Vocative case
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In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated voc) 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 noun of address 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 noun of address 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".
As observed by Zwicky, vocative case is used to express at least two functions: (i) as a call aimed to attract the attention of an unratified overhearer, as (ii) address to maintain and perform the social relation towards the hearer.[1][2][3]
Some authors including Gutzmann assume that so-called expressive vocatives are further distinct vocative function.[4]
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, Modern Greek and most Slavic languages. Some linguists, such as Albert Thumb, argue that the vocative form is not a case but a special form of nouns not belonging to any case, as nouns of address are not related syntactically to other words in sentences.[5] Pronouns usually lack vocative forms.
Indo-European languages
Comparison
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 lupusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text and the vocative case is lupeCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text, but the accusative case is lupumCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text. 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.
Vocative singulars in Slavic languages appear to be irregular as a consequence of the Slavic first palatalization, which caused *k, *g and *x, when followed by an *e (as in the vocative suffix), to become č, ž, and š, respectively. Some modern Slavic languages have replaced these forms with a more regular vocative ending, so for example in Czech the usual masculine animate vocative is -e, except for roots ending in velar consonants, where it is now usually -u (e.g. chlapCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text > chlapeCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text, but vlkCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text > vlkuCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text). This is an instance of the paradigmatic complexity introduced into Slavic by successive waves of palatalisation, with some languages retaining more complex or irregular paradigms (such as Czech), and others tending towards simplification and regularization (such as Russian, which has lost the vocative as a productive case entirely).
Baltic languages
Lithuanian
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".
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 /ɛ/Category:Pages with plain IPA in vocative. In pronunciation, ė is close-mid vowel [eː], and e is open-mid vowel /ɛ/Category:Pages with plain 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
Goidelic languages
Irish
The vocative case in Irish operates in a similar fashion to Scottish Gaelic. The principal marker is the vocative particle aCategory:Articles containing Irish-language text, 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 vocatives resemble the genitive and feminine vocatives 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 -aCategory:Articles containing Irish-language text. In the spoken dialects, the vocative plural often has the same form as the nominative plural (as with the nouns of other declensions) or the dative plural (e.g. A fhearaibh!Category:Articles containing Irish-language text = Men!).
Scottish Gaelic
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 aCategory:Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text 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 SheumaisCategory:Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text (the vocative of SeumasCategory:Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text and pronounced ˈheːmɪʃCategory:Pages with plain IPA), and thus is actually a Gaelic vocative. Likewise, the name "Vairi" is an English spelling of MhàiriCategory:Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text, the vocative for MàiriCategory:Articles containing Scottish Gaelic-language text.
Manx
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 "yCategory:Articles containing Manx-language text".
The name VoirreyCategory:Articles containing Manx-language text is actually the Manx vocative of MoirreyCategory:Articles containing Manx-language text (Mary).
Brythonic languages
Welsh
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 foneddigion a boneddigesauCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text means "gentlemen and ladies", with the initial consonant of boneddigionCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text undergoing a soft mutation; the same is true of gyfeillionCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text ("[dear] friends") in which cyfeillionCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text has been lenited. It is often used to draw attention to at public notices orally and written – teachers will say "BlantCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text" (mutation of plantCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text 'children') and signage such as one right show mutation of myfyrwyrCategory:Articles containing Welsh-language text 'students' to draw attention to the importance of the notice.
Germanic languages
English
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 sometimes 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. O may be considered a form of clitic and should not be confused with the interjection oh.[6] However, as the Oxford English Dictionary points out, "O" and "oh" were originally used interchangeably.
Modern English commonly uses the objective case for nouns of address but sets them off from the rest of the sentences with pauses as interjections, rendered in writing as commas (the vocative comma[7][8]). Two common examples of nouns of address in English are the phrases "Mr. President" and "Madam Chairwoman".Category:Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2024[clarification needed]
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
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:
| Do es der Päul — Päul, kumm ens erövver!Category:Articles containing Kölsch-language text | There is Paul. Paul, come over [please]! |
| Och do leeven Kaffepott, do bes jo am dröppe!Category:Articles containing Kölsch-language text | O [my] dear coffee pot, you are dripping! |
| „Pääde, jooht loufe!“ Un di Pääde jonn loufe.Category:Articles containing Kölsch-language text | "Horses, run away!" And the horses are running away. |
Icelandic
The vocative case generally does not appear in Icelandic, but a few words retain an archaic vocative declension from Latin, such as the word JesúsCategory:Articles containing Icelandic-language text, which is JesúCategory:Articles containing Icelandic-language text in the vocative. That comes from Latin, as the Latin for Jesus in the nominative is JesusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text and its vocative is JesuCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text. That is also the case in traditional English (without the accent) (see above):
| Nominative | Jesús elskar þig.Category:Articles containing Icelandic-language text | Jesus loves you. |
|---|---|---|
| Vocative | Ó Jesú, frelsari okkar.Category:Articles containing Icelandic-language text | O Jesus, our saviour. |
The native words sonurCategory:Articles containing Icelandic-language text 'son' and vinurCategory:Articles containing Icelandic-language text 'friend' also sometimes appear in the shortened forms sonCategory:Articles containing Icelandic-language text and vinCategory:Articles containing Icelandic-language text 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 | Kær vinur er gulli betri.Category:Articles containing Icelandic-language text | A dear friend is better than gold. |
|---|---|---|
