Vocative case: Difference between revisions
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Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:More citations needed In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated Template:Sc) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numerals) of that noun. A vocative expression is an expression of direct address by which the identity of the party spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence. For example, in the sentence "I don't know, John," John is a vocative expression that indicates the party being addressed, as opposed to the sentence "I don't know John", in which "John" is the direct object of the verb "know".
Historically, the vocative case was an element of the Indo-European case system and existed in Latin, Sanskrit, and Ancient Greek. In many modern Indo-European languages (English, Spanish, etc.) the vocative case has been absorbed by the nominative, but others still distinguish it, including the Baltic languages, some Celtic languages and most Slavic languages. Some linguists, such as Template:Ill, argue that the vocative form is not a case but a special form of nouns not belonging to any case, as vocative expressions are not related syntactically to other words in sentences.<ref name="Реформатский_1988">Реформатский А. А. Введение в языковедение / Под ред. В. А. Виноградова. — М.: Аспект Пресс. 1998. С. 488. Template:ISBN Template:In lang</ref> Pronouns usually lack vocative forms.
Indo-European languages
[edit]Comparison
[edit]Distinct vocative forms are assumed to have existed in all early Indo-European languages and survive in some. Here is, for example, the Indo-European word for "wolf" in various languages:
The elements separated with hyphens denote the stem, the so-called thematic vowel of the case and the actual suffix. In Latin, for example, the nominative case is Template:Lang and the vocative case is Template:Lang, but the accusative case is Template:Lang. The asterisks before the Proto-Indo-European words means that they are theoretical reconstructions and are not attested in a written source. The symbol ◌̩ (vertical line below) indicates a consonant serving as a vowel (it should appear directly below the "l" or "r" in these examples but may appear after them on some systems from issues of font display). All final consonants were lost in Proto-Slavic, so both the nominative and vocative Old Church Slavonic forms do not have true endings, only reflexes of the old thematic vowels.
The vocative ending changes the stem consonant in Old Church Slavonic because of the so-called First Palatalization. MostTemplate:Citation needed modern Slavic languages that retain the vocative case have altered the ending to avoid the change: Bulgarian Template:Lang occurs far more frequently than Template:Lang.
Baltic languages
[edit]Lithuanian
[edit]The vocative is distinct in singular and identical to the nominative in the plural, for all inflected nouns. Nouns with a nominative singular ending in -a have a vocative singular usually identically written but distinct in accentuation.
In Lithuanian, the form that a given noun takes depends on its declension class and, sometimes, on its gender. There have been several changes in history, the last being the -ai ending formed between the 18th and 19th centuries. The older forms are listed under "other forms".
| Masculine nouns | Nominative | Vocative | Translation | Feminine nouns | Nominative | Vocative | Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current standard | Other forms | Current standard | Other forms | ||||||
| o-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | wolf | a-stems | Template:Lang [sg.] | Template:Lang | people | ||
| jo-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Old Lith. Template:Lang | wind | e-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | cat | |
| ijo-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | rooster | i-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | sheep | ||
| a-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | sergeant-major | r-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | daughter | |
| e-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | uncle | irregular | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | daughter-in-law | ||
| i-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | thief | proper names | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | |||
| u-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | son | diminutives | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | little sister | ||
| n-stems | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | water | |||||
| proper names | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Old Lith. Template:Lang | John | |||||
| diminutives | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | little son | ||||||
Some nouns of the e- and a- stems declensions (both proper ones and not) are stressed differently: "aikštė": "aikšte!" (square); "tauta": "tauta!". In addition, nouns of e-stems have an ablaut of long vowel ė in nominative and short vowel e Template:IPA in vocative. In pronunciation, ė is close-mid vowel Template:IPAblink, and e is open-mid vowel Template:IPA.
The vocative of diminutive nouns with the suffix -(i)ukas most frequently has no ending: broliùk "brother!", etc. A less frequent alternative is the ending -ai, which is also slightly dialectal: broliùkai, etc.
Colloquially, some personal names with a masculine -(i)(j)o stem and diminutives with the suffixes -elis, -ėlis have an alternative vocative singular form characterized by a zero ending (i.e. the stem alone acts as the voc. sg.): Adõm "Adam!" in addition to Adõmai, Mýkol "Michael!" in addition to Mýkolai, vaikẽl "kid!" in addition to vaikẽli, etc.
Celtic languages
[edit]Goidelic languages
[edit]Irish
[edit]The vocative case in Irish operates in a similar fashion to Scottish Gaelic. The principal marker is the vocative particle Template:Lang, which causes lenition of the following initial letter.
In the singular there is no special form, except for first declension nouns. These are masculine nouns that end in a broad (non-palatal) consonant, which is made slender (palatal) to build the singular vocative (as well as the singular genitive and plural nominative). Adjectives are also lenited. In many cases this means that (in the singular) masculine vocative expressions resemble the genitive and feminine vocative expressions resemble the nominative.
