| Subjunctive: Hortative |
| The subjunctive is used as a first person imperative with
the meanings of invitation
and autoprescription, which is just what we expect from Xrakovskij's
cross-linguistic study. These uses could have developed from the future
meaning of the subjunctive in combination with the first person. However,
some of the examples of this construction are not performative, but
rather express the intent
of the speaker. This is a true deontic meaning: a third category in
addition to the two categories (epistemic and performative) distinguished
in the grammar books. |
| |
| Subjunctive: Negative Directive |
| Grammar books claim that the subjunctive is used as the
perfective equivalent of present imperative in the negative directive
construction. But previous explanations for why the aorist imperative
was not used instead are not sufficient, and it is therefore interesting
to see that in other languages, two different types of negative directive
expression are grammaticalised: preventive and prohibitive, as described
in Xrakovskij's study. The Homeric examples could be explained in the
same way. |
| I 2.236 |
οἴκαδέ περ σὺν νηυσὶ νεώμεθα, τόνδε ἐῶμεν |
let's sail off for home |
| O 22.139 |
ἀλλ' ἄγεθ', ὑμῖν τεύχε' ἐνείκω θωρηχθῆναιἐκ θαλάμου· |
But come, let me bring you weapons from the store-room to arm yourself with, |
| O 2.222 |
εἰ δέ κε τεθνηῶτος ἀκούσω μηδ' ἔτ'
ἐόντος,
νοστήσας δὴ ἔπειτα φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν
σῆμά τέ οἱ χεύω καὶ ἐπὶ κτέρεα κτερεΐξω
πολλὰ μάλ', ὅσσα ἔοικε, καὶ ἀνέρι μητέρα δώσω. |
If I hear he’s dead, no longer alive, I’ll go back to
my beloved home, raise a grave-mound for him, and add to his burial
honours as much as he deserves, and give my mother to another. |
|