The study of interrogative acts in the Old Spanish Cantar de mio Cid is based on the premise that speech acts not only have to be located in the context of dialogue interaction but also in the frame of the traditions that mark the (literary) text. Because of this context dependency the pragmatic profile of interrogative acts has to be worked out by means of close philological interpretations. After sketching some methodological premises and a definition of the interrogative act, two question types are described in detail: the rhetorical question and a phatic use of the where-question. The analysis illustrates how the interrogative power of questions is shaped by the dialogue context and demonstrates the impact of text traditions like narrative techniques. Thus, the twofold contextualization of the interrogative acts shows the need for an interdisciplinary analysis that integrates sociohistorical considerations as well as literary reflections.
One of the central questions of pragmalinguistics is the distinction between linguistic structures and cultural norms that guide the usage of these structures in verbal interaction. This distinction is especially important for contrastive pragmatics, which analyses the interfaces of different languages and cultures. In order to draw a clear line between linguistic and cultural differences in patterns of interaction, contrastive pragmatics needs a methodological framework that is centred around a precise analytical separation between the idiomatic traditions of language and the cultural traditions of verbal interaction. Based on Eugenio Coseriu's system of language as a cultural competence, the study introduces a model that distinguishes three perspectives and types of (contrastive) pragmatics. A key-notion of this model is the concept of discourse traditions as a cultural knowledge that guides verbal interactions. Using this model as a blueprint, the study discusses discourse traditions of requesting with a focus on question acts used as polite requests. In the study, the idea of cultural traditions of discourse, which has been widely discussed in Romance linguistics during the last years, proves to be fruitful for a new methodological perspective on illocutionary patterns and communicative routines in contrastive and intercultural pragmatics. 1 In den vorliegenden Beitrag sind Anregungen von romanistischer und germanistischer Seite eingegangen. Für intensives gemeinsames Nachdenken über das Coseriu'sche System der Regeln und Traditionen des Sprechens danke ich Franz Lebsanft (Bonn), Peter Koch (Tübingen) und Johannes Kabatek (Zürich). Für erkenntnisstiftende und wichtige Anregungen jenseits der romanistischen Wege der Forschung gilt mein herzlicher Dank meinem germanistischen Kollegen Andreas Gardt (Kassel). 2 Der Beitrag Gardts führt diese Formel programmatisch im Titel und ist Sprachwissenschaft als Kulturwissenschaft (2003) überschrieben. 3 Eine ausgezeichnete Synthese gibt das Kapitel Sprache und Kultur in Christmanns Monographie Idealistische Philologie und moderne Sprachwissenschaft (1974: 87-97). 4 Christmann (1974: 88-89) nennt als repräsentative Werke Ferdinand Brunots Histoire de la langue française und Walther von Wartburgs Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch.
Using the imparfait in narrative contexts seems to contradict the imperfective aspect of the form, as the perfective aspect seems far more adequate in these contexts. In order to understand the effects of this usage, the imparfait narratif is considered on two levels: on the linguistic level of the French language and its aspect system, and on a text level that embraces the cultural discourse traditions that characterise different text types and genres. On the linguistic level, the imparfait is first contrasted to its well-known perfective counterpart, the passé simple. In a second step, the article brings into view the analogy between the présent and the imparfait from a pragmalinguistic perspective: both forms share the inherent reference to an anchor-situation that encompasses a temporal as well as a personal dimension. On the text level, two usage-types of the imparfait in narrative contexts can be distinguished. Whereas the first type emphasises the temporal dimension of the anchor-situation, the second type focuses on the personal dimension and is closely linked to narrative techniques of point of view. As the analysis shows, both types result from the interaction between linguistic form and cultural discourse traditions. In conclusion, the use of the imparfait in narrative contexts in fact indicates a change. However, this change does not take place on the linguistic level of the aspect system but in the realm of the discourse traditions of narration that guide the use of the imparfait in texts.Eine Verwendung des imparfait, die in der Forschung mehrfach als Indiz für eine Veränderung im temporal-aspektuellen System des Französischen gedeutet wurde, ist dessen Gebrauch in narrativen Kontexten. In diesen Fällen versprachlicht das imperfektive imparfait Handlungen und Ereignisse, die eine Sukzession in der Zeit abbilden und für deren Ausdruck eine perfektiv markierte Form erwartbar ist. Diese der aspektuellen Markierung zunächst widersprechende Verwendung als imparfait narratif ist der Ausgangspunkt für die Frage, ob und inwiefern sich das Profil des imparfait im Französischen verändert 1 .Grundsätzlich kann die Verwendung des imparfait in narrativen Kontexten auf zwei Ebenen untersucht werden: auf der Ebene des Französischen als historische Einzelsprache und auf der Ebene der Texte, in denen das imparfait verwendet 1 Ich widme diesen Aufsatz dem Andenken meines Lehrers und Freundes Claus Morgenstern (1925Morgenstern ( -2009. Seine Gedanken zu Tempus und Aspekt haben mich viele Jahre lang inspiriert und begleitet.
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