The vocative plural is usually the same as the nominative plural except, again, for first declension nouns. In the standard language first declension nouns show the vocative plural by adding Template:Lang. In the spoken dialects the vocative plural is often has the same form as the nominative plural (as with the nouns of other declensions) or the dative plural (e.g. Template:Lang = Men!)
| Gender | Masculine | Feminine | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Nominative | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang |
| Genitive | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | |
| Vocative | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | |
| Pl. | Nominative | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | ||
| Genitive | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | |||
| Vocative | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | Template:Lang | |||
| English | the big man | the big boy | John | the big woman | the big sister | Mary | |
Scottish Gaelic
[edit]The vocative case in Scottish Gaelic follows the same basic pattern as Irish. The vocative case causes lenition of the initial consonant of nouns. Lenition changes the initial sound of the word (or name).
In addition, masculine nouns are slenderized if possible (that is, in writing, an 'i' is inserted before the final consonant) This also changes the pronunciation of the word.
Also, the particle Template:Lang is placed before the noun unless it begins with a vowel (or f followed immediately by a vowel, which becomes silent when lenited). Examples of the use of the vocative personal names (as in Irish):
The name "Hamish" is just the English spelling of Template:Lang (the vocative of Template:Lang and pronounced Template:IPA), and thus is actually a Gaelic vocative. Likewise, the name "Vairi" is an English spelling of Template:Lang, the vocative for Template:Lang.
Manx
[edit]The basic pattern is similar to Irish and Scottish. The vocative is confined to personal names, in which it is common. Foreign names (not of Manx origin) are not used in the vocative. The vocative case causes lenition of the initial consonant of names. It can be used with the particle "Template:Lang".
| Nominative case | Vocative case |
|---|---|
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang |
The name Template:Lang is actually the Manx vocative of Template:Lang (Mary).
Brythonic languages
[edit]Welsh
[edit]
Welsh lacks case declension but marks vocative constructions by lenition of the initial consonant of the word, with no obligatory particle. Despite its use being less common, it is still used in formal address: the common phrase Template:Lang means "gentlemen and ladies", with the initial consonant of Template:Lang undergoing a soft mutation; the same is true of Template:Lang ("[dear] friends") in which Template:Lang has been lenited. It is often used to draw attention to at public notices orally and written – teachers will say "Template:Lang" (mutation of Template:Lang Template:Gloss) and signage such as one right show mutation of Template:Lang Template:Gloss to draw attention to the importance of the notice.
Germanic languages
[edit]English
[edit]Template:See also Template:Wiktionary
The vocative is not a grammatical case in English. Expressions for which the vocative would be used in languages which have that case, are nominative in English. In translations of languages that use the vocative case, translators have added the particle "O" before the noun, as is often seen in the King James Version of the Bible: for example the Greek ὀλιγόπιστοι, vocative masculine plural, (in Matthew 8:26) is translated "O ye of little faith". While it is not strictly archaic, it is sometimes used to "archaeise" speech; it is often seen as very formal, and sees use in rhetoric and poetry, or as a comedic device to subvert modern speech. Another example is the recurrent use of the phrase "O (my) Best Beloved" by Rudyard Kipling in his Just So Stories. The use of O may be considered a form of clitic and should not be confused with the interjection oh.<ref>The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003), Template:ISBN, s. 5.197.</ref> However, as the Oxford English Dictionary points out, "O" and "oh" were originally used interchangeably.
Modern English commonly uses the objective case for vocative expressions but sets them off from the rest of the sentences with pauses as interjections, rendered in writing as commas (the vocative comma<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>). Two common examples of vocative expressions in English are the phrases "Mr. President" and "Madam Chairwoman".Template:Clarify
Some traditional texts use Jesu, the Latin vocative form of Jesus. One of the best-known examples is Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
German dialects
[edit]In some German dialects, like the Ripuarian dialect of Cologne, it is common to use the (gender-appropriate) article before a person's name. In the vocative phrase then the article is, as in Venetian and Catalan, omitted. Thus, the determiner precedes nouns in all cases except the vocative. Any noun not preceded by an article or other determiner is in the vocative case. It is most often used to address someone or some group of living beings, usually in conjunction with an imperative construct. It can also be used to address dead matter as if the matter could react or to tell something astonishing or just happening such as "Your nose is dripping."
