imperatives -...
TRANSCRIPT
209 /
Chapter - VI
IMPERATIVES
6.1 Features of Imperatives:
In formal discussion, Imperative sentence has
its own features which are quite different from Negative
sentence and Interrogative aeutence.. ~e geperal features
are as follows s
(a) underlying subjec1:: Chomsky (1955), Klima (1964),
Kiparsky (1961), Katz and Postal (1964), Lees (1964),
and Hasegawa (1965) all agree that imperative have •you'/
second person as underlying subject. Bolinger also gives
his opinion that 'it is permitted to lack a subject•
(Bolinger, 1967, 335).
(b) Subject of the aentegcea second person is generally
the subject of Imperative sentence. There can be no doubt
that the subject of imperative sentences is •you• (or
at least is given a second person interpretation). Purthermore, the subject (overt or covert) of an imperative
sentence is being addressed by the speaker. Since •you•
or second person is (generally) the sole subject in an
imperative sentence, it (second person) can be easily
210 deleted by the native speaker according to his intuition.
As a result, an imperative sentence has underlying subject.
(e) Futurity in Imperative sentence• Chomsky (1955),
Klima (1964), Kiparsky (1963), Katz and Postal (1964),
Lees (1964), and Hasegawa (1965), BOlinger (1961) all
agree that imperative sentences more or less refer to
the future. 'FUturity' is, for Katz and Postal, part of
the definition of •command'.
Those aforesaid general features of imperative
sentences are found in imperative sentences in Meiteilon
also and will be discussed in this chapter. In Meiteilon,
imperatives are fo~ed by the suffixation of certain command
markers to the verb-roots as in (the proeess of addition)
the case of other types of sentences, say, Negative and
Interrogative sentences.
6.2 construction of D!Perativesa
Imperatives in Meiteilon are constructed by the
suffixation of imperative 118 rkers viz, /-u/, 1-ru/, /-kho/,
etc. to the verb .. root, as in the following sentences:
1. a. /na._, sal}gom thak-!V you milk drill)(-
'You drink the milk •
b. /n-ag saqgom thak-!!!/ you milk drink.-
'YOU (go and) drink the milk'
211 c. /naq Tomba-da lairik adu pi-kho/
you -dat bOok class give-'You give that book to Tomba •
The differen• imperative markers are discussed below from
the view point of nuances of meanings and uses.
S. 3 ImRerati ve Markers a · .
Imperative markers in this language are all
suffixes. They are: /-u/, 1-o/; 1-ru/~/-lu/, 1-ro/I"J
/-lo/, /~khc/, /-hau/ and only one negativa command
marker (prohibitive) /-nul. They are all separate conlll8nd
markers having different meanings. 1bese are considered
belowz
Imperative marker /-~ is used in different situations
and different contexts.
I. A simple command
2. a. /isig adu kbara thak -l!l water that some drink-
'Drink some water•
b. /famul} (a)si -adomo.. . da khara eitJ -~ bed this that side to some draw-
'Push this bed to that side a little'
c. /naq . lai adu niljthina yek-u/ you pictut'e that · nicely draw-
' Draw the picture a.f.cely •
d. /naq th-ab-ak you work in
tauba-da napukni~ caq-u/ doing your concentrate-
•concentrate on your work •
e. /masi-gi nupa-maca this boy
• Beat this bOy •
is! · fu•u/ this beat-
212
f. /n n-oi th b k :du- t u-u, minon-da nan-E!/ you-gen work that do- others-to speak
'oo :Y·ow: work, den '.t: talk to othe~s •
II. In advice/suggestion
3. a. /nag nasa fage hairab -di numida~ you health good (v) if night
n nna tum-mu/1
early sleep-1lf you want to be healthy. ~hen sleep early'
b. /naiJ khut fazage hair.9ba-di . your handwriting good(v) if
c.
yamna i-yu/ very write-
'If you want to have a good handwriting write a lot•
/caq nai-na bakcaq-sajel tau-U/ . regular exercise do-
•no exercise regularly•
III. For distribu1:ion of jobs/dutiesa
4.· a. /narJ-na thabak asi tau-uaduga you nom. work this do- and
nakboi-na thabak adu tau-u/ you(pl)-nom. work that do-
•You do this work end you· all do that work •
1. Phonological conditioning is operating here 1 when the coJlllSDd marker /-U/ is suffixed to the root verbs wbidb ends with consonan~s like /~m{. /•PI and /-1/ or /-y/ which all become long, e.g.
• • a·COntd,.·
213 b. /nakhoi kbara ama-na isi~ pu-rak-u
you(pl) some - nom. water bring -
0 duga nakhoi ldimai asi isi9 cai-~ and you(pl) floor this water water-
•some of you bring wa,er and some of you water this floor•
1. contd. ••
m -7 ntto/-m# {: J
/eam-bo/ •to wash' /sum·b~/ •to squeeze• /kh~b~/ •to cover• /cum-bd/ •to filter•
/cam-mu/ •wash (it) • /sum-mu/mo/squeeze (it) •
/khum-mu/mo/ •cover (it) •
/cum-mu/mo 'Filter (it) •
2. P. P ~ PP /-P# f ~ J /cup-pa I • to kiss • /kup.-p"d I • to cover • /th~pd/ •to fold' ·/nap-pd/ •to paste'
/cup-pu/po/ 'kiss• /kup-pu/po •eover (it)•
/thup-pu/po/ 'Fold (it). /nap-pu/po/ 'Paste (it)•
3. 1. i ~ iy /-1# {UJ 0,
/tbi-bo/ •to sea~b'
/pi-ba/ •to give• /hai·b~/ •to tell' /thugai-ba/ 'to break'
/th:t-yu/ 'Researcb'or · 'seek (it)• /pi-yq/ 'Give (it)' /hai-yu/ t Tell I /thugai-yu/ 'Break (it) •
2t4
c. /na~-na fi su-u. na~-na cak tho9-u/ you-nom.cloths wash you-nom rice coo~-
'You wash ~he cloths and you cook the meal'
Dmperative Marker 1-o/ :
I. Simple tnmeptive statemea't'
s. a. /nakhoi ca tbak-o/ you(pl) tea drink-
'Have the teat
b. /nakhoi kh~mbd -thoibi•gi wari adu pare9 you (pl) I<hamba 'l'hoibi story that line
oamma-da 1-yo/ hundred write-
•write the story of Khamba and Thoibi in one hundred lines•
c. /nakhoi mayam asi-da lak•o/ you(p1) many here-to come-
'You all come here'
II. suggestions to intimate friends/juniors:
6. a. /cofi .:3du thak-o, ink"hra -nil coffee that drink=, cold· be
'Drink the coffee otherwise 1t will get cold•
b. /luhog-g,, matam henkhra -ni/ ma.c"J:Y• time over- be
•Get married right now, otherwise it will be late•
c. /niqth!na ca-o, n~sa fanaba/ rnuoh eat- health good
• Eat well to be heal thy •
215
It not only carries the meaning of command
but also has the sense of •space• (distance) •away from
the location• 1n the sense that the action must take
place 'there• not •here•, as in sentences 7 (a), (b)
and (c).
7. a. /m~fam ~du-yeg-lu/ site that see-
•ac and see that site •
b. /•nakhoi-gi-da cak ca-ru/ they-gen-to rice eat-
•Go and take your meal at their house•
c. /pUkhri adu nakhoi mayam eagduna seg-lu/ pond that you all together clear-
'You all go ar~ clear that pond'
*d. /pukhri dai nakhoi mayam caqduna se~-lu/ •You all go and clear this pond'
*e. /mdfam asi ye:q•lu/ 'Site that see-
Sente~eos 7 (d) and (e) are ungrammatical because
they violate the •distanee away• condition by using
jasi/ 'thia • with the imperative marker /•lu/rv/-ru/ in
this context. The meaning of sentence 7 (c) is that the
speaker means •another• /pukhri/ •pond' and not the one
by the side of which he is standing. In ease the ~peeker
refers to 'this • one • he will use the imperative narker
1-o/ or 1-ul with any demonstrative /asi/ 'this' or /odu/
'that•. ~en there is no underlying meaning 'go' which is
2. /-1-/ and -r-/ are phonologically conditioned. (when they occur in medial ,or final position): 1-l-/ occurs after consonants; /-r-/ occurs. after vowels.
216 always present when the imperative marker /-lu//V/-ru/
is used. In the same way, as it ia in sentence 9(c),
the speaker tn sentence 9(a) refers to another /mafa~
•site• than the one present. In ether words, /-lu//V/-ru/
not only stands for command of the action involved but also
implies that the hearer is supposed •o go to that place
personally.
Hence the imperative marker /-lu/rv/-rq/ diffe~
from the imperative markers ; ... u; and 1-o/1 e •. g .. sentence
7 (a) differs from setence 8(a) as well as sentence 8(b).
e. a. · /mafam [:~~ ye9-ul
•see this place• that
b. /m~fam ~~!] yeq-o/
'see 'this plaee' that
The command in sentence 8(a) is definite as well as the
degree of command is also strOnger than that of sentence
8(b). This is because of the difference between the two
imperative markers. /-u/ and /-o/. Apparently, this is
not ve~ significant. the imperative marker /-~rv/lq/
has the meaning of definite command and it has also under
lying meaatng 190 • : the action should be performed • there •
not 'here • which is not found in the two imperative markers
2t7
1-o/ and /-u/. The difference will be more clear fJ:Om the
following sentences 9(a) and (b).
9. a. /tomba fu- [:] I Tomba beat
• Beat Tomba)
b., /tomba fu-ru/ '(Go.and) beat Tomba•
In the case of seni:ence 9(a) any native speakel:' understands
that • 'l'omba ' is present on tho scene while • 'l'omba • in
sentence 9(b) is not present on the seenea he (TOmba) may
be so:r.ewhere else. 'l'h.18 meaning of 1 Tornba •s' ·absence from
the scene is effected by the imperative.mar'ker /•ru//'V/ ... lu/.
Consider a few more constructions to validate the contention
made abovea
10. a. /furit[:~~ yel}- [:] I this
shirt that see-
'See this/that shirt•
b, /fu~:it ~~~ yeq-~ '(Go and) see this/that shirt•
Here is a point for olarific:ation regar~ing the
occuJ:rence of demonstrative /asi/ with the imperative
marker /-lu/tV/•J:U/ tbat is why sentences f/(d) and (e)
are ungrammatical and why the sentence 10(b) is grammatical
218 (even when the demonstra~ive pronoun /asi/ does occur
wi1:b the imperative marker /-ru/ /V /-lu/). The explanation
is as follows : when the location of the action to be
performed is at a very short distance from the location
of the discourse, use of 'asi' with /-lu/rV/-ru/ is
grammatical. The point made bere can be diagrammatically
shown as undera
(1)
MOvement
~~~------~--~----~----------- m Place of Place where action is discourse to be performed by
the addressee /adu/ with /•lu/A//-ru/ is used
Movement
c11 > m ----------- m Place of Place where action discourse is to be performed by
the address
Further, where . • si • with /-lu//V /-ru/ is used, the
speaker ~lies on kinesics as vell, Yiz. pointing the
nearby place (wbe.J:e the hearer is supposed to go and per
form the action) by fingers, etc.
