The grammar of ~かれ~かれ


Consider these:

>   * 遅かれ早かれ
>
>   * 良【よ】かれ悪【あ】しかれ
>
>

What is the underlying grammatical make up of this `~かれ~かれ` pattern (if any)?
Is this pattern productive(i.e. can be extended to arbitrary words)?




The 〜かれ appearing here is the imperative form. I suspect this exact
construction is no longer productive in modern Japanese as adjectives are no
longer thought of as having imperative forms; however, the dictionary offers
this modern rephrasing of 善【よ】かれ悪【あ】しかれ:

> よいにしろ、悪いにしろ

So in some sense the abstract construction of "imperative + imperative" to
mean "be it ... or ..." still survives. (The "be" appearing in the English
version might also be construed as an imperative, but it's probably a
subjunctive.) The
[thesaurus](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/17207/m0u/) (for want of a
better word) lists some alternatives:

  * ～にしろ…にしろ
  * 〜にせよ…にせよ
  * 〜にしても…にしても




The 〜かれ appearing here is the imperative form. I suspect this exact
construction is no longer productive in modern Japanese as adjectives are no
longer thought of as having imperative forms; however, the dictionary offers
this modern rephrasing of 善【よ】かれ悪【あ】しかれ:

> よいにしろ、悪いにしろ

So in some sense the abstract construction of "imperative + imperative" to
mean "be it ... or ..." still survives. (The "be" appearing in the English
version might also be construed as an imperative, but it's probably a
subjunctive.) The
[thesaurus](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/17207/m0u/) (for want of a
better word) lists some alternatives:

  * ～にしろ…にしろ
  * 〜にせよ…にせよ
  * 〜にしても…にしても