Colognian examples:
| Template:Lang | There is Paul. Paul, come over [please]! |
| Template:Lang | O [my] dear coffee pot, you are dripping! |
| Template:Lang | "Horses, run away!" And the horses are running away. |
Icelandic
[edit]The vocative case generally does not appear in Icelandic, but a few words retain an archaic vocative declension from Latin, such as the word Template:Lang, which is Template:Lang in the vocative. That comes from Latin, as the Latin for Jesus in the nominative is Template:Lang and its vocative is Template:Lang. That is also the case in traditional English (without the accent) (see above): Template:Wiktionary
| Nominative | Template:Lang | Jesus loves you. |
|---|---|---|
| Vocative | Template:Lang | O Jesus, our saviour. |
The native words Template:Lang Template:Gloss and Template:Lang Template:Gloss also sometimes appear in the shortened forms Template:Lang and Template:Lang in vocative phrases. Additionally, adjectives in vocative phrases are always weakly declined, but elsewhere with proper nouns, they would usually be declined strongly:
| strong adjective, full noun | Template:Lang | A dear friend is better than gold. |
|---|---|---|
| weak adjective, shortened noun | Template:Lang | Dear friend, tell me a story. |
Norwegian
[edit]Nouns in Norwegian are not inflected for the vocative case, but adjectives qualifying those nouns are; adjectival adjuncts modifying vocative nouns are inflected for the definite (see: Norwegian language#Adjectives).<ref name=Halmøy>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The definite and plural inflections are in most cases identical, so it is more easily observable with adjectives that inflect for plural and definite differently, e.g. Template:Lang being Template:Lang when definite, but Template:Lang when plural, an instance of suppletion.<ref name=Halmøy />Template:Rp
| Non-vocative | Vocative | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | dear friend |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | wise man |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | little cat |
In several Norwegian dialects, north of an isogloss running from Oslo to Bergen, names in argument position are associated with proprial articles, e.g. gendered pronouns such as Template:Lang Template:Gloss or Template:Lang Template:Gloss, which either precede or follow the noun in question.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This is not the case when in vocative constructions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Greek
[edit]In Ancient Greek, the vocative case is usually identical to the nominative case, with the exception of first-declension masculine nouns (ending in -ας or -ης), second-declension non-neuter nouns (ending in -ος) and third-declension non-neuter nouns.
In the first declension, masculines in -ᾱς have the vocative in -ᾱ (νεᾱνίᾱ); those in -της have -ᾰ (πολῖτα), all others in -ης have -η (Ἀτρείδη) except names of nations and compounds: Πέρσᾰ, Σκύθᾰ, γεω-μέτρᾰ, παιδο-τρίβᾰ. Template:Lang has a recessive accent vocative Template:Lang. Second-declension masculine and feminine nouns have a regular vocative ending in -ε. Third-declension nouns with one syllable ending in -ς have a vocative that is identical to the nominative (Template:Lang, night); otherwise, the stem (with necessary alterations, such as dropping final consonants) serves as the vocative (nom. Template:Lang, voc. Template:Lang; nom. Template:Lang, gen. Template:Lang, voc. Template:Lang). Irregular vocatives exist as well, such as nom. Σωκράτης, voc. Σώκρατες.
In Modern Greek, second-declension masculine nouns still have a vocative ending in -ε. However, the accusative case is often used as a vocative in informal speech for a limited number of nouns, and always used for certain modern Greek person names: "Template:Lang" "Come here, Christos" instead of "Template:Lang". Other nominal declensions use the same form in the vocative as the accusative in formal or informal speech, with the exception of learned Katharevousa forms that are inherited from Ancient Greek Template:Lang (Demotic Template:Lang, "Greek man"), which have the same nominative and vocative forms instead.<ref>Holton, David, Irene Philippaki-Warburton, and Peter A. Mackridge, Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Language (Routledge, London and New York:1997), pp. 49–50 Template:ISBN</ref>
Iranian languages
[edit]Kurdish
[edit]Kurdish has a vocative case. For instance, in the dialect of Kurmanji, it is created by adding the suffix Template:Lang at the end of masculine words and the Template:Lang suffix at the end of feminine ones. In the Jafi dialect of Sorani it is created by adding the suffix of Template:Transliteration at the end of names.
Instead of the vocative case, forms of address may be created by using the grammatical particles Template:Lang (feminine) and Template:Lang (masculine):
| Name | Vocative |
|---|---|
| Template:Lang (f) | Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang (m) | Template:Lang |
Indo-Aryan languages
[edit]Hindi-Urdu
[edit]In Hindi-Urdu (Hindustani), the vocative case has the same form as the nominative case for all singular nouns except for the singular masculine nouns that terminate in the vowel Template:Lang Template:IPAslink Template:Transliteration and for all nouns in their plural forms the vocative case is always distinct from the nominative case.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite book</ref> Adjectives in Hindi-Urdu also have a vocative case form. In the absence of a noun argument, some adjectives decline like masculine nouns that do not end in Template:Lang Template:IPAslink Template:Transliteration.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The vocative case has many similarities with the oblique case in Hindustani.
| Noun Classes | Singular | Plural | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Vocative | Nominative | Vocative | |||
| Masculine | ending in Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | boy | |
| not ending in Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | human | |||
| Feminine | ending in Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | girl | |
| not ending in Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | mother | ||
| Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | bird | |||
| Adjective Classes | Singular | Plural | English | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Vocative | Nominative | Vocative | ||||
| Declinable | masculine | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | bad | |||
| feminine | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | ||||||
| Undeclinable (not ending in Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration in nominative singular) | masculine | with noun | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | fool | |||
| feminine | |||||||
| masculine | sans noun | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | Template:Lang Template:Transliteration | ||||
| feminine | |||||||
Sanskrit
[edit]In Sanskrit, the vocative (Template:Lang Template:Transliteration) has the same form as the nominative except in the singular. In vowel-stem nouns, if there is a Template:Transliteration in the nominative, it is omitted and the stem vowel may be altered: Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration become Template:Transliteration, Template:Transliteration becomes Template:Transliteration, Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration become short and Template:Transliteration becomes Template:Transliteration. Consonant-stem nouns have no ending in the vocative:
The vocative form is the same as the nominative except in the masculine and feminine singular.
