Just one more thing: <o> does occur
in Slavic exclamations (e.g. Polish <o tak/nie!> 'oh yes/no!') including
vocative phrases (<o Boz*e!> 'O God!' -- note the thematic -e
ending). To be sure, this vocative <o> sounds rather formal (except
in fixed phrases like the one cited) and could be used mostly for rhetorical or
comic effect. Classical Greek used <ô:> (omega) with vocatives (e.g.
<ô: Strumódo:re> 'O Strumodoros!'
By the way, most Polish vocatives still
reflect PIE forms: <synu> '(my) son' has -u derived from PIE *-ou, and
<Piotrze!> 'Piotr!' is parallel to Latin <Petre>. Feminines in -a
(< *-a:) have vocatives in -o (< *-a).
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 8:06 PM
Subject: [tied] Vocative case?
I'm wondering ... also if there are vocative particles
comparing to O in other IE languages, particularly Greek, Lithuanian, or any
Slavic tongues.
Max Dashu