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The Imperative of the Here and Now
 
     Mao Naga has three morphemes marking the imperative of the here and now : -ka, -ha and -hi, the status of -ha as an imperative marker being arguable. There are lines of argumentation both for and against, which we will come to presently. -ka and -ha demand action which is immediate both in time and space while -hi does so in the absence of a time phrase. In other words, only -ka and -ha are intrinsic here-and-now imperative markers while -hi is, typically but not intrinsically a here-and-now imperative marker. Further, -ka marks an imperative of movement/transfer towards the speaker, or the first person referent whereas -ha marks an imperative of movement/transfer away from the speaker, towards a third person referent. The referents which undergo first person-bound movement/transfer need not be visible but are necessarily somewhere about the place of the speech act or so atleast the speaker thinks whereas the referents which undergo third person-bound movement/transfer are necessarily visible.
 
167 1.  larübvü-sü1 pi-ka2 give2 the book1 (to me here and now)
       
  2.  larübvü-sü1 pi-ha2 give2 the book to someone other than me 1
    (= the speaker) here and now  
    -ka  
       
168. 1.  kobu1 ata-yi2 pi-ka3 hand over3  (the) gun1 to us (excl. prn. &
    excl. pl.) 2  
       
  2.  ata1 he2 khe ko-ka3 push3 (it)  to2 us (excl. prn. & excl. pl.) 1
       
  3.  a1 he2 kolü ko-ka3 roll3 (it) to2 me1  
       
  4. shüli pi-ka throw it to me  
    throw give-imp  
       
  5.  osi so1 ho-ka2 serve(me)2  (some) dog-meat1
       
  6. ni1 sa2 ayi3 mani-ka4 show4 me3 your (sg.)1 clothes2
       
    Not all verbs, however, even if speaker-bound in some sense, take -ka
       
169. *1.  ni1 ayi2 mono-ka3 you (sg. & masc.)1 marry3 me2
       
  *2.  a1 he2 ko-ka3 come3 to2 me1  
       
  *3.  ayi1 larü2 mata-ka/masi-ka3 send3 me1 (the) book2
       
  *4.  oca1 so-ka2 do2 me (some) tea1  
       
  *5. cükhu1 hrü-ka2 open2 (the) door1 for me2  
       
    cf. cükhu1 hru pi-ka 2  
       
   

open2 (the) door1 for me (the door

 opening towards the speaker)2
       
  *6.  cükhü1 kho(pi)-ka2  
    close2 (the) door1 for/towards me2  

-ka marks only speaker or first person-bound movement/transfer, not non-first person-bound movement/transfer:
 

170.

*1 pfo-yi1 oca2 so pi-ka3
    do3 him1 (some) tea2
     
 

*2.

  piiar-yi1 larübvü-na-i2 pi-ka3
    give3 Peter1 the book2
     
And ka marks a here-and-now imperative:
     
 

*3.

larübvü-i1 sodu-no2 pi-ka3
    give3 the book(s)1 to me3 tomorrow2
     
 

*4.

  capüi1 oca2 so pi-ka3
    do me3 (some) tea2 later1

The imperative marker -ka is not to be confused with the particle of speaker-bound movement/transfer as in 171 below :
 

171.

     ka larübvü ka ‘look ! give me/us (the) book’
      The glosses are grossly suggestive. In the above example, the speaker-bound movement/transfer meaning of ka is clear but ka is not an imperative marker as there is no verb in the sentence. The overriding argument in favor of the existence of ka as an imperative marker is that it bears a relation of choice rather than sequence to what are obviously imperative markers, constituting thereby a single external distribution class with them :
 

172.

1 larübvü-i1 { pi-ka}2
      {*pio-ka}
      {*pi-*-ka}
      {*pio-ka}
      {*pihio-ka}
      {*pi-hi-ka}
    give me/us2 the book(s)1

 

  
 

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