Slavic languages
[edit]Old Church Slavonic
[edit]Old Church Slavonic has a distinct vocative case for many stems of singular masculine and feminine nouns, otherwise it is identical to the nominative. When different from the nominative, the vocative is simply formed from the nominative by appending either Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss) or Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss), but occasionally Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss, Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss, Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss) and Template:Gloss (Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss, Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss, Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss, Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss) appear. Nouns ending with Template:Transliteration have a vocative ending of Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss, Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss), likewise nouns ending with Template:Transliteration assume the vocative suffix Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration : Template:Transliteration Template:Gloss). This is similar to Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, and Sanskrit, which also employ the -e suffix in vocatives.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Bulgarian
[edit]Unlike most other Slavic languages, Bulgarian has lost case marking for nouns. However, Bulgarian preserves vocative forms. Traditional male names usually have a vocative ending.
More-recent names and foreign names may have a vocative form but it is rarely used (Template:Lang, instead of simply Template:Lang Richard, sounds unusual or humorous to native speakers).
Vocative phrases like Template:Lang (Mr. Minister) have been almost completely replaced by nominative forms, especially in official writing. Proper nouns usually also have vocative forms, but they are used less frequently. Here are some proper nouns that are frequently used in vocative:
Vocative case forms also normally exist for female given names:
Except for forms that end in -Template:Lang, they are considered rude and are normally avoided. For female kinship terms, the vocative is always used:
Czech
[edit]In Czech, the vocative (Template:Lang, or Template:Lang – Template:Gloss) usually differs from the nominative in masculine and feminine nouns in the singular.
In older common Czech (19th century), vocative form was sometimes replaced by nominative form in case of female names (Template:Lang) and in case of male nouns past a title (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang). This phenomenon was caused mainly by the German influence,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and almost disappeared from the modern Czech. It can be felt as rude, discourteous or uncultivated, or as familiar, and is associated also with Slovakian influence (from the Czechoslovak Army) or Russian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In informal speech, it is common (but grammatically incorrect<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) to use the male surname (see also Czech name) in the nominative to address men: pane Novák! instead of pane Nováku! (Female surnames are adjectives, and their nominative and vocative have the same form: see Czech declension.) Using the vocative is strongly recommended in official and written styles.
Polish
[edit]In Polish, the vocative (Template:Lang) is formed with feminine nouns usually taking Template:Lang except those that end in Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang, which take Template:Lang, and those that end in Template:Lang, which take Template:Lang. Masculine nouns generally follow the complex pattern of the locative case, with the exception of a handful of words such as Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss and Template:Lang Template:Gloss. Neuter nouns and all plural nouns have the same form in the nominative and the vocative:
The latter form of the vocative of Template:Lang Template:Gloss is now considered poetical.
The nominative is increasingly used instead of the vocative to address people with their proper names. In other contexts the vocative remains prevalent. It is used:
- To address an individual with the function, title, other attribute, family role
- Template:Lang (Doctor!), Template:Lang (Chairman!)
- Template:Lang (You arrive too late, swimmer)
- Template:Lang (son), Template:Lang (mum), Template:Lang (dad)
- After adjectives, demonstrative pronouns and possessive pronouns
- Template:Lang (You don't understand me, my dear Basia!)
- To address an individual in an offensive or condescending manner:
- Template:Lang ("Shut up, you buffoon!")
- Template:Lang ("What are you staring at, idiot?")
- Template:Lang ("Stop writing, idiot, you don't know what you're doing!")
- Template:Lang ("Get lost, hillbilly!")
- After "Ty" (second person singular pronoun)
- Template:Lang (You liar!)
- Set expressions:
The vocative is also often employed in affectionate and endearing contexts such as Template:Lang ("I love you, Chris!") or Template:Lang ("I miss you, my wife."). In addition, the vocative form sometimes takes the place of the nominative in informal conversations: Template:Lang instead of Template:Lang ("Joey's arrived"). When referring to someone by their first name, the nominative commonly takes the place of the vocative as well: Template:Lang instead of Template:Lang ("Anne, come here!").
