Embedded Inverted Questions as Embedded Illocutionary Acts

Woods, Rebecca (2016) Embedded Inverted Questions as Embedded Illocutionary Acts. Proceedings of the 33rd West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, (held 27-29 March 2015 at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada). pp. 417-426.

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Abstract

Embedded inverted questions (EIQs) in English dialects are a quasi-quotational method for reporting speech. In this article, new observations about their structure, distribution and interpretation are shown to indicate evidence for embedded illocutionary acts. It is proposed that they have independent illocutionary force in order to host a range of root phenomena and be interpreted as a representation of a previous question-under-discussion, but that they also show some characteristics of embedded clauses. It will also be shown that they are not selected by the matrix verb they appear under; instead, the true complement to the matrix verb is a content noun like 'question' whose propositional and expressive content is identified as that of the EIQ. The proposals made here have repercussions both for speech act theory and for the understanding of clausal complementation.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Schools:	School of Music, Humanities and Media
Related URLs:	Publisher Author
Depositing User:	Jonathan Cook
Date Deposited:	29 Sep 2017 12:32
Last Modified:	03 Oct 2017 16:43
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/33550

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