Tell me more ×
Linguistics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional linguists and others with an interest in linguistic research and theory. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 6 down vote favorite

The Finnish translative case expresses the concept of becoming or turning into something else. Does this case exist in other languages, or is it unique to Finnish? How is this concept most commonly expressed in other inflected languages?

share|improve this question
Note that translative is also used for path; some researchers also use the term "mutative" for "translative" as used in Finno-Ugric studies etc. For more details see oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/… – Alex B. Dec 9 '12 at 17:12

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

The case is not unique to Finnish alone; its relatives, such as Estonian and Hungarian, have it too.

That said, it appears to be quite unique to the Finno-Ugric family, to which all of the above languages belong.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

It is also present in Armenian language like:

  • հայ - hay - Armenian (for person/people/nation) --- հայերեն - hayeren - Armenian (for language)
  • հայերեն - hayeren - Armenian (for languagge) --- հայերենում - hayerenum - In Armenian (for language)
  • անգլիա - anglia - England --- անգլերեն - angleren - English

Am I understood right?

share|improve this answer
no, this not the case. – Anixx Dec 13 '12 at 23:56
I know that fist and third one does not fit in but what about second one? This is not the case as well? – TIKSN Dec 15 '12 at 4:31

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.