Russian
[edit]Historic vocative
[edit]The historic Slavic vocative has been lost in Russian and is now used only in archaic expressions. Several of them, mostly of Old Church Slavonic origin, are common in colloquial Russian: "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, vocative of "Template:Lang" Template:Transliteration, "God") and "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, "My God!"), and "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, vocative of "Template:Lang" Template:Transliteration, "Lord"), which can also be expressed as "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, Template:Transliteration vocative of "Template:Lang" Template:Transliteration, "Jesus"). The vocative is also used in prayers: "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, "Our Father!"), or the Russian version of the Jesus Prayer ("Господи Иисусе Христе"). Such expressions are used to express strong emotions (much like English "O my God!"), and are often combined ("Template:Lang"). More examples of the historic vocative can be found in other Biblical quotes that are sometimes used as proverbs: "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, "Physician, heal thyself", nom. "Template:Lang", Template:Transliteration). Vocative forms are also used in modern Church Slavonic. The patriarch and bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church are addressed as "Template:Lang" (Template:Transliteration, hegemon, nom. "Template:Lang", Template:Transliteration). In the latter case, the vocative is often also incorrectly used for the nominative to refer to bishops and patriarchs. These Old Church Slavonic words that are present in the current Russian language are known as "fossil words".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
New vocative
[edit]In modern colloquial Russian, given names and a small family of terms often take a special "shortened" form that some linguists consider to be a re-emerging vocative case.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is used only for given names and nouns that end in Template:Lang and Template:Lang, which are sometimes dropped in the vocative form: "Template:Lang" ("Lena, where are you?"). It is basically equivalent to "Template:Lang" but suggests a positive personal and emotional bond between the speaker and the person being addressed. Names that end in Template:Lang then acquire a soft sign: "Template:Lang" = "Template:Lang" ("Olga!"). In addition to given names, the form is often used with words like "Template:Lang" (mom) and "Template:Lang" (dad), which would be respectively shortened to "Template:Lang" and "Template:Lang". The plural form is used with words such as "Template:Lang", "Template:Lang" (nom: "Template:Lang", "Template:Lang" guys, gals).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Such usage differs from the historic vocative, which would be "Template:Lang" and is not related.
Serbo-Croatian
[edit]In Serbo-Croatian languages, distinct vocatives exist only for singular masculine and feminine nouns. Nouns of the neuter gender and all nouns in plural have a vocative equal to the nominative. All vocative suffixes known from Old Church Slavonic also exist in Serbo-Croatian.<ref name="gramatika1997">Template:Cite book</ref>
The vocative in Serbo-Croatian is formed according to one of three types of declension, which are classes of nouns with the same declension suffixes.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
First declension
[edit]The first declension comprises masculine nouns that end with a consonant. These have a vocative suffix of either Template:Lang (Template:Lang Template:Gloss) or Template:Lang (Template:Lang Template:Gloss).
Nouns terminating in Template:Lang have the Template:Lang vocative suffix: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, as well as nouns possessing an unsteady Template:Lang: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, and the noun Template:Lang Template:Gloss. All other nouns in this class form the vocative with Template:Lang: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss.
In particular, masculine nouns ending with a palatal or prepalatal consonant Template:Lang or Template:Lang form vocatives with the Template:Lang suffix: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss.
Nouns ending with the velars Template:Lang and Template:Lang are palatalized to Template:Lang in the vocative: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss. A final Template:Lang becomes Template:Lang in the vocative: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss. Likewise, a final Template:Lang becomes Template:Lang in only two cases: Template:Lang Template:Gloss and Template:Lang Template:Gloss.
The loss of the unsteady Template:Lang can trigger a sound change by hardening consonants, as in Template:Lang Template:Gloss (not Template:Lang), Template:Lang Template:Gloss (not Template:Lang) and Template:Lang Template:Gloss (not Template:Lang). There may be a loss of Template:Lang before Template:Lang like in Template:Lang Template:Gloss (instead of Template:Lang), Template:Lang Template:Gloss (instead of Template:Lang). When these phonetic alterations would substantially change the base noun, the vocative remains equal to the nominative, for example Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss. This also holds true for foreign names ending with Template:Lang and Template:Lang like Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang.
Male names ending with Template:Lang and Template:Lang have a vocative equal to the nominative, for example: Template:Lang.
Second declension
[edit]The second declension affects nouns with the ending Template:Lang. These are mainly of feminine but sometimes also of masculine gender. These nouns have a vocative suffix Template:Lang: Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss.
Exemptions to this rule are male and female given names, which have a vocative equal to the nominative, e. g. Template:Lang etc. However, this is different for twosyllabic names with an ascending accent such as female names Template:Lang and male names Template:Lang, etc., which form vocatives with Template:Lang: Template:Lang, etc.
Denominations of relatives like Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss (parent's sister), Template:Lang Template:Gloss (mother's brother's wife), Template:Lang Template:Gloss (father's brother's wife) have vocatives equal to the nominative. This also holds true for country names ending in Template:Lang.
