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This volume offers the first comprehensive description of English imperatives made from a Cognitive Linguistic perspective. It proposes a new way of explaining the meaning and function of the imperative independently of illocutionary act classifications, which allows for quantifying the strength of imperative force in terms of parameters and numerical values. Furthermore, the book applies the theory of Construction Grammar to account for the felicity of imperatives in complex sentences. The model of description explains explicitly a wide range of phenomena, including frequency of use, prototypical vs. non-prototypical uses of the English imperative and the choice between longer vs. shorter directives including the imperative. A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis of the English Imperative: With Special Reference to Japanese Imperatives is intended for both researchers and students interested in the English imperative and Directive Speech Acts at large and for the linguists working within the Cognitive Linguistics and/or Construction Grammar approach.

This book is concerned with the meaning and use of two kinds of declarative sentences:1) It's raining?2) It's raining.The difference between (1) and (2) is intonational: (1) has a final rise--indicated by the question mark--while (2) ends with a fall.Christine Gunlogson's central claim is that the meaning and use of both kinds of sentences must be understood in terms of the meaning of their defining formal elements, namely declarative sentence type and rising versus falling intonation. Gunlogson supports that claim through an investigation of the use of declaratives as questions. On one hand, Gunlogson demonstrates that rising and falling declaratives share an aspect of conventional meaning attributable to their declarative form, distinguishing them both from the corresponding polar interrogative (Is it raining?) and constraining their use as questions. On the other hand, since (1) and (2) constitute a minimal pair, differing only in intonation, systematic differences in character and function between them--in particular, the relative \"naturalness\" of (1) as a question compared to (2) --must be located in the contrast between the fall and the rise. To account for these two sets of differences, Gunlogson gives a compositional account of rising and falling declaratives under which declarative form expresses commitment to the propositional content of the declarative. Rising versus falling intonation on declaratives is responsible for attribution of the commitment to the Addressee versus the Speaker, respectively. The result is an inherent contextual \"bias\" associated with declaratives, which constitutes the crucial point of difference with interrogatives. The compositional analysis is implemented in the framework of context update semantics (Heim 1982 and others), using an articulated version of the Common Ground (Stalnaker 1978) that distinguishes the commitments of the individual discourse participants.Restrictions on

Non-declarative sentences such as interrogatives, imperatives and exclamations are analyzed together as a single class. The author gives a general characterization of all three types and shows that there are no other types of non-declarative sentences. Definitions are offered for the notions of declaration and presupposition. These definitions are applicable to all types of sentence, both declarative and non-declarative. A defining characteristic of non-declarative sentences is that only strongly intensional operators can apply to them to form complex sentences. It is shown that this property of non-declaratives implies that such sentences do not have declarations. A particular case of the relation between questions and conditionals is studied in more detail.

ChatGPT, a cutting-edge AI-powered Chatbot, can quickly generate responses to given commands. While ChatGPT was reported to have the capacity to deliver useful feedback, it is still unclear about its effectiveness compared with conventional feedback approaches, such as self-feedback (SF) and teacher feedback (TF). To address this issue, this study compared the revised Chinese to English translation texts produced by 45 Chinese Master of Translation and Interpretation (MTI) students, who learned English as a Second Language (ESL), based on three feedback types (i.e., SF, TF, and ChatGPT feedback). The data was analyzed using BLEU score to gauge the overall translation quality as well as Coh-Metrix to examine linguistic features across three dimensions: lexicon, syntax, and cohesion. The findings revealed that SF and TF-guided translation texts surpassed those with ChatGPT feedback, as indicated by the BLEU score. In terms of linguistic features, ChatGPT feedback demonstrated superiority, particularly in enhancing lexical capability and referential cohesion in the translation texts. However, SF and TF proved more effective in developing syntax-related skills, as they addressed instances of incorrect usage of the passive voice. These diverse outcomes indicate ChatGPT’s potential as a supplementary resource, complementing traditional teacher-led methods in translation practice. Plain language summary Assessing the Efficacy of ChatGPT-based Feedback in Chinese to English Translation: A Comparative Study with Teacher and Self-Feedback Feedback plays a crucial role in the process of learning English as a second language (ESL), as it supports student motivation and achievement. ChatGPT, a cutting-edge AI-powered Chatbot, can aid ESL learners by providing instant and personalized feedback proved by theoretical studies. However, it is still unclear about its effectiveness compared with conventional feedback approaches, such as teacher feedback (TF) and self-feedback (SF). The aim of the present study is to compare the quality of Chinese to English translation texts produced by Chinese Master of Translation and Interpretation (MTI) students based on three feedback types (i.e., ChatGPT-based feedback, TF, and SF). A total of 135 translation texts were collected from 45 MTI participants, each subjected to three rounds of feedback-driven revisions. Our analysis framework encompassed two main aspects: the overall translation quality and the linguistic dimensions. The findings contribute to the ongoing discussion about the role of AI by highlighting the specific strengths and weaknesses of ChatGPT in translator training. From a theoretical standpoint, the findings illuminate the limitations of AI in handling the complexities of human linguistic abilities, particularly in the realm of syntax, suggesting a need for further development in this area. On a practical level, our study indicates ChatGPT’s potential as a supplementary resource, complementing traditional teacher-led methods in translation practice.

