vocatives

Vocatives are a linguistic function used to address someone directly. They consist of a word or phrase that identifies the addressee and signals the speaker's intention to engage them. In many languages vocatives occur within the main clause as a separate syntactic position or as an isolated utterance, and they are usually set off by intonation or punctuation. The form of a vocative can vary from a simple proper name to a title, nickname, or term of endearment.

Cross-linguistically, vocatives exhibit variety. Some languages use a dedicated vocative case or distinct morphological form, while others rely on intonation alone. English commonly places the vocative before or after the addressee's name and uses punctuation such as a comma: "Alice, can you help me?" Latin has an explicit vocative case, with distinct forms like Marcus versus Marce. Slavic languages often modify the form of the addressee's name in the vocative, and some languages employ periphrasis or particles such as "O" for emphasis in certain registers.

Usage notes: Vocatives are primarily about address rather than grammatical relations in the clause. They can express familiarity, respect, affection, or emphasis, and may serve as logical or expressive devices in writing and speech. In written English, direct-address vocatives are typically separated by commas; in spoken language, intonation marks the boundary. Misinterpretation can occur if a vocative is mistaken for a subject or object; punctuation and intonation usually clarify the function.