Nouns ending with the diminutive suffix -ica that consist of three or more syllables have a vocative with -e: učiteljica: učiteljice "female teacher", drugarica: drugarice "girlfriend", tatica: tatice "daddy", mamica: mamice "mommy". This also applies to female names Danica: Danice, Milica: Milice, Zorica: Zorice, and the male names Perica: Perice, Tomica: Tomice. Nouns of this class that can be applied to both males and females usually have a vocative ending of -ico (pijanica: pijanico "drunkard", izdajica: izdajico "traitor", kukavica: kukavico "coward"), but vocatives with -ice are also seen.
The use of vocative endings for names varies among Serbo-Croatian dialects. People in Croatia often use only nominative forms as vocatives, while others are more likely to use grammatical vocatives.<ref name="osobnaimena">Template:Cite web</ref>
Third declension
[edit]The third declension affects feminine nouns ending with a consonant. The vocative is formed by appending the suffix Template:Lang to the nominative (Template:Lang Template:Gloss, Template:Lang Template:Gloss).
Slovak
[edit]Until the end of the 1980s, the existence of a distinct vocative case in Slovak was recognised and taught at schools. Today, the case is no longer considered to exist except for a few archaic examples of the original vocative remaining in religious, literary or ironic contexts:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation | Nominative | Vocative | Translation | Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | God | Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | Jesus | Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang | mother |
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | Christ | Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | friend | Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang | woman |
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | lord | Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang, Template:Lang | brother | |||
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | father | Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang, Template:Lang | son | |||
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | man, human | ||||||
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | man | ||||||
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | boy |
In everyday use, the Czech vocative is sometimes retrofitted to certain words:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | maestro |
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | boss |
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | brother-in-law |
Another stamp of vernacular vocative is emerging, presumably under the influence of Hungarian for certain family members or proper names:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | father |
| Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang | mother |
| Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang | grandmother, old woman |
| Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang | Paul, domestic form |
| Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang | Susan, domestic form |
Ukrainian
[edit]Ukrainian has retained the vocative case mostly as it was in Proto-Slavic:<ref>Methodical instructions for learning vocative case in Ukrainian professional speech</ref>
There are some exceptions:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang Template:Lang | mother |
| Template:Lang Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang Template:Lang | God's Mother |
It is used even for loanwords and foreign names:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang Template:Lang | John |
| Template:Lang Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang Template:Lang | Mr. President |
It is obligatory for all native names:
| Masculine | Feminine | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Vocative | Nominative | Vocative |
| Template:Lang Template:Lang | Template:Lang Template:Lang | Template:Lang Template:Lang | Template:Lang Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang Template:Lang | Template:Lang Template:Lang | Template:Lang Template:Lang | Template:Lang Template:Lang |
It is used for patronymics:
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| Template:Lang Template:Lang m. | Template:Lang Template:Lang |
| Template:Lang Template:Lang f. | Template:Lang Template:Lang |
Latin
[edit]
In Latin, the form of the vocative case of a noun is often the same as the nominative. Exceptions include singular non-neuter second-declension nouns that end in Template:Lang in the nominative case. An example would be the famous line from Shakespeare, "Template:Lang" (commonly translated as "And you, Brutus?"): Template:Lang is the vocative case and Template:Lang would be the nominative.
Nouns that end in Template:Lang end with Template:Lang instead of the expected Template:Lang. Thus, Template:Lang becomes Template:Lang and Template:Lang becomes Template:Lang. The shortening does not shift the accent so the vocative of Template:Lang is Template:Lang, with accent on the second syllable even though it is short. Nouns that end in Template:Lang and Template:Lang have vocatives that end in Template:Lang or Template:Lang even though the Template:Lang in the nominative is consonantal.
First-declension and second-declension adjectives also have distinct vocative forms in the masculine singular if the nominative ends in Template:Lang, with the ending Template:Lang. Adjectives that end in Template:Lang have vocatives in Template:Lang so the vocative of Template:Lang is Template:Lang.
Nouns and adjectives that end in Template:Lang do not follow the rules above. Template:Lang forms the vocative irregularly as Template:Lang or Template:Lang, while Christian Template:Lang does not have a distinct vocative and retains the form Template:Lang. "My God!" in Latin is thus Template:Lang, but Jerome's Vulgate consistently used Template:Lang as a vocative. Classical Latin did not use a vocative of Template:Lang either (in reference to pagan gods, the Romans used the suppletive form Template:Lang).
Romance languages
[edit]West Iberian languages
[edit]Portuguese drops the article to form the vocative. The vocative is always between commas and, like in many other languages, a particle Ó is commonly used:
| Template:Lang | O Jesus, help us! |
| Template:Lang | Boy, come here! |
| Template:Lang | Don't do that, [my] friend. |
In Extremaduran and Fala, some post-tonical vowels open in vocative forms of nouns, a new development that is unrelated to the Latin vocative case.
Catalan
[edit]Catalan drops the article to form the vocative.
French
[edit]Like English, French sometimes uses (or historically used) a particle Ô to mark vocative phrases rather than by change to the form of the noun. A famous example is the title and first line of the Canadian national anthem, O Canada (French title: Ô Canada), a vocative phrase addressing Canada.
