Excessive case
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The excessive case is a grammatical case that denotes a transition away from a state. It is a rare case found in certain dialects of Baltic-Finnic languages. It completes the series of "to/in/from a state" series consisting of the translative case, the essive case and the excessive case.
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[edit] Finnish
The excessive is found only in Savo and southeastern dialects; speakers from other regions do not recognise it. Its ending is -nta/ntä. For example, tärähtäneentä terveeksi = "from loony to healthy", or a state change from mental illness to mental health. In its locative sense it is somewhat common and generally understood in some nonstandard forms, for example takaanta (from behind, standard Finnish takaa), siintä (from there, standard Finnish siitä).
[edit] Estonian
In the general pattern of the loss of a final vowel when compared to Finnish, the Estonian excessive ending is -nt. For example, tagant = from behind (something).
[edit] Literature
- Särkkä, Tauno: Itämerensuomalaisten kielten eksessiivi (The excessive case of the Baltic-Finnic languages), Helsinki 1969.
