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buddhavacana

4.8: liṅgattha and ālapana (Nominative and Vocative)

Not every word with the ① ending is the doer of an action. A kāraka names what a noun is doing in relation to an action; the two uses in this section name none. In the liṅgattha (“the meaning of the lemma”) use the word simply names its thing, puriso (“a man”); in the ālapana (“addressing”) use it calls the person spoken to, bho purisa (“sir, man!”), before anything is asked of them. They open Kaccāyana’s list of what each ending does {284}–{285}, and they close this chapter.

The question to ask is whether the word is aimed at the listener. rūpaṁ (“form”) and saṅkhārā (“mental constructions”) just stand there, naming; bhikkhave (“monks!”) and bhante (“venerable sir”) call whoever is listening. This book marks the second kind ⓪, as chapter 1 does, since its singular usually differs from the ① form: purisa (“man!”) beside puriso (“a man”).

The two uses of the ① ending

Section titled “The two uses of the ① ending”
what the word is doing what you see example rule
it simply names its thing, and nothing more is said of it (liṅgattha) the ① ending on a noun or a numeral; or a particle (nipāta), which has no gender, number or ending at all and stands under the same rule puriso (“a man”), purisā (“men”), eko (“one”), dve (“two”), ca (“and”), vā (“or”) {284}
it calls the person spoken to (ālapana); this book marks it ⓪ the ① ending with the sense of calling added, usually after a word of address; the singular usually differs from the ① form, the plural is mostly the same bho purisa (“sir, man!”), bhavanto purisā (“sirs, men!”), he sakhe (“hey, friend!”), bhikkhave (“monks!”) {285}

The ⓪ has no ending of its own: its singular ending is the ① ending si, renamed ga for it {57}, which is why it counts as a use of the ① ending and why its singular looks different, purisa, rāja, sakhe. In the plural the two are usually one form, purisā, rājāno, sakhino, that only the sentence tells apart, though bhikkhu has bhikkhave {116}. The surest sign of a ⓪ form is the word of address before it, bho and he in Kaccāyana, bhante in the texts of chapters 7 and the bonus chapter, āvuso in the bonus chapter:

word of address meaning where you meet it
bho sir bho purisa, bho rāja, with a singular {285}
bhavanto sirs bhavanto purisā, bhavanto rājāno, with a plural {285}
bhante venerable sir, another ⓪ form of bhavanta the monks answering the Buddha: evaṁ, bhante (“yes, Bhante”, Bonus: 1, 24.15), aniccaṁ, bhante (7: 6.2)
āvuso friend, a particle one monk to another: āvuso visākha (“friend Visākha”, Bonus: 10, 22.2)
he, ahe, re, are hey!; friend! (to an equal); hey, you! (in contempt); away with you! he sakhe (“hey, friend!”) {285}; alone they are particles under {284}

Every rule number links to the full rule in the Kaccāyana translation; Appendix G tables the endings themselves, bhikkhave among them {116}.

Examples

Section titled “Examples”

puriso

🚹⨀①(puriso)
a man
“A man” {284}: the ① ending names him, and nothing is said of what he does.

bho purisa

🚹⨀⓪(bho purisa)
sir / man
“Sir, man!” {285}: purisa, not puriso, after the word of address bho; the man is called, not described.

bhavanto purisā

🚹⨂⓪(bhavanto purisā)
sirs / men
“Sirs, men!” {285}: in the plural the ⓪ form is the ① form, purisā; bhavanto shows the calling.

Exercises

Section titled “Exercises”

Each sentence is from the texts of chapters 7 and 9 and the bonus chapter, and is linked to its place there. Say which words simply name their thing (①) and which call the listener (⓪), then translate; look the words up in a dictionary and note their endings.

  1. Evaṁ, bhante. (Bonus: 1, 24.15)
  2. Tayome, āvuso visākha, saṅkhārā— (Bonus: 12, 13.2)
  3. Rūpaṁ, bhikkhave, anattā. (7: 2.1)
  4. Cakkhu, bhikkhave, ādittaṁ, rūpā ādittā, cakkhuviññāṇaṁ ādittaṁ, cakkhusamphasso āditto. (9: 2.3)

Answers

Section titled “Answers”

Note: please do the exercises first before checking the answers.

  1. Evaṁ, bhante.

🔼(evaṁ) 🚹⨀⓪(bhavant)
yes / Bhante
Yes, Bhante.

bhante: the ⓪ form of bhavanta {285}, calling the one spoken to; evaṁ, a particle, stands under {284}.

  1. Tayome, āvuso visākha, saṅkhārā—

🔼(tayome) 🔼(āvuso) 🚹⨀⓪(visākha) 🚹⨂①(saṅkhāra)
these three / friend / Visākha / mental constructions
Friend Visākha, there are three types of “saṅkhārā” (mental constructions)

āvuso visākha: the word of address and the name called, ⓪ {285}, visākha not visākho; saṅkhārā simply names, ① plural {284}.

  1. Rūpaṁ, bhikkhave, anattā.

🚻⨀①(rūpa) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu) 🚹⨀①🆎(na+atta)
form / bhikkhave / not-self
rūpa (form), bhikkhave, is anattā (not-self).

rūpaṁ and anattā simply name, in ① {284}, with no verb between them; bhikkhave calls the listeners, ⓪ {285}.

  1. Cakkhu, bhikkhave, ādittaṁ, rūpā ādittā, cakkhuviññāṇaṁ ādittaṁ, cakkhusamphasso āditto.

🚻⨀①(cakkhu) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu) 🚻⨀①🔽(ta)(āditta) 🚻⨂①(rūpa) 🚻⨂①🔽(ta)(āditta) 🚻⨀①🆎(cakkhu+viññāṇa) 🚻⨀①🔽(ta)(āditta) 🚹⨀①🆎(cakkhu+samphassa) 🚹⨀①🔽(ta)(āditta)
the eye / bhikkhave / burning / forms / burning / eye-consciousness / burning / eye-contact / burning
The cakkhu (eye) is burning, rūpā (things) are burning, cakkhuviññāṇaṁ (eye-consciousness) is burning, cakkhusamphasso (eye-contact) is burning.

Every word but bhikkhave (⓪ {285}) is in ① {284}: cakkhu, rūpā, cakkhuviññāṇaṁ and cakkhusamphasso name their things in four shapes of the ending, and each āditta takes the gender and number of its noun.