| weak adjective, shortened noun | Kæri vin, segðu mér nú sögu.Category:Articles containing Icelandic-language text | Dear friend, tell me a story. |
Norwegian
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).[9]: 223–224 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. litenCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text being lilleCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text when definite, but småCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text when plural, an instance of suppletion.[9]: 116
| Non-vocative | Vocative | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| kjær vennCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text | kjære vennCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text | dear friend |
| vis mannCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text | vise mannCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text | wise man |
| liten kattCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text | lille kattCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text | 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 hanCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text 'he' or hunCategory:Articles containing Norwegian-language text 'she', which either precede or follow the noun in question.[10] This is not the case when in vocative constructions.[11]
Greek
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. ΔεσπότηςCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text has a recessive accent vocative δέσποταCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text. 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 (νύξCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, night); otherwise, the stem (with necessary alterations, such as dropping final consonants) serves as the vocative (nom. πόλιςCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, voc. πόλιCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text; nom. σῶμαCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, gen. σώματοςCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, voc. σῶμαCategory:Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text). 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: "Έλα εδώ, ΧρήστοCategory:Articles containing Greek-language text" "Come here, Christos" instead of "...ΧρήστεCategory:Articles containing Greek-language text". 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 ἝλληνCategory:Articles containing Greek-language text (Demotic ΈλληναςCategory:Articles containing Greek-language text, "Greek man"), which have the same nominative and vocative forms instead.[12]
Iranian languages
Kurdish
Kurdish has a vocative case. For instance, in the dialect of Kurmanji, it is created by adding the suffix -oCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text at the end of masculine words and the -êCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text suffix at the end of feminine ones. In the Jafi dialect of Sorani it is created by adding the suffix of -i at the end of names.
| Kurmanji | Jafi | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Vocative | Name | Vocative |
| SedadCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text (m) | SedoCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text | Bêstûn | Bêsi |
| WedadCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text (m) | WedoCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text | Reşîd | Reşo |
| BaranCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text (m) | BaroCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text | Sûret | Sûri |
| NazdarCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text (f) | NazêCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text | Fatime | Fati |
| GulistanCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text (f) | GulêCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text | Firset | Firsi |
| BerfînCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text (f) | BerfêCategory:Articles containing Kurmanji Kurdish-language text | Nesret | Nesi |
Instead of the vocative case, forms of address may be created by using the grammatical particles lêCategory:Articles containing Kurdish-language text (feminine) and loCategory:Articles containing Kurdish-language text (masculine):
| Name | Vocative |
|---|---|
| NazdarCategory:Articles containing Kurdish-language text (f) | Lê Nazê!Category:Articles containing Kurdish-language text |
| DiyarCategory:Articles containing Kurdish-language text (m) | Lo Diyar!Category:Articles containing Kurdish-language text |
Indo-Aryan languages
Hindi-Urdu
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 आCategory:Articles containing Hindi-language text /aː/ ā and for all nouns in their plural forms the vocative case is always distinct from the nominative case.[13] 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 आCategory:Articles containing Hindi-language text /aː/ ā.[14] The vocative case has many similarities with the oblique case in Hindustani.
| Adjective Classes | Singular | Plural | English | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Vocative | Nominative | Vocative | ||||
| Declinable | masculine | बुराCategory:Articles containing Hindi-language text burā | बुरेCategory:Articles containing Hindi-language text bure | bad | |||
| feminine | बुरीCategory:Articles containing Hindi-language text burī | ||||||
| Undeclinable (not ending in -ā or -ī in nominative singular) | masculine | with noun | बेवकूफ़Category:Articles containing Hindi-language text bevakūf | fool | |||
| feminine | |||||||
| masculine | sans noun | बेवकूफ़Category:Articles containing Hindi-language text bevakūf | बेवकूफ़ोंCategory:Articles containing Hindi-language text bevakūfõ | ||||
| feminine | |||||||
Sanskrit
In Sanskrit, the vocative (सम्बोधन विभक्तिCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text sambodhana vibhakti) is morphologically distinct from the nominative only in the singular. In vowel-stem nouns, if there is a -ḥ in the nominative, it is omitted and the stem vowel may be altered: -ā and -ĭ become -e, -ŭ becomes -o, -ī and -ū become short and -ṛ becomes -ar. Consonant-stem nouns have no ending in the vocative:
| Noun | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| बालCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text (bāla, masc., 'boy') | हे बालCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he bāla | हे बालौCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he bālau | हे बालाःCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he bālāḥ |
| लताCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text (latā, fem., 'creeper') | हे लतेCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he late | हे लतेCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he late | हे लताःCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he latāḥ |
| फलCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text (phala, neut., 'fruit') | हे फलCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he phala | हे फलेCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he phale | हे फलानिCategory:Articles containing Sanskrit-language text he phalāni |
Slavic languages
Old Church Slavonic
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 -e (rabŭ : rabe 'slave') or -o (ryba : rybo 'fish'), but occasionally -u (krai : kraju 'border', synŭ : synu 'son', vračĭ : vraču 'physician') and '-i' (kostĭ : kosti 'bone', gostĭ : gosti 'guest', dĭnĭ : dĭni 'day', kamy : kameni 'stone') appear. Nouns ending with -ĭcĭ have a vocative ending of -če (otĭcĭ : otĭče 'father', kupĭcĭ : kupĭče 'merchant'), likewise nouns ending with -dzĭ assume the vocative suffix -že (kŭnědzĭ : kŭněže 'prince'). This is similar to Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, and Sanskrit, which also employ the -e suffix in vocatives.[15][16]
Bulgarian
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.
