The function of non-canonical imperatives in the languages of Europe

4.2 The hortative functionality of first person plural imperatives
Having said that, what functions can be expected from the first person plural imperative
Perhaps the most common function of the first person imperative is to suggest an action to be
brought about. The inclusion of the speaker himself in the imperative also hints to a somewhat
optative element, since the speaker in the utterance obviously voices his desire for something
to be done.
A sentence like “let’s go to the museum tomorrow”, an utterance of suggestion, contains
the desire of the speaker to perform an action, as well as expressing his unwillingness to
perform this action alone. Since the action proposed is not an impossible one to perform, one
of distant longing, or a plea for or giving of admission, it would not qualify as an optative (or
jussive, if distinctions are made) in most European languages. In Turkish however, it is indeed
expressed through the optative and not the imperative (and can hence be used in questions, as
the optative here is a mood rather than a sentence type):
Turkish:
Biraz konuş-alım!
Biraz
konuş-alım
a little
speak-1PL/OPT
“Let’s have a bit of a chat!”
Hedeyeleri Mehmet’e göstermeyelim mi
Hedeyeleri Mehmet’e göster-me-ye-lim mi
presents Mehmet/to show-NEG-OPT-1PL Q
“Should we not show the presents to Mehmet/Don’t you want us to show the presents
to Mehmet”
On the other hand, a phrase like “Come on, let’s clean up this mess up” could hardly be
interpreted as a form of encouragement to commence a potentially enjoyable activity unless
the speaker is ironic, and so comes across more as an inclusive command. Since the action is
mutually undesirable, as the speaker’s related tone and/or facial expression, the two elements
that specifies the nature of the utterance as either labor or leisure, could further assert, the
imperative here is only practical as a command if the action is expected to be performed at all,
more so if the speaker has less authority over the listener(s), made indirect by circumlocution.
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