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Chapter 5. Three imperative action formats in Danish talk-in-interaction

The case of imperative + modal particles bare and lige
  • Trine Heinemann and Jakob Steensig
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Imperative Turns at Talk
This chapter is in the book Imperative Turns at Talk

Abstract

In Danish talk-in-interaction, imperative verbs often occur together with modal particles. This paper investigates three such combinations of imperatives and modal particles. We argue that the combinations are best understood as separate social action formats performing different actions in specific interactional contexts, rather than as modifications or modalizations of an imperative. The modal particles (bare and lige) investigated are the ones that occur most frequently with imperatives in our data. Both might on some occasions be translated into ‘just’ in English, but they are not synonymous in Danish. The investigated actions formats are: (1) imperative+lige, which is used to perform a request for an action that is portrayed as being part of a common project, (2) imperative+bare, which is used to grant permission, and (3) bare+imperative, which is used to advise the recipient to carry out a specific action as a solution to a problem. The action formats are designed to show consideration of the recipient’s benefits of the proposed actions in specific ways, and they make differential claims of entitlement, deontic authority, and moral accountability. As a more general point, we propose that an approach to grammatical formats that begins with the actual use of combinations of words and structures in interactional contexts, is more revealing than starting with a default understanding of the interactional function of a grammatical structure (for instance, that the imperative has a “commanding” function) and then see combinations with other words and structures as modifications of this default function.

Abstract

In Danish talk-in-interaction, imperative verbs often occur together with modal particles. This paper investigates three such combinations of imperatives and modal particles. We argue that the combinations are best understood as separate social action formats performing different actions in specific interactional contexts, rather than as modifications or modalizations of an imperative. The modal particles (bare and lige) investigated are the ones that occur most frequently with imperatives in our data. Both might on some occasions be translated into ‘just’ in English, but they are not synonymous in Danish. The investigated actions formats are: (1) imperative+lige, which is used to perform a request for an action that is portrayed as being part of a common project, (2) imperative+bare, which is used to grant permission, and (3) bare+imperative, which is used to advise the recipient to carry out a specific action as a solution to a problem. The action formats are designed to show consideration of the recipient’s benefits of the proposed actions in specific ways, and they make differential claims of entitlement, deontic authority, and moral accountability. As a more general point, we propose that an approach to grammatical formats that begins with the actual use of combinations of words and structures in interactional contexts, is more revealing than starting with a default understanding of the interactional function of a grammatical structure (for instance, that the imperative has a “commanding” function) and then see combinations with other words and structures as modifications of this default function.

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.30.05hei

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
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