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

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compliance cannot be expected without a definite manipulee. As mentioned in Table 5.4, the passive imperative is derived from the optative, just as the impersonal imperative in Estonian derives from the jussive and the impersonal imperative in Irish comes from the present subjunctive, all of which are functionally wishful. In Finnish, one could pose the following wish through the passive imperative: Juotakoon tämän kahvin; en halua sitä. Juo-takoon tämän kahvin en halua sitä drink-PASS/IMP this/ACC coffee/ACC NEG/1SG want/IND it/PART “May/let this coffee be drunk (or finished); I do not want it.” Or in the Indo-European family, the impersonal imperative can be demonstrated with Irish, one of few languages, possibly the only one, in this family in Europe that allows this construction. Irish: In ainm Dé, déantar an fírinne! In ainm Dé déantar an fírinne in name God/GEN make/IMPRS/IMP the truth “In God’s name, let the truth be spoken!” The imperative can be contrasted with the present subjunctive, producing a slight difference in form but a large difference in meaning, which turns the command into a less direct (and less directive) wish: In ainm Dé, go déantar an fírinne! In ainm Dé go déantar an fírinne in name God/GEN GO make/IMPRS/PRES/SBJV the truth “In God’s name, may the truth be spoken!” In keeping with the imperative, what is to be done is arguably more important than the identity of whoever does it, and if a directive speech act is made to elicit action, this is to be expected. Resignations, admissions, wishes and curses and even indirect orders are all plausible as passive or impersonal imperatives, whereas mutual suggestion, direct commands 30
and requests for permission are not as viable in this form. This Irish aptly demonstrates, as its impersonal imperative is created from the optative-like present subjunctive as opposed to the indirect commission of the past subjunctive, from which the language gets the third person forms (along with the first person plural) of the imperative. 5.3 Polite and indirect commands If we put all construal of optativity aside, the role of the third person imperative in Irish would be to express an indirect command, but there is another, related, function that in Europe is, I daresay, more common, namely that of the moderated or polite command. Romance languages like Spanish and Italian use the subjunctive mood to present a command or request as less forceful or direct than one made through the imperative. While this could rightfully be called an indirect command, as the order posed through an indirect speech act rather than a direct one, it is not put forth by an imperative by proxy, and so it is prudent to keep these two terms separate for now. In Spanish and Italian, the third person imperative as a polite command is preferable to the second person form when addressing a person whom the speaker considers being superior in address, and is a good default to use with people with whom your familiarity is uncertain. The form used in this case is that of the present subjunctive, which in Italian and Portuguese (although not in Spanish) is also used for the first person plural. Portuguese: Fale/falem comigo! Fale / falem comigo speak/3SG/SBJV speak/SBJV/3PL with/me “Talk to me [please]!” Italian (Squartini in Rothstein and Thieroff (2010:239)): lo legga/leggano qui! lo legga / leggano qui it read/SBJV/3SG read/SBJV/3PL here “Read it here (please)!” This function of the third person imperative is also found in Hungarian, which sets it apart from how other Finno-Ugric languages like Finnish and Estonian, which treats the third 31
Page 1 and 2: UPPSALA UNIVERSITY Bachelor’s The
Page 3 and 4: Abbreviations 1INF First infinite I
Page 5 and 6: 1. Background and purpose The imper
Page 7 and 8: mind passing me the salt”, or a s
Page 9 and 10: There is a depth in using language
Page 11 and 12: optative paradigm (called the jussi
Page 13 and 14: Now, what I found were tendencies i
Page 15 and 16: Irish: Labhraím leis anois. Labhra
Page 17 and 18: Table 3.2: the differences between
Page 19 and 20: So how do non-canonical imperatives
Page 21 and 22: imperative. French is further dissi
Page 23 and 24: 4.2 The hortative functionality of
Page 25 and 26: Irish: Ithim bia! Ithim bia eat/1SG
Page 27 and 28: Table 5.2 Sentence types in Irish D
Page 29 and 30: This function arguably is more impe
Page 31 and 32: Table 5.4: Forms of the imperative
Page 33: Finnish: (Hän) kysyköön kysymyks
Page 37 and 38: Russian (courtesy of Hansen in Roth
Page 39 and 40: Resignation and admission of the sp
Page 41 and 42: References Abraham, Werner and Leis

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

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