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| ПетърCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Petar | ПетреCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Petre |
| ТодорCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Todor | ТодореCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Todore |
| ИванCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Ivan | ИванеCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Ivane |
More-recent names and foreign names may have a vocative form but it is rarely used (РичардеCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text, instead of simply РичардCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Richard, sounds unusual or humorous to native speakers).
Vocative phrases like господине министреCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text (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:
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| ЕленаCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Elena | ЕленоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Eleno |
| ПенаCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Pena | ПеноCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Peno |
| ЕлицаCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Elitsa | ЕлицеCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Elitse |
| РадкаCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Radka | РадкеCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Radke |
Except for forms that end in -еCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text, they can be considered rude and are often avoided, especially in some regions of Bulgaria. For female kinship terms, the vocative is always used:
| English word | Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|---|
| Grandmother | БабаCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Baba | БабоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Babo |
| Mom | МайкаCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Mayka Мама Mama |
МайкоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Mayko МамоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Mamo |
| Aunt | ЛеляCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Lelya | ЛельоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Lelyo |
| Sister | СестраCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Sestra | СестроCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text Sestro |
Czech
In Czech, the vocative (vokativCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text, or 5. pádCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text – 'the fifth case') usually differs from the nominative in masculine and feminine nouns in the singular.
It is a common dialectal feature of Czech to use the nominative with female names (Lojzka, dej pokoj!Category:Articles containing Czech-language text) or when following a title (pane učitel!Category:Articles containing Czech-language text, pane továrník!Category:Articles containing Czech-language text, pane Novák!Category:Articles containing Czech-language text). It is particularly prevalent in regional dialects, such as those of Moravia, where it has been the only form in use for hundreds of years.
The full vocative remains part of the official standard propagated by the Czech government.[17] In the Czech Republic and elsewhere in eastern Europe, language competence is often conflated with adherence to official norms, and the use of the nominative - while common - may therefore be stigmatised.[18]
Polish
In Polish, the vocative (wołaczCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text) is formed with feminine nouns usually taking -oCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text except those where the last consonant is soft e.g. -siaCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, -ciaCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, -niaCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, and -dziaCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, which take -uCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text. Feminine nouns that end with -iCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, usually in the suffixes -iniCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text and -yniCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, as well as feminine nouns that end with a soft consonant, usually words with the suffix -(o)śćCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text, but also irregular words like sólCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text take the ending -iCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text. Feminine nouns that end with a hardened consonant e.g. nocCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text take the ending -yCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text. Masculine nouns generally follow the complex pattern of the locative case, with the exception of a handful of words such as Bóg → BożeCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text 'God', ojciec → ojczeCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text 'father' and chłopiec → chłopczeCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text 'boy'. Neuter nouns and all plural nouns have the same form in the nominative and the vocative:
The latter form of the vocative of człowiekCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text 'human' 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
- Panie doktorzeCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text (Doctor!), Panie prezesie!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text (Chairman!)
- Przybywasz za późno, pływakuCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text (You arrive too late, swimmer)
- synuCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text (son), mamoCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text (mum), tatoCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text (dad)
- After adjectives, demonstrative pronouns and possessive pronouns
- Nie rozumiesz mnie, moja droga Basiu!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text (You don't understand me, my dear Basia!)
- To address an individual in an offensive or condescending manner:
- Zamknij się, pajacu!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text ("Shut up, you buffoon!")
- Co się gapisz, idioto?Category:Articles containing Polish-language text ("What are you staring at, idiot?")
- Nie znasz się, baranie, to nie pisz!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text ("Stop writing, idiot, you don't know what you're doing!")
- Spadaj, wieśniaku!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text ("Get lost, hillbilly!")
- After "Ty" (second person singular pronoun)
- Ty kłamczuchu!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text (You liar!)
- Set expressions:
- (O) Matko!, (O) Boże!, chłopieCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text
The vocative is also often employed in affectionate and endearing contexts such as Kocham Cię, Krzysiu!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text ("I love you, Chris!") or Tęsknię za Tobą, moja ŻonoCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text ("I miss you, my wife."). In addition, the vocative form sometimes takes the place of the nominative in informal conversations: Józiu przyszedłCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text instead of Józio przyszedłCategory:Articles containing Polish-language text ("Joey's arrived"). When referring to someone by their first name, the nominative commonly takes the place of the vocative as well: Ania, chodź tu!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text instead of Aniu, chodź tu!Category:Articles containing Polish-language text ("Anne, come here!").
