hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2016-02-10

■ #2480. 命令にはなぜ動詞の原形が用いられるのか (2) [imperative][exclamation][inflection][speech_act][verb][interjection][sobokunagimon]

　[2016-02-05-1]の記事に引き続き，命令に動詞の原形が用いられる件について．先の記事の引用中にあったが，Mustanoja (473--74) が命令形と間投詞 (interjection) の近似に言及している．その箇所を引用しよう．

There is a striking functional resemblance between the imperative and the interjections. Both are functionally self-contained exclamatory expressions, both are little articulate (the singular imperative has no ending or has only -e, and the subject-pronoun is seldom expressed), and both are greatly dependent on intonation. In fact many interjections, primary and secondary, are used to express exhortations and commands (a-ha, hay, hi, harrow, out, etc. . . .), and many imperatives are used as interjections (abide, come, go bet, help, look . . . cf. present-day interjections like come on, go away, hear hear, say, say there, etc.)

　さらに，Mustanoja (630--31) では，動詞の命令形が事実上の間投詞となっている例が多く挙げられている．

Brief commands, exhortations, and entreaties are comparable to interjections. Thus in certain circumstances the imperative mood of verbs may serve as a kind of interjection: --- abyd, Robyn, my leeve brother (Ch. CT A Mil. 3129); --- come, þou art mysbilevyd (Cursor App. ii 823); --- go bet, peny, go bet, go! (Sec. Lyr. lvii refrain); --- quad Moyses, 'loc, her nu [is] bread' (Gen. & Ex. 3331); --- help, hooly croys of Bromeholm! (Ch. CT A Rv. 4286; in this and many other cases help might equally well be interpreted as a noun). Somewhat similar stereotyped uses of the imperative are herken and listen, which occur as conventional opening exclamations in numerous ME poems (herkneþ, boþe yonge and olde; --- lystenyþ, lordynges . . . .

　動詞による命令をある種の感情の発露としてとらえれば，動詞という品詞に属するという特殊事情があるだけで，それは確かに間投詞と機能的に似ている．そこで不変化詞であるかのように動詞の原形が用いられるというのは，不思議ではない．

　・ Mustanoja, T. F. A Middle English Syntax. Helsinki: Société Néophilologique, 1960.

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