Linguist from Poland specializing in Ryukyuan languages. Her main research interests involve comparative Japonic linguistics and fieldwork/documentation of Ryukyuan languages, especially Miyako.
This paper constitutes a preliminary linguistic test of the hypothesis which postulates that shar... more This paper constitutes a preliminary linguistic test of the hypothesis which postulates that shared Kyushu-Ryukyuan lexicon related to maritime knowledge provides evidence for a Kyushu-Ryukyuan subgrouping within the Japonic cladogram. The paper introduces Kyushu-Ryukyuan cognates and potential shared lexical innovations in seafaring vocabulary, cardinal directions and navigation, and marine fauna, all of which suggest a shared Kyushu-Ryukyuan navigation culture, as well as common maritime subsistence and lifestyle patterns. The case is reinforced by several promising cases of common morphological features between Kyushu and Ryukyuan. The overall conclusion is that the compared linguistic data does support the Kyushu-Ryukyuan clade. Finally, we identify a mismatch between lexical and morphological evidence concerning lower-unit classification of the South Japonic node. We observe that while shared innovative vocabulary allows to postulate Proto-Satsugū-Ryukyuan within Kyushu-Ryukyuan as the most direct mainland ancestor of Ryukyuan languages – the predecessor pre-Proto-Ryukyuan language that was still spoken in Kyushu in the first millennium AD – shared grammatical features do not suggest any particular subdivision of Kyushu-Ryukyuan.
Hunter-gatherer occupations of small islands are rare in world prehistory and it is widely accept... more Hunter-gatherer occupations of small islands are rare in world prehistory and it is widely accepted that island settlement is facilitated by agriculture. The Ryukyu Islands contradict that understanding on two counts: not only did they have a long history of hunter-gatherer settlement, they also have a very late date for the onset of agriculture, which only reached the archipelago between the 8th and 13th centuries AD. Here, we combine archaeology and linguistics to propose a tripartite model for the spread of agriculture and Ryukyuan languages to the Ryukyu Islands. Employing demographic growth, trade/piracy and the political influence of neighbouring states, this model provides a synthetic yet flexible understanding of farming/language dispersals in the Ryukyus within the complex historical background of medieval East Asia.
The paper provides introductory information on Miyako-Ryukyuan (Miyakoan). Miyakoan belongs to th... more The paper provides introductory information on Miyako-Ryukyuan (Miyakoan). Miyakoan belongs to the Sakishima branch of the Japonic language family, the concept of which counterbalances the until-recently prevalent notion that Japan should be a linguistically homogenous country, and Japanese a language isolate with many unintelligible “dialects”. Following the statement that the endangered Miyako-Ryukyuan language is in an urgent need of extensive documentation and in-depth description, as well as producing more works in English devoted to it, the author introduces a few topics that may be of interest to Japanese/ Japonic linguists and language typologists alike: the “apical” vowel, syllabic consonants, focus marking strategies and formal modality markers. Each topic has been exemplified by Miyako-Ryukyuan samples from Nikolay Nevskiy’s Taishō-era handwritten fieldnotes, as retrieved and analyzed by this author.
This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and th... more This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and their cognates in Sakishima/South Ryukyuan languages. South Ryukyuan cognates of bigrade verbs in their negative forms, as well as a number of other forms traditionally associated with the irrealis (mizenkei, 未然形) base, essentially present two suffixes: one, a straightforward cognate with the analogous suffixes elsewhere in Japonic, being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-en-, the other being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-on-, with no clear Japonic cognates. My argument is that despite the appearances, this *-en-/*-on- alternation is not a result of a Sakishima innovation, but instead is rooted in Proto-Japonic morphology of vowel verbs. By applying the rules of vowel crasis and contraction known for Proto-Japonic and Old Japanese, I postulate the proto-language coexistence of two forms of verbal negation: one derived from the Proto-Japonic ancestor of nominalized (one of the functions of th...