Russian
Historic vocative
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: "Боже!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" (Bože, vocative of "БогCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" Bog, "God") and "Боже мой!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" (Bože moj, "My God!"), and "Господи!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" (Gospodi, vocative of "ГосподьCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" Gospodj, "Lord"), which can also be expressed as "Господи Иисусе!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" (Gospodi Iisuse!, Iisuse vocative of "ИисусCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" Iisus, "Jesus"). The vocative is also used in prayers: "Отче наш!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" (Otče naš, "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 ("Господи, Боже мойCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text"). More examples of the historic vocative can be found in other Biblical quotes that are sometimes used as proverbs: "Врачу, исцелися самCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" (Vraču, iscelisia sam, "Physician, heal thyself", nom. "врачCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text", vrač). Vocative forms are also used in modern Church Slavonic. The patriarch and bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church are addressed as "владыкоCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" (vladyko, hegemon, nom. "владыкаCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text", vladyka). 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".[19]
New vocative
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.[20] It is used only for given names and nouns that end in -aCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text and -яCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text, which are sometimes dropped in the vocative form: "Лен, где ты?Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" ("Lena, where are you?"). It is basically equivalent to "Лена, где ты?Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" but suggests a positive personal and emotional bond between the speaker and the person being addressed. Names that end in -яCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text then acquire a soft sign: "Оль!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" = "Оля!Category:Articles containing Russian-language text" ("Olga!"). In addition to given names, the form is often used with words like "мамаCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" (mom) and "папаCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" (dad), which would be respectively shortened to "мамCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" and "папCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text". The plural form is used with words such as "ребятCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text", "девчатCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" (nom: "ребятаCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text", "девчатаCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" guys, gals).[21]
Such usage differs from the historic vocative, which would be "ЛеноCategory:Articles containing Russian-language text" and is not related.
Serbo-Croatian
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.[22]
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.[23]
First declension
The first declension comprises masculine nouns that end with a consonant. These have a vocative suffix of either -eCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text (doktor : doktoreCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'doctor') or -uCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text (gospodar : gospodaruCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'master').
Nouns terminating in -orCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text have the -eCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text vocative suffix: doktor : doktoreCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'doctor', major : majoreCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'major', majstor : majstoreCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'artisan', as well as nouns possessing an unsteady aCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text: vetar : vetreCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'wind', svekar : svekreCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'father-in-law', and the noun car : careCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'emperor'. All other nouns in this class form the vocative with -uCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text: gospodar : gospodaruCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'master', pastir : pastiruCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'shepherd', inženjer : inženjeruCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'engineer', pisar : pisaruCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'scribe', sekretar : sekretaruCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'secretary'.
In particular, masculine nouns ending with a palatal or prepalatal consonant j, lj, nj, č, dž, ć, đCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text or šCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text form vocatives with the -uCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text suffix: heroj : herojuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'hero', prijatelj : prijateljuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'friend', konj : konjuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'horse', vozač : vozačuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'driver', mladić : mladićuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'youngster', kočijaš : kočijašuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'coachman', muž : mužuCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'husband'.
Nouns ending with the velars -k, -gCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text and -hCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text are palatalized to -č, -ž, -šCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text in the vocative: vojnik : vojničeCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text 'soldier', drug : družeCategory:Articles containing Czech-language text 'comrade', duh : dušeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'ghost'. A final -cCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text becomes -čCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text in the vocative: stric : stričeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'uncle', lovac : lovčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'hunter'. Likewise, a final -zCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text becomes -žCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text in only two cases: knez : knežeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'prince' and vitez : vitežeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'knight'.
The loss of the unsteady aCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text can trigger a sound change by hardening consonants, as in vrabac : vrapčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'sparrow' (not *vrabčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text), lisac : liščeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'male fox' (not *lisčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text) and ženomrzac : ženomrščeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'misogynist' (not *ženomrzčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text). There may be a loss of -tCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text before -cCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text like in otac : očeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'father' (instead of *otčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text), svetac : svečeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'saint' (instead of *svetčeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text). When these phonetic alterations would substantially change the base noun, the vocative remains equal to the nominative, for example tetakCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'uncle', mačakCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'male cat', bratacCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'cousin'. This also holds true for foreign names ending with -k, -gCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text and -hCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text like DžekCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'Jack', DagCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'Doug', King, HajnrihCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text.
Male names ending with -oCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text and -eCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text have a vocative equal to the nominative, for example: Marko, Mihailo, Danilo, Đorđe, Pavle, RadojeCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text.
Second declension
The second declension affects nouns with the ending -aCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text. These are mainly of feminine but sometimes also of masculine gender. These nouns have a vocative suffix -oCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text: riba : riboCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'fish', sluga : slugoCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'servant', kolega : kolegoCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'colleague', poslovođa : poslovođoCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'manager'.
