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Part of
Studies in Figurative Thought and Language
Edited by Angeliki Athanasiadou
[Human Cognitive Processing 56] 2017
► pp. 106–124

Chapter 4
Cognitive motivation in the linguistic realization of requests in Modern Greek

| University of Thessaly

The chapter attempts to account for conventionalized request realization patterns in Modern Greek and the semantic motivation behind their conventionalization in particular uses. It adheres to recent formulations within Cognitive Linguistics regarding illocutionary meaning as emerging from the co-activation of higher order cognitive structures from linguistically codified patterns and from information available in the context of the interaction. It further argues for the conceptual prominence of the optionality attribute in the request Idealized Cognitive Model, exploring the ways it is linguistically safeguarded in language use. The semantic import of optionality can be best described in terms of the proximity vs. distance to reality metaphor as effected through the grounding specifications of the proposition in Langacker’s Cognitive Grammar.

Keywords: directive Idealized Cognitive Model, grounding, optionality, proximal/distal metaphor
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The conceptual make-up of requests
  • 3.Realization procedures of the speech act of request in Modern Greek
    • 3.1Request realization procedures in Modern Greek
    • 3.2Clausal grounding and the epistemic domain
    • 3.3Grounding specifications and semantic characterization of request realization patterns
      • 3.3.1The Imperative construction
      • 3.3.2The Present tense interrogative construction
      • 3.3.3Can/could you + subjunctive interrogatives (boris/tha borouses na…?)
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 April 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.56.04vas
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