LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 26:2 February 2026
ISSN 1930-2940

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Imperative Construction in Bodo: A Morphosyntactic Study

Dr. Daimalu Brahma, M.A, NET, Ph.D.

Abstract

The paper investigates the imperative construction in Bodo language, it's a Tibeto-Burman language primarily spoken in Northeast India. The imperative mood is a fundamental grammatical feature used to express direct commands, requests, or prohibitions. This analysis aims to provide a detailed structural and functional analysis of Bodo imperatives, focusing on their morphosyntax, subject realization, and the role of pragmatic context in their usage. The study reveals that Bodo uses various strategies for imperative formation, including verb suffixes, positive and negative commands, and inclusive imperatives by interjection. It also explores how person and number influence these forms, suggesting a rich and sensitive system influenced by social dynamics. The study analyzes imperative constructions in Bodo and cognate languages, focusing on affirmative and negative imperatives. It reveals shared linguistic ancestry and language-specific innovations in the imperative mood. The findings contribute to comparative Tibeto-Burman linguistics and the theory of imperative clauses, providing valuable data.

Keywords:The Language, Basic Characteristics, Imperative Constructions, Directives, Prohibitive and Interjectional Imperatives.

Introduction

This study focuses on the imperative construction in the Bodo language, a significant member of the Bodo-Garo subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Bodo is an officially recognized language of India, primarily spoken in Assam as well as some adjacent parts of Assam i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, West Bengal, some parts of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Crucially, the Bodo-Garo languages, which include other significant speech communities like Dimasa, Garo, Rabha, and Kokborok, share a common linguistic ancestry. A comparative investigation of their grammatical features, particularly the imperative, is thus essential for reconstructing features of the ancestral language and charting their subsequent divergent development.

The Bodo people are officially recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in the state of Assam, India. They are primarily concentrated in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in Assam. The areas are administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

The aims of the paper are to investigate the imperative construction of the Bodo language. It will describe the various forms and usages of the imperative and prohibitive constructions. It will try to identify the morphological markers of imperative mood in Bodo, focusing on both affirmative and prohibitive suffixes. It will analyze the structural patterns of direct commands versus polite requests and determine the syntactic rules governing their formation. It will be examined the role of sociolinguistics in Bodo imperatives.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Daimalu Brahma, M.A, NET, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Barama College, Barama
Baksa-781346, Assam
daimalubrahma85@gmail.com
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