Using comparative evidence from the three Sakishima (South Ryukyuan) languages, Miyakoan, Yaeyama... more Using comparative evidence from the three Sakishima (South Ryukyuan) languages, Miyakoan, Yaeyaman and Dunan, this paper postulates a reconstruction of two Proto-Sakishima *a-initial diphthongs, *ao and *au, and argues that this distinction was carried over to Proto-Miyakoan and Proto-Yaeyaman. The number of vocabulary items traceable to Proto-Sakishima *au is scarce and almost exclusively involves morphologically complex forms, mostly verbs, making the *ao and *au distinction one easy to omit or disregard as random sound change irregularities. Furthermore, most of the modern Sakishima regiolects have lost the distinction between *ao and *au, Tarama-Miyakoan being the only one that consistently maintains the original distinction in all relevant areas of vocabulary and not just verbs, reflecting *ao as /au/ or /oː/ and *au as /uː/. Positing Proto-Sakishima *ao and *au in accordance with the Tarama reflexes begets new insights concerning the *o > *u raising in Sakishima as well as ...
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2021
In this paper I will be comparing Old Japanese non-back close vowels /i/ (i1 or kō-rui) and /ɨ/ (... more In this paper I will be comparing Old Japanese non-back close vowels /i/ (i1 or kō-rui) and /ɨ/ (i2 or otsu-rui) in a post-nasal position with their North and South Ryukyuan cognates in order to propose Proto-Japonic reconstructions of Old Japanese [+ nasal] [+ high,-back] sequences. The paper establishes and analyzes six correspondence sets, each representing a different Proto-Japonic sequence: *mi, *muj, *me, *ni, *noj, *nuj, and briefly discusses a couple of yet different relevant Proto-Japonic reconstructions. The study is concluded with a proposal of relative chronology of the discussed changes from Proto-Japonic to Proto-Ryukyuan. A reconstruction of Proto-Ryukyuan *ɨ, a sixth segment added to Thorpe's 1983 classical five-vowel set, is argued for as a necessary development of post-nasal *oj and *uj. This is interpreted within the context of chain-shifting processes dating to Proto-Japonic as an important catalyst of mid-vowel raising in Proto-Ryukyuan.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics 2 , 2020
This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and th... more This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and their cognates in Sakishima/South Ryukyuan languages. South Ryukyuan cognates of bigrade verbs in their negative forms, as well as a number of other forms traditionally associated with the irrealis (mizenkei, 未然形) base, essentially present two suffixes: one, a straightforward cognate with the analogous suffixes elsewhere in Japonic, being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-en-, the other being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-on-, with no clear Japonic cognates. My argument is that despite the appearances, this *-en-/*-on-alternation is not a result of a Sakishima innovation, but instead is rooted in Proto-Japonic morphology of vowel verbs. By applying the rules of vowel crasis and contraction known for Proto-Japonic and Old Japanese, I postulate the proto-language coexistence of two forms of verbal negation: one derived from the Proto-Japonic ancestor of nominalized (one of the functions of the ren'yōkei 連用形) and the other from the finite (shūshikei 終止形) base forms. I conclude that the former was broadly distributed throughout the Proto-Japonic area, while the latter was confined to the regions that eventually bore Proto-Sakishima speakers.
The present paper describes the essentials of finite verb forms in Kurima-Miyako, a topolect of M... more The present paper describes the essentials of finite verb forms in Kurima-Miyako, a topolect of Miyako-Ryukyuan spoken by an estimated few dozen people on a small island named Kurima in the Miyako island group, Okinawa Prefecture. The paper introduces findings from the author's fieldwork conducted in 2018 and 2019. Following some rudimentary information on the island and its language, the paper proposes a morphologically motivated classification of Kurima verbs into three inflectional groups, and then proceeds to discuss the finite forms as so far covered by the fieldwork, namely indicative, passive/potential, volitional, desiderative, imperative and prohibitive. The synchronic description is occasionally coupled with a diachronic analysis, most importantly concerning the proto-language reflexes allegedly retained in the passive/potential and imperative forms as well as the formal distinction of the weak conjugation verbs in the predicative and attributive positions of the indicative mood.
