Simulation is an important cognitive resource involved in many mental processes. In this paper, we focus our attention on hypothetical questions (HQs) which are “communicative tools” used by speakers to encourage the activation of that resource, i.e., to invite their interlocutors to imagine a hypothetical scenario and to answer one or more related questions. While their functions have been broadly investigated in institutional settings, little has been written about such questions regarding everyday talk, and no work has been conducted specifically on the Italian language. This paper aims to fill this gap by analysing the linguistic designs, the epistemic stances conveyed, and the pragmatic functions accomplished by a set of HQs taken from a corpus of ordinary Italian conversations. The analysis reveals that the linguistic design of HQs is complex, in the sense that they can be made up of different types of hypothetical and interrogative components; the epistemic stances conveyed are numerous, in the sense that their hypothetical and interrogative components can come from different epistemic positions; and unlike HQs used in institutional settings, their pragmatic functions are multiple, ranging from finding out the interlocutor's opinion, communicating rhetorically the questioners’ point of view, asking for advice, asking for permission, making proposals.

中文翻译：

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日常意大利语对话中的假设性问题。

模拟是涉及许多心理过程的重要认知资源。在本文中，我们将注意力集中在假设性问题 (HQ) 上，它们是演讲者用来鼓励激活该资源的“交流工具”，即邀请他们的对话者想象一个假设场景并回答一个或多个相关问题. 虽然他们的功能在机构环境中得到了广泛的研究，但关于日常谈话的此类问题的文章很少，也没有专门针对意大利语进行过工作。本文旨在通过分析语言设计、传达的认知立场以及一组取自意大利普通对话语料库的 HQ 所实现的语用功能来填补这一空白。分析表明，总部的语言设计是复杂的，因为它们可以由不同类型的假设和疑问成分组成；所传达的认知立场是多种多样的，因为它们的假设和疑问成分可以来自不同的认知立场；与在机构环境中使用的总部不同，它们的实用功能是多方面的，包括找出对话者的意见、修辞地传达提问者的观点、征求意见、征求许可、提出建议。