Imperatives and non-imperative command strategies in Western Oromo

This paper investigates the forms and functions of imperative constructions and other non-imperative command strategies in the western variety of Oromo. It describes the morphological realizations of the second person and third person imperative main and dependent verbs, both in affirmative and negative paradigms. It also examines the structure of other non-imperative constructions used for directive speech acts, based on data collected from a web text corpus, native speakers and secondary sources. The analysis shows that the second person imperative is the simplest of all verb forms in Western Oromo. Unlike the third person imperative and other verb forms, it does not occur with any of the aspect markers. The anterior converb marker, third person direct and indirect object markers, and the first person pronominal subject clitic are grammatical morphemes that are compatible with both second person and third person imperative constructions. Imperative constructions are mainly used for commands and warnings, but can also be used for other speech acts, such as blessings, curses, farewells, and suggestions. Commands and warnings can alternatively be expressed through negative interrogatives and insubordinate clauses. Animal-directed commands are expressed by interjections.