Exemptions to this rule are male and female given names, which have a vocative equal to the nominative, e. g. Vera, Zorka, Olga, Marija, Gordana, Nataša, Nikola, Kosta, IlijaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text etc. However, this is different for twosyllabic names with an ascending accent such as female names Nâda, Zôra, Mîca, NênaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text and male names Pêra, Bôža, PâjaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text, etc., which form vocatives with -oCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text: Nâdo, Zôro, Mîco, Pêro, Bôžo, PâjoCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text, etc.
Denominations of relatives like mamaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'mom', tataCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'dad', babaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'grandmother', dedaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'grandfather', tetkaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'aunt' (parent's sister), ujnaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'aunt' (mother's brother's wife), strinaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'aunt' (father's brother's wife) have vocatives equal to the nominative. This also holds true for country names ending in -ska, -čka, -škaCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text.
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.[24]
Third declension
The third declension affects feminine nouns ending with a consonant. The vocative is formed by appending the suffix -iCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text to the nominative (reč : rečiCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'word', noć : noćiCategory:Articles containing Serbo-Croatian-language text 'night').
Slovak
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:
In everyday use, the Czech vocative is sometimes retrofitted to certain words:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| majsterCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text m. | majstreCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | maestro |
| šéfCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text m. | šéfeCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | boss |
| švagorCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text m. | švagreCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| otecCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text m. | ociCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | father |
| mamaCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text f. | mamiCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | mother |
| babkaCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text f. | babiCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | grandmother, old woman |
| PaľoCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text m. | PaliCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | Paul, domestic form |
| ZuzaCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text f. | ZuziCategory:Articles containing Slovak-language text | Susan, domestic form |
Ukrainian
Ukrainian has retained the vocative case mostly as it was in Proto-Slavic:[25]
There are some exceptions:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| матиCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text matyCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text f. | мамоCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text mamoCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text | mother |
| божа матірCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text boža matirCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text f. | матір божаCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text matir božaCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text | God's Mother |
It is used even for loanwords and foreign names:
| Nominative | Vocative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ДжонCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text DžonCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text m. | ДжонеCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text DžoneCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text | John |
| пан президентCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text pan prezydentCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text m. | пане президентеCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text pane prezydenteCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text | Mr. President |
It is obligatory for all native names:
It is used for patronymics:
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| Андрій ВасильовичCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text Andrij VasylovyčCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text m. | Андрію ВасильовичуCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text Andriju VasyliovyčuCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text |
| Ірина БогданівнаCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text Iryna BohdanivnaCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text f. | Ірино БогданівноCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text Iryno BohdanivnoCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text |
Latin
In Latin, the form of the vocative case of a noun is almost always the same as the nominative. Exceptions include singular non-neuter second-declension nouns that end in -usCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text in the nominative case. An example would be the famous line from Shakespeare, "Et tu, Brute?Category:Articles containing Latin-language text" (commonly translated as "And you, Brutus?"): BruteCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text is the vocative case and BrutusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text would be the nominative.
Nouns that end in -iusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text end with -īCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text instead of the expected -ieCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text. Thus, JuliusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text becomes JulīCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text and filiusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text becomes filīCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text. The shortening does not shift the accent so the vocative of VergiliusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text is VergilīCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text, with accent on the second syllable even though it is short. Nouns that end in -aiusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text and -eiusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text have vocatives that end in -aīCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text or -eīCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text even though the -i-Category:Articles containing Latin-language text 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 -usCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text, with the ending -eCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text. Adjectives that end in -iusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text have vocatives in -ieCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text so the vocative of eximiusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text is eximieCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text.
Nouns and adjectives that end in -eusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text do not follow the rules above. MeusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text forms the vocative irregularly as mīCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text or meusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text, while Christian DeusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text does not have a distinct vocative and retains the form DeusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text. "My God!" in Latin is thus mī Deus!Category:Articles containing Latin-language text, but Jerome's Vulgate consistently used Deus meusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text as a vocative. Classical Latin did not use a vocative of deusCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text either, preferring to use the name of the god (and in reference to pagan gods, the Romans used the suppletive form diveCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text).
Greek names in Latin texts conserve their Greek vocative form. E. g., the vocative of AndrēāsCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text is AndrēāCategory:Articles containing Latin-language text.Category:All articles with unsourced statementsCategory:Articles with unsourced statements from September 2025[citation needed]
Romance languages
West Iberian languages
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:
| Ó Jesus, ajude-nos!Category:Articles containing Portuguese-language text | O Jesus, help us! |
| Menino, vem cá!Category:Articles containing Portuguese-language text | Boy, come here! |
| Não faças isso, amigo.Category:Articles containing Portuguese-language text | 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
Catalan drops the article to form the vocative.
