Equative case

Equative is a case prototypically expressing the standard of comparison of equal values ("as… as a …"). The equative case has been used in very few languages in history. 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]

For Sumerian, the equative was formed by adding the suffix -gin7 to the end of a noun phrase. In its similative function:

lugal

"king"

→

 

lugal-gin7

"kinglike", "like a king"

lugal → lugal-gin7

"king" {} {"kinglike", "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"}

For Ossetic it is formed by the ending -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").

It is found subdialectally in some speakers of the Khalkha dialect of Mongolian, where it is formed by the endings -цаа [tsaa], -цоо [tsoo], -цээ [tsee] or -цөө [tsöö], depending on the vowel harmony of the noun. It is quite rare and very specific, referring to 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)"}

It is also found in the Turkic Khalaj language and in languages from South America like Quechua, Aymara, Uro and Cholón.

Welsh, though it has no equative case of nouns, has an equative degree of adjectives, shown normally by the suffix -ed: for example, "hyned" (â ...), meaning "as old" (as ...).[4]

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

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. 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.
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