Re: Case

At 9:57 pm -0500 15/7/99, Nik Taylor wrote:
......
>
>If that vocative is a genuine case-form in Modern Romanian, I'd, of
>course, only count three cases.
And at 9:38 pm -0700 15/7/99, Josh Brandt-Young wrote:
........
>
>There are indeed two true cases (plus vocative if it exists) as Nik
>stated; here are a few paradigms:
>
[paradigms snipped]

Exactly so.  As for the vocative:

Normally in Romanian one uses the same form as the Nom./Acc, thus:
Ion!       (John!)
Maria!     (Mary!)
doamn@!    (lady!)
prieteni!  (friends!)
copii!     (children)

[@ is written a-breve]

But certain suffixes _may_ be used, namely:
(a) Masculine singulars may add -(u)le or -e, e.g.
prostule!   (fool!)
domnule!    (sir!)
omule!      (man!)   [not epicene  :)   ]
Sandule!    (Sandu!) [proper name]
Ioane!      (John!)

(b) Feminine ending in -a may replace this with -o, e.g.
Mario!
Ano!

(c) Plural nouns may add -lor, e.g.
doamnelor Si domnilor!  (Ladies & gentelmen!)

[S is s-cedilla]

Ray.

========================================
A mind which thinks at its own expense
will always interfere with language.
[J.G.Hamann - 1760]
========================================