Structure and Interpretation of Imperatives: Mood and Force in Universal Grammar [Kõva köide]

In this study of the puzzling grammatical status of imperative sentences like "Read this book!" and rhetorical questions, the objectives are to identify an imperative operator, i.e. general morphosyntactic features, of the imperative clause type across languages; to note cross-linguistic variation as an interface between general principles and particular morphosyntactic systems in each language; and to develop a model for interpreting imperatives. Theoretical roots include Chomsky's Minimalist Program. Based on a revised doctoral dissertation (U. of Pennsylvania, 1998). Han continues at Penn as a postdoctoral fellow at its Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)