French
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
The vocative case in Romanian is partly inherited, occasionally causing other morphophonemic changes (see also the article on Romanian nouns):
- singular masculine/neuter: -eCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text as in
- omCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: omule!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (man, human being),
- băiatCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: băiete!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text or băiatule!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (boy),
- vărCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: vere!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (cousin),
- IonCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: Ioane!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (John);
- singular feminine: -oCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text as in
- sorăCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: soro!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (sister),
- nebunăCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: nebuno!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (mad woman), also in masculine (nebunulCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text)
- deșteaptăCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: deșteapto!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (smart one (f), often used sarcastically),
- IleanaCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: Ileano!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (Helen);
Since there is no -o vocative in Latin, it must have been borrowed from Slavic: compare the corresponding Bulgarian forms сестроCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text (sestroCategory:Articles containing Ukrainian-language text), откачалкоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text (otkachalkoCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text), ЕленоCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text (ElenoCategory:Articles containing Bulgarian-language text).
- plural, all genders: -lorCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text as in
- frațiCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: fraților!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (brothers),
- boiCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: boilor!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (oxen, used toward people as an invective),
- doamne și domniCategory:Articles containing Romanian-language text: doamnelor și domnilor!Category:Articles containing Romanian-language text (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
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
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 ła / l'Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 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. | ła Marìa ła vien qua / varda ła Marìa!Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'Mary comes here / look at Mary!' |
Marco el vien qua / varda Marco!Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'Mark comes here / look at Mark!' |
| Vocative | Marìa vien qua! / varda, Marìa!Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'Mary, come here! / look, Mary!' |
Marco vien qua! / varda, Marco!Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'Mark, come here! / look, Mark!' |
Predicative constructions:
| Case | Fem. proper name | Masc. proper name and other nouns |
|---|---|---|
| Pred. | so' mi ła MarìaCategory:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'I am Mary.' |
so' mi Marco / so' tornà maestraCategory:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'I am Mark. / I am a teacher again.' |
| Vocative | so' mi Marìa!Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'It's me, Mary!' |
so' mi, Marco! / so' tornà, maestra!Category:Articles containing Venetian-language text 'It's me, Mark! / I am back, teacher!' |
Arabic
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 (Arabic: ياCategory:Articles containing Arabic-language text) 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.[26][27] A longer form used in Classical Arabic is أيّهاCategory:Articles containing Arabic-language text ayyuhā (masculine), أيّتهاCategory:Articles containing Arabic-language text ayyatuhā (feminine), sometimes combined with yā. The particle yā was also used in the old Castilian language because of Arabic influence via Mozarabic immigrations.[28]
Mandarin
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(Chinese: Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text啊; pinyin: a) attached to the end of the address word. For example, 日记(Chinese: Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text日记; pinyin: Rìjì) "diary" becomes 日记啊 (Chinese: Category:Articles containing Chinese-language text日记啊; pinyin: Rìjì a).
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 孙子Category:Articles containing Mandarin Chinese-language text (sūnzi, "grandson"), to form sūnzei, meaning approximately "Hey you nasty one!". Another example is 小子Category:Articles containing Mandarin Chinese-language text (xiǎozi, lit. "kid; young one"), resulting in xiǎozei "Hey kiddo!".
Japanese
The vocative case is present in Japanese as the particle よCategory:Articles containing Japanese-language text.[29] This usage is often literary or poetic. For example:
| 雨よ雪に変わってくれ！Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text Ame yo yuki ni kawatte kure! |
O Rain! Please change to snow! |
| 万国の労働者よ、団結せよ！Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text Bankoku no rōdō-sha yo, danketsu seyo! |
Workers of the world, unite! |
| 少年よ、神話になれ！Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text Shōnen yo, shinwa ni nare! |
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
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
The vocative case in Korean is commonly used with first names in casual situations by using the vocative case marker (호격 조사) 아Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (a) if the name ends in a consonant and 야Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (ya) if the name ends with a vowel:[30]
미진이
Mijini
집에
jibe
가?
ga?
Is Mijin going home?
미진아,
Mijina,
집에
jibe
가?
ga?
Mijin, are you going home?
동배
Dongbae
뭐
mwo
해?
hae?
What is Dongbae doing?
동배야,
Dongbaeya,
뭐
mwo
해?
hae?
Dongbae, what are you doing?
In formal Korean, the marker 여Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (yeo) or 이여Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (iyeo) is used, the latter if the root ends with a consonant. Thus, a quotation of William S. Clark would be translated as follows:
소년이여,
sonyeoniyeo,
야망을
yamangeul
가져라.
gajyeora.
Boys, be ambitious.
The honorific infix 시Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (si) is inserted in between the 이Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (i) and 여Category:Articles containing Korean-language text (yeo).
신이시여,
sinisiyeo,
부디
budi
저들을
jeodeureul
용서하소서.
yongseohasoseo.
Oh god, please forgive them.