Another graamatical property is that this marker
/-ru/I'V/-lu/ cannot occur with deic:tic category (of place)
/~sida/ 'here• in a construction, as in sentence 11(a) and
(b).
6.3.4
219 11.*a /furit asi as1da ye~-!B/
•ao and •ee this shin (here). (Try it here}
*b /ca asida thak- !Y/ tea here drink-
The two sentences 11 (a-b) are ungrammatical
because the deictic element (of place} /asida/ 'here'
the s pot 1 taelf wl:lere the speaker and the hearer are stand
ing. The sentences can be grammaticalized if we substitute
/-lU/I'V ;.;.ru/ by -o/u., Consider&
12. a. lfurit asi asida yerr[:J I 'See this shirt hera•
b. lea as1da thak-[:J I • Have the tea here •
Imperative Marker L.-ro/A/ {-19L :
'lbe imperative marker l•rol~,4,ol has the meaning
opposite to the imperative marker 1-rul ~1-lu/ in the sense
of •space•. It indicates the idea of proximity. Consider
sentence 13(a) and (b).
lJ.- a. /furit asi. ye~-lo/ •see this shirt (here)•
b. /ca ~s1 th-ok-lol •nr:ink this tea (here) •
The action of •seeing' and 'drinking' of sentences 13(a)
and (b) respectively are to be perfo~ed at the very spot
where c::ommand is gi van.
220 The second underlying meaning of /-lo/ /V 1-ro/
is •come•, it is just the opposite to the underlying mean
ing of /-lu/ /V 1-ru/ 'go •. :rurtbe.r, /•lo/ rv' 1-ro/ has
tonal variations as well. The underlying meanings •proxi
mity• and •come• are related to different tones: if 11:
is a level tone /-lo/rV/-ro/ denotes proxJ.mity, while with
a falling tone, the underlying meaning implied is •come•
as ·tn sentences 13 .<c-f) in 'he follcnting a
..... 13. o. /f~~t 8Si ye~·lo/
•(come and) see this shirt•
d. /ca -Bsi th8k-1o/ '(Come and) drink this tea•
' e. /nal} numida~ c:ak oa-ro/ you might meal eat-
'(Come and) have your dinner•
f. /lairi.k asi hayeg ldU•rO/ book this tomorrow take-
• ( C:Ome and) take this book tomorrow •
By addition of sentences 1J (a~d) we have the following
sentences:
.... 14. a. /lak-o-, furit ~s.t. yett- lo/
•come and see this shirt'
.... b. /lak-o, ca asi th8k·lo/
•oome and drink this tea•
.... c. ;na~ numidan lak-q, cak ca- ro/
'You come at night and have your dinner•
221 (d)/lak-o, lairik asi baye~ l~u- ro/
•come and take this book tomorrow• or
•come tomorrow and take this book'
These eentenaea 14 (a-d) are grammatical, yet tbe use of
/lak-o/ •come • ·in ~hese sentences is perceived by the
native speakers as distinctly redundant. This establishes
the. underlying meaning of /-ro/rv /•lo/ as •come• (besides
being the marker of command) beyond doUbt.
The interrogative marker /-ro/rv/-lo/ is used in
different contexts and situations as explained in the
following pages. · · •·
I. In invitationt
15 a., /nakhoi mayam haye9 ai-gi- da you (pl) all tomorrow I··;en-to
b.
c.
numi4a~· cak ca-ro/ night meal eat.
'You all (come and) have your din.ner tomorrow at my house•
' /nokhoi al-gi luhog-ba yao-ro/ you(pl) I•gen marriage attend-
'You all (come to) attend my marriage ceremony•
/alkhoi-gi-da thoibi-g1 isdi taro lau/ we-goss-to Thoibe-gen.song listen come-
• Come to our house and listen to the song
It is to be noted that none of these constructions take
the constituent /lak-o/u/ •come• because of the presence of
1-ro/ which already underlies the meaning of •come' as
explained earlier.
222
II. In affectionate comman4/coqsolationa
16. a. /se, kap -nu, sa~gom ~si thok-lo/ look cry-neg.lmp. milk this drink-
'LOok, don't cry any more, take this milk'
b. /se, sao-ra -nu p~i'a dsi lau-ro/ look angry-neg. Imp. mon\'Y this take•
*Look, don't be a~gcy, take this money•
c. /kh~l-lu- ra -nu, mahak-ki wakhal think-imp-cont-neg she-gen thought
Imp. adu kaothok-lo that forget•
•Don't remember, forget her•
III. COmmand to be Rerformed immediately: 4
17. a. /i-ro/ write-
• start writing• (write)
b. /kar thau-ro/ car drive
•start driving car• (Drive)
c. /cel-lo/ run
• start running • (Run)
Here the imperative marker /-ro/,-v /-lo/ oec'\u:'s in a situat
ion in Whidh the action is sUpposed to be performed
immediately.
6.3.5 lmperative Marker /-khoL :
6.3.5.1 NOn-aspectual /•kho/
/•kho/ can be uttered with rising and falling
tones& rising tone implies greater degree of command
as in sentences 18 (a-c) While the falling ~one suggests
lesser degree of command, as in sentences 22 (a-c).
18. a. /thab~k asi work this
1 0o this work'
/ tau-ram -kho/ do-cont.-
/ b. /isig purak-kho/, ok-khi-roi/
water brink- enougb-neg.mk. •sring more water, it is not enough'
/ c.. /nag lairik adu pa- ram-kho/
you book that read-cont.-'Read that book' (COntinue your studies/reaping}
Falling intonation carries less degree of command, as
in sentences 19 (a-c) below:
19. a.
c.
' /th~bok asi tau-ram -kho/ 1 Do this work •
" /isiq purak-kho1 ok-khi-roi/ •aring more water., 1·t is not enough'
" /nan lairik adu pa-ram-kho/ 'Read that book' (COntinue your studies/reading)
6.3.5.2
224
These sentences 19 (a-c) are spo~en to the hearer in
an affectionate way. Here the speaker is not very conscious
of the fact that he is (quite) elder to the hearer.
In case the relationship between the epeaker and the hearer
is intimate then even though the speaker is junior to
the hearer, this imperative marker may occur socio
grammatically, as in sentences 20 (a-c).
20. a. /ieemma, cak ka-kho aduga cat-lu/ elder sister rice eat- and go-
' Elder sister, have your meal and (then) go•
b. /tamo, hayeg ~muk lak-kho/ elder brother tomorrow again come-
'Elder brother, come tomorrow again'
c •. /ima, ca mother, tea
th'dk-kho/ drink
'Mummy, have tea•
*d. /ca thak-kho/ 'Have tea •
This imperative marker /•kho/ only cannot occur in an
imperative sentence if the addressee is a senior-stranger,
e.g. sentence 20 (d). This sentence is completely accept
able and grammatical but it is unacceptable and ungrammatival
from the angle of social-grammar.
Aspectual /-kho/
/-kho/ at times indicates continuity. In other
words, /-kho/ will be used only if this action has already
225
begun and the agent is expected to continue that action/
process under consideration. Consider sentences 21 (a-c).
21. a. /khara watli th~u-kho/ some reaching drive-
'Go on driving a little further•
/cak odu ca-kho, rice that eat-
loi-dri/. finish-ng.mk.
'Keep eati.ng for plenty of food is left "
c:. /lairik pakho, tumb yal-li/ book read- sleep early
'Go on your studies, it is early•to sleep'.
The ur~erlying meaning of •action - continuation• is
expressed by this imperative marker in these sentences,
without any adverbial elements.
Dmf!rative Marker /-hagt t
)haU,/ carries the meaning of suggestion, advice
and opinion. The various contexts in which /-hau/ can
be used can be seen from the following examples.
22. a. /bas as i-da . yao-hau, ad una fa-. -n1/ bus this-in get-in that-nom.good- be
'Get in this bus, that will be better•
b. /nol} as i-da lai-hou/ you here stay-
'You be here (that will be better)•
c. /n~~. maga yum-da 1~1-h~u, h~~gdt-handa you him home-in stay- to and from
eat-po wa- ni/ go-to tire-be
'You stay at hime with him;· it will be tiring to have to and fro•
d. /nag tbabak odu you job/post that
'You had better joined the job'
e. /n~~ mabak-pu niqtbina sem-ba~ you him properly make•
'You try to make him a good person •
226
f. /no~ lak•tri-gai -da maru hun-b/lo1-hou/ rain come-not-before seed sow-to finisb-•Firtish the sowing before the rain comes•
g. /yot a!u sa-ri-rf3ida kol-bau/ iron that bot-during bend-
• Bend the iron when it is hot •
Negative Imperative Marker /-ngl a
Negative imperative sentence is formed by the
addition of a negative imperative marker /-n~ to the
verb. This is the only negative imperative marker in·
Meiteilon. Here are some negative imperative sentencesa·
23. a. /naq sinema adu yeiJ•mV you cinema that see-
•oo not see that movie'
b. /nakhoi q~si-di laubuk-ta cat-nY/ you(pl) today field-to go-
'Do not go to the field today•
c. /nakhoi haye~ fut-bol san~-nu/ you (pl) tomorrow foot-ball play-
• no .Dot play •eot-ball -t;omorrow•
227
In addition to an independent occurrence, /-nul can
also accompany imperative marker /•lU/I'V'/-r:u/. When
it does, the semantic structure of /-lu/I'V'/-ru/ discussed
earlier is added to the semantic structure of /-nu/.
The order of /-lu/ /-nt/ and /-nul will be as followsa
f:.lu + n~ ~ /-lu nu/1 • [;nu+l~ .
Gru + n'!l ----7' /-runU/; *Gnu+~
24. a. /naq sin«na adu yef:}-lunu/ •no not (go and) see that movie'
b. /nakhoi ~asl•di laubuk-ta o~t-lunp/
•oo not 90 to the field today•
c. /nakho1 h~eq fut-bol san~-~ung/ •no not (go and) play foot-ball tomorrow•
other examples of [lu/ru+n':il are as unrtera
25. a. /ca-ru-nu/ eat-1mp.-neg.Imp.
•oon•t <vo and) eat'
b. /pi-ru -nul give•lmP• neg.Imp.
•non•t(go and) give•
c:. /hai -ru -nul tell-Imp. neg.Ill\P•
'Don't (go and) tell'
d. /fu- ru -·nul beat-Imp. neg.IJnp. •oon•t (go and) beat •
e. /yeq-lu -nul see-Imp. neg. Imp.
'Don't (go and) see•
f. /pa -.ru -nul read-Imp-neg. ImP.
