What is a prerequest?

Definition
	A prerequest is a presequence that prefigures a request, possibly by ascertaining the ability of the respondent to satisfy the coming request.

Example (English)

The first two turns of the following exchange are a prerequest:

A: Do you have blackberry jam?

B: Yes.

A: Okay. Can I have half a pint then?

B: Sure.

Adapted from:

Merritt 1976 324, cited by Levinson 1983 347

Concept module: pre-request
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): P
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