Chapter 114Commands, Requests, and Prohibitions
Direct imperative morphology, plural and polite forms, requests and final particles, indirect directives, and regional prohibitive expressions.
114.1 Direct commands
A direct imperative uses the verb without its ordinary subject index. Object indexing remains possible: en=tere means ‘wait for me’, with first-person object en=. Since third-person predicates also lack an overt subject index, context and intonation help identify a command Satō (2008: 128)Nakagawa (2024: 422).
‘Come on, try digging!’
Nakagawa 2024: 422; Chitose, Example 911
Wa inkar has the supplementary meaning ‘try’ here. The initial interjection helps establish the directive reading.
A plural or polite command can end in yan. For intransitives with separate singular and plural stems, Nakagawa describes the plural stem with yan, as in hosippa yan ‘go home’. His teaching contrast excludes the bare plural stem as a command in that construction Nakagawa (2024: 422, example 914). Satō likewise gives hopuni beside polite/plural hopunpa yan Satō (2008: 128–129).
114.2 Requests and final particles
Adding wa en=kore can make a request to do something for the speaker. Nakagawa's haircut request is ku=sapa kar wa en=kore; the object index on kore identifies the beneficiary Nakagawa (2024: 423, example 917). Satō restricts this supplementary use of wa kore to requests, while Nakagawa says it is especially common in requests Satō (2008: 88)Nakagawa (2024: 455).
Hani can soften an instruction while impressing it on the addressee. It also occurs with declarative expressions, so its contribution is broader than imperative marking. A reduced ani occurs, often after a consonant Satō (2008: 72)Nakagawa (2024: 422–423).
114.3 Indirect directives
Ordinary finite constructions can perform a directive function. Nakagawa lists yak pirka ‘it would be good if’, kusu ne na, p ne na, and nankor na. In second-person formulations, the predicate retains its person index Nakagawa (2024: 423–424).
Third-person phrasing is also possible. Nakagawa's instruction to daughters to wash their hands and cook properly literally says that it would be good if ‘my daughters’ did so. The verbs have ordinary zero third-person marking Nakagawa (2024: 424, example 923). The directive force of a sentence therefore does not by itself identify its grammatical subject or require a bare imperative verb.
114.4 Prohibitions
Iteki introduces a prohibition and can occur before a direct imperative or within an indirect directive. Nakagawa lists regional itekke for Shizunai, Samani, and Tokachi; etekke for Shiranuka, Bihoro, and Tokachi; and Ishikari ecik(k)i. The overlapping lists do not define exclusive regional boundaries Nakagawa (2024: 424–425).
Other prohibitive expressions include ika, ikiyan, and inkian, with ordinary finite predicates. Satō's description particularly associates such indexed forms with admonition, while acknowledging that their finer differences remain unclear Satō (2008: 129)Nakagawa (2024: 425–426). For the wider modal constructions, see Chapter 108 (Time, Aspect, Modality, and Evidentiality).