LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI LIETUVOS TSR MOKSLŲ AKADEMIJA

DUAL FORMS OF THE IMPERATIVE MOOD AND THEIR USE IN THE EASTERN LITHUANIAN DIALECTS

J. KARDELYTĖ

Our language dialects are being studied more and more each year. A considerable amount of material has also been collected from the dialects of eastern Lithuania. The dialects of eastern Lithuania contain various archaic remnants, which provide valuable material for dialectology, the history of the language, and the comparative grammar of the Baltic languages. These dialects also exhibit many interesting features of grammatical structure, which our linguistic literature has so far mentioned only rarely.

Here we will focus on one linguistic fact widely used in the eastern dialects, namely, the dual forms of the imperative mood, or two tenses.

A few examples of dual forms occur in the writings of Russian and German linguists. Prof. J. Endzelynas examines the imperative mood at greater length. He compares Latvian imperative forms without -k with Lithuanian imperative forms without -k¹. Prof. J. Otrembskio’s description of the Tverečius dialect² mentions the use of these forms and also discusses how they are formed.

This question has not been discussed in our linguistic literature.

Most of our dialects have only imperative forms like those in standard Lithuanian, for example, nešk, daryk, lipk, suk, būk... neškite, darykite, lipkite, sukite, būkite... These forms occur in the Samogitian, western and central Aukštaitian dialects, in the western part of the eastern Aukštaitian dialects, and also among the western Dzūkai.

Dual imperative forms occur in the dialects of eastern Lithuania. Some forms are also used in standard Lithuanian, while others differ from the former both in their use and in their accentuation. For example, alongside the forms daryk, rašyk, kapok, nešk, tylėk, atsikąsk there are also the forms dārai, rāšai, kapōj, nēš, tylý, atsikāñt³.

These two kinds of forms differ in meaning. The first forms, that is, those also used in standard Lithuanian, are used in some dialects of eastern Lithuania when one wishes to indicate that the command is to be carried out not immediately, but after some time, in the future. The second forms, which differ from the first, are used—

¹ J. Endzelīns, Latviešu valodas gramatika, 887—893, Rīga, 1951; J. Endze-līns, Baltu valodu skaņas un formas, 211—213, Rīga, 1948.

² J. Otrembski, Wschodniolitewskie narzecze twereckie, 1, 381—392, Kraków, 1934.

³ Dialect forms (except examples in sentences) are transcribed into standard Lithuanian.

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They are used when one wishes to say that the command should be carried out immediately, without delay, at the time of speaking. For example, a speaker using these forms, wishing someone else to do something immediately, will say: tell a tale; do it, what are you standing there for; take the horse away; mow some grass; dig out a little hole here; bring some water; hammer the scythe; don’t shout as if you’d fallen into a fence; go and work without standing around; sing a song, it’ll be more fun.

However, if one wants the action or work to be done later, not at the time of speaking, one will say: tell a tale; take the horse away; mow some grass; dig a hole; go and work, etc.

Thus, we see that forms different from lk indicate a command that is to be carried out now, whereas forms that coincide with lk indicate a command that is to be carried out in the future. Therefore, the forms unknown to lk and the other dialects mentioned above may be called the present tense of the imperative mood, or forms without the suffix -k, and the forms known to lk and many dialects may be called the future tense of the imperative mood, or forms with the suffix -k.

The future tense of the imperative mood is formed as in lk, so its formation will not be discussed here.

The formation of the present-tense forms is entirely different.