Romanian
[edit]The vocative case in Romanian is partly inherited, occasionally causing other morphophonemic changes (see also the article on Romanian nouns):
- singular masculine/neuter: Template:Lang as in
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (man, human being),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang or Template:Lang (boy),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (cousin),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (John);
- singular feminine: Template:Lang as in
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (sister),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (mad woman), also in masculine (Template:Lang)
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (smart one (f), often used sarcastically),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (Helen);
Since there is no -o vocative in Latin, it must have been borrowed from Slavic: compare the corresponding Bulgarian forms Template:Lang (Template:Lang), Template:Lang (Template:Lang), Template:Lang (Template:Lang).
- plural, all genders: Template:Lang as in
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (brothers),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (oxen, used toward people as an invective),
- Template:Lang: Template:Lang (ladies and gentlemen).
In formal speech, the vocative often simply copies the nominative/accusative form even when it does have its own form. That is because the vocative is often perceived as very direct and so can seem rude.
Romanesco dialect
[edit]In Romanesco dialect the vocative case appears as a regular truncation immediately after the stress.
Compare (vocative, always truncated)
- France', vie' qua!
- "Francesco/Francesca, come here!"
with (nominative, never truncated)
- Francesco/Francesca viene qua
- "Francesco/Francesca comes here"
Venetian
[edit]Venetian has lost all case endings, like most other Romance languages. However, with feminine proper names the role of the vocative is played by the absence of the determiner: the personal article Template:Lang usually precedes feminine names in other situations, even in predicates. Masculine names and other nouns lack articles and so rely on prosody to mark forms of address:
| Case | Fem. proper name | Masc. proper name and other nouns |
|---|---|---|
| Nom./Acc. | Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
| Vocative | Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
Predicative constructions:
| Case | Fem. proper name | Masc. proper name and other nouns |
|---|---|---|
| Pred. | Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
| Vocative | Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
Template:Lang Template:Gloss |
Arabic
[edit]Template:Wiktionary Properly speaking, Arabic has only three cases: nominative, accusative and genitive. However, a meaning similar to that conveyed by the vocative case in other languages is indicated by the use of the particle yā (Template:Langx) placed before a noun inflected in the nominative case (or accusative if the noun is in construct form). In English translations, it is often translated literally as O instead of being omitted.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A longer form used in Classical Arabic is Template:Lang Template:Transliteration (masculine), Template:Lang Template:Transliteration (feminine), sometimes combined with yā. The particle yā was also used in the old Castilian language because of Arabic influence via Mozarabic immigrations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Mandarin
[edit]Mandarin uses no special inflected forms for address. However, special forms and morphemes (that are not inflections) exist for addressing.
Mandarin has several particles that can be attached to the word of address to mark certain special vocative forces, where appropriate. A common one is 啊(Template:Lang-zh) attached to the end of the address word. For example, 日记(Template:Lang-zh) "diary" becomes 日记啊 (Template:Lang-zh).
Certain specialized vocative morphemes also exist, albeit with limited applicabilities. For instance, the Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese, to express strong feelings (especially negative ones) to someone, a neutral tone suffix -ei may be attached to certain address words. It is most commonly applied to the word Template:Lang (sūnzi, "grandson"), to form sūnzei, meaning approximately "Hey you nasty one!". Another example is Template:Lang (xiǎozi, lit. "kid; young one"), resulting in xiǎozei "Hey kiddo!".
Japanese
[edit]Template:See also The vocative case is present in Japanese as the particle Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This usage is often literary or poetic. For example:
| Template:Lang Template:Transliteration |
O Rain! Please change to snow! |
| Template:Lang Template:Transliteration |
Workers of the world, unite! |
| Template:Lang Template:Transliteration |
Young boy, become a legend! |
In conversational Japanese, this same particle is often used at the end of a sentence to indicate assertiveness, certainty or emphasis.
Georgian
[edit]In Georgian, the vocative case is used to address the second-person singular and plural. For word roots that end with a consonant, the vocative case suffix is -o, and for the words that end with a vowel, it is -v like in Old Georgian, but for some words, it is considered archaic. For example, kats- is the root for the word "man". If one addresses someone with the word, it becomes katso.
Adjectives are also declined in the vocative case. Just like nouns, consonant final stem adjectives take the suffix -o in the vocative case, and the vowel final stems are not changed:
- lamazi kali "beautiful woman" (nominative case)
- lamazo kalo! "beautiful woman!" (vocative case)
In the second phrase, both the adjective and the noun are declined. The personal pronouns are also used in the vocative case. Shen "you" (singular) and tkven "you" (plural) in the vocative case become she! and tkve, without the -n. Therefore, one could, for instance, say, with the declension of all of the elements:
She lamazo kalo! "you beautiful woman!"