'Don't (go and) read•
228
In other words, we can call these sentences as prohibitive
construction. In this language prohibitive sentences
can be formed by i;he suffixation of /-nu/1 examples are
given above. /-nul can also be used in affectionate
asking (consolation). Oonsidara
O• /se. tok-o# kap-pd• ~ o.k. stop cry-Imp.neg.mk.
•o.K. stop it, don't cry (any more)
h. /se. kap-pa-nu, saqgom thak-o/ o.k. cry-Imp.neg. milk drink-
•o.K. don•t cry, drink this milk'
1. /tum-mo, magi wakhol khal-la-nu/ sleep her thought think-cont.-ImP.neg.mk.
'Sleep well, don't think any more for her•
This nag. imperative marker can also occur with another
imperative matker /-bau;. considers
26. a. /na~ sinema ~du X!Q-~-D!I •no not see that movie'
b. /nakboi ~asi-di lC)ubuk-ta cat":"~-!!!V 'You. (all) do not go to the field today •
c. /nOkhoi h~yeq-di f~t-bol 11na-~-ns/ 'Do not play football tomorrow•
229
some more examples are:
/ca-hau-nu/ [!at +Imp .mk+neg. Imp .m1.£) •non•t eat•
/pi-hou-nu/ {9ive+Imp.mk+neg.Imp.~ •oon•t give•
/hai-hau-nu/ {!ell+lmp.mk+neg.Imp.~ •oon•t tell•
/fu-hau-nu/ ~eat+Imp.mk+neg.Imp.mk:J 'Don't beat•
The thtrd imperative marker to wbioh the neg.
impetative marker /-nul can be added to is /•u/, as in
sentences 27 (a-e) belo~:
27. a. /nag sinema adu ye~-:!!-!PI' . •non•t see that ~ovie•
I.
b. /n-a'khoi l}aBi-di ~ubuk-ta eat-u-nu/ ·•you(all) do not go to the field today'
Here it can be notod that the negative impera
tive marker /-nul, which is the mole negative imperative
marker in this languaoe, cannot be added to other impera
tive markers than those discussed above; that is /-nu/
cannot be· ·added to imperative markers /-o/, /-lo/ ""-' /-ro/
and /-kho/. For insbnce, the following sentences are
unorarmnatic:ala
· 28. *a.
*b.
/na9 s.t.nema adu yenJ-r ~ l -nul . ·~~
•non•t see that movie'
/nakho1 'asid1 laubuk-ta cat•\:0~ ~hoj
'You (all) do not go to the field •
..;nul
230
•c. /n~khoi hayel'} fut-bol sana- ~~o J -nul l_itho
'You (all) do not play foot-ball tomorrow•
It will be interesting to see how a simple
declarative sentence, e.;. sen~ence 29, which have a
definitive markers /•khi/, /-ram-/ and /rak-/ added
to"the root-verb, is changed into a negative imperative
sentence.
I . rraml -y r;; 1 l ::1 29. mahak cak ca-L!dkj -y L§imp e dec arative sentenc~
he rice eat - defi. asp. 'He eats rice/meal'
Step I Deletion of the finite verbal suffix /-y/, an aspect marker (any kind of aspect ma.rke.rs will be deleted)
30. a. /mahak aak aa - (;~ -1 @el<ition of /•Yll
Step II Addition of the negative impera~ive marker /-n~ to the verb phrase /ca-ram-/ca-rdm-nu/.
Neg. Imperative I na9 cak ca - ~:~] -!!!!I •no not take your meal'
I~ ca~ be pointed out it is not a very rigid rule that
the negative imperative matker /-nu/ should be added to
the verb root ·only I in othe~ words, /-nul may be added
to the verb root non-contiguously (is added to verb
after other morphemes), e.g. . . . ' '
6.4
231
31. a. 1~-.m!l 'Don't eat'
b. /ca-rak -nul •oon•t eat
c. /ca-rak -ka -nu/ 'Don't eat• Definite or
NOn-immediate d. /ca-r~k •khi·n~ future
•non•t eat•
e. /ea-rl)k -khi-9'd -.mY 'DOn't eat'
It is obvious from the examples discussed above that
/•nu/ is always the seutence final elen•ent.
OCcurrence of 'l'wo I!t:t2er~ti Y,e Markers :
The occul'reneet ·of two imperative markers is
also a common phenomenon in this language·. Generally.
the occun:ence of two imperat:i ve markers in an impera
tive sentence does not bring out any significant diff
erence in meaning (compared to an imperative sentence
having one imperative marker only). Por example,
consider the following sentencesa
32. (a) /n~~ Cdt-lu/ 'You go (there) •
(b) /ndq c~t-lu-o/ 'You go (there) •
232
In the eases of the occurrence of two imperative markers,
botb the imperative markers may carry their respective
meanings which were discussed earlier. The following
combinations are possible:
I. -~~J + /0/ ljchij
This combination is us~d for affectionately commanding
younger people (even when the speaker and the hearer
are neither intimate with each other nor are related
to each other) • • .. ·'~ .. ~
lfJ 1..:-.
33. a. /nakhoi mayam lairik pa - -0/ kho
you all book r~ad
• ( (';.O you all and} read your book•
[tJ b. /na9 adu-da CC)t - ~~1 -0/
you there go
·'(You) go there •
a. /DC3IJ hidak ca - ~~J -0/
you medielne eat •(You go and) take the medicine•
II. • ~r:] + r.o
This is used for affectionate command. though the degree
of affection is less as compared to I. above •.
34. a. /noq furit adu yeq -lu-ro/ you shirt that see-
• Go and see 'that shin •
b. /n~J} hidak adu ca•ru-r:o/ ' you go and eat that medicine•
c. /nakhoi mayam lairik pa•ru_ro/ you all bOok read- ·
'You(all) go and read your books •
2. POr grantlag permission or consent:
35. a. /fare, naq sinema adu yeq-lu-ro/ o.k. ycu cinema that see-•o.K. fine. You go and see that movie'
b. /f. are, naq paisa -adu la u-ru-ro/ o.k. you money that take-
•o.K. you go and collect that a.ount•
233
The situation in sentence 35 (a) can be that of son asking
his father •s per:mission for going to a movie and the father
grantta; it to hie son.
senteace S6 (b) can be seen ln the same context.
III. • G.~ + kho
In ordinary command s
36. a. /n~q fur.S.t ddu ye~-lu-kho/ • (You) go and see that shin•
b. /n~9 hidak &du ea-tu-khO/ •you go and take that mediclne'
c. /nokhoi moyam lairik pa-ru-kho/ 'You(all) go and read your books'
234
Sentences of /-ru/ + /kho/ carry a.· seqUential •eaning which
is not· eeen ift other conet;ruc~tons. Sentences 36 (a-c)
indicate that: the bearer is supposed to perform the action
denoted (underlyingly) by 1-n.l ·~o • and then the action
indtca-ed by the main verb. In other words• in these sen
tences the imperativeness of /-ru/ /\/ /•lui is overtaken by
the urtderlying meaning •go • and /•kho/ ideally serves 'the
imperative marker. 'rbese sentences can also be uttered
wi~ an adverb /hanna/ 'f.int 1 without bring1Qg any semantic
shift,. as in senunee J7.
37. /nakh-,1 m yam lairik han-na pa-ru-kho/ 'You all go and read the book t&rsj'
Serttenoe Jti(c) and )'7 have the same meanift9 although
sentence · 37 has aft additional eleaeat /hanna/ • first • ..
IV. - lhau + kho I
38. a. /~al} felt dU yen-hau-kho/ 'You see that shirt• (Go on seeing 'he shirt)
b.. /nakhoi may~m lairik pa-h ~u-kho/
'You all read your book • (Go on reading your book)
These two imperative sentences express the meaning of
'cofttinuation of action • : the speaker asks i;be bearer to
continue his ac~1on while be (the speaker) chooses to do
someth1~g else. Sentence 39 (a-b) will clarify the
si-uatlon.
39. a. /no I} £uri t you shirt
aduga but
235
adu ye9-hau-kho that see-ai:di eat-le/
I- go-aspt.
'(Go on) see(ing) that shirt but I am going •
b. /nakhoi lai~ik pa-hau-kho aduga ima-di you book read and mother
cak thog-ge/ meal c:ook-aux.
• (Go on) reading your books and I will cook your meal•
It should be noted that the linear order of the occurrence
of the two imperative markers is very rigid 1 in case the
order of the occurrence is broken, we land up with un
grammatical c:onstructionsc
*I -o + ~~ 40. /n<>lthoi mayam laidk pa-o-l~~ I
you all book read-
*II -ro- [ru] 41. /ndiJ furit adu yeJ_}-ro-~ I
you shirt that see-
*III .;.kho -\!:] 42. /n-aq furit adu yelj•kho ~:_} I
you shirt that see-
6.5
* IV lliho + he~
43 • /non furi 1: -adu yeiJ•kho-h-au/ you shirt that see-
236
we can suggest the following kind of sequential constraints
in the Imperative Qonstruc~ion.
Verb root + Imperative Marker ~perative Marker I II
(a) ~~] + [o] kho
(b) [i:] + ~o] (a) fila'-D + [:J
occurrence of more than two ImPerative Markers1
In Meiteilon, occurrence of more than two impera
tive markers is also possible as in sentence 44. As
it is. in the sentences of double occurrence ot imperative
markers, there will not be any additional meaning nor
any degree of emphatic imperative mark in the meaning.
I. occurrence of three imperative markers:
1. - &~ + kho + o
44. a. /na~ furit ~du yeq-lu-kho-2/ 'You go and see that shirt •
b. /nakhoi mayam lairik pa-~-~-2/ 'You all go and read your books'
237
c. /nan cak ca-~-ls!!2-2/ 'You go and take your meal•
However, the underlying meaning of /-lu/ 1-ru/ will be maintained.
[ . -~ . . .
2. - [hau + kho + o]
45. a. /nalJ fur it adu yeq-~-!m2.-.2/ 'You go and see that shirt'
b. /nakhoi mayam lairik pa-~-hh2-2/ 'You all go and read your books'
c. /naq cak ca-~-~-2.1 'You go and take your meal'
The linear order of the occurrence of imperative markers
is very rigidt the order cannot be changed or altered~
Examples are given below:
*I VR + r:~ :u +:l L~ +kho + ~
46. *a /nal} furit
you shirt •
~du yeq -
that see• ~ho-o-ruU ho- ru-- o
- kho- ru
*b /nakhoi mayam la~rik pa-' ~~ : ~u--~ J L o ... kho- ru
~ho .+ o +haul +II VR + ho + hoU + 0
_ + hdu + kho
47,. *a /Dd!J furit CldU yecr [
kho- o- h-a~ kho ... h'du- o o- bau + kho
you shirt that see-
238
~ho- o- hCJ~ *b. /nakhoi mgyam lairik pa- kho - hau - o
- hau - kho you(pl) all book read-
II. Occurrence of four imperative ma.r:kers 1
Interestingly, Meiteilon offers enough instances of
four imperative markers occuring in a sentence in the following
order.