Second-person singular

In o-stem verbs, the formation of these forms formally resembles the second-person singular forms of the present indicative. For example, the present-tense imperative form of the verb rašyti ‘to write’ is rašai, of baidyti ‘to scare away’—baidai, barstyti ‘to sprinkle’—barstai, laužyti ‘to break’—laužai, gaudyti ‘to catch’—gaudai, mėtyti ‘to throw’—mėtai, plaukyti ‘to swim’—plaukai, ardyti ‘to take apart’—ardai, vėtyti ‘to winnow’—vėtai, laupyti ‘to peel’—laupai; baidai žv. rblus iš vi̇šnų ‘scare the fleas off the cherries’ (Linkmenys); parašai lakšteli. sunėliu ‘write a note to your son’ (Linkmenys); šakai, šakai, ko prikundai ležūvi. ‘you keep chopping, chopping—why are you sticking out your tongue?’ (Linkmenys); nemėtai duona.s, trūpinus rinksi ‘don’t throw the bread around; gather the crumbs’ (Saldutiškis); pasākai, mā.ma, nesusarma.ci. ‘tell a tale, mother, don’t get angry’ (Kretuonys); nesvā.idai šopieru. un padlā.gos ‘don’t throw away the paper and rags’ (Žibališkė, Švenčionys district); atā.j kruopė.lyn. ‘bring the groats’ (Gražuliai, Švenčionys district), pasā.kai, kāp tu j.tu. vadzini ‘tell how you call them’ (Dvarapievė, Švenčionys district); padā.rai, bra.lė.li, grė.bli. ‘do it, little brother, rake it’ (Dūkštas); išārdai lā.pini. ‘take the little patch apart’ (Dūkštas); parašai pavali ‘write slowly’ (Stelmužė, Zarasai district). In reflexive verbs, these forms have the ending -ais. For example, klausais, klausais ‘listen, listen to a song’ (Linkmenys); mokais ‘learn’, durnas nebū.si ‘learn, you won’t be a fool’ (Linkmenys); dairais ‘look around’ aplink sau ‘all around you’ (Kirdeikiai); mā.udai̇si ‘bathe’, kȯ stovi ‘what are you standing there for?’ (Palušė).

These forms are always stressed on the stem. If the verb stem contains a pure or mixed diphthong, the pitch accent depends on what is stressed in the second-person singular present indicative form of the corresponding verb: 1) If the second-person singular present indicative form is stressed on the ending, then the second-person singular present imperative form has a circumflex accent, e.g., baidai ‘scare away’, daužai ‘smash’, barstai ‘sprinkle’. 2) If the present indicative

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1. If the singular second-person form of the indicative present is stressed on the stem, then the corresponding singular second-person form of the imperative present has a falling accent. E.g., šaudai (shoot), gaudai (catch), lodai (bark), valgai (eat), saldai (sweeten).

In i-stem verbs, the singular second-person form of the imperative present has the ending -y. E.g., l ydy (be quiet), klūpy (kneel), tyly (be quiet), pamyl y (love), žydy (bloom), tūry (have), gūly (lie down), raz y (weed), neklapsy (do not make a clacking noise): patil i kai vyresnis užtura (be quiet when an older person is speaking. Linkmenys); patūri l aždu. (hold the stick. Palūšė); miegi, miegi, da, gaidžei negiedaja. (sleep, sleep, the roosters haven’t crowed yet. Kaltanėnai); dzi-ri, dzi-ri i dzievu. mi-li (be quiet and love God. Dotenėnai, Švenčionėliai district); išrav i gi dvzviliku. šotku. (weed twelve ares. Vosiūnai, Ignalina district); neklapsi jau, galvoj net uža (don’t make a clacking noise, it’s even roaring in my head. Saldutiškis).

The forms of reflexive verbs are the same as the reflexive forms of the singular second-person indicative present. E.g., turės (hold on, keep hold), sėdies (sit down), gules (lie down), klūpies (kneel): turies, kat neišlėktum (hold on, so you don’t fall out. Linkmenys); sa-dies, ko stipsai (sit down, why are you standing there. Kirdeikiai); gulies gerau, jau meira akisu (lie down, you’re already sleepy. Linkmenys).

These forms are accented as follows:

1. If the singular second-person indicative present is stressed on the stem, then the singular second-person form of the imperative present is also stressed on the stem. E.g., sėdy (sit down).

