If the exponent of vocative is a prefix, then this prefix has arisen from 1st person possessor or a 2nd person subject.
Standardized
IF the exponent of vocative is a prefix, THEN this marker has been reanalysed from a 1st person possessor marker on nouns or a 2nd person subject marker on verbs.
mainly based on a survey of Nootkan languages (Almosan), but also on a sampling of vocative forms in other langugaes, and is assumed to be valid generally
To rephrase it without If-Then:The only source of vocative prefixes are 1st person possessor or 2nd person subject markers, while vocative suffixes presumably have other sources, perhaps including 1st/2nd person markers.
To rephrase it without If-Then:The only source of vocative prefixes are 1st person possessor or 2nd person subject markers, while vocative suffixes presumably have other sources, perhaps including 1st/2nd person markers.