Proceedings of International Symposium Approaches to Endangered Languages in Japan and Northeast Asia - Poster Session -, 2019
The present paper provides an overview of eighteen identified likely cognates from Ryukyuan and K... more The present paper provides an overview of eighteen identified likely cognates from Ryukyuan and Kyushu regiolects which the author argues have been inherited from Common Kyushu-Ryukyuan (CKR). The alleged cognates all belong to non-core vocabulary, the working definition of which adopted here is “vocabulary not found on the basic vocabulary lists of Swadesh 200 and Leipzig-Jakarta.” Following Hock (1991), the author presumes that in equal relations between language communities – the relations between Pre-Proto-Ryukyuan speakers while they still inhabited the Kyushu area and speakers of other Kyushu-Japonic regiolects are believed to have been such – the so-called basic vocabulary is no more resistant to borrowing than the non-basic (including culture-specific and environment-specific) lexicon. One can thus infer that a study of non-core vocabulary would be a valuable contribution to the state of knowledge on the history of the southern Japonic language area. Consequently, this paper analyzes the distribution of putative CKR cognates in both Kyushu and the Ryukyus as well as the typology of shared features among them, discussing these against a broader Japonic background when relevant. Preliminary results show the most shared features between the Ryukyuan and Tokara regiolects, encouraging an identification of the final stage of Pre-Ryukyuan with Common Tokara-Ryukyuan. The division of the next lowest order also includes Ōsumi and Koshiki islands, implying that the pre-final stage of Pre-Ryukyuan was what is here called Common Insular Kyushu-Ryukyuan.
The paper examines conditioned changes that occurred in Miyakoan (mostly Proto-Miyakoan) reflexes... more The paper examines conditioned changes that occurred in Miyakoan (mostly Proto-Miyakoan) reflexes of Proto-Ryukyuan close vowels *i and *u after the unconditioned raising of Proto-Ryukyuan *e and *o had taken place. These changes in close vowels are interpreted here as chain shifts. The core assumption is that changes in *i and *u occurred in response to the raising of *e and *o in order to avoid or compensate for the functionally damaging merger of *i/*e and *u/*o. The paper shows that there is a rather wide range of conditions under which *i and *u produced distinct reflexes in Miyakoan. Consequently, these vowels acted differently after stops, after sibilants, after nasals, in an onsetless/standalone position, after the flap, before the flap, and before nasals and other sonorants word-initially. At the same time, reflexes of both proto-vowels have been observed to maintain certain symmetry, meaning that in a similar environment, *i and *u generally underwent similar or analogical changes. Thus, the conditions for identifying Miyakoan reflexes or *i and *u are listed and specified in this paper. Conversely, it is argued that unless one of these conditions has been met, one should reconstruct a Proto-Ryukyuan mid-vowel rather than a close vowel. Such specification may influence the comparative study of Ryukyuan languages to a significant degree, challenging a number of the so far established reconstructions (most notably Thorpe 1983).
The present paper attempts to systematize and explain the changes in Proto-Ryukyuan (PR) vowels i... more The present paper attempts to systematize and explain the changes in Proto-Ryukyuan (PR) vowels in a post-nasal position as observed in the lexicon of five daughter languages: Ie-Kunigamian/Okinawan, Shuri-Okinawan, Hirara-Miyakoan, Shika-Yaeyaman and Yonaguni/Dunan. The changes in question are related to the mid-vowel raising, which supposedly occurred only after the split of PR, but currently bears the markings of an unconditioned change in virtually all daughter languages.
Starting with an assumption that in some environments, the post-nasal raising of the mid-vowels led to the merger of original mid- and close vowels, while in different environments changes to the original close vowels keeps the reflexes of mid- and close vowels apart, the paper analyzes and compares Ryukyuan vocabulary containing the pertinent sound sequences of *mi, *mu, *ni and *nu, contrasting it with the reflexes of *me, *mo, *ne and *no. By scrutinizing in detail as many different environments of the sound sequences in question as possible, the paper aims to discover some patterns in the behavior of these sequences, examining both shared innovations and shared retentions among the daughter languages, observing the differences in the PR distribution of post-nasal mid-and close vowels, and entertaining the implications these findings hold for the general knowledge of PR.