2. If the singular second-person indicative present is stressed on the ending, then the imperative present form does not change the position of the stress either. E.g., raz y (weed), l ydy (be quiet), žydy (bloom).

3. If a verb has a short stem vowel u, then the singular second-person forms of the imperative present are stressed only on the stem. E.g., tūry (have, keep), gūly (lie down), tūpy (squat).

An exception is made when the sound clusters -ks-, -kš- are inserted; in that case, only the ending is stressed. E.g., stuksy (knock), truksy (make a noise), kriuksy (make a creaking noise), niuksy (poke), puksy (make a thudding noise).

Reflexive forms are stressed only on the ending.

In (i)a-stem verbs, the singular second-person form of the imperative present is the stem of the indicative present. If the stem ends in a consonant, that consonant is always palatalized, except for k and m. The consonants p, n, t may be either palatalized or non-palatalized. Voiced consonants have become voiceless. E.g., lauk (wait), lėk (dialectal lak: fly), sem (scoop), grėp (rake), bar (scold), gul (lie down), ve (lead), siuk, neš (carry), bėk (run), gel (sting), sviet (light), dur (open): ain, abzdairai un Martinu (go, look around at Martynas’s. Linkmenys); nedi.re.ji.s nuvein in Maruti. apklausais (without dawdling, go to Marytė’s as a matchmaker. Linkmenys); duonė.la.s acikūn t, undene lū asiger ir buz gerai (bread …

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take a bite, drink some water, and you’ll be fine. Linkmenys); pašil (warm yourself by the fire, it’s so cold outside. Kirdeikiai); šluo, šluo (sweep the yard, today it’s your turn. Saldutiškis); pasverėt šunų, tai ir la.si (turn into a dog, and you’ll bark too. Kaltanėnai); parau ža.lės kaūle.m (Dūkšto district).

If the present indicative forms of the 2nd and 3rd persons singular have the suffix -v-, then the present imperative form of the 2nd person singular ends in either -j or -n, or consists of the stem alone. All three forms are used side by side across almost the entire area of these dialects. For example, būj, būn, bū (be), griūj, griūn, griū (fall), kliūj, kliūn, kliū (get caught), siūj, siūn, siū (sew), pūj, pūn, pū (rot): pabūj, da. (stay a little longer. Linkmenys); bū'n ti (stay there. Ignalina); bū' bū', kur laki (be, be, where are you running. Kaltanėnai); sūj nezdairus (sew without looking around. Adutiškis).

If the present indicative forms of the 2nd and 3rd persons singular have the suffix -n-, then the present imperative forms of the 2nd person singular occur either with or without final n. For example, griaūn, griaū (griauki), maūn, maū (mauki), šaūn, šaū (šauki), bliaūn, bliaū (blauki), gaūn, gaū (gauki), raūn, raū (rauki). Both forms are used side by side: g r a ū n || g r a ū ši.tu. stulpu. (lift this post. Linkmenys); apsmaūn || apsmaū kė.lne.m. (wrap yourself in a blanket. Kirdeikiai); su b l aūn || sublaū kai kárve. (shout at the cow. Kaltanėnai).

If the present indicative forms of the 2nd and 3rd persons singular have the stem vowel y and the suffix -j-, then the present imperative forms of the 2nd person singular lack final j. For example, gy (live), ly (pour), ry (swallow). In other cases, that is, when the stem vowel is not y, the forms occur both without and with j. For example, atsistoj || atsistà (stand up), šluoj || šluo (sweep), dainuoj || dainuo (sing), šokuoj || šokuo (dance), ropoj || ropà (crawl), nujoj || nuj à (ride over): dainuoj || dainuo viz bus ramjau un širdės (sing, it will make your heart feel lighter. Linkmenys); kapāj || kapà má.lkas (chop wood. Kirdeikiai); nujāj || nuj à pamiškėn (ride to the edge of the forest... Ignalina).

