今年も良い年でありますように！ I hope you have another good year!
What is going on exactly where the ように means hope? Does the よう derive from a verb? I would also like to know how to describe this word in the relevant grammatical terms, both in english and japanese. From what I understand from the answers it is a noun that turns into an adverb?
Answer
What it means
ように at the end of a sentence is a set expression for the volitional subjunctive. In layman terms, it means the preceding sentence is a wish!
Why it means that
様{よう} is "a word that expresses the state of things". に is a target particle. Therefore, if it helps you understand, ように means "towards a certain state". So when I say something like
明日{あした}は晴{は}れるように — May it be sunny tomorrow
I'm saying "towards the state of things where it's sunny". As happens frequently in Japanese, I am omitting the verb of this sentence because it is obvious in context.
明日{あした}は晴{は}れるように祈{いの}ります — I pray it may be sunny tomorrow
It expresses a yearning for a particular 様{よう}.
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