Sentences are given berea
48. a. /n8q furit adu ye9 -h~u-a-kho-g/ •you go and see that shirt•
b. /n8kho1 loins lairik pa-~-£!-~-2/ 'You all go and read your books •
6. 6 Different J'Orms of .. ImRerati vee:
I. Conditional Imperatives:
49. a. l•habak asi tdu, ai na~-bu paisa pi-ni/ WO#k this do- I you money give-aux.
'Do this work. I will give you money•
b. /na~-na th8bC3k dsi tau-rabadi ~1 na~·bu you-nom. work this do-if I you
paisa pi-ni/ money give-aux.
'If you do this work I'll give you money•
239
II. Permission Imperatives:
SO. a. /fare, ne9 numit khudiqg-gi ayuk
b.
o.k. you day every morning pug 7-da lao/
o'clock at come
•o.K. you come at 7 o'clock every morning•
/n-ag-na you-nom
· pam-bd makbai lai-ro/ want whatever buy-Imp mk.
'Buy whatever you want'
III. Wish Imperativesz
51. a. /nuq~aina pa-lq/ happily exist-Imp.mk.
• Live happily 1
b. /ni~thina potha-o/ properly rest Imp•mk·
'Rest properly'
c. /nugqai-yu/ happy-Imp.mk.
'Be happy'
IV. Let Imperatives a
<!2i used with first person or second person subject to supply an indirect imperative)
(a) Let with first person: -52. a. /ai-bu t~bdk .::ldu tau-hol -lu/
I-accu. work that do-caus-Imp.mk. ·,Let me do the work •
b. /9ikhoi-bu th~bdk adu tau-hal-lu/ • Let us do the wol:'k ' (Let us get/cause to do 'he work)
(b) ~ with third person:
53. a. /mabak-pu furit adu ye9-hal-lu/ be-accu shirt that see-caus•imp.
'Let h~m see the shirt•
240
b. /m&hak-pu lairik khara pa-han-kho/ he-accu book some read-caus-tmp.
'Let him read some more•
c. /m~khoi-bu lon C3du khal)-hal-lu/ they-acou language that know-caus-imp.
'Let ·them know the language• ·
It should be noted that in Let-imperative construction a
causative marker /-hal-; ;v/ han~/ is inserted in· the verb
phrase in case the verb is not a lexical causative. So the
following sentences are grammatically wrong (since causative
marker is not inserted).
54. *a. /mahak-pu furit ddu yeq-lu/
*b. /m~bak-pu lairik kh ra pa-kho/
*c. /mdkhoi-bu lon du khag-lu/
However* the following sentences are grammatical (al~hough
there is no causative marker) because they are lexical causa
tives.(They are few in number).
3. Causative verb, in this language is formed by the addition of causative marker lhc:mi jhcjl/ to the root (verb). Meite.lloa is aa agglutinative language. •strongly agglutinative languages tend to have affixal causatives ••• • Shibatani, 'A Linguistic study of causative constructions•, p.5, Indiana University, Linguistic Club, Nov.197S.
ss. a. /~mba-bu hai·n~u ~du pijd -q/ Tomba-accu mango that feed-imp. ·~ Tomba eat the mango•
b. /mohak-pu isi~ pithak-~ he-accu water make drink-imp. ·~ him drink water.
241
6.7 OOnstr~ints on Imperative Subjects in respect to Persona
Chomsky (1955). Klima (1964), Kipersky (1963),
Katz and Postal (1964), Lees (1964), and Hasegawa (1965), Boli
nger (1967) and Schachter (19?3) all agree that imperatives
have •you• as underlying subject. T,his subject may (and
in some cases, must)be deleted.
Thorne, however, notes that there are certain
kinds of imperatives in which it is less obvious that an
underlying •you• is the subject•
(a) Nobody move
(b) Everybody get out as possible.
(a) somebody go there.
(d) Bill, come here.
(e) sit down, boys.
In Meiteilon there is an indefinite pronoun /kdnano
oma/ •any mne' which can be the subject of the imperative
sentences, as in sentences 56 (a-c).
242
56. a. /kanano ama cat•lu/ any one go-Dmp.mk.
'Go any one of you.
b. /kanano ama war.t. adu li -yu/ any one story that narrate•ImP.mk•
'Any one of you narrate the story•
c. }kanano ama la!ri.k ~du lau-u/ any one book that take•Imp.mk.
• Anyone of you take that book •
Alterna,ively, these sentences can have indepen~ent personal
/n-akho1/ •you(pl) • preceding it. However;- this does not·
bring any change in meaning.. Cons.t.dera
57. a. /nakboi kanano ama eat-lu/ you(pl) any one go-Imp.mk.
'Go, ar1y one of you • (Pl.)
b. /nakboi kananodma wari adu li-yu/ youtpl) any one story that narrate-Imp.mk.
• Anyone of you narrate the story •
c. /nakhoi k nano ama lair!k adu lau-u/ you(pl) any one book that go-Imp.mk.
• Anyone of you take 'that book •
*d. /naq kana no ama cat-lu/ you(sg) any one go-Imp.mk.
Sentences 57 (d) and sa (d) are ungrammatical because
/kanano ·ama/ has the underlying meaning of •among' or
1of' rather ~n 'anyone• or !SOJDebody'. so 11: cannot
occur with pronouns· (singular) /il-arJ/ 'you' (sg) and /mahak/
'he' respectively. It must be noted that when the indefinite
2 ··i 3
pronoun /kanano ama/ occur with the third person /~akhoi/
'they' the verb must be causat.i.vized by the infixation
of causative marker /-han/~/hal/. Considera
58. a. /makhoi kanano ame e t-h-al-lu/ -• Let anyone of i:hea go'
b. /m;)kboi kanano ama war1 adu 11-hal-lu/ 'Let anyone of them narrate the story•
e. /m~khoi kanamo ama lairik adu ldu-bal-lu./ -• Let ahyone of them take 'hat book•
*(h /mahak kanano a me eat-hal-lu/ iie any one go-eaus .. -Imp.mk.
The. indefinite pronoun·cannot refer to (occur together
with) singular third person pronoun· /m'Ohak/. The reason
why it cannot refer to singular pronoun (seoond and third
person) ia that out of /nakhoi/ •you• (pl) and /makhoi/ ' .
•they' one person is supposed to be selected for performing
an action.
6.8 Reflexive
Reflexive pronoun in this language can also be
the subject of imperative construction,. the nominative c:ase
marker must be suffixed to. The reflexive ·form in this
language is a bound moepheme i.e. /-sam~k/ which is attached
to the pronoun.
244
First person /oi/-?1/ i • #I + /-samak/ ---7/i-sam k/ 'Pirst person reflexive•
Second person /no -1 + /samdk/ --7/n9-sam k/ •seaond person reflexive•
Third person /m~-/ + /samak/ /m~samak/ 'Third person reflexive•
/•samdk/ has no number of its own - its number is determined
by the pronoun preceding 1~.
First P!rson
/oil • I • t /'di 1-sa~k/ • I myself •
/c9ikho1/ •we • /alkboi i-samak/ •we ourselves •
Second persoq
/naq/ •you• (sg)t /na~ nasamak/ 'yo~yourself' /nakhoi/ •you• (pl)J /nokhoi na-samak/ •you (pl)
yourselves•
Thi£d persen
/mahak/ 'he•, /mahak m~-samdk/ 'he himself' /mokhoi/ • they • 1 /md'khoi masamak/ •they themselves •
Consider the following sentancesa
I 59. a. /nosamak-pa thdb~k adu t~u-u/ yourself-nom£ work that do-Dmp.mk.
'You yourself do that work'
/nasamak-na cat-laga m~khoi-da hai-ru/ yoursei!-nomi go~parti they-to tall•Imp.mk.
'You yourself go and tell them •
245
Occurrence of 'he second person pronoun /nC)o/ in such
sentences are optionala
II.
60. a. I [;~~0~ n-asamak-na thatek adu t-au-u/
'You yourself do that work•
I /;~~ho~ nasamak-na c:at-l.Pga makhoi-da bai.,.ru,l
'You yourself go and tell them•
Third person /masamc:>k - l themselve87 ~1mself _j
61. a. lmasam&k-na th;3b'dk ddu :tau-hdl•lu/ himself-nomi
• Let be hJJnself do the wotk •·
b. lmdsamdk cat-laga m~khoi-da hai-hol-lu/ 'Let he himself go and tell them'
occurrence of reflexive lmasam'dk/ with the third person
~ronoun is optional: the pronoun preceding will indicate
the number~ considera
62. a. I r;:~:~~ ~-samak-~:] thabok adu t~u-h;31-lu/
fbe himself I 1 'Let ~hey themselve~ do the work
b. I =~~~~i m'3-sam~k -'I;:] C;;}t-lC).ga mdkhoi-da - hai-h'dl- lu/
, ~e himself\ , Let ~bey themselvesj go and tell them
01.6 /.; ·'!
III. Jirst per~on isa-mak - rourseliJ Lmyselfj
63. a. /isa-m.,k-naLJ2u thab~k ~du tdu-h-al ... lu/ • Let me myself do the work •
•Let ~ myself go and tell them•
Reflexive /1-sam k/ optionally can also occur with fi~st
person pronouns.
64. a. I ~11khoil Gnal ~ J 1-sa-mak - puj thabak ddu
t~u-b-al-lu/
. • Let 1 us oursel veil do the work • ~myself J
b. /~fkbo~ 1-sa-mdk -~~ e"dt-laga m~khoidda hai-h'Ol-lu/
• Let I us oursel veil go and tell them' ~myself _j
In a nutshell, in Me1tei1on, we can say that there is
no significant difference of meaning .between imperative
sentence having subject being marked in che surface
construction and imperative sentence having underlying
subject without ove~ parallel surface subject. If at
all there is any difference in this context. it is a minor
one- that can be ignored. It is a linguistic universal
feature 1 that if the subject is represented in the surface
247
structure, it is definite or it particularizes the person
under construction. Here are some sentencesa
65. a. /naiJ furit adu ye9-U/ •You see that shirt'
b. I ( ) fu.ri t ddu yeiJ-U/ •(You) see that shirt•
66. a. /fare, fare gaq Cct•lo/ o.k. o.k. you oo-~p.mk.
