1852.] On the Connection of the Dative and Accusative cases. 107 



In English, and most modern European languages, all nouns have 

 the same form in the nominative and accusative. 



In Turkish the accusative is identical with the nominative, when it 

 is indefinite and immediately precedes the verb.* 



In Hebrew the two cases are the same, except that defined nouns 

 (i. e. nouns with the article, or in construction) are frequently pre- 

 ceded by JIN. 



In Armenianf exactly the same holds ; the nominative and accusa- 

 tive coincide except that za is prefixed to defined nouns. 



III. Specific analogies. 



The above inferences, drawn from the facts of the case, and sup- 

 ported in part by the general analogy of other languages, are still lia- 

 ble to the charge (which it is so hard to rebut) of theorizing. But 

 fortunately we have some more special analogies to present in con- 

 firmation of what has been said. For 



(1) In the Persian, we find, that when the noun is indefinite, the 

 accusative coincides with the nominative ; but that if the noun be 

 defined, \j is suffixed, this \j being also used to express the dative. 



(2) In the Syriac, the dative and accusative have a prefixed ^ 

 (= Engl, to) as their common characteristic. Now this ^ may be 

 dropped in the accusative, especially if the noun is indefinite, but cannot 

 in the dative. J 



(3) In the Spanish, when the object of a verb denotes a person, 

 it is regularly preceded by the preposition 4 i. e. by the common 

 sign of the dative. § 



Now (whatever may be said of the Persian), there can, at least in 

 the two last instances, be no question about the accusative form's being 

 borrowed from the dative. 



IV. The rationale of this inferred fact. 



On the hypothesis of the termination's belonging properly to the 



* Kazim-Beg's " Turkish-Tatar Grammar." 



f Petermann's Arm. Gr. "Accusativi forma a forma nominativi diversa non 

 est, &c." 



X Uhlemann, Syr. Sprach-Lehre : § 75. 



§ Him, whom, and them, were originally datives. See Dr. Latham " On the 

 English Language." 



r 2 



