Directive and optative clauses in Manding languages

Abstract

This article discusses the structure of directive and optative clauses in Manding languages. The discussion mainly relies on a comparison between the two Manding languages for which detailed data on directive and optative clauses are available: Mandinka and Bambara. In Manding languages, the subjunctive plays a prominent role in the expression of commands and wishes, but speakers avoid expressing wishes by means of formulations exactly identical to those used for commands. Manding languages have a dedicated optative construction in which Álá ‘God’ is followed by a dedicated optative marker, but in Mandinka, the sequence ‘Álá + optative marker’ is freezing into an optative particle, as evidenced by the fact that Álá can be repeated as the subject of the clause following the optative marker.

Keywords

• Mande
• Bambara
• Mandinka
• directive clauses
• optative clauses
• subjunctive