6.9 Tensea
•o.K. o.x. you go•
b. /fare. fare cat-lo/ o.k. o.k. vo-xmp.mk.-
•o.K. O.K. (you) go•
As discussed ea~lier, 'FUturity• 4 is one of the
featu~s fer tbe definition of imperative sentences.
the imperative markers indicate command as well as its
futuri-ty. Thanks i:o some adverbial tim.e elements like ~· ' \. '
v only
/bduj&k/ or /b~ujikma~ •now• or •at present• a~ /~asi/ -4. Jespersen clearly statesa "The imperative always
refers to the future, Often the illlllediate future" (V, 24.1). Poutsma gives a way outa •uncertainty of fulfilment naturally clings to a command or request". uncertainty of-~ulfilment can a-tach co a desire about something present as well as something future. _ Pc)utsma gives ~e e:~tample_~ I hope ;;;Sou • re th1nk1p. Please, be think!~ about me. ;lch !s probib~y intend-ed ~0 mean e. ope \hat something has already star-ted and is going on now. In any event, such imperatives are no~al enough (BOlinger, 1967, p.348).
248
•today• imperative sentences may haye the sense of present
tense (order of the performance of an action •now• or
•at present' or in'i .. ediate future•) as in sentences
67 (a-a).
67. a. /n~~ h~ujik lairik adu tomba-da you now/ book that ~mba-to
at present
pi-yu/ give-
'Give that book to Tombs now/at present'
b. /n~q bdujik-mah lairik adu tomba-da pi-yu/ • GJ. ve that book to 'lomba right now •
c. /ns~ ~dsi lairik ddu tomba-da pi-yu/ -'Give that book to Tombs to-day•
~Y one of the imperative marker may occur with these. adverbial ttme elementsJ ·
Aa a universal feature,. imperative structure can
never take verb .tn the past tense •. Chomsky (1,55) makes the
observation that imperatives do not occur witb a past time
adverb. KJ.parsky notes the same restriction holds for
requests.
6.10 Ierat&ve .. sen\enca. with Pleonastic Particle.!. a
Impe.rat;i ve sen'tences ca-n be treated in a pleonastic
way by the addition of pleonastic particles to the impera~
tive verb phrases. 1he very common pleonastic particles
,.
249
are /-ko/, /-da/, /-do/, /-dana/, /-ne/1 /•se/, /•gdba/,
/-doko/, -nako/ and /•nes~Y. constructing sentences with
pleonastic: particles is very common amona the na-tive
speakers })ut this ie not a result of theil' conscious
creativeness. Nor are there any special situa-tions
which per 88 demand such a construc~ion. Examples are
given in sentences 6J (a-1). The meaning of the sentence
is •Give this shir\ to ~mba• (meaning is same in all
sen-tences).
68. a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
/furit as! tomba-da pi + shirt this Tombs-to give
/furit asi tomba-da pi +
/furit asi tomba-da pi +
/furit .;JS:I. "omba-da pi +
/furit 'dsi tomba-da pi +
ru yu. yo, +~ ro kho bau
ru yu yo
+~ ro kho bou
l:'\1 yu yo + 221 .r:o )(bo hou
ru yu .r:o + d~na/ kho yo h-au
ru yo yu +W ro kho h;;:~u
6.11
5.11.1
ru 250 yo
f. /furit asi tomba-da pi + yu + gaba/ ro kho hou
ru yu
g. /furit osi tomba•da pi + yo + dako/ J:'O kho hau
ru yu
b. /furit as£ tomba-da pi + yo + nako/ ro kho bau
ru yu
1. /fur! t as! tomba-da pi + yo + nese/ ro kho hau
Indirect Qommanda
Pl; interroqati ve . constructi,on c ,
Not only the imperative fo~ may have the command
meaning but the interrogative form also may have the
command ~aDing. as in sentenees 69 (a-c)a
69. e. /furit asi to~-da pi-ge-ra/ 'Will you give this sbi Z't to 'l'Omba •
/na~ m~f~m ddu- da you place that~to
c:at-ke-ra/ go-asp..Q.mk.
'Will you gc to 'that plaee•
5.11.2
c. /non-(bu) you-ace.
~lJSI} osi child this
thi.n-ge-ra/ escort-asp.-Q.mk.
251
khora skul-da some· school-to
•will you esco~ this child to the school'
syntactioally, these ~ree sentences 64 (a-c)
are interrogative constructions' the suffix /-ra/ is the
indicator of interrogative construction in these sentences
( /-ra/ is yes/no question uta.t'ker). 'these can be inter
preted in three different ways& first as a question, second
as a requeat and third as an indirect command. or quasi
command. The third meaning of these sentences 64 (a-c)
is ~nferred as that of express desire on the part of the
speaker to ~et his command (i.e. his wo~k etc,) obeyed.
Interrogative sentences funotioning as commands are more
polite than imperative sentences.
By &nfinitive constructi~g:
An infinitive construction may have indirect
command meaning# ··as in sentence 70 (a-b).
70. a. /furit -asi i:omba-da pi -bcfa15 I shirt this TOmbs-to give-Inf.-good
'You had bette~:" given this shirt to 'l'Omba'
b. /noiJ m~fam ~du•da cat-~ f.~i./
•You had better gone to that place'
5. I fai/ is a verb 'is good' here, derived from adjective I fdba/ • good •. /cao-1/ < j.;:)c~u-ba 1 'big • , /IJa l)-1/ < /d981J•b~/ •red •.
252
The two sentences 70 (a) and (b) have ~he same syntactic
constructions each has two underlying sentences. sentence
70 (a) is derived from two sentences.
(1) /furit asi tomba-da pi-X!~ 'Give this shirt to 'l'omba •
(2) I L!~;] foi/
'That is good•
s
NP
~ N oemst. Numb
NP
~ N o.case I I
v
~ Proper N. Dative
VR Imp.mk
I I I I furit ~s1 Sg. 'l'oJnba + da pi + yu
'l'l:anafo~:matigpa ' - .
I B¥ deletion rule
II B¥ addition .111le
III By deletion rule
NP I
N I
Pronoun
madu/ adu
VP r
Main v.
/1 fai. aspt.
Simple.
• deletion of the imperative marker /•yu/
- addi,ion of tne infinitive marker /-b~/ in the place of the impera~ive marker /-yu/
- deletion of pronoun I madu/ or /adu/
6.11.3.
6.12.
253
Henceforth, sentence 70 (a) is derived
/furit ~i tomba-da pi-ba fai/ ae
the sentence 70 (b). such constructions are used while
addressing to the seniors and hence these constructions are
marked by (}respecf).
By conjunction /-di/:
The same indirect command meaning of sentences
70 (a) and (b) can be constructed as implied imperatives
as in sentences 71 (a) and (b).
71. a. /furit asi tornba-da pi-badi shirt this TOmba-to give
1Giv1n; this shirt to Tomba is (It is good to give this shirt
/noq mafam adu-da cat-p:abi you place there-to go
'(Your) going there is good• (It is good to go there)
f:ai/ good +be
good• to Tomba)
fai/ good+be
These sentences imply command, no order or request is
explicitly stated.
Re:esti tioru
Repetition of imperatives is a common phenomena
in Meiteilon and used for emphasising the effect. Considera
72. a. /cat-lo, go-
•ao, Go •
c~t-lo/ go-
254
b. /th-ok-u, thak-u/ drink drink
'Drink, drink'
*c. /cel-lu, cel-lq/ run run
'RUQ• run •
various degree of pitch level would indicate the degree
of command. The degree of command is directly correlated
with 'he level of pJ.t~b. sentence 72 (e) is ungrammatical
because it is against the syntactic rule of repetition.in
imperatives. Two different imperative markers cannot occur
in a repetitive command. Repetition can occur thrice in a
sentence, provided some nouns, pronouns, case markers,
adverbials, adjectives, etc. are there between the second
and the third repeated imperative phrase. consider the
following:
73. a. /ta-ro, ta-ro, mahak-ki isai ta-!2/ listen- listen- his-geni song listen-
'Listen, listen, listen to his song•
b. /li-yu 11-yu, war! adu fdzana na~rate- narrate- story that nicely
11-X!!/ narrate-
' Narrate, narrate, narrate the story nicely'
c. /pa-kho, pa-khO; lairik adu naihak pa-kh~/ read• read- book that sometime rea -
'Read, read, read that book for sometime' (Go on your study for some time)
6.13.
6.13.1
255
/caf:-lo, lairik paru/ go- book read-
•ao and read your book •
b. /eat-lo, eat-lo, lairik pa-ru/ go go book read
'Go, go, read your book• (Go, go start your studies),
~ough sentence 74 (a) and (b) appear to have the same
meaning, yet they are uttered Ln 'two different situations.
An interesting point here is that repetition has
sarcastic or ironical meaning in some· particular situation.
Sentence 74 (b) is an ambiguous sentence: it can be inter-
pr$ted in two ways - one is the meaning of command while
another is in the ironical or a sarcastic sense·~ · some
examples indicating sarcasm are adduced belo~;
75. a. /thak-u, t:hek-u, yu adu th alc:-u/ drink- drink- liquor that drink-
•nrink, drink, drink it'
b. /tholt-u, thak-u, eurup- adu thak-u/ drink• drink- cigarette that drink-
'BmOke, smoke, smoke the cigarettei
Clausee
Declarative and imR!ratives:
In a compound two independent claW!Ies·oan be
conjoined without an overt conjunctive marker. However,
such clauses are conjoined by a pause, that is, imperative
256
clause can follow a c.!eclarative clause as in 76 (a-c).
76. a. /ai wa hai•ge, ('naf!) lak-kho/
(a)
(b)
(c)
I speech tell-will (you) coma-'(You) come here, I will tell you something•
b. /cak loi-re cak ca-kho/ rice ready-aspt.rice eat-
'Meal is ready, eat it'
c. /ai, hai-ge, na~ 1-yu/ I tell-will you write• 'I will dictate, you write it'
s1 s2
[ Declarative j
1
llmperatt ve J
1 loi wa · hai-ge 1 ...
_ 1 (naq) • ·t, - lak•kho/ r
/cak loi-re (nag) cak ... ca•kho/
/ai hai-ge (n~k]) 1-yu/
Alternatively, these sentences are also possible with
co-ordinative conjunctions. as in the following mannera
77. a.
b.
;ai wa hai-ge aduna (nag) lak-kho/ I speech tell-asp. so (you) come-Imp-mk.
'I will tell you !2 (you) come here•
/cak loi-re aduna (naq) cak meal ready•asp. so (you) meal
'Meal is ready so have it• -ca•kho/ eat-Imp.mk.
257
c. led hai-ge cduaa (naq) 1-yQ/ I tell-asp an (you) write-Dmp.mk.
'I will dictate and you write it' -~. /~i mofam ~du•da cat-ke dduaa n~~-di
I place there-to go-asp. bUt you-def.
asi -da l~i·hdu/ here - at stay-Xmp.mk/
'I will go there but you be here•
Multip&e DnPe£ative Clausess
Two imperative clauses can be conjoined by a
conjunction in a sentence. Consider 1
18. a. /kh~ra ~nau-kho some drive
adu9 n
asi-da lep•pu/ here at stop..