We report the results from two eye-movement monitoring experiments examining the processing of reflexive pronouns by proficient German-speaking learners of second language (L2) English. Our results show that the nonnative speakers initially tried to link English argument reflexives to a discourse-prominent but structurally inaccessible antecedent, thereby violating binding condition A. Our native speaker controls, in contrast, showed evidence of applying condition A immediately during processing. Together, our findings show that L2 learners’ initial focusing on a structurally inaccessible antecedent cannot be due to first language influence and is also independent of whether the inaccessible antecedent c-commands the reflexive. This suggests that unlike native speakers, nonnative speakers of English initially attempt to interpret reflexives through discourse-based coreference assignment rather than syntactic binding.

This paper proposes a personalized teaching strategy based on Total Physical Response (TPR) to acquire new words. TPR combines target language items with semantically corresponding gestures conducive to learners understanding and memorizing them by repeatedly executing commands from their teachers. One limitation of TPR is that it does not allow students any freedom to creatively execute an order in ways that seem to be more interesting and meaningful to them. To address these disadvantages, we have integrated the TPR teaching strategy with a personalized teaching strategy. The participants of the experimental group (EG) performed their movements creatively; they integrated the movements with the target words to produce video productions. The participants in the control group (CG) followed the dance video supplied with the textbook. The results of the study demonstrated that the personalized TPR teaching strategy is effective and helpful for recalling the meaning of English vocabulary for higher-level students. The results of this study can benefit K-12 teachers to determine and incorporate best TPR practices for students of different levels. Plain language summary The purpose of this paper is to propose a personalized teaching strategy that combines Total Physical Response (TPR) with creative movements to acquire new words. The aim is to improve vocabulary learning and recall for higher-level students. The study integrates TPR with personalized teaching strategies. In the experimental group (EG), participants performed creative movements and produced video productions that integrated the movements with target words. In the control group (CG), participants followed a dance video provided with the textbook. The study compared the effectiveness of the personalized TPR strategy with the traditional approach. The results of the study demonstrate that the personalized TPR teaching strategy is effective and helpful for recalling the meaning of English vocabulary for higher-level students. The integration of creative movements and personalized video productions enhanced vocabulary development. The findings of this study have broader implications for language educational techniques. Incorporating personalized TPR practices can enhance vocabulary development and improve student performance. K-12 teachers can benefit from these results to determine and incorporate the best TPR practices for students of different levels. One limitation of TPR mentioned in the paper is that it restricts students’ freedom to creatively execute orders in more interesting and meaningful ways. Additionally, the study selected a limited number of target words due to availability and time constraints, which suggests the need for larger database studies to ensure the validity of the approach.