If the infinitive of a primary a-stem verb has the suffix -o- or -ė-, the 2nd person singular imperative ending is -y. For example, raudý (weep), giedý (sing), miegy (sleep), drebý (tremble), čiūty (hide), virpý (quiver), blizgý (gleam): neraudi šit baisei (don’t cry so terribly. Linkmenys); miegi, kat miegi (sleep, since you’re sleeping. Kaltanėnai); drabi, drabi, vis ne te bu šá.lta (tremble, tremble, it won’t be so cold. Ignalina).

The following forms derived from reflexive verbs have the ending -ies. For example, žadìes (promise yourself), derìes (come to an agreement), knìsies (dig around), barìes (quarrel): žadìes ateit, ko ti.li (promise to come, why are you silent? Linkmenys); derìes greita. ir važuojam (come to an agreement quickly... Ignalina); barìes, dau gau teip nedaris (quarrel; they won’t do it like that again. Kaltanėnai).

Imperative forms without -k derived from (i) a-stem verbs are stressed as follows:

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If the stem vowels of the 3rd person singular present indicative are a, e and have a circumflex accent (a mid tone in the dialect), then the 2nd person singular present imperative forms have a short accent. For example, kàš (scratch), pavàk (steal), pašàk (jump), nèš (carry), vèšk (drive), mèt (throw).

If the stem vowels of the 3rd person singular present indicative are i, u and have a short accent (mid tone in the dialects), then the 2nd person singular present imperative forms also have a short accent. For example, lìp (climb), rìš (tie), knìš (dig), rìš (tie), pùšk (blow), lùp (peel), skùt (hurry).

If the 2nd person singular present imperative forms have a pure or mixed diphthong, the second component is stressed and has a circumflex accent. For example, laĩt (let), bàrk (bark), gèrk (drink), kùlk (thresh), vèrs (turn), šàl (freeze), màl (grind).

The present imperative forms of the 2nd person singular of secondary a-stem verbs are as follows:

1. For verbs whose infinitive has the suffix -au-, the 2nd person imperative ends in -au or -aun. Both forms are used equally. For example, šùkaun || šùkau (shout), rė́kaun || rė́kau (shout), riešutaũn || riešutaũ (gather nuts), grybaũn || grybaũ (pick mushrooms): šùkaun || šùkau and you’ll be summoned (Linkmenys); gri.baũn || gri.baũ don’t go mushroom-picking barefoot (Kirdeikiai).

If the infinitive of these verbs is stressed on the stem, then the 2nd person singular present imperative form is also stressed on the stem. For example, ùkaun || ùkau (hoot), sùpaun || sùpau (rock).

If the infinitive is stressed on the suffix, then the 2nd person singular present imperative form is also stressed on the suffix. The only difference is that in these forms the accent is circumflex. For example, žuvaũn || žuvaũ (fish), lapaũn || lapaũ (gather leaves; lapauti: to gather leaves).

2. For verbs whose infinitive has the suffix -uo-, the 2nd person singular present imperative ending is -uo or -uoj. Both forms are used side by side. For example, dainúo || dainúoj (sing), siūbúo || siūbúoj (sway), sopúo || sopúoj (breathe with difficulty), šokúo || šokúoj (dance). Stress falls on the ending.

3. For verbs whose infinitive has the suffix -o-, the 2nd person singular present imperative ending is -oj. For example, knaĩsioj (rummage), laĩpioj (climb), raĩčioj (roll), vaĩkščioj (walk): nelàipja:j don’t climb so high, you’ll fall (Linkmenys); vaĩkšččoj pa. darže.li. ir dainuoj (walk around the garden and sing. Kirdeikiai). Stress is placed as in the corresponding infinitive.

