Equative case

The equative case (abbreviated EQU) is a grammatical case prototypically expressing the standard of comparison of equal values ("as… as…"). The equative case has been used in very few languages in history.[citation needed] It was used in the Sumerian language, where it also took on the semantic functions of the essive case ("in the capacity of…") and similative case ("like a…").[1]

In Sumerian, the equative was formed by adding the suffix -gin7 to a noun phrase, for example:

lugal

"king"

→

 

lugal-gin7

"king-like", "like a king"

lugal → lugal-gin7

"king" {} {"king-like", "like a king"}

nitah-kalaga

"mighty man"

→

 

nitah-kalaga-gin7

"like a mighty man"

nitah-kalaga → nitah-kalaga-gin7

{"mighty man"} {} {"like a mighty man"}

In Ossetic, it is formed by adding the suffix -ау [aw]:[2]

фӕт

"arrow"

→

 

фӕтау

"arrowlike"

фӕт → фӕтау

"arrow" {} "arrowlike"

Ницы

фенӕгау

йӕхи

акодта

Ницы фенӕгау йӕхи акодта

lit. "nothingseer-like himself made" ("[he or she] pretended to see nothing").

The equative case is also found subdialectally in the Khalkha dialect of Mongolian, where it can be formed by adding the suffixes -цаа [tsaa], -цоо [tsoo], -цээ [tsee] or -цөө [tsöö], depending on the vowel harmony of the noun. It is rare and highly specialized, used exclusively to denote the height or level of an object:[3]

эрэг

"[river]bank"

→

 

эрэгцээ

"as high as the bank"

эрэг → эрэгцээ

"[river]bank" {} {"as high as the bank"}

өвдөг

"knee(s)"

→

 

өвдөгцөө

"up to the height of the knee(s)"

өвдөг → өвдөгцөө

"knee(s)" {} {"up to the height of the knee(s)"}

In Archi, a Northeast Caucasian language, the equative case is indicated by the case marker -qʼdi:[4]

misgin-ni-qʼdi

poor-OBL-EQU

misgin-ni-qʼdi

poor-OBL-EQU

"In the way of the poor."

It is also found in the Turkic Khalaj language and in languages from South America such as Quechua, Aymara, Uro and Cholón.[citation needed]

Welsh, though it has no equative case of nouns, has an equative degree of adjectives, usually indicated by the suffix -ed: for example, "hyned" (â ...), meaning "as old (as ...)".[5]

Sireniki Eskimo had an equative (or comparative) case for describing similarities between nouns.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Sövegjártó, Szilvia. The Sumerian equative case, 2010.
  2. ^ Belyaev, Oleg (2010). "Evolution of Case in Ossetic" (PDF). Iran and the Caucasus. 14 (2): 301. doi:10.1163/157338410X12743419190269. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  3. ^ Janhunen, Juha A. (2012). Mongolian. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 110. ISBN 9789027238207.
  4. ^ The Oxford Handbook of Case. 2008. pp. 672–674.
  5. ^ Morgan, Gareth (1996). "Reading Middle Welsh". Retrieved 2022-08-11. Welsh has an equative degree of the adjective, meaning 'as big', 'as new', and so on. It often has an air of exclamation about it: 'how big!', 'how new!' The equative suffix is -ed.
  6. ^ Eskimo, Holst 2005