Vocative case

The vocative case is the case used for a noun identifying the person being addressed, found in Latin among other languages. A vocative expression is an expression of direct address, wherein the identity of the party being spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence. For example, in the sentence, "I don't know, John.", John is a vocative expression indicating the party who is being addressed.

Related Topics:
Case - Noun - Latin

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Historically, the vocative case was an element of the Indoeuropean system of cases, and existed in Latin, Sanskrit, and Classical Greek. Although it has been lost by many modern Indoeuropean languages, some languages have retained the vocative case to this day. Examples are Modern Greek and Slavic languages such as Polish, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Ukrainian, the modern Celtic languages such as Scottish Gaelic and Irish, and - to a lesser extent - Russian. It also occurs in some non-Indoeuropean languages, such as Georgian and Arabic.

Related Topics:
Indoeuropean - Latin - Sanskrit - Greek - Slavic languages - Polish - Czech - Serbian - Croatian - Bosnian - Ukrainian - Celtic languages - Scottish Gaelic - Irish - Russian - Georgian - Arabic

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