~hongal
ga"e
'Drive a little bit and stop at this gate•
b., /lairik pa-rukho Si@aga kon-l'la sanau-u/ book read- a later play-
'Read yonr books then play later•
The' two clauses in each sentence belong \o t~e same
syn-tactic type i.e. imperative sentence, wh.t.c:h eare
joined by a co~ord~native conjunction /aduga/ 'and• or
258
'but' or 'then•.6
I Imperai:ive ] [ Imperative.
conjun.ction
(a) lkhdra thau-kho
(b) /lairik pa-~-kbo
1aduga 1
oquga
1 tho~gal sida-lep-p;}
kon-na sanau-u/
Generally spel\ld.ng, sentences with sequential
verbs take /oduga/; it is in this situation /aduga/ can be
deleted. However, if the two distinctive verbs are not
sequential but give a composite meaning of one verb as in
?9 (a-c) there is no underlying I duga/ to begin with.
6. In colloquial, the coordinating conjunction /~duga/, the same form is used for /t3uigumb sun/ 'but •, for I dud gi/ •then• and for /emasuq/' and •
a. /mahak lairoi odE~ mapukcel se~·y/ he poor-asp. . honest -be
'He is poor but honest• /mdhak sel-su pam-ml &daga mine ~;t-su
he money also like-asp an fame-also pam•mi/ like-asp.
'He wants both money and fame • ••• eontd.
259
Hence no question of deletion ln such a case. The following
examples are without /aduga/ which is absent in underlying
semantic structure.
'19. a. /oat-lo, then-le sem-sa-ru-ro/ go-Dmp •• la,e-asp ready-Imp.mk.
•ao, it is late get ready (soon)' \
b. /lau-1:'0, cat•lP -si -ada ea-ro/ tak.e-Imp. go-asp. there eat-Imp.
'TaKe (it), let us go eat there•
c.. jcat-lo, thel}-le tumu-ro/ go- late-asp. sleep-
d.
'Go to sleep it is la~·
/cel-lu. fcrit asi r:un- shin ·"this
• Run and ta)(e this location) •
1au-ru/ take-
shirt (away from the
e. /sana-kho, ~aihak lai~ga lak-u/ play- sometime after come
'Play (continue your playi,,g)., come after some time•.
6 .14 M92!rati ~ep with Tag gues~ions 1
Imperative sentences ean be followed by r re.versed
tag questions as in sentences 80 (a) and (b) belowa
6. eontd •••
e. /m9hak cak ca-kbre od!!Sia ka&thel cat-khre/ he meal eat-asp. then market go-asp.
'He has taken his meal then gone to market•
eo. a. jnaq you
isai adu song that
so-k-u- (na), sing-pleo.
sak-loi-dra/ sing-neo-a.mk
'(You) Sing that song, won•t you•
/na~ mafam adu•da you place there
cat-ke-ra- (ne)/ go'!"'O.mk.pleo.
>
cat-g- (da), go-neg-pleo •.
•oo~~t go that place, will you•
260
In sent:ence 80 (a) the neg. particle /-loi/ occurs in the
tag-question while the imperative neg. particle /-nQ/ occurs
in the main aentenee (proposition sentence) of sentence
80 (b). In meaning, these sentences SO (a) and (b) differ
from the following sentence Sl (a) anr! (b) respectively.
S1. a. /naiJ isai adu sak-u-(na)/ •You sing that son;•
b. /na~ mafam adu•da cat•nu-(da)/
~non•t go to that place•
The difference between 80 (a-b) and 81 (a-b) is that the
for.mer set is marked by [+Polit!] feature while. the latter
is not. Also in the set SO (a•b), when the speaker gives
the order to the hearer he is not sure whether he will be
obliged or not, while·in set S1 (a-b) the speaker takes it
for granted that his order will be obeyed by the hearer~
261
Imperative sentences can be followed by constant
tag questions as well. consider the following examplesa
82. a. /naq isai adu sak-u, sak•ke-ra/ •(you) sing •hat song, will you•
b. /naiJ mafam -adu-da cat•lu, eat•ke-ra/ • (You) go to that play, will you•
To understand Imperative constructions fully,
one has to familiarize himself with the social grammar
of Meiteilon. As already shown, the structure of impera
tive is decided by various parametric and s emant.lc factors.
OCcupation, status, education. age,. sex,. intimacy, polite
ness, location are some of the very f•w important para•
metres which play vital role in ~etermining the appro
priate syntactic structure of imperatives.
SECTION II 1 REQUEST.
The use of honorifics (specially for making
requests, etc.) is quite prevalent in Meiteilon. Addition
of pleonastic markere to any statement !s also quite common.
Rather excessive uee of honorifics and pleonastic markers
is felt to shoW' the maturit;y of the speaker as well as
his command over the language~ I' ts an indication Qf
submissiveness 'o the addressee. we give due respect
262
and honour even to our, say, peon, servant, eta1 we have
to address him in Request form not in imperative form.
Gestures and body movements can also show that one is
giving respect and honour to the others~ Moreover,
falling pitch accompanied with low loudness show respect
and honour.
6.15 Reggest Constructions•
Kiparsky proposes that requests, in their under
going structures, include an imperative rn'orpheme. Here
request is straightly formed in an imperative fo~, that
is, the request marker /-bi/rJ/-pi/ is just infixed
between the root verb and the imperative marker, as in
the following sentences:
83. Com. /cauki ama chair one
• Make a chair •
sa-ul make-Imp.mk.
Req. /cauld. ama sa-~-yu/ •Please make a.chair•
84. com. /lairik adu tomba•da pi -ru/ book that Tomba•Co give ... Imp.mk.
• (Go and) Give that book to Tomba •
Req. /lairik adu tomba•da pi-a!-ru/ 'Please go and give that bOok to Tomba'
ss. Com. /lai cfdu yek•u/ picture that draw-Imp.mk.
'Draw that picture•
Req. /lai adu yek-2!-yu/ 'Please draw that picture•
263
Nothing else is changed in the imperative structure
except the insertion of the request marker /-bi/ /V /-pi/
to change command into request.
Req.mk.
\
Com.mk.
l -pi -yu
' In case the addressee, second person, I naq;
•you' (sg) is present in the Imperative construction,
as in sentences 86, 87 and sa, the second person pronoun
I nan/ •you• (sg) would be replaced by an honorific term
/adorn{ or /esom/ •you• (sg) along with the insertion of
the request marker /-bi/~/-pi/ between the ~arb· root and
the imperative marker.
,(n-cgl cauld. ama sa-u/ uro~ chair one make-Imp.mka
86. com.
'You make a chair'
Req• ;[~~~=J cauld. ama sa-bi-yu/
'Please make a chair'
26 4
87. Com. /naq lairik -adu tomba-d.a pi-yu/ you book that Tomba-to give-Imp.mk.
• (You) Give that book to Tomba •
Req. I~~~~ · lairik adu tomba-da pi-bi-yu/
'You (bon) please give that book to Tomba'
88. Com. /noq lai adu yek•U/ you picture that draw-tmp.mk..
'Draw that picture•
Req. ~~~~!;] lai -adu yek•pi-yu/
'You (bon) please draw that picture•
If tbe command sentence has /nakhoi/ 'you• (pl) then it 1
ie replaced by /mayam/ •you• along with request marker
/-bi//V/-pi/ as stated above. Considera '
89. Com. /nolthoi lai adu yek-u/ you(pl) picture that draw-Imp.mk.
'Draw that picture•
Req. /mayam lai adu yek-pi-yu/ 'You (pl) please draw that picture•
7. /mayam/ is actually an indefinite quantifier •many'a but here it is used as a honorific pronoun of second person /n3kho1/ 'you• (pl).
/mi mayam/ •many people • /Ueek mayam • 'many birds •
/agag mayam/ ': •many children' /loi mc;yam/ •maay flowers•
265
90. Com. /nakhoi lairi~ adu pa-ul you(pl) book that read-Imp.mk.
'You(pl) read that book'
Req. /ma:x;am lairik 3du pa-bi-yu/ 'Please read that book'
Some seeclal lexical items used in Reqpest OOnsEructlo~ 1
Request in Mei,eilon is shown cot only by using
grammatical formative /•bl/f'V/-pi/ or variant :forms of
/mayam{ •you• or /adom/, etc. but also by using alternant
lexical forms for particular nouns, pronouns or verbs.
The lexical items used in request constructions are genera
lly the archaic forms of Meiteilon. Conversely, the
newer forms are used either for command or for syntactic
construeticns.
Request form (old) Request form (new) Gloss (+ polite (-polite)
Ngun
/saqgai/ /ywn/ 'house•
/luk/ /cak/ 'rice' or •meal•
/l.ai,W /isio/ •water•
/khaqjet /fi-rol/ 'dress• l'JamkhalJ
/earai/ /fi/ •cloth •
Request form (old) (+ polite)
Pronoun
Verb -
/adom/ or /as om/
/m;;yam/
~el)bi-aa enb~
~abi-bo haba
cranki-bo fan-b-a
~ep-piba cep-p-a
Request form (new) (.,;..polite)
Jnakhoi/
/cat-p-a/
/ca-bo/
/thak-pa/
/tum.-b-a/
266
Gloss
•you' (sg)
•you • (pl)
•to gc; •
•to eat •
•to drink'
•to sleep•
All these aforesaid lexical items of noun,
pronoun .and verbs are commonly used in request constructions.
It is observed that these lexical items of Noun and
verb show greater degree of request than the other lexical
items. In the case of pronouns there are some restrictions
on the occurrence. For example, /n n/ 'you• (sg) and
/n khoi/ (pl) caanot be used in request construction,
in case they (/n n/ and /n khoi/) happen to occur in any
267
request construction it is naturally as unacceptable and
ungrammatical, as in sentence 91 (a} and (b).
91. *a. I ~aq ~ nakhoi luk ha- bi-yu/
you meal eat-req-Imp.mk.
*b. I ~aq ~ cak ca .. bi-yu/ nakhoi you meal eat-req.-lmp.mk.
One interesting point here is that lexical items
for noun and verb have to maintain agreement with respect
to [+polit!] future. In other words, if the noun is marked
by [j-poli t!] i.e. an old form then it must accompany
with th• verb fom with respect to (j.pol±te!] feature, i.e.
an old fom and vice-versa. We would call this Identical
Feature Constraints. consider sentences 92 (a-d)s
92. a. lluk ba-bi•yu/8
rice eat-req-Imp.mk. 'Please have your meal'
s. The imperative constructions .~polit~ of these sentences are given respectivelys a. /oak ca-u/
· rice eat-. • Take your meal •
b. /fi-rol set•lo/ dress ·put on-IRlp.mk.
'Dress up•
contd •••
268
b. /khaqjet-namkha~ tbon- bi-ro/ dress put on-req.-ImP.mk•
'Please dress up'
c. /asam cep-p1-ro/ you(bon)sleeP-req.-Imp.mk.
'You please sleep'
d. /laije kh(;)ra fan •bi•yu/ water some drink-req.-Imp.m}t •.
