diff --git a/src/Type.cc b/src/Type.cc
index 923a71c23f..245565a16b 100644
--- a/src/Type.cc
+++ b/src/Type.cc
@@ -854,6 +854,8 @@ void TypeDecl::DescribeReST(ODesc* d, bool roles_only) const {
 
 namespace detail {
 
+ExprPtr FieldInit::InitExpr() const { return nullptr; }
+
 // A record field initialization that directly assigns a fixed value ...
 class DirectFieldInit final : public FieldInit {
 public:
@@ -884,7 +886,7 @@ private:
 class ExprFieldInit final : public FieldInit {
 public:
     // Initialization requires evaluating the given expression,
-    // yielding the a value of the given type (which might require
+    // yielding a value of the given type (which might require
     // coercion for some records).
     ExprFieldInit(detail::ExprPtr _init_expr, TypePtr _init_type)
         : init_expr(std::move(_init_expr)), init_type(std::move(_init_type)) {
@@ -910,6 +912,8 @@ public:
 
     bool IsDeferrable() const override { return false; }
 
+    ExprPtr InitExpr() const override { return init_expr; }
+
 private:
     detail::ExprPtr init_expr;
     TypePtr init_type;
diff --git a/src/Type.h b/src/Type.h
index 440094705a..71fe57ea46 100644
--- a/src/Type.h
+++ b/src/Type.h
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ class Expr;
 class ListExpr;
 class ZAMCompiler;
 
+using ExprPtr = IntrusivePtr<Expr>;
 using ListExprPtr = IntrusivePtr<ListExpr>;
 
 // The following tracks how to initialize a given record field.
@@ -48,6 +49,10 @@ public:
 
     // Can initialization of the field be deferred?
     virtual bool IsDeferrable() const { return true; }
+
+    // Returns the expression evaluated to initialize the field, if any.
+    // (Used for script optimization.)
+    virtual ExprPtr InitExpr() const;
 };
 
 } // namespace detail