Language can be used to bridge the gap between expert knowledge and ability to act. I argue that this function is grammaticalized in imperatives (and in some languages, larger paradigms of directives), and that this becomes evident in restrictions on the (co-)reference of their subjects. I develop an account of the conventional semantics of imperatives and directives in general that associates the prohibited constellations with conflicting discourse requirements.
We offer experimental data from Colloquial German that involve imperative morphology in speech reports and in the scope of wh-elements. We confirm two independent restrictions on these phenomena, whose statistical significance provides evidence for the existence of embedded imperatives in Colloquial German in general.*
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