The V-te-miro conditional imperative and other imperative forms: Grammaticalization of lexemes in constructions

Abstract

Imperatives are sometimes interpreted as conditionals. Such conditional imperatives can be observed in both English and Japanese. The imperative form may induce the conditional meaning in English, but the discussion of the imperative form of a verb does not provide us with a full understanding of Japanese conditional imperatives. The present paper argues that the imperative form of the string V-te-miru induces the conditional interpretation. It is also argued that the imperative form of a single verb or the V1-te-V2 construction itself plays no crucial role in the inducement of that meaning. The V-te-miro conditional imperative (i.e. the imperative form of V-te-miru with the conditional interpretation) displays different behavior from other regular imperative forms. It co-occurs with negative polarity items, self-uncontrollable predicates, and the subject other than the second person, etc., whereas other imperative forms do not. The idea that a particular verbal form of V-te-miru (e.g. the imperative) induces a specific interpretation (e.g. the conditional) implies that different forms of V-te-miru give rise to different meanings. In fact, the hypothetical form of V-te-miru develops the meaning of viewpoint, while the reanalyzed imperative form of V-te-miru induces the exclamatory interpretation. These findings afford a profound insight into the constructional view in grammaticalization theory.