The hortative is a group of semantically

Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....

 similar deontic mood

Grammatical mood

In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...

s in some language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

s, especially English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. Hortative moods encourage or urge. There are seven hortative moods in English: the adhortative, exhortative, suprahortative, cohortative, dehortative, inhortative, and infrahortative. They differ by intensity, attitude (for or against) and in the case of the cohortative, person

Grammatical person

Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...

.

Behavior

Hortative moods signal the speaker's encouragement or discouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance. For this reason hortative constructions can only be used in the first person plural (cohortative) and second person singular and plural (adhortative, exhortative, dehortative, and inhortative).

Etymology

The term hortative dates to 1576, from Late Latin

Late Latin

Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...

 hortatorius "encouraging, cheering," from hortatus, past participle of hortari "exhort, encourage," intensive of horiri "urge, incite, encourage".

Ambiguity

Hortative modality is often mistaken for other moods due to semantic or lexical similarities. Hortative constructions also rarely have forms that are uniquely hortative. Let's (Let us) in its contracted form is an exception to this. However, even let's in its long form 'let us' as well as the colloquial semantic equal 'leave us' may be used as cohortatives as well as for other functions.

Consider:

• Let's go!
  • (cohortative) - mutual encouragement to leave
• Let us go!
  • (cohortative) - same idea as above in long form
• Let us go!
  • (imperative) - A single speaker demanding that the addressee release the speaker and any companions
• Let us retire to the den.
  • (cohortative) - mutual urging to change location
• Leave us alone!
  • (imperative) - using phrasal verb
    Phrasal verb
    A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition, any of which are part of the syntax of the sentence, and so are a complete semantic unit. Sentences may contain direct and indirect objects in addition to the phrasal...
    
     'to leave alone'

Ambiguity also arises from hortative use of modals normally utilized for expression of other moods. Consider the modal '(have) got' which is most often used in an obligatory mood but which can also appear in hortative usage:

• You've got to be at work by eight everyday.
  • (obligatory) -- the proposition of the utterance is required
• You've got to taste this curry! It's brilliant!
  • (exhortative) -- the proposition of the utterance is strongly encouraged

Further ambiguity often results from the structure of hortative formations which can sometimes have many words or appear as adverbially modified forms of other moods:

• You might not want to do that.
  • (dehortative) - the proposition of the utterance is politely discouraged

This construction consists of might (a modal of possibility) + not (the negative marker) + want (a volitive class II modal). Forms such as this are often misconstrued as other moods further modified (in this case volition negated and modified for possibility).

Imperative-hortative systems

Many languages have imperative-hortative systems in which moods dealing with commands and encouragement are grouped together. This is not the case in English and results in some disagreement among linguists.

Imperatives and hortatives both involve the expression of a wish of the speaker about a future state of affairs. In this respect they are like optatives

Optative mood

The optative mood is a grammatical mood that indicates a wish or hope. It is similar to the cohortative mood, and closely related to the subjunctive mood....

, but in contrast to optatives, they convey an appeal to the addressee(s) to help make the future state of affairs true. If the person in control of the desired state of affairs is the addressee or addressees, the utterance is an imperative

Imperative mood

The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...

. In any other case, it is a hortative. Consider these examples:

1. May he live a hundred years! (optative)
2. Sing! (imperative)
3. Let’s sing! (hortative)

(1) illustrates an optative. It expresses a wish or hope of the speaker, but there is no appeal to the addressee to make it true. (2) and (3) also express a wish of the speaker, but in each case, there is an appeal to the addressee to help make it true, with the desired future state of affairs specified as that of someone singing. Note that the person who is supposed to sing is/are the addressee(s) in (2) thus making it a command. In (3), however, the intended singer is the addressee(s) together with the speaker thus effecting the mood of mutual encouragement that the speaker and the addressee(s) perform the action.

Adhortative

The adhortative is a hortative mood in English. The Adhortative encourages or urges.

Behavior

• The adhortative mood signals the speaker's encouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance.
• Adhortative constructions can only be used in second person singular and plural utterances.

Etymology

From ad- “to, toward” + hortari “encourage, urge”.

Examples

• You might want to go; it'll be fun.

