18.60 u-la te- toŋ=te ta.
that-DAT watch-1PL.HORT=EMPH EMPHP ‘Let us all watch him’
Speaker suggests that his friends watch closely a man to find out whether he will turn out to be a friend or an enemy. There is also an emphatic particle at the end of the phrase.
18.61 ni gempu karm-e lo t ɕik ŋii tɕik siraa hi-ko
gembu karma-ERG year one two INDF hail this-head mat-
ruŋ-a ɕak-toŋ=te. sinna… TE58 NEG-protect-NMLZ;Q leave-1PL.HORT=EMPH
‘Gembu Karma said, “Let us leave it not protected against the hail for one or two years”’ Or: ‘Let us leave the fields unprotected against hail for one or two years’
The village leader is actually arguing for protection of the fields against the hail storms. He wants the villagers to understand that otherwise there would be a harvest failure.
18.7 Non-proximate non-immediative imperative
Non-proximate imperative is a directive from the speaker to hearer to gain the desired state or activity. Unlike immediative imperative the fulfilling of the command typically takes place in a different location
from where it was uttered. Either there is a distance between the speaker and the hearer at the time of utterance or between the hearer and the place of fulfilling the order. Unlike the immediative imperative
this directive is more generic and does not typically refer to a single action but rather to a desired activity or state or a prohibition.
The marker -t ɕit IMP2 is typically attached to the imperative root of an agentive verb or to the
1PL.HORT marker - toŋ. In the latter case the verb root is past root. Typically this directive has a second
person addressee but it may have a third person addressee too, e.g. 18.63. When it combines with the 1.person plural hortative it refers both to first and second person, e.g. 18.64. This imperative may be
negated. Consider the following examples suffix -t
ɕit is underlined. 18
.62 ha raŋ so-tɕit thuŋ-tɕit. now 2SG eat[IMP]-IMP2 drink[IMP]-IMP2
tshikaŋ-ki se thaŋ tshikaŋ-ki khøn bek=o. always-GEN eat[PST] and always-GEN clothing COP=NEW.INF
‘Be eating and drinking now’ Or: ‘Let you eat and drink now I inform you that this is your food and clothing for ever.’
This is part of postmortem rituals when the lama instructs the dead soul what to do. He instructs the dead man to eat and drink and wear clothes. Speaker and hearer are in two different worlds, one is alive
and the other is dead. 18.63 khit-
raŋ su-la amtɕok jøt-aŋ u-ki hi-ko nen-tɕit. 2PL-self who-DAT ear EXIST-NMLZ that-ERG this-head listen-IMP2
‘Anyone of you who has ears let him listen to this’ 18.64 hat
ɕa-raŋ-ki tɕik-taŋ tɕik-la ŋii-pa 1PL.INCL-self-ERG one-COM one-DAT be.wrong-NMZR;Q
mat-kap- toŋ-tɕit.
NEG-throw.at[PST]-1PL.HORT-IMP2 ‘Let us not be accusing each other of wrong doing’
This does not refer to a single action but rather to a state. The writer refers to himself and the recipients of his letter.
18.65 ne- tsaŋ jor-tɕit.
settle-nest lend-IMP2 ‘Give always lodging to visitors in your home’
Father instructs his son to be always hospitable. Immediative imperative ‘jor would refer just to one action of showing hospitality.
18.66 we aku t ɕhøtar nempet aku wantsiŋ-ki kʏtɕaŋ ŋin
SCA uncle t ɕhøtar tomorrow uncle wantsin-GEN workman day
lemma t ɕik ɕiŋpøn døs-sa-la duŋ ʈhʏt=tu
occurrence one carpenter stay-ground-DAT plank drag=PURP gomuŋ khur=tu waɕɕi kuttɕi juŋ-ro tɕhi-tɕit. TE4
sh.plank carry=PURP thumbs.up please come-AID do;VBZR-IMP2 ‘Hello uncle Chøtar, please do come tomorrow to carpenter’s place for just one day
to drag the long planks and to carry the short ones for uncle Wantsin’ Speaker is shouting his request with very polite gestures. This entails activities for one whole day.
18.67 sa nakpu mat-tøn-t ɕit.
soil black NEG-turn.around-IMP2 ‘Do not be doing any fieldwork’ Lit.: ‘Do not turn around any black soil’
The village leader is giving his instructions to all villagers for a religious holiday. He shouts it with a loud voice from his own yard. It is a reminder since most people know that on such a day no fieldwork
is allowed. 18.68 hi-ki tam hi-ko
ɕii-pa tɕhi-tɕit. this-GEN language this-head know-NMLZ;Q do;VBZR-IMP2
‘Make a long term effort to learn this language’ Or: ‘Study diligently to learn this language
This is a longer term instruction than, for example, ‘ ɕii-pa tɕhi, which typically refers to just
momentary effort or a short time span of activity. Non-immediative imperative with non-agentive verbs
When the verb is a non-agentive it has some implications for the meaning of the whole construction. Consider the following examples.
18 .69 joŋ-taŋ mat-ŋii-tɕit.
other-COM NEG-be.wrong-IMP2 ‘Be not wrong with another person’ Or: ‘Let no one become wrong doer with another
person’ This is a directive to everybody. The reference is to adultery. The verb is unvolitional, ST3. Though
the adultary is a volitional act Lhomi prefers an unvolitional verb in this idiom. 18.70
ɕi-tɕit. die-IMP2
‘Be dying’ Or: ‘May you die’ This is addressed to a person, to one’s enemy. It is a curse or evil wish but it does not imply
invoking any deity in order to accomplish one’s wish. The meaning is very much like in ɕi-la dʑuk ‘Go to
death’. Though the speaker and the hearer are very close to each other the fulfillment of this wish may take place elsewhere and later too.
18.71 t ɕur-ki mat-si-tɕit.
alcohol.drink-ERG NEG-get.drunk-IMP2 ‘Let yourself never become drunk by alcohol’
Someone gives instructions to his son. The verb is unvolitional. 18.72 khit-
raŋ-la ɕiwa diwa juŋ-tɕe 2PL-self-DAT outer.peace inner.peace come-SBJV
jøp-pa ɕok-tɕit.
EXIST-NMLZ;Q put.leave-IMP2 ‘May the inner and outer peace remain with you’
This is very much like the volitive modality discussed in the next section.
18.8 Volitive
