance, relative power, and entitlement. More recent research, however, has identified other selection factors to do with the functional and sequential relation of the action requested to the trajectory of the ongoing interaction. In everyday activities among family and friends, the imperative is typically warranted by an earlier commitment of the requestee to a joint project or shared goal which the action requested contributes to. The chapter argues this to be the primary use of the imperative for requesting in Italian informal interaction, and distinguishes it from other uses of the imperative that do not conform to the predominant pattern. These other uses are of two kinds: (i) secondary, that is, less frequent and formally marked imperatives that still orient to social-interactional conditions supporting an expectation of compliance, and (ii) deviant, where the imperative is selected in deliberate violation of the social-interactional conditions that normally support it, attracting special attention and accomplishing more than just requesting. This study extends prior findings on the functional distribution of imperative requests and makes a point of relating and classifying distinct uses of a same form of action, offering new insights into more general aspects of language use such as markedness and normativity.

Abstract

The use of the imperative for requesting has been mostly explained on the basis of estimations of social distance, relative power, and entitlement. More recent research, however, has identified other selection factors to do with the functional and sequential relation of the action requested to the trajectory of the ongoing interaction. In everyday activities among family and friends, the imperative is typically warranted by an earlier commitment of the requestee to a joint project or shared goal which the action requested contributes to. The chapter argues this to be the primary use of the imperative for requesting in Italian informal interaction, and distinguishes it from other uses of the imperative that do not conform to the predominant pattern. These other uses are of two kinds: (i) secondary, that is, less frequent and formally marked imperatives that still orient to social-interactional conditions supporting an expectation of compliance, and (ii) deviant, where the imperative is selected in deliberate violation of the social-interactional conditions that normally support it, attracting special attention and accomplishing more than just requesting. This study extends prior findings on the functional distribution of imperative requests and makes a point of relating and classifying distinct uses of a same form of action, offering new insights into more general aspects of language use such as markedness and normativity.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Imperative turns at talk 1
  4. Part 1. Structure and use of imperative turns
  5. Chapter 2. A cline of visible commitment in the situated design of imperative turns 27
  6. Chapter 3. Precision timing and timed embeddedness of imperatives in embodied courses of action 65
  7. Chapter 4. Secondary and deviant uses of the imperative for requesting in Italian 103
  8. Chapter 5. Three imperative action formats in Danish talk-in-interaction 139
  9. Chapter 6. Requests for here-and-now actions in Russian conversation 175
  10. Part 2. Sequences with imperative turns
  11. Chapter 7. In the face of resistance 215
  12. Chapter 8. Imperatives and responsiveness in Finnish conversation 241
  13. Chapter 9. Negotiating deontic rights in second position 271
  14. Part 3. Sequences with imperative turns in asymmetric situations
  15. Chapter 10. Imperatives in Swedish medical consultations 299
  16. Chapter 11. Assigning roles and responsibilities 325
  17. Chapter 12. Managing compliance in violin instruction 357
  18. Chapter 13. Adjusting the design of directives to the activity environment 381
  19. Chapter 14. Epilogue 411
  20. Appendix. Transcription conventions 425
  21. Name index 429
  22. Subject index 433
https://doi.org/10.1075/slsi.30.04ros

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Imperative turns at talk 1
  4. Part 1. Structure and use of imperative turns
  5. Chapter 2. A cline of visible commitment in the situated design of imperative turns 27
  6. Chapter 3. Precision timing and timed embeddedness of imperatives in embodied courses of action 65
  7. Chapter 4. Secondary and deviant uses of the imperative for requesting in Italian 103
  8. Chapter 5. Three imperative action formats in Danish talk-in-interaction 139
  9. Chapter 6. Requests for here-and-now actions in Russian conversation 175
  10. Part 2. Sequences with imperative turns
  11. Chapter 7. In the face of resistance 215
  12. Chapter 8. Imperatives and responsiveness in Finnish conversation 241
  13. Chapter 9. Negotiating deontic rights in second position 271
  14. Part 3. Sequences with imperative turns in asymmetric situations
  15. Chapter 10. Imperatives in Swedish medical consultations 299
  16. Chapter 11. Assigning roles and responsibilities 325
  17. Chapter 12. Managing compliance in violin instruction 357
  18. Chapter 13. Adjusting the design of directives to the activity environment 381
  19. Chapter 14. Epilogue 411
  20. Appendix. Transcription conventions 425
  21. Name index 429
  22. Subject index 433
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 30.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/slsi.30.04ros/html
Scroll to top button