Description:

The term 'parat' refers to orders and commands. It is an impolite and commanding mirror image of the term 'minna', to request, and works in a very similar way.

Verb:

As a verb, 'parat' is a happat verb meaning 'to give an order'. It takes three arguments: an ergative subject, which is the commander, an absolutive direct object, which is the thing or action commanded to be given or done (if the order is to perform an action as opposed to be given some object, a dependent clause introduced with 'si' might be used), and a dative indirect object which is the person to which the order is given.

Unlike with minna, the dative commandee is generally not omitted, unless the desire is to soften to command somewhat. Commands might be softened, but it is more common to emphasize them by directly addressing the person commanded.

'Parat' is inherently imperious, and an expression with pirat is generally not polite. An example of using perat to request an object:

Je hap parat y kaffe iju.
I(ERG) give(NP.IM) order a(ABS) coffee you(DAT).

'Get me a coffee.'

An example of using parat to request an action:

Je hap parat iju si ju a laske te pirap.
I(ERG) give(NP.IM) order you(DAT) that(ABS) you(ERG) the(ABS) door hit(NP.IM) close.

'I order you to close the door.'

In these sorts of constructions, you could omit the 'je', as in 'hap parat iju si ju a laske te pirap'. You could also omit one or both of 'iju' and 'ju' as they are clear from  context. Each use of a direct reference to the person receiving the order makes the command more emphatic. Notice as well that the irealis mood is not used in the dependent clause, even though grammatically it would be appropriate - generally the realis is used with commands.

Noun:

As a noun, 'parat' means an order, command or directive. You can also use the noun form of 'parat' to tag a imperative statement to perform an action as an order by tagging 'na parat' to the front or end of the statement, basically hardening the statement. Example:

Te pirap a laske, na parat.
Hit(NP.IM) close the(ABS) door, the(NOM) order.

'Close the door, that's an order.'

The derived forms 'paratca' and 'paratkija' are significant.

'Paratca', 'one who commands', is a military and police rank. It is also a high corporate executive rank, equivalent to 'director'. It can be used as a flattering head term of address.

'Paratka', 'one who is commanded', is a word for servant and euphemistically for slaves (the line between servants and slaves can be blurred in the New World Order - technically most slaves are simply labourers whose conditions of employment make it illegal for them to leave their employment, but they are not technically the property of their employer - instead their work contract is). Using this as a head term of address is abusive, and so this word will often be deliberately used to address or refer to someone in an abusive or belitting way.

Needless to say, it is important to pronounce these words distinctly.

The derived form 'paratkiya' can be seen even though it means sort of the same thing as 'parat' - it makes a subtle distinction, 'that which was commanded', and refers to the demanded action or object and not the command itself.

The derived form 'paratysyn' means a directorate, either a position of command or the organization commanded.