[tlhIngan Hol] suffix {-jaj} with imperatives

[SuStel]

On 1/20/2022 8:09 PM, Will Martin wrote:
> Keep in mind that a witch is a fictitious character who lives in a 
> world where communication with demons and spirits is on par with 
> communication with a person, so the witch IS using the imperative 
> because the witch commands the spirits. It’s not just a wish made 
> vaguely toward the future. It’s a command toward a specific spirit.

No. "Imperative" has a specific grammatical meaning that has nothing to 
do with the force with which you insist on things or the authority with 
which you back up your demands. It is a grammatical mood. In English, 
"imperative" goes along with "indicative," "interrogative," 
"conditional," and "subjunctive."

A humble worshiper of a deity saying, "Please, lord, tell me what to do" 
has just spoken in the imperative mood. A witch telling a demon "You 
will kill him" while pointing at a trussed-up victim has spoken in the 
indicative mood. If you tell someone who has just sneezed "Bless you," 
you have spoken in the subjunctive mood. It has nothing to do with the 
circumstances in which the words are uttered, who utters them, or 
anything like that.


-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name