Exhortative

The exhortative is a hortative mood in English. The exhortative avidly encourages or strongly urges.

Behavior

• The exhortative mood signals the speaker's avid encouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance.
• Exhortative constructions can only be used in second person singular and plural utterances.

Etymology

c.1382, from L. exhortationem, noun of action from exhortari, from ex- "thoroughly" + hortari "encourage, urge" (see horatory). Verb exhort is c.1400.

Examples

• You really should try the caviar! It's divine!

Suprahortative

The suprahortative is a hortative mood in English. The suprahortative is used for pleas of encouragement or absolute urging.

Behavior

• The suprahortative mood signals the speaker's avid encouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance.
• Suprahortative constructions can only be used in second person singular and plural utterances.

Etymology

From supra- "over, above, maximum" + hortari "encourage, urge" (see horatory).

Examples

• Please say yes! You must take this job!

Dehortative

The dehortative is a hortative mood in English. The dehortative discourages or urges against.

Behavior

• The dehortative mood signals the speaker's discouragement of the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance.
• Dehortative constructions can only be used in second person singular and plural utterances.

Etymology

From dehort (Modern English – archaic) to try to dissuade. c.1525, from L. dehortari, from de- “off, away” + hortari “encourage, urge”.

Examples

• Maybe you might not want to drive in the rain.

Inhortative

The inhortative is a hortative mood in English. The inhortative avidly discourages or strongly urges against.

Behavior

• The inhortative mood signals the speaker's avid discouragement or strong urging against the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance.
• Inhortative constructions can only be used in second person singular and plural utterances.

Etymology

From ME enhort c.1400 “strongly urge against”, from L. in- “opposite effect” + hortari “encourage, urge”.

Examples

• No! You can't go!
  • In this case can't is being used as a morpheme implying a sense of great disappointment at the prospect of the proposition and thus inferring great urging against it. Can is normally a class I modal of ability and when written can't is still semantically positive (as all modals of the class are) with the contraction representing only shorthand for the two words with no semantic union between them.

Infrahortative

The infrahortative is a hortative mood in English. The infrahortative is used for pleas of discouragement or absolute urging against.

Behavior

• The infrahortative mood signals the speaker's absolute discouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance.
• Infrahortative constructions can only be used in second person singular and plural utterances.

Etymology

From infra- "below" + hortari "encourage, urge" (see horatory).

Examples

• You can't do this! It'd be suicide.

Cohortative

The cohortative is a hortative mood in English. The cohortative is used for mutual encouragement or discouragement.

Behavior

• The cohortative mood signals the speaker's encouragement or discouragement toward the addressee's bringing about the proposition of an utterance along with the speaker; in other words, it signals mutual encouragement for the speaker and the addressee(s).
• Cohortative constructions can only be used in first person plural utterances.

Etymology

c.1850, from L.cohortatus, participle of cohortare from co- “together” + hortari “encourage, urge.

Examples

The cohortative is signified by its primary modal phrase [let's] and its longer form [let us] and the semantically identical colloquial [leave us]. Constructions with let+me (first person singular) are not hortative but rather permissive

Permissive

When a cell or host is defined as permissive in virology, it refers to the fact that the virus is able to circumvent host defenses and is able to replicate. Usually this occurs when the virus has modulated one or several of the host cellular intrinsic defenses, and the host immune system...

.

• Let's eat!
• Let's go for a walk after dinner.

Cohortative-hortative

• Although the cohortative is itself a fairly neutral mood with regard to attitude, usually reflecting a mutual encouragement to partake in the proposition of the utterance with little more than tacit urging, it can be combined with the implied meanings of the other six hortative moods.

• This creates constructions which have dual hortative modalities but which remain overall cohortative. Observe:
  • Let's go in the cave.
    • (cohortative) - mutual encouragement with no added connotations
  • Let's not go in the cave.
    • (cohortative) - mutual discouragement with no added connotations
  • Come on, let's really go in the cave.
    • (cohortative-exhortative) - mutual encouragement with added intensity and urging
  • Please! Please, let's not go in the cave. I'm scared!
    • (cohortative-infrahortative) - mutual discouragement with added absolute urging; a plea against the proposition