4. For verbs whose infinitive has the suffix -ė-, the ending of the imperative singular second-person form is -ėj. E.g., didėj (didėki), mažėj (mažėki), sunkėj (sunkėki): didė.j akmenė.li, mažė.j tu varge.li (didėki, akmenėli, mažėki tu, vargeli. Linkmenys). Stress falls on the ending.

For verbs whose infinitive has the suffix -in-, -en-, the imperative singular second-person form consists only of the stem. E.g., blógin (bloginki), gėrin (gerinki),

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svėiki̇n (greet), vārgin (make weary), dárgin (pamper), barbēn (scold), gyvēn (live), dardēn (work on), klebēn (paste), šokdēn (dance): svėiki̇n quickly, before he leaves. (Greet him quickly before he leaves. Kirdeikiai); dá.rgi.n, dá.rgi.n, then you’ll see how he grows (Pamper him, then you’ll see how he grows. Linkmenys).

Forms with the suffix -in- are stressed on the root; forms with the suffix -en- are stressed on the ending and have a circumflex accent.

Reflexive forms of secondary a-stem verbs have the ending -ies. E.g., graudenės (graudenki), gabenės (gabenki), šukuojies (šukuokis): šukuojies grāita. ir_lāk (šukuokis greitai ir lėk. Linkmenys).

Stressed like the reflexive forms of the present tense of the indicative mood.

First person plural

The first-person plural forms are the same as the first-person plural forms of the present tense of the indicative mood. E.g., dainuojam (dainuokime), nešam (neškime), tylim (tylėkime), barstom (barstykime).

Alongside these first-person plural forms, the Švenčionys area also has forms ending in -te. E.g., einamte (eikime), bėgamte (bėkime), važiuojamte (važiuokime), lipamte (lipkime). These forms with final -te are probably analogous to the Belarusian first-person plural imperative form (идѐмте), or to the second-person plural imperative form (see below).

Second person plural

Second-person plural forms are formed from the present-tense second-person singular forms of the imperative by adding the ending -te, -e. E.g., dāraite (do), klaušaitė (listen), barštaite (scatter), dainuojte (sing), šokinejte (jump), detė (put), lintė (climb in), ritė (roll), būjte (be), šūktelle: klaušaitė, kas ti_bīr_bja (listen to what’s buzzing there. Linkmenys); all dainuojte (Linkmenys); ritė, ritė a.kmenus (Kaltanėnai); kū̄_ĝi lā.kat, pabu.jte (where is it going, stay a while. Ignalina); svieċte ju.s į.tu. i aintė kalkuozan (Adutiškis).

The ending of reflexive forms is -tės. E.g., klaušaitės (listen), šluojtės (sweep), praustės (wash yourselves), šukuojtės (comb your hair).

Disyllabic second-person plural forms are stressed only on the ending and have a short accent. E.g., liptė (climb), neštė (carry), suktė (turn).

Three-syllable and polysyllabic forms are stressed in accordance with the second-person singular forms: if the second-person singular is stressed either on the stem, the suffix, or the ending, then the second-person plural will likewise have stress on the stem, the suffix, or the ending. E.g., mokāte (study), gūlyte (lie down), rāšaite (write), sėdyte (sit), padainuojte (sing), važiuojte (drive), bėginėte (run about), tylyte (be quiet), miegite (sleep), paklylyte (get lost), panėšyte (carry), išravyte (weed).

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The stress placement of reflexive forms is the same as that of non-reflexive forms. E.g., mokaitės (study), šukuotės (comb your hair).

The use of the two types of imperative forms described here, and their formation, are characteristic of the eastern Lithuanian dialects: in the areas around Saldutiškis, Linkmenys, Ignalina, Adutiškis, Tverečius, Dūkštas, and elsewhere.

Imperative forms of the two types occur not only in eastern Lithuanian dialects but also in the southern region. In these southern dialects, imperative forms without the suffix -k are formed in almost the same way, with only an occasional minor difference. In addition, southern dialects often use present- and future-tense imperative forms in parallel, without a difference in meaning.

