As I know, yes, this is the intended behavior. You should be thinking in a WYSIWYG way, but TeX, as most languages (except Python, that I know) works apart you write every code in one line or write pretty indented.
I hope you understood.
--
Wagner Macedo
If I type
Blabla. \startitemize[a,text] \item one \item two \stopitemize Blabla.
I get a linebreak before and after the itemize. Is this the intended
behaviour? How can I get a fully inline enumeration?