In Middle Korean, there were three honorific classes of the vocative case:[31]
| Form | 하 | 아/야 | 여/이여 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honorific | High | Plain | Low with added nuance of exclamation |
Hungarian
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.[32] 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 |
|---|---|
| (Az) Olivér még beszélget.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Oliver is still chatting. |
Olivér, gyere ide!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Oliver, come over here. |
| Kiönthette voln’ a honfi megtelt szívét.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Might have pour'd the full tide of a patriot's heart. |
Honfi, mit ér epedő kebel e romok ormán?Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Patriot, why do you yearn on these ruins?[33] |
| A szerelem csodaszép.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Love is wonderful. |
Látod, szerelem, mit tettél!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text O Love, look what you have done! |
| (Az) Isten szerelmére!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text For the love of God! |
Isten, áldd meg a magyart!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text God, bless the Hungarians! |
With certain words such as barátCategory:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("friend"), hölgyCategory:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("lady"), úrCategory:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("gentleman, lord"), vocation is, in addition to the zero article, always[34] marked by the first person possessive:[35]
| Nominative | Vocative |
|---|---|
| A nemesek báljára megérkeztek a hölgyek és az urak.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text The ladies and the gentlemen have arrived to the nobility's ball. |
Hölgyeim és uraim, kezdődjék a tánc!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text (My) Ladies and (my) gentlemen, let the dancing begin! |
| Ha az Úr nem építi a házat, hiába fáradoznak az építők.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. |
Magasztallak Uram, felemeltél engem!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text I will exalt you, O (my) Lord, for you lifted me out of the depth! |
| A barát mindig segít.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text A friend always helps out. A barátom fiatal.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text My friend is young. |
Tudnál segíteni, barátom?Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Could you help out, (my) friend? |
Words like testvérCategory:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("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 |
|---|---|
| A testvérek elsétáltak a boltba.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text The siblings walked to the shop. |
Kedves testvéreim!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text / Kedves testvérek!Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text (My) dear brothers (and sisters)! |
| (Az) apához megyek.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text I'm going to dad. |
Apám, hogy vagy?Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text / Apa, hogy vagy?Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text Dad, how are you? |
The second-person pronoun[34] can be used to emphasize a vocation when appropriate: Hát miért nem adtad oda neki, te bolond?Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("Why did you not give it to him, you fool?"), Te Karcsi, nem láttad a szemüvegem?Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("Charlie, have you seen my glasses?"), Lógtok ezért még, ti gazemberek.Category:Articles containing Hungarian-language text ("You shall yet hang for this, crooks!"), etc.
References
Citations
- ↑ Zwicky 1974, pp. 787--788.
- ↑ Leech 1999, pp. 108--109, 116--117
- ↑ Maché 2025, pp.212--217.
- ↑ Gutzmann 2019, S.172--260.
- ↑ Реформатский А. А. Введение в языковедение / Под ред. В. А. Виноградова. — М.: Аспект Пресс. 1998. С. 488. ISBN 5-7567-0202-4 (in Russian)Category:Articles with Russian-language sources (ru)
- ↑ The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003), ISBN 0-226-10403-6, s. 5.197.
- ↑ "What is the Vocative Comma? Definition, Examples in the Vocative Case". Writing Explained. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ↑ "Hello, vocative comma". Macmillan Dictionary Blog. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- 1 2 Halmøy, Madeleine (2016). The Norwegian Nominal System: a Neo-Saussurean Perspective. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. doi:10.1515/9783110363425. ISBN 978-3-11-033963-5.
- ↑ Johannesen, Janne Bondi; Garbacz, Piotr (2014). "Proprial articles" (PDF). Nordic Atlas of Language Structures. 1. University of Oslo: 10–17. doi:10.5617/nals.5362. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-29.
- ↑ Håberg, Live (2010). "Den preproprielle artikkelen i norsk: ei undersøking av namneartiklar i Kvæfjord, Gausdal og Voss" [The preproprial article in Norwegian: a study of nominal articles in Kværfjord, Gausdal and Voss] (PDF) (in Norwegian). University of Oslo. pp. 26–28. hdl:10852/26729. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-29.
Ved personnamn i vokativ [...] vil den preproprielle artikkelen ikkje bli brukt.
Category:CS1 Norwegian-language sources (no) - ↑ 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 ISBN 0415100011
- ↑ Shapiro, Michael C. (1989). A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 263. ISBN 81-208-0475-9.
- ↑ Kachru, Yamuna (2006). Hindi. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 65. ISBN 90-272-3812-X.
- ↑ Miklosich, Franz (1876). Vergleichende Grammatik der slavischen Sprachen. Vol. 3. Wien: W. Braumüller. p. 3.
- ↑ Vondrak, Vaclav (1912). Altkirchenslavische Grammatik (2nd ed.). p. 397.
- ↑ Bodollová, Květa; Prošek, Martin (31 May 2011). "Oslovování v češtině". Český Rozhlas.
- ↑ Filinová, Tereza (9 September 2007). "Pátý pád: jde to z kopce?". Radio Prague International.
- ↑ "'Bated,' 'Shod,' 'Boon,' and 7 Other Fossil Words". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ↑ Parrott, Lilli (2010). "Vocatives and Other Direct Address Forms: A Contrastive Study". Oslo Studies in Language. 2 (1). doi:10.5617/osla.68.
- ↑ Andersen, Henning (2012). "The New Russian Vocative: Synchrony, Diachrony, Typology". Scando-Slavica. 58 (1): 122–167. doi:10.1080/00806765.2012.669918. S2CID 119842000.
- ↑ Barić, Eugenija; Lončarić, Mijo; Malić, Dragica; Pavešić, Slavko; Peti, Mirko; Zečević, Vesna; Znika, Marija (1997). Hrvatska gramatika. Školska knjiga. ISBN 953-0-40010-1.
