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Vocative: appellation (as extra-clausal constituent)
studieniveau:
1
νεανίσκε, ὁ πατήρ σε μεθύων ἔσπειρε
‘Young man, your father begot you while drunk.’ (Plut. )
The vocative signals the addressed person or god.
Indicators
The vocative is often preceded by the particle ὦ, which can be left untranslated.
Varia
Appellation of oneself
In poetry one can address oneself by invoking one's own name or parts of one's own person or personality: θυμέ ‘my soul!’, ὦ γεραιὲ ποῦς ‘my old foot!’
Series of vocatives
Longer utterances in the vocative (or in the nominative of exclamation) signal astonishment.
Example Sentences:
ὦ μῶρε μῶρε, μὴ θεῶν κίνει φρένας
δεινάς
Fool, fool, do not arouse the wrath of the gods, fearsome as it is. ֍