本稿では、2018年に行われた現地調査の中間結果に基づき、宮古語来間方言の活用体系の部分的な記述を試みる。来間方言および本調査に関する基本情報を述べた上で、来間方言における強変化動詞の終止的形式... more 本稿では、2018年に行われた現地調査の中間結果に基づき、宮古語来間方言の活用体系の部分的な記述を試みる。来間方言および本調査に関する基本情報を述べた上で、来間方言における強変化動詞の終止的形式について、確認できた範囲で紹介する。形式を重視した記述方法を取り、来間方言の動詞を強変化動詞、弱変化動詞、そして不規則動詞と３つの活用グループに分類し、語幹中の音韻交替を基準に、強変化動詞をさらに３つのサブタイプに分ける。それから、肯定・否定の区別を明記しながら、非過去叙述、過去叙述、受身・可能、意志、要求・希望、命令、そして禁止、あらゆる終止用法の接尾辞を紹介する。
Using source material evidence from Japanese, two Northern Ryukyuan languages: Yoron and Shuri-Ok... more Using source material evidence from Japanese, two Northern Ryukyuan languages: Yoron and Shuri-Okinawan, and a Southern Ryukyuan language, Miyakoan, this paper is devoted to an analysis of case-marking strategies in Japonic languages pertaining to a number of semantic roles prototypically assigned to the nominative, especially the AGENT, FORCE and EXPERIENCER. The discussion centres on the following three phenomena: the overlap of the nominative and dative-marking of the EXPERIENCER, observable mostly in potential and possessive clauses; the case-marking of the RECIPIENT (causee) in the causative and the AGENT in passive voice clauses; the marking of the active voice RECIPIENT and GIVER roles as conceptually relevant to causative and passive voice clauses.
This paper constitutes a preliminary linguistic test of the hypothesis which postulates that shar... more This paper constitutes a preliminary linguistic test of the hypothesis which postulates that shared Kyushu-Ryukyuan lexicon related to maritime knowledge provides evidence for a Kyushu-Ryukyuan subgrouping within the Japonic cladogram. The paper introduces Kyushu-Ryukyuan cognates and potential shared lexical innovations in seafaring vocabulary, cardinal directions and navigation, and marine fauna, all of which suggest a shared Kyushu-Ryukyuan navigation culture, as well as common maritime subsistence and lifestyle patterns. The case is reinforced by several promising cases of common morphological features between Kyushu and Ryukyuan. The overall conclusion is that the compared linguistic data does support the Kyushu-Ryukyuan clade. Finally, we identify a mismatch between lexical and morphological evidence concerning lower-unit classification of the South Japonic node. We observe that while shared innovative vocabulary allows to postulate Proto-Satsugū-Ryukyuan within Kyushu-Ryukyuan as the most direct mainland ancestor of Ryukyuan languages – the predecessor pre-Proto-Ryukyuan language that was still spoken in Kyushu in the first millennium AD – shared grammatical features do not suggest any particular subdivision of Kyushu-Ryukyuan.
Hunter-gatherer occupations of small islands are rare in world prehistory and it is widely accept... more Hunter-gatherer occupations of small islands are rare in world prehistory and it is widely accepted that island settlement is facilitated by agriculture. The Ryukyu Islands contradict that understanding on two counts: not only did they have a long history of hunter-gatherer settlement, they also have a very late date for the onset of agriculture, which only reached the archipelago between the 8th and 13th centuries AD. Here, we combine archaeology and linguistics to propose a tripartite model for the spread of agriculture and Ryukyuan languages to the Ryukyu Islands. Employing demographic growth, trade/piracy and the political influence of neighbouring states, this model provides a synthetic yet flexible understanding of farming/language dispersals in the Ryukyus within the complex historical background of medieval East Asia.
The paper provides introductory information on Miyako-Ryukyuan (Miyakoan). Miyakoan belongs to th... more The paper provides introductory information on Miyako-Ryukyuan (Miyakoan). Miyakoan belongs to the Sakishima branch of the Japonic language family, the concept of which counterbalances the until-recently prevalent notion that Japan should be a linguistically homogenous country, and Japanese a language isolate with many unintelligible “dialects”. Following the statement that the endangered Miyako-Ryukyuan language is in an urgent need of extensive documentation and in-depth description, as well as producing more works in English devoted to it, the author introduces a few topics that may be of interest to Japanese/ Japonic linguists and language typologists alike: the “apical” vowel, syllabic consonants, focus marking strategies and formal modality markers. Each topic has been exemplified by Miyako-Ryukyuan samples from Nikolay Nevskiy’s Taishō-era handwritten fieldnotes, as retrieved and analyzed by this author.