- ↑ Ivan Klajn (2005), Gramatika srpskog jezika, Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva, pp. 50 ff
- ↑ Alen Orlić (2011). "Vokativ osobnih imena u hrvatskom jeziku" (in Croatian). University of Osijek. Retrieved 17 October 2018.Category:CS1 Croatian-language sources (hr)
- ↑ Methodical instructions for learning vocative case in Ukrainian professional speech
- ↑ Jiyad, Mohammed. "A Hundred and One Rules! A Short Reference to Arabic Syntactic, Morphological & Phonological Rules for Novice & Intermediate Levels of Proficiency". Welcome to Arabic. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ↑ "Lesson 5". Madinah Arabic. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ↑ Álvarez Blanco, Aquilino (2019). "EL ÁRABE YA¯ (یا) Y SU USO EN CASTELLANO MEDIEVAL. PROBLEMAS DE INTERPRETACIÓN Y TRADUCCIÓN". Anuario de Estudios Filológicos. XLII: 5–22 – via Dehesa. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Extremadura.
- ↑ Shogakukan. 日本国語大辞典精選版 [Shogakukan's Japanese Dictionary Concise Edition] (in Japanese). Shogakukan.Category:CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
- ↑ 선철, 김 (May 2005). "'꽃아'의 발음". 새국어소식 / 국립국어원.
- ↑ 양영희 (2009-12-01). "중세국어 호격조사의 기능 고찰". 사회언어학. 17. ISSN 1226-4822.Category:All articles with dead external linksCategory:Articles with dead external links from February 2026[dead link]
- ↑ Alberti, Gábor; Balogh, Kata (2004). "Az eltűnt névelő nyomában". A mai magyar nyelv leírásának újabb módszerei. 6 (6): 9–31.
- ↑ Makkai, Ádám, ed. (2000). In quest of the 'Miracle stag' : the poetry of Hungary / [Vol. 1], An anthology of Hungarian poetry in English translation from the 13th century to the present in commemoration of the 1100th anniversary of the Foundation of Hungary and the 40th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 / with the co-operation of George Buday and Louis I. Szathmáry II and the special assistance of Agnes Arany-Makkai, Earl M. Herrick, and Valerie Becker Makkai (Second rev. ed.). Chicago: Atlantis-Centaur. ISBN 963-86024-2-2.
- 1 2 Láncz, Irén (July–August 1997). "A megszólítás nyelvi eszközei Mikszáth Kálmán műveiben" (PDF). Híd. LXI (7–8): 535–543. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ↑ Albertné Herbszt, Mária (2007). "Pragmatika". In A. László, Anna (ed.). A magyar nyelv könyve (9 kiad ed.). Budapest: Trezor Kiadó. p. 708. ISBN 978-963-8144-19-5.
Sources
- Dickey, Eleanor (1996). Greek Forms of Address: From Herodotus to Lucian. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-815054-7.
- Dickey, Eleanor (2002). Latin Forms of Address: From Plautus to Apuleius. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-924287-9.
- Daniel Gutzmann: The grammar of expressivity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-881212-8.
- Hill, Virginia (2014). Vocatives: How Syntax Meets with Pragmatics. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-26079-5.
- Hill, Virginia (2007). "Vocatives and the Pragmatics–Syntax Interface". In: Lingua 117.12. pp. 2077–2105. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2007.01.002.
- Ladd, Robert D. (1978). "Stylized Intonation". In: Language 54.3. pp. 517–540. JSTOR 412785.
- Leech, Geoffrey N. (1999). "The Distribution and Function of Vocatives in American and British English Conversation". In: Out of Corpora. Hilde Hasselgård and Signe Oksefjell, ed. 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:10.5565/rev/catjl.475.
- Portner, Paul (2007a). "Imperatives and Modals". In: Natural Language Semantics 15.4. pp. 351–383. doi:10.1007/s11050-007-9022-y.
- Portner, Paul (2007b). "Instructions for Interpretations as Separate Performatives". In: On Information Structure, Meaning and Form. Kerstin Schwabe and Susanne Winkler, ed. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 407–426. doi:10.1075/la.100.22por.
- Sonnenhauser, Barbara; Noel Aziz Hanna, Patrizia, eds. (2013). Vocative!: Addressing Between System and Performance. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110304176. ISBN 978-3-11-030389-6.
- Stavrou, Melita (2013). "About the Vocative". In: The Nominal Structure in Slavic and Beyond. Lilia Schürks, Anastasia Giannakidou, and Urtzi Etxeberria, ed. Studies in Generative Grammar 116. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 299–342. doi:10.1515/9781614512790.299.
- Zwicky, Arnold (1974). "Hey, Whatsyourname!" In: Papers from the Tenth Regional Meeting, Chicago Linguistic Society. April 19–21, 1974. Michael La Galy, Robert A. Fox, and Bruck Anthony, ed. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society, pp. 787–801.
External links
The dictionary definition of vocative case at Wiktionary
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