Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.22210/jezik.2025.72.10
Deviations from the Orthographic Norm in Writing Vocatives
Alen Orlić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5736-2569
Abstract
After introductory remarks on the vocative, the paper provides an overview of what
has been written about the vocative in contemporary orthography manuals of the Croatian
language, i.e., it lists the orthography rules regarding the use of vocatives in written texts,
and then provides examples of deviations from these spelling rules. Although in the vast
majority of cases it does not affect the meaning and understanding of the text, the paper shows that deviations from the spelling norm in writing vocatives can sometimes cause
communication misunderstandings. It has been observed that the omission of a comma in
writing vocatives is particularly common when the vocative is accompanied by an exclamation,
and therefore the paper proposes that in future editions of the Croatian orthography
manuals it should be emphasized that the vocative should be separated by a comma even
when it is preceded by an exclamation.
Keywords
vocative; spelling norm; deviations from the spelling norm; comma
Hrčak ID:
335007
URI
Publication date:
1.4.2025.
Visits: 759 *