Along with declaratives and interrogatives, imperatives are one of the three major clause types of human language. In Spanish, imperative verb forms present poor morphology, yet complex syntax. The present study examines the acquisition of (morpho)syntactic properties of imperatives in Spanish among English-speaking heritage speakers of Spanish. With the use of production and acceptability judgment tasks, this study investigates the acquisition of verb morphology and clitic placement in canonical and negative imperatives. The results indicate that the acquisition of Spanish imperatives among heritage speakers is shaped by the heritage speakers’ productive vocabulary knowledge, lexical frequency and syntactic complexity. Indeed, most of the variability in their knowledge was found in their production of negative imperatives: heritage speakers show a rather stable receptive grammatical knowledge while their production shows signs of variability modulated by the heritage speakers’ productive vocabulary knowledge and by the lexical frequency of the verb featured in the test items.

Pragmatic identity has received much attention in pragmatic studies. However, few studies have examined teacher’s pragmatic identity construction in the shuoke context. Shuoke is a teaching activity in which a teacher explains the teaching design and process to colleagues or experts for feedbacks. To address this research gap, this study applies Pragmatic Identity Theory to investigate the discursive construction of the pragmatic identities of Chinese college EFL teachers. Data was collected through a representative contest of evaluative shuoke, a type of shuoke used to help teachers assess and improve their teaching ability. It is found that five types of pragmatic identities are constructed, which can be categorized as information deliverer, creator, researcher, value guider and reflector. The discursive practices used for constructing these pragmatic identities include speech acts, grammar, and lexical features. These findings further validate Pragmatic Identity Theory in the shuoke context and provide insights for teachers to practice shuoke effectively from the perspective of pragmatic identity. Plain language summary A Study of the Variable Identities Constructed by Chinese College Teachers of English with Linguistic Resources in Shuoke, an Activity for Teachers to Articulate Their Specific Teaching Design for Feedbacks in the Presence of Pedagogical Leaders, Colleagues or Experts This article investigates Chinese College English teacher identity construction in shuoke practices from a pragmatic perspective, which emphasizes the relationship between identity, language and context. It is found that five types of pragmatic identities are constructed in this study, namely, information deliverer, creator, researcher, value guider and reflector. The discursive practices are used to construct these pragmatic identities, including speech act, grammar and lexical features. Information deliverer is constructed with the speech act of assertives, “stating” to be specific, imperative sentences and interrogative sentences as well as engagement markers. Creator is constructed with the speech act of assertives, “stating” to be specific as well as boosters. Researcher is constructed with the speech act of assertives, “stating” and “explaining” to be specific, as well as jargons. Value guider is constructed with the speech act of assertives, “stating” to be specific; the speech act of commissives, “promising” to be specific as well as interrogative sentences. Reflector is constructed with the speech act of assertives, “stating” to be specific; the speech act of commissives, “committing” to be specific as well as appraisal markers. This study helps teachers realize the importance of discursive practices in identity construction and also provide useful suggestions for its choice in shuoke practices.

The article is devoted to ways of expressing the category of imperativeness in English and Russian using the material of military commands and orders. The article discusses the concepts of category, mood and imperative mood, presents ways to modify the meaning of the imperative mood, studies the structure of combat commands in English and Russian, as well as ways to convey the category of imperativeness in military orders when translated them from English into Russian. A comparative analysis of the transmission of the category of imperativeness in English and Russian was carried out using the material of military commands and orders.

We model the conventional meaning of utterances that combine two distinct clause types: a (positive) declarative or imperative (in rare cases, interrogative) anchor and a (negative) interrogative tag, such as won’t you?. We argue that such utterances express a single speech act, and in fact, a single conventional update of the conversational scoreboard. The proposed model of this effect is a straightforward extension of prior proposals for the semantics of declaratives, imperatives, and preposed-negation interrogatives. Ours is the first unified account of these phenomena that addresses the sentential force of these utterances and outlines how the speech act effects arise from the scoreboard update and contextual factors. We enrich the conversational scoreboard, interpreted as a model of sentential force, to include graded commitments and non-at-issue meanings. A consequence of our model is that modified utterances can create “blended” speech acts which share some, but not all, properties with the unmodified utterances. The proposal has implications for models of other utterance modifiers, as well as for negative interrogatives and negation in general, and for imperative/jussive constructions.