What is a command?

Definition
	Here are two senses for command:
	A command is an illocutionary act that has the directive illocutionary point of getting another to do or not to do something. A command is a syntactic sentence type in a language that is used primarily to express such illocutionary acts, and is described as having imperative form.

Discussion
	The meaning for the term command does not appear to extend to such utterances as It’s hot in here. This utterance might have the intended perlocutionary effect of getting the addressee to open a window, but it does not have that as a directive illocutionary point.

Examples (English)
	Turn off the radio, please. Would you turn off the radio?

Generic
	A command is a kind of
	What is an illocutionary act?

Sources
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 41
	Crystal 1985 55

Context for this page:

Concept module: command
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): C
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

© 2004 SIL International