'Please drink a little water•
Nouns and verbs have agreements with respect to feature
of polite 1.~. /luk/ 'and • /ha-bi-/, /kha~Jjet-namkhaq/
and /thon-bi-/, /laija/ and fan-bi·/ in sentence 92 (a),
(b) and (d) respectively. In case these lexical items -
NOuns and verbs - violate identical feature constraint as
stated earlier, the sentence will be ungrammatical and
unacceptable as sentences 93 and 94 are.
93 *a. /cak ha-bi-yu/ rice eat-req.-tmp.mk. 'Please have your meal'
8 • C!Ol'ltd • • •
c. nag tum -lo/ you sleep-tmp.mk. 'You sleep'
d. /isig khara ~hak-u/ water some drink-Imp.mk.
'Drink a little water'
269
*b. /luk ca•bL•yu/ rice eat-teq.-tmp.mk.
'Please have your meal'
94. *a. /eara1 set -pi -ro/ dress put on- req.•Imp.mk.
'Please dress up'
*b. /fi thob-bi-ro/ dress put on-req.-Imp.mk.
• Please dress up •
Looki~g into the social situation of the region it can be
safely said that these lexical items of noun, pronoun and
verb used in request constructioDS are. not commonly used
among the youths but are commonly used among old people.
In lieu of for;m!ng request by these special lexical items
the youths generally make request by the insertion of the
request marker /·bi/~/-~1/ in the verb phrase only.
8eq,u£s.t. ~!!, : ·- -·. ~ .... '
.I~:;..-- f .- ~-:: - ..,_ ·- -- ~---
T.here are a few words wh1c~ itself carry the mean
ing of request in a construction. The lexical items occur
with the request marker /-bi/~ /-pi/. 'l'hese lexical items
are prefixed to the entire sentence. In other words, they
oeeur in! tially in a c:onst'ruction.
270
(a) /can-bi·duna/ 'please•
95. a.
b.
pleaase water that drink-req.-lmp.mk. 'Please drink the water•
I can-bi•duna makhoi•gida khora lleq-bi•rul 1 ~at-pi-ryj
please some 90-req.-Dmp. mk.
'Please make a visit to them•
please lesson this some teach-req •• IrnPemke
'Please teach(me) this lesson•
{b) /thaujan-bi•duna; •kindly'
96. a. /1;hC3uJan-bi-duna a-. ... na haijari-basi
b.
kindly I-nom. request-Inf.-this
yabi-yu/ acc::ept-Imp.mk.
'Kindly accept my request•
I thaujanwbi-duna magi kindly his
'Kindly excuse his fault •
mc:lral osi ~ak-pi-yu/
fault this excuse-req. -Imp.mk.
c. /thaujan-bi..,duna fain asi kop-pi-yu/ kindly fine this exempt-reqrimp.mk
'Kindly exempt this fine•
•
271
(c) /nuqsi-bi-duna/ 'affectionately'
When the apeaker wants to make the request with
some affection. then he uses /nunsi-bi•duna/. Consider
the :following•
97. a. /nu~si-bi•duna lairik asi al•qon-da
affectionately book
pi-bi-ro/ give-req.-xmp.mk.
'Give me this bOok'
this me-to
b. /nuq-si•bi•duna ~i-bu paisa khara
affectionately I-accu. money some
khara pi-bi•yu/ some give-req.-Imp.mk.
• Give me some money •
/nuqsi•bi-duna iteq khara pan -bi-yu./
affectionately help some render -req.-lmp. mk.
'Help me•
Though semantically these lexical items carry the request
meaning in a construction, syntacticallY it cannot occur
alone in a construction. ~Y grammatically need the request
marker /-bi/~/-pi/ insert~d in ~ts right position (i.e.
before the command marker). otherwise~ the constructions
272
are unacceptable as well as ungrammatical as in sentence
98 (a-c).
Dthaujanbidwna~
98. •a. I canb.t.c5una nu~si-biduna
fain ~si kok -sl
fine this exempt-Imp.mk.
~baujan ... bidunaj
·~. I ~anbi-duna nunsilarduna
baijari-basi
I-nom. request-Inf.-this
ya -!V aceept-lmp.mk.
*c:: .• Gh-oujanbi•duj
I eanbi•duna iteq ftUf!Si-bidunzt
khara pal)-!!/
help some help..Imp.mk.
§Peeial Lexical .Items, to enhance the Degree of Regues,t a
Degree of request can be enhanced with the addition
of particular leldcal item in a request construction. The
particular lexical items generate high degree of request
than the ordinary request sentences~ considered in
These are the following:
9.. Basically, it is an J.nJef!nite quantifier i.e. 'some• e.,. /mi 'kh<3ra/ •some people • /Uhai khara/ •some fruits• /hu1 khara/ • some dogs • /isi~ khava/ 'some water• /lairik khara/ 'some books'
16.2.
99. a.
273
/tombi-gi naba haq-bi-ru/ ~mbi-gen. illness inquire-
'Please go and inquire about ~mbi's illness•
b. /tombi•gi naba khara haq-bi-ru/
100. a.
b.
101. a.
b.
'Please go and enquire about Tomb1 1s illness• (Greater degree of request)
/luk hab:.t-kho/ rice ea-·Imp.mk.
'Please have your meal•
'Please have your meal' (Greater degree of request)
;at-gi wa ase ta- bi•yu/ I-gen.speeeh this listen-req.-Dmp.mk.
•Please listen my speech'
ase khara tabi-yu/
'Please .listen my speech• (Great&r degr~e of request)
All (b) sentences have greater degree of request than sentences
(a) because of the presence of /khara/ in the constructions.
However, combination of lexical items and ~ectal lexical
items of request will generate the higher kind of request
form •osaible in Meiceilon.
274
(b) /amukta/10
102. a. /som-da le~ •sin•bi•yu/ this side come -req.•Imp.mk.
*Please come this side'
b. /som-da ~muk-ta leqsin-bi•yU/
'Please come this side' (With greater degr·ee of request)
c. /can-bi-duns so~~da amukta leqsin-bi-yu/
*Please come to this side• (Greater degree of reqUest)
103. a. /tombi-gi na-bO haq ... bi-ru/
'. b.
'Please 00 and inquire about Tombi's illness•
/tombi-gi na-b3 amu~-ta haq-bi-rQ/
'Please go and inquir$ about Tombi's illness•
(Greater degtee of request)
e. /can-bi-duna tombi-Oi nab-a amukta-haiJ-bi•ru/
•Please· go and enquire about Tombi's illness' (Greater degree of request)
• J
10. Its real meaning is 'only once •. In negative sense it is similar to /kaid~uqai-dds~ 'never•.
/mahak amukta lak•te/ ·•He never · comes here •
275
Sentences 102 (b) and 103 (b) have more degree of request
than.sentences 102 (a) and 103 (a) by the insertion of
/omuk-tal in the construettona. As in the case of
/kh-ara/ consid,ered before, the combination of /-amukta/
~ reques~ lexical item /canbi•duna/ generates still
higher request form. Consider 102 (c) and 103 (c).
In case those two lexical items /khara/ and
/amukta/ occur in a construction simultaneously, the
degree of reques' is greater than any sentence having
either of the two lexical itams;r Scl.y·. sentences 99-101,
102 and 103 (a•b).
Cop.sider:
b.
/som-da kbara amUkta le~sin-bi-yu/ this side req.lex req.1rex. come-in-req.
ImP.mk• 'Please ao~e this side' (Greater degree of request)
I ai-gi wa ase khara amuk-ta I•gen. speech this req.lex.req.I:ex.
ta-b1-yu/ listen-req.-Impt.mk•
'Please listen to me• (Greater degree of request)
Declarative and Request [ -ja • a polite marker.]
This conRtruetion is used by first person.
lOS. a. /cak loi rice prepare
-ja pol.
ha -bi -kho/ eat req.-Imp.mk.
276
-re, luk asp • .z.-ice
'Meal is ready, please have it'
b. /la1rik adu pa- ja -ra, book that read pol. -asp.
pu •bi·kho/ take -req.-Imp.r.~.
'I have read the hook, plea~~ take it'
Without any co-ordinate aonjuaction, the two independent
clauses, belonging to different syntactic constructions -
the former the declarative While the latter the impera-
tive - are put together in a compound sentence, i.e.
105 (a) and '(b). The two clauses one declarative and ano
ther imperative (request) ~ay oceur with co-ordinative
conjunctions also as in sentenaes 106 (a-c) belowa
106. a.
b .•
/cak loi-ja -re aduna luk ha-bi-kho/ 'Meal is ready ~ please have it'
/lairik adu pa-ja•re aduna pu-bi-kho/ •t have read the book so please take it' -
e. /oi isai sak-ca-ge ~q~~ som-na gitar khOI)-bi•yu/
'I will sing and you please play the guitar•
277
Request and Requesta
Two independent clauses each having request
form can be conjoined with or without a co-ordinate
conjunction to accentuate the request. '
COnsider a
107. a. /khara th~u -bi -kho, req.tex. drive -req.-Imp. and
thOI}9Bl gate
asi -da kham-bi-y~ this -at stop-req.-Imp.
'Please drive a little further, (and please) stop at that gate'
b. /lairik asi lou •bi-yu, book this take -req.•lmp.
thuna-di shortly
han -bi-rak-u/ return -req.def.-Imp.
•Please take the book (but please) return (it) shortly•
With eo-ordinate conjunctiona
lOS. a. /khara thau-bi-kho oduga thongal asi-da kham-bi-yu/
'Please drive a little further and (please) stop at that gate•
b. /lairik asi lau-bi-yu aduga thunadi h-an-bi-rak-u/
'Please take the book but (please) return it soon•
~.17.
6.17.1
{,.17 .2
278
Different ayntactic types and Request formsa
By declarative types
suggestive form can bring the meaning of request,
as in sentences 109 (a-c) below. l~se/ or /-si/ is the
suggestive particle.
109. a. /luk kbara ha -kbi- ~!] I meal req.lex. eat -def.-sug.mk.
'Please bave your meal' (Request made by suggestion)
b. /ca kbara fan -khi - ~~I tea req.lex. drink-de£. -sug.mk.
c.
'Please have tea• (Request made by suggestion)
lqaibak-taq lait3ga some time after
'Please go after some time' (Request made by suggestion)
These sentences are marked by higher degree of request
than the simple imperative request form like /luk khara
ha-bi-y~. we prefer to call such constructions 109 (a•c)
having request meaning as Suggestive-Request C()nstruction.
@y interrogative coastructiona
Interrogative form generally expresses greater
degree of request than the general imperative request
construction.
279
considers
110. a. /saqgai-da le9-ld -ga- dra/ home-to (+pol) go (+Pol)~asp-O.mk.
•would you (kindly) go to home•
b. /fijol ama hOI) · -ga -dra/ dress another ehange-asp-Q.mk.