Korean
[edit]The vocative case in Korean is commonly used with first names in casual situations by using the vocative case marker Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) if the name ends in a consonant and Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) if the name ends with a vowel:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear
In formal Korean, the marker Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) or Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) is used, the latter if the root ends with a consonant. Thus, a quotation of William S. Clark would be translated as follows:
The honorific infix Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) is inserted in between the Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) and Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration).
In Middle Korean, there were three honorific classes of the vocative case:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
| Form | 하 | 아/야 | 여/이여 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honorific | High | Plain | Low with added nuance of exclamation |
Hungarian
[edit]Hungarian has a number of vocative-like constructions, even though it lacks an explicit vocative inflection.
Noun phrases in a vocative context always take the zero article.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> While noun phrases can take zero articles for other reasons, the lack of an article otherwise expected marks a vocative construction. This is especially prominent in dialects of Hungarian where personal proper names and other personal animate nouns tend to take the appropriate definite article, similarly to certain dialects of German detailed above. For example:
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| Template:Lang Oliver is still chatting. |
Template:Lang Oliver, come over here. |
| Template:Lang Might have pour'd the full tide of a patriot's heart. |
Template:Lang Patriot, why do you yearn on these ruins?<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
| Template:Lang Love is wonderful. |
Template:Lang O Love, look what you have done! |
| Template:Lang For the love of God! |
Template:Lang God, bless the Hungarians! |
With certain words such as Template:Lang ("friend"), Template:Lang ("lady"), Template:Lang ("gentleman, lord"), vocation is, in addition to the zero article, always<ref name="mikszath">Template:Cite journal</ref> marked by the first person possessive:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| Template:Lang The ladies and the gentlemen have arrived to the nobility's ball. |
Template:Lang (My) Ladies and (my) gentlemen, let the dancing begin! |
| Template:Lang Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. |
Template:Lang I will exalt you, O (my) Lord, for you lifted me out of the depth! |
| Template:Lang A friend always helps out. Template:Lang My friend is young. |
Template:Lang Could you help out, (my) friend? |
Words like Template:Lang ("sibling, brother") and other words of relation do not require the first person possessive, but it is readily used in common speech, especially in familiar contexts:
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| Template:Lang The siblings walked to the shop. |
Template:Lang / Template:Lang (My) dear brothers (and sisters)! |
| Template:Lang I'm going to dad. |
Template:Lang / Template:Lang Dad, how are you? |
The second-person pronoun<ref name="mikszath" /> can be used to emphasize a vocation when appropriate: Template:Lang ("Why did you not give it to him, you fool?"), Template:Lang ("Charlie, have you seen my glasses?"), Template:Lang ("You shall yet hang for this, crooks!"), etc.
References
[edit]- Eleanor Dickey: Greek forms of address. From Herodotus to Lucian. Clarendon, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-19-815054-7.
- Eleanor Dickey: Latin forms of address. From Plautus to Apuleius. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002, ISBN 0-19-924287-9.
- Espinal, Teresa M. 2013. On the structure of vocatives. In Barbara Sonnenhauser & Patrizia Noel Aziz Hanna (eds.). Vocative! Addressing between system and performance. Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs 261, 109-132 Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110304176.109
- Virginia Hill: Vocatives. How Syntax meets with Pragmatics. Brill, Leiden 2014, ISBN 978-90-04-26079-5.
- Hill, Virginia. 2007. “Vocatives and the pragmatics–syntax interface”. In: Lingua 117.12, pp. 2077–2105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2007.01.002.
- Ladd, Robert D. (1978). “Stylized intonation”. In: Language 54.3, pp. 517–540. DOI:http://www.jstor.org/stable/412785.
- Leech, Geoffrey N. 1999. “The distribution and function of vocatives in American and British English conversation”. In: Out of corpora. Ed. by Hilde Hasselgård and Signe Oksefjell. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 107–118.
- Maché, Jakob. 2025. “The diversity of vocative formation across languages” In: Catalan Journal of Linguistics 24.1, pp. 211–271. DOI:https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/catjl.475.
- Portner, Paul. 2007a. “Imperatives and modals”. In: Natural Language Semantics 15.4, pp. 351–383. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11050-007-9022-y.
- Portner, Paul. 2007b. “Instructions for interpretations as separate performatives”. In: On Information Structure, Meaning and Form. Ed. by Kerstin Schwabe and Susanne Winkler. John Benjamins, pp. 407–426. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1075/la.100.22por
- Stavrou, Melita. 2013. “About the Vocative”. In: The Nominal Structure in Slavic and Beyond. Ed. by Lilia Schürks, Anastasia Giannakidou, and Urtzi Etxeberria. Studies in Generative Grammar 116. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 299–342. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614512790.299.
- Zwicky, Arnold. 1974. ““Hey, Whatsyourname””. In: Papers from the Tenth Regional Meeting, Chicago Linguistic Society. April 19–21, 1974. Ed. by Michael La Galy,Robert A. Fox, and Bruck Anthony. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society, pp. 787–801. URL: https://web.stanford.edu/~zwicky/hey-whatsyourname.pdf.