Imperative forms without the suffix -k are also found in the areas around Gervėčiai, Lazūnai, Apso (Byelorussian SSR), and elsewhere. E.g., pagiedžì kokù grą˙ žu giėsmì (Gervėčiai area); šluotė, mergos, pìr̃ku; palùrkė, grùdza ir grùdza (Gervėčiai area); móumula, nebėdavoji (Lazūnai area); lãndz iš papėčės (Lazūnai area); vàlgai dúonu ir dúo žmonėmu (Lazūnai area).

In Samogitia, western Dzūkija, and other dialects, the following saying is known: “when there is [something], you cut; when there isn’t, you endure.” In this case, these may be fossilized forms of the old optative, or they may have been formed in this way for rhythmic reasons.

It is difficult to determine how old these forms are. Prof. J. Endzelīns asserts that in Latvian the second-person singular imperative is identical to the second-person singular present indicative, and that the same may be true in Lithuanian⁴.

It may be assumed that in Lithuanian, forms of o-stem verbs without the suffix -k are older than forms with the suffix -k. Other Indo-European languages preserve examples of the old optative with -ai-, -oi-, e.g., Greek φέροι (let him carry), (F)δοι (let him see; -oi denotes the optative mood), Gothic bairais, -ai (carry, let him carry), nimais, -ai (take, let him take), haitais, -ai (call, let him call). Forms of (i)a-stem verbs could be identical to second-person singular present indicative forms, but with the final i of the ending lost (kùl, vėrì, mėt).

In our old writings (Daukša’s Postilė, the Catechism, and Sirvydas’s “Punktai sakymų”), imperative forms without the suffix -k are found. These forms are recorded both with and without -i. E.g., Daukša’s Postilė has Dūdi Diewe (give), dùd Diewe, atleid (forgive). Forms with -i also occur in Greek: κλύθι <* kludhi, δόθι (give), but the Greek imperative ending is in fact the Indo-European -dhi.

In eastern Lithuanian dialects, the imperative forms of (-i)a-stem verbs must formerly have had a final i; the i must have been lost recently, since the consonants at the end are palatalized (vẽl, nėš, kẽl). In other words, even a consonant has been lost through articulation (dúot (t) || dúo, šlúoj || šlúo, dainúoj || dainúo, kapój || kapù).

The origin of the forms of i-stem verbs is also unclear—no phonetic correspondences have been found in Indo-European languages. In Latin the imperative is the bare stem (audi, laudā, dēlē), but here there is only a morphological similarity. The Lithuanian forms tylý, mylý, ravý..., are most likely generalized on the model of other stems.

⁴ J. Endzelīns, Baltu valodu skaņas un formas, 213, Rīgā, 1948.

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DUAL FORMS OF THE IMPERATIVE MOOD AND THEIR USE IN THE DIALECTS OF THE EASTERN PART OF THE LITHUANIAN SSR

Я. И. КАРДЕЛИТЕ

Abstract

The article analyzes the use of dual imperative forms. Forms without the suffix -k are used in some areas of eastern Lithuania when the speaker wants the command to be carried out immediately, while forms with the suffix -k are used when the command is to be carried out in the future, some time later. Only the formation and accentuation of forms without the suffix -k are considered—that is, forms that are not used in the literary language or in other dialects.

Forms derived from verb stems ending in o- are formally identical to the second-person singular indicative forms. Forms without the suffix -k are historically older than forms with the suffix -k. Other Indo-European languages also point to this.

Forms derived from verb stems ending in i- (short) have the ending u (long). Their origin has not yet been established.

Forms derived from verb stems ending in (i)a are identical to second-person singular indicative forms, but without the final i (short).

The first-person plural coincides with the first-person plural indicative. The second-person plural is formed from the imperative without the suffix -k by means of the endings -te, -e.