What is the argument position (e.g. subject, direct object, ...) of a noun in vocative case in a sentence, for example, in Latin?
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1In what language? I can think of how some languages that have a vocative case would handle this, but that doesn't necessarily extend to all of them.– Draconis ♦Jul 18 at 4:37
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1Normally it's an appositive in Latin, like Et tu, Brute? I don't know what the Latin grammarians called it, but their syntax was as nonexistent as their phonology, so it hardly matters. As for argument position, anything in the vocative (which can't be distinguished from the accusative except in 2nd decl masc (like Brute) is not an argument in any clause; like ablative and genitive, it doesn't mark a grammatical relation. Nominative, accusative, and dative mark 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Except when they're idiomatic, which is frequently.– jlawlerJul 18 at 16:02
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