This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and th... more This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and their cognates in Sakishima/South Ryukyuan languages. South Ryukyuan cognates of bigrade verbs in their negative forms, as well as a number of other forms traditionally associated with the irrealis (mizenkei, 未然形) base, essentially present two suffixes: one, a straightforward cognate with the analogous suffixes elsewhere in Japonic, being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-en-, the other being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-on-, with no clear Japonic cognates. My argument is that despite the appearances, this *-en-/*-on- alternation is not a result of a Sakishima innovation, but instead is rooted in Proto-Japonic morphology of vowel verbs. By applying the rules of vowel crasis and contraction known for Proto-Japonic and Old Japanese, I postulate the proto-language coexistence of two forms of verbal negation: one derived from the Proto-Japonic ancestor of nominalized (one of the functions of th...
Using comparative evidence from the three Sakishima (South Ryukyuan) languages, Miyakoan, Yaeyama... more Using comparative evidence from the three Sakishima (South Ryukyuan) languages, Miyakoan, Yaeyaman and Dunan, this paper postulates a reconstruction of two Proto-Sakishima *a-initial diphthongs, *ao and *au, and argues that this distinction was carried over to Proto-Miyakoan and Proto-Yaeyaman. The number of vocabulary items traceable to Proto-Sakishima *au is scarce and almost exclusively involves morphologically complex forms, mostly verbs, making the *ao and *au distinction one easy to omit or disregard as random sound change irregularities. Furthermore, most of the modern Sakishima regiolects have lost the distinction between *ao and *au, Tarama-Miyakoan being the only one that consistently maintains the original distinction in all relevant areas of vocabulary and not just verbs, reflecting *ao as /au/ or /oː/ and *au as /uː/. Positing Proto-Sakishima *ao and *au in accordance with the Tarama reflexes begets new insights concerning the *o > *u raising in Sakishima as well as ...
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics, 2021
In this paper I will be comparing Old Japanese non-back close vowels /i/ (i1 or kō-rui) and /ɨ/ (... more In this paper I will be comparing Old Japanese non-back close vowels /i/ (i1 or kō-rui) and /ɨ/ (i2 or otsu-rui) in a post-nasal position with their North and South Ryukyuan cognates in order to propose Proto-Japonic reconstructions of Old Japanese [+ nasal] [+ high,-back] sequences. The paper establishes and analyzes six correspondence sets, each representing a different Proto-Japonic sequence: *mi, *muj, *me, *ni, *noj, *nuj, and briefly discusses a couple of yet different relevant Proto-Japonic reconstructions. The study is concluded with a proposal of relative chronology of the discussed changes from Proto-Japonic to Proto-Ryukyuan. A reconstruction of Proto-Ryukyuan *ɨ, a sixth segment added to Thorpe's 1983 classical five-vowel set, is argued for as a necessary development of post-nasal *oj and *uj. This is interpreted within the context of chain-shifting processes dating to Proto-Japonic as an important catalyst of mid-vowel raising in Proto-Ryukyuan.
International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics 2 , 2020
This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and th... more This paper provides a comparative analysis of Old Japanese negative forms of bigrade verbs and their cognates in Sakishima/South Ryukyuan languages. South Ryukyuan cognates of bigrade verbs in their negative forms, as well as a number of other forms traditionally associated with the irrealis (mizenkei, 未然形) base, essentially present two suffixes: one, a straightforward cognate with the analogous suffixes elsewhere in Japonic, being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-en-, the other being traceable to Proto-Sakishima *-on-, with no clear Japonic cognates. My argument is that despite the appearances, this *-en-/*-on-alternation is not a result of a Sakishima innovation, but instead is rooted in Proto-Japonic morphology of vowel verbs. By applying the rules of vowel crasis and contraction known for Proto-Japonic and Old Japanese, I postulate the proto-language coexistence of two forms of verbal negation: one derived from the Proto-Japonic ancestor of nominalized (one of the functions of the ren'yōkei 連用形) and the other from the finite (shūshikei 終止形) base forms. I conclude that the former was broadly distributed throughout the Proto-Japonic area, while the latter was confined to the regions that eventually bore Proto-Sakishima speakers.
