View source for Vocative Case (definition)

The vocative case is used when addressing a person by name or calling out to them. It can be used to metaphorically address an object in poetry. In English, the vocative can be unmarked ('''''John!''''' or '''''John''', I see you!''), or it can be marked with ''Hey" or "Oh" as in "Hey, John!", or "Oh John!". In poetic forms the "oh" construction is often used with inanimate or animate objects "Oh town of my youth, you are so beautiful" etc. 

In Gaelic, the vocative is indicated with a particle a<sup>L</sup> (the L is not written, it is listed here to indicate that it triggers lenition). Masculine names are also [[Attenuation (definition)|attenuated]]. ''See [[Vocative Case]] for more discussion''

==See Also==
*[[Vocative Case]]
*[[Case (definition)]]
*[[Nominative Case (definition)]]
*[[Accusative Case (definition)]]
*[[Genitive Case (definition)]]
*[[Dative Case (definition)]]

==External Links==
The link below takes you away from the Gaelic Wiki to Wikipedia. Since wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone, they often contain inaccurate information. So be careful!
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocative_case

==References==
*Crystal, D. (2008) ''Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics''. 6th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell.
*[[William Lamb|Lamb, William]] (2003) ''Scottish Gaelic''. 2nd edition. Munich: Lingcom Europa

[[Category: Technical Definitions]]
[[Category: Case]]