•would you(kindly) change into another dress • ·
A high degree of request aan also be expressed
by introducing a particular verb phrase /fa-g~-dra;11
accompanied by a higher intonation pattern of interro
gative. consider the following aentencesa
111. a. /saqga.i-aa le9-ba-na f~-ga-dra/
'Wbuld it be better to 90 hoMe'
b. /fijol ama ho~-ba-na fa-g 4..dra/
'WOuld it be better to change into another dress •
11. Tbe root /fa-/ of the verb phrase /fa-ga-dra/ is derived from the adjective I faba/ •good'. Aft.er tbe deletion of the adjective marl~a-/ and /-be/ it becomes a root to which any aspect marker can be added.
280
It is to be noted that two verbs /leq-la-go
dra/ and /hoq-ga-dra/ function as main verbs in 110
(and) and (b). 'lbe constituent /fa-ga-dra/ functions
as a main verb in sentences 111 (a) and (b). Verbs
/leq-lo-ga-dra/ and /hog-ga-dra/ of sentences 110 (a)
and (b) take infinitival form when they occur with the
verb /f?J-ga-dra/' as in 111 {a) and (b). Two transforma
tion rules are required to convert main-verb form into
infinitival verb forma
I. @Y deletion rule: By the deletion of all the
suffixes /-laf, /-ga/1 /-dra/1 etc. from the verb;
/le9-1a-aa-dra/ -------?
/hOXJ•ga-dra/
/leg-/ f!:oot verb 'go']
/hog-/ ~oot verb 'change~
II. !lY' addition rulec By the addition o.f the infinitive
marker /-ba/~/-p'd/ to the root-verb. now it is:
/le~J-/ + /-b-a/
/hoq- I + /-b'd/ ---7
/le~-b'd I • to go •
/hon-ba/ •to change•
III. By addition of the nominpt1~e ease marker /-na/:
/leq-ba + na/
/hog-ba +na/
/leg-ba ... na/ .
/hog-b-a-na/
b.17 .3
281
BY suggestive-interrogative constructiona
we can also combine suggestive-imperative marker
/-si/ with falling intonation as well as interrogative
marker 1-ra//V/-la/ used in interrogative construction.
The resultant structures indicate an extreme degree of
request, as in the sentences 112 (a ... c).
112. a. /saqgai-da le~-la-si-ra/
•would you (kindly) go home•
b. /qal-11, ~ihakta' ceP-khi-si-ra/
•would you (kindly) sleep for some time •
a. /fijol ama hoq-ld'd.-si-ra/
•would you (kindly) change into another dress•
The speaker in these sentences, 112 (a-c) put
forward their opinions or proposal to the addressees
with respect and honour in question form. The speaker , ..
give the option of refusal to the addressee. In sentence
112 (c), for instance, the speaker feels that it would
be better if the addressee changes the dress8 So the
speaket: puts forward his opini.on and does not pet in an
imperative form. He also wants to show profound respect
and honour to the addressee while expecting from the
addressee to adhere to the ~quest made.
,.18.
282
Reeetition:
a. '~
Repetition is also commonly used in request
without an overt marking for subjec~ (which is present
underlyingly as mentioned earlier.
113. a. /potha-bi-yu., potha ... bi-yu, niqthina rest-req.Imp. rest-req.Imp. nicely .
potha-bi•yu/ . rest-req. Imp.
'Please take rest, please take rest, please take rest nicely•
h. /ieq-bi-ro, lel'j-bi-ro/ go-req.Imp. go-req.Imp •
. •Please go, :please go•
c. /cep•pi• ro, cep -pi-ro/ sleep-req.Imp. sleep-req.ImP•
'Please sleep, please sleep•
It is also possible to ~peat three times:
114. a. /potha-bi-yu, potha-bi-~, potba-bi-y~ (1) (2) (3)
'Please take rest, please•
b.
'Please go, please•
Repetitive eonstruetions are used for emphasis.
'-'·19.
283
Negative Reguest Sentencea
The construction of negative request sentence
is very simple. in the sense that in the reque•t sentence
the negative imperative marker /-n~ is added to the
request ve_rbal phrase. However, it takes two stepsa
I. Deletion of the imperative markers /-u/, 1-o/,
1-ro/tv/-lo/, 1-r:u/"" /-lu/, /-kho/, /hau/, etc.
/ea-bi- r~o] I Lhau 'Please eat•
Sf deletion rule it becomes
/ca•bi• I
II. Addition of the negative imperative 118 rkers /-nul
/ca-bi-nu/ 'Please do not eat•
ASpect markers or defin:tte markers may be inserted
between the request marker /-bi/ and the negative
imperative marker /-nQ/
/ca-bi-ra-nU/
/ca-bi-ra-sa -nu
[/-r~/.-v ;ra; • continuative J marker
[/-g<3 I • aspect marker J Neg. request VP • VR + Req. + (X)" + (Asp.) + !3!!.
Some negative request sentences without subject
as well as object are given here. These sentences are
284
very commonly used by native speakers as prohibitive
constructions.
115. a. /thak-pi -ra •nul drink-req.-asp-neg.Imp.
'Please don•t smoke• or
'Please don•t drink' J
b. /fu -bi -nul beat -req.•neg.Imp.
'Please don•t beat (btm)•
c. /aai- bi -nul sccld-req.-neg.Imp.
'Please don •t scold (him) •
Other sentences can be adduced without any prohibition
involved in them.
116. a. /~asi•di ofis-ta leq-bi -ra -~ today- office-to go-req.-asp.-neg.Imp.
'Please do not go to office today'
b. /bakcal) gamdabani-na hayeJ]-cU. health ill tomorrow-
sana•bi •nul play-req.-neg.lmp.
'Please do not play tomorrow since you are not feeling well'
Repetition of negative request sentence is also quite
possible.
117. a.
b.
285
• Please don •.t go out, please don •t go out•
/yu ado liquor that
thak . -pi -re -nu, drink•req. -asp.neg.Imp.
thak -pi -ra -nul drink -req.-asp.neg.Imp.
'Please don•t drink the liquor, please don''~
Request with the help of negatives used for
addressee who commands honour and ~speet can be expressed
by introducing a patticular.verb phrase /fa-gd-dra/,
which also occurred 1n sentences 111 (a) and (b) as
discussed before ( 6.11.2- ), by keeping the whole const-
ruction in interrogative form, as in sentences 118 (a-e)
below a
118. a. /qasi-di legthok -ta-ba-na today go out -neg.-Inf.
fa- ~~] -dra I
•won•t it be better not to go out •
b. /llasi-di ofis-ta eat-td-ba-na . today office-to go-neg.-Inf.
fa- l~~-dra I
•won•t it be better not to go to office today•
"· 20.
286
c. /yu ado thak -ta -ba -na liquor that drink-neg-Inf.
fa-~~-dra/
•won't it be better not to drink liquor•
Reqgest with Taq-guestionc
There are two kinds of tao questions in request
construction (similar to the case of imperatives).
Reversed tag-question~
119. /asom isat ama you song one
sak-pi-yu, sing-req.-
sak- pi • rot-dra/ sing-neg.-O.mk.
'Please sing a song, wn•t you please•
Conetant tao questiona
Non-occurrence of negative particles both in
main sentence and in tag-questiona
120. a. /~som isai ama sak-pi-yu, sak-pi-ga-ra/
• Please·. sing a song, will: ryou please •
b. /u asi kakthat-pi-yu, kakthat-pi-ga-dra/
'Please cut this wood, will you please•
·2 8 7
21. Ironical or saraastis M&aninq of Requests
It is a general social no:m to speak politely
among the native speakers. An interesting point about
the semantics of request sentence is that request at
times may be used figuratively to have an ironical or
a sarcastic meaning. Irony or sarcasm by request is
very common among the youth$ among the friends of close
relationship, by juniors to the seniors (any relatives
of affinal and nonaffinal types) •
121. a. /luk -tu kbara nigtbina habiwyQ/ riee some n!cely eat-req-lmp.
'Please have your meal nicely*
b. /nuJ!qai-na '.· ·:· potha-bi•yu/ nicely/properly rest-req.
'Please take rest properly•
Generally. these two sentences 121 (a-b) can
be treated as request sentences. However, they een also
be interpreted as sentences having ironical or sarcastic
meaning in situations described below:
situation A
For instance. intimate friends are sitting together
and eating food. SUppose all the friends have
finished eating except oae persQn who continues
to eat. 121 (a) can be uttered to this person
to tease him.
288
situation B
When everybody in a group is working hard and is
busy, one person of that group,is lazing around. ·~·
121 (b) can be uttered to the lazy person to
instigate him to work.
Repetition of request among the close or intimate
friends at times may convey ironical or sarcastic meaning
instead of conveyiag request meaning, as in sentences
122 (a) and (b) below:
122. a.
'Please have it, please have it•
b. /potha-bi-yu, pothe-bi-yu/
'Please take rest, please take rest•
Request sentence is used when a junior is speaking
to a se~ox·. Age of the bearer thus is the deeisi ve factor
for choosing the appropriate meaning of Request.
289
Degree of Hierarchy of Request Form (DHRE)
various request fo~s can be arranged in a hierarchical
pattern with most polite form occurring the lest. Thus
sentence 2 is more polite than sentence 1 and.sentence 3
is more polite than sentence 5 and so on so forth.
1.
2.
3.
4.
/calc ca -u/ (N + V + Imp)
/calc ha - bi -yu/ (N + V + Req. + Imp)
/1 uk ha -bi -yu/ (N + V + Req. + Imp)
'Eat your meal leommandl
'Please eat your meal' !ordinary Request + Politef
'Please eat your meal' !ordinary Request + Polite
/luk lch ra ha -bi -yu/ 'Please eat your meal• !Higher degree of Request + Politel
(N + SLI + V + Req.+ Imp.)
5. /luk khra mulcta ha -bi -yu/ 'Please eat your (N + SLI + SLI + V + Req.+ Imp.) meal'
!Higher degree of Request + Politel
6. /canbiduna luk kh ra mukta ba -bi -yu/ (R + N + SLI + SLI + V + Req.+Imp.
/cak/ 'meal' (new) 1-Polite I
/luk/ 'meal' (old) I+Politel
•Please eat your meal' IHigher degree of Request + Polite I
/ca-/ •eat• (new) /bi-/ 'req.mk.' )-Polite) -
/ha-/ •eat' (old) I +Polite I
/-u/ 'Imp.mk. •
290
SLI • Some Lexical items of Request1
RW • Request word like 'please•, 'kindly', etc.
1 • SLI differs f.rom RW ..
SLI like /kh ra/ and I mukta/ in isolation has another meaning a /kb ra/ • some •, I mukta/ • once • • COnsider a
/mi kh ra lak•y/ man some come • Some men come • /lairik du mukta pi•yu/
book that once give 'Give the book once• When SLI occurs in Request form it expresses bigb~r degree of request + polite, RW like /canbiduna/ 'please•, /th ujanbiduna/ 'kindly' lexically or in isolation $lso indicate request.