The present paper describes the essentials of finite verb forms in Kurima-Miyako, a topolect of M... more The present paper describes the essentials of finite verb forms in Kurima-Miyako, a topolect of Miyako-Ryukyuan spoken by an estimated few dozen people on a small island named Kurima in the Miyako island group, Okinawa Prefecture. The paper introduces findings from the author's fieldwork conducted in 2018 and 2019. Following some rudimentary information on the island and its language, the paper proposes a morphologically motivated classification of Kurima verbs into three inflectional groups, and then proceeds to discuss the finite forms as so far covered by the fieldwork, namely indicative, passive/potential, volitional, desiderative, imperative and prohibitive. The synchronic description is occasionally coupled with a diachronic analysis, most importantly concerning the proto-language reflexes allegedly retained in the passive/potential and imperative forms as well as the formal distinction of the weak conjugation verbs in the predicative and attributive positions of the indicative mood.
Proceedings of International Symposium Approaches to Endangered Languages in Japan and Northeast Asia - Poster Session -, 2019
The present paper provides an overview of eighteen identified likely cognates from Ryukyuan and K... more The present paper provides an overview of eighteen identified likely cognates from Ryukyuan and Kyushu regiolects which the author argues have been inherited from Common Kyushu-Ryukyuan (CKR). The alleged cognates all belong to non-core vocabulary, the working definition of which adopted here is “vocabulary not found on the basic vocabulary lists of Swadesh 200 and Leipzig-Jakarta.” Following Hock (1991), the author presumes that in equal relations between language communities – the relations between Pre-Proto-Ryukyuan speakers while they still inhabited the Kyushu area and speakers of other Kyushu-Japonic regiolects are believed to have been such – the so-called basic vocabulary is no more resistant to borrowing than the non-basic (including culture-specific and environment-specific) lexicon. One can thus infer that a study of non-core vocabulary would be a valuable contribution to the state of knowledge on the history of the southern Japonic language area. Consequently, this paper analyzes the distribution of putative CKR cognates in both Kyushu and the Ryukyus as well as the typology of shared features among them, discussing these against a broader Japonic background when relevant. Preliminary results show the most shared features between the Ryukyuan and Tokara regiolects, encouraging an identification of the final stage of Pre-Ryukyuan with Common Tokara-Ryukyuan. The division of the next lowest order also includes Ōsumi and Koshiki islands, implying that the pre-final stage of Pre-Ryukyuan was what is here called Common Insular Kyushu-Ryukyuan.
The paper examines conditioned changes that occurred in Miyakoan (mostly Proto-Miyakoan) reflexes... more The paper examines conditioned changes that occurred in Miyakoan (mostly Proto-Miyakoan) reflexes of Proto-Ryukyuan close vowels *i and *u after the unconditioned raising of Proto-Ryukyuan *e and *o had taken place. These changes in close vowels are interpreted here as chain shifts. The core assumption is that changes in *i and *u occurred in response to the raising of *e and *o in order to avoid or compensate for the functionally damaging merger of *i/*e and *u/*o. The paper shows that there is a rather wide range of conditions under which *i and *u produced distinct reflexes in Miyakoan. Consequently, these vowels acted differently after stops, after sibilants, after nasals, in an onsetless/standalone position, after the flap, before the flap, and before nasals and other sonorants word-initially. At the same time, reflexes of both proto-vowels have been observed to maintain certain symmetry, meaning that in a similar environment, *i and *u generally underwent similar or analogical changes. Thus, the conditions for identifying Miyakoan reflexes or *i and *u are listed and specified in this paper. Conversely, it is argued that unless one of these conditions has been met, one should reconstruct a Proto-Ryukyuan mid-vowel rather than a close vowel. Such specification may influence the comparative study of Ryukyuan languages to a significant degree, challenging a number of the so far established reconstructions (most notably Thorpe 1983).
The present paper attempts to systematize and explain the changes in Proto-Ryukyuan (PR) vowels i... more The present paper attempts to systematize and explain the changes in Proto-Ryukyuan (PR) vowels in a post-nasal position as observed in the lexicon of five daughter languages: Ie-Kunigamian/Okinawan, Shuri-Okinawan, Hirara-Miyakoan, Shika-Yaeyaman and Yonaguni/Dunan. The changes in question are related to the mid-vowel raising, which supposedly occurred only after the split of PR, but currently bears the markings of an unconditioned change in virtually all daughter languages.
