From Jim Drew, this query from (oh, alas) 2009:
It’s April, so naturally my boyfriend started singing Christmas songs. (Who doesn’t? <grin>) He was singing “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas” — Julio Iglesias, I think? [almost surely José Feliciano] — and I kept responding “But what?!” The line seems to demand a followup (other than “From the bottom of my heart”), something like “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, but it’s April, so I can’t” or “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, and I’m going to do so now” or “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, so forgive the repetition in this song.”
It’s fine as it stands. But it’s indirect, conveying a speech act indirectly by saying that you want to perform it (or would like to perform it), and thereby softening the bald performance somewhat.
The Feliciano version of Feliz Navidad:
This sort of indirection is common is other contexts, for example in the offering of thanks at award ceremonies:
I want to thank my film crew and my family.
I would like to thank everyone who helped in this enormous project.
Both have the effect of thanking people, just as
I want to wish you a Merry Christmas
wishes Merry Christmas to the addressee.
