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>
> But is there really no mode for expressing a wish?
> Greetings,
> Stephan
>
Of course there are: the verb meaning 'want/desire', the more polite
form equivalent to English "would like", the deontic modal meaning
'should', and several related mental state verbs with meanings such as
'hope', 'wish', 'anticipate', 'be eager for', etc.
By the way, I answered the original poster's question about imperatives
in an earlier message to the Katanda list. Here it is again:
A middle plus A/P-d is equivalent to P-d "Jepumpumoy", which means
'Open!' or 'Become open!'. To capture the semantics correctly, use a
vocative and an imperative:
Jepumpamoy dayfo!
= Open the window!
Dufamwe! Jepumpamoy dayfo!
= You! Open the window!
or
Jepumpamoy dufamwe dayfo!
= You, open the door!
Since a vocative has the syntax of an oblique argument, it can appear in
any argument position.
Regards,
Rick Morneau
http://www.eskimo.com/~ram