Starting with an assumption that in some environments, the post-nasal raising of the mid-vowels led to the merger of original mid- and close vowels, while in different environments changes to the original close vowels keeps the reflexes of mid- and close vowels apart, the paper analyzes and compares Ryukyuan vocabulary containing the pertinent sound sequences of *mi, *mu, *ni and *nu, contrasting it with the reflexes of *me, *mo, *ne and *no. By scrutinizing in detail as many different environments of the sound sequences in question as possible, the paper aims to discover some patterns in the behavior of these sequences, examining both shared innovations and shared retentions among the daughter languages, observing the differences in the PR distribution of post-nasal mid-and close vowels, and entertaining the implications these findings hold for the general knowledge of PR.
本稿では、2018年に行われた現地調査の中間結果に基づき、宮古語来間方言の活用体系の部分的な記述を試みる。来間方言および本調査に関する基本情報を述べた上で、来間方言における強変化動詞の終止的形式... more 本稿では、2018年に行われた現地調査の中間結果に基づき、宮古語来間方言の活用体系の部分的な記述を試みる。来間方言および本調査に関する基本情報を述べた上で、来間方言における強変化動詞の終止的形式について、確認できた範囲で紹介する。形式を重視した記述方法を取り、来間方言の動詞を強変化動詞、弱変化動詞、そして不規則動詞と３つの活用グループに分類し、語幹中の音韻交替を基準に、強変化動詞をさらに３つのサブタイプに分ける。それから、肯定・否定の区別を明記しながら、非過去叙述、過去叙述、受身・可能、意志、要求・希望、命令、そして禁止、あらゆる終止用法の接尾辞を紹介する。
Using source material evidence from Japanese, two Northern Ryukyuan languages: Yoron and Shuri-Ok... more Using source material evidence from Japanese, two Northern Ryukyuan languages: Yoron and Shuri-Okinawan, and a Southern Ryukyuan language, Miyakoan, this paper is devoted to an analysis of case-marking strategies in Japonic languages pertaining to a number of semantic roles prototypically assigned to the nominative, especially the AGENT, FORCE and EXPERIENCER. The discussion centres on the following three phenomena: the overlap of the nominative and dative-marking of the EXPERIENCER, observable mostly in potential and possessive clauses; the case-marking of the RECIPIENT (causee) in the causative and the AGENT in passive voice clauses; the marking of the active voice RECIPIENT and GIVER roles as conceptually relevant to causative and passive voice clauses.
We welcome contributions on any topic related to broadly comprehended Japanese studies, including... more We welcome contributions on any topic related to broadly comprehended Japanese studies, including language, literature, social studies, cultural studies, religious studies, history, politics, and economy. In particular, however, we encourage proposals that accord with the rather capacious leading theme of the Conference: NEW Insights Through Revision of the OLD: Changes, Chances and Challenges from Ancient Times to the Global Era Japan. Specific research threads acknowledging this theme involve, although are not limited to, subjects such as: mythology of Japan, reality and fiction in Japanese literature, mass media and popular culture, scholarly and utilitarian approaches to history, conceptions of exceptionality and/or homogeneity of Japan and the Japanese, all of which can be discussed in the context of the influence of the past on the present of Japan. The leading theme of the Conference stems from the perspective that the image of Japan is often blurred by myths and misconceptions, the identification of which is necessary to render this image more clear and closer to reality. It is the organizers’ hope that through offering a space for a vigorous, taboo-free academic discussion of relevant and timely subjects, the Conference will provide an opportunity to make a small step into this direction.
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Papers by Aleksandra Jarosz
lexicon related to maritime knowledge provides evidence for a Kyushu-Ryukyuan subgrouping within the Japonic cladogram. The paper introduces Kyushu-Ryukyuan cognates and potential shared lexical innovations in seafaring vocabulary, cardinal directions and navigation, and marine fauna, all of which suggest a shared Kyushu-Ryukyuan navigation culture, as well as common maritime subsistence and lifestyle patterns. The case is reinforced by several promising cases of common morphological features between Kyushu and Ryukyuan. The overall conclusion is that the compared linguistic data does support the Kyushu-Ryukyuan clade. Finally, we identify a mismatch between lexical and morphological evidence concerning lower-unit classification of the South Japonic node. We observe that while shared innovative vocabulary allows to postulate Proto-Satsugū-Ryukyuan within Kyushu-Ryukyuan as the most direct mainland ancestor of Ryukyuan languages – the predecessor pre-Proto-Ryukyuan language that was still spoken in Kyushu in the first millennium AD – shared grammatical features do not suggest any particular subdivision of Kyushu-Ryukyuan.
taken place. These changes in close vowels are interpreted here as chain shifts. The core assumption is that changes in *i and *u occurred in response to the raising of *e and *o in order to avoid or compensate for the functionally damaging merger of *i/*e and *u/*o.
The paper shows that there is a rather wide range of conditions under which *i and *u produced distinct reflexes in Miyakoan. Consequently, these vowels acted differently after stops, after sibilants, after nasals, in
an onsetless/standalone position, after the flap, before the flap, and before nasals and other sonorants word-initially.
At the same time, reflexes of both proto-vowels have been observed to maintain certain symmetry, meaning that in a similar environment, *i and *u generally underwent similar or analogical changes. Thus, the conditions for identifying Miyakoan reflexes or *i and *u are listed and specified in this paper. Conversely, it is argued that unless one of these conditions has been met, one should reconstruct a Proto-Ryukyuan
mid-vowel rather than a close vowel. Such specification may influence the comparative study of Ryukyuan languages to a significant degree, challenging a number of the so far established reconstructions
(most notably Thorpe 1983).
Starting with an assumption that in some environments, the post-nasal raising of the mid-vowels led to the merger of original mid- and close vowels, while in different environments changes to the original close vowels keeps the reflexes of mid- and close vowels apart, the paper analyzes and compares Ryukyuan vocabulary containing the pertinent sound sequences of *mi, *mu, *ni and *nu, contrasting it with the reflexes of *me, *mo, *ne and *no. By scrutinizing in detail as many different environments of the sound sequences in question as possible, the paper aims to discover some patterns in the behavior of these sequences, examining both shared innovations and shared retentions among the daughter languages, observing the differences in the PR distribution of post-nasal mid-and close vowels, and entertaining the implications these findings hold for the general knowledge of PR.
他の宮古諸方言における二重母音ai が来間方言の長母音eːに相当する場合を検討する。宮古諸方言と上代中央語との比較を通して、areː「洗え」のように、来間方言の命令形はエ甲に対応する痕跡を保っていると論じる。一方、宮古語多良間方言において長母音eːが現れるのは接続形 ― 已然形対応形 ― である。これは上代中央語の命令形にエ甲、已然形にエ乙が現れていたような、日琉祖語から継承した区別と思われる。宮古祖語で前者を*aje、後者を*ae と再建する。さらに、来間方言の受身・可能形に-ari と-reːという２形式があり、これらも甲乙の区別に相当し、上代の-ru と-je 形式に対応しているとする。
lexicon related to maritime knowledge provides evidence for a Kyushu-Ryukyuan subgrouping within the Japonic cladogram. The paper introduces Kyushu-Ryukyuan cognates and potential shared lexical innovations in seafaring vocabulary, cardinal directions and navigation, and marine fauna, all of which suggest a shared Kyushu-Ryukyuan navigation culture, as well as common maritime subsistence and lifestyle patterns. The case is reinforced by several promising cases of common morphological features between Kyushu and Ryukyuan. The overall conclusion is that the compared linguistic data does support the Kyushu-Ryukyuan clade. Finally, we identify a mismatch between lexical and morphological evidence concerning lower-unit classification of the South Japonic node. We observe that while shared innovative vocabulary allows to postulate Proto-Satsugū-Ryukyuan within Kyushu-Ryukyuan as the most direct mainland ancestor of Ryukyuan languages – the predecessor pre-Proto-Ryukyuan language that was still spoken in Kyushu in the first millennium AD – shared grammatical features do not suggest any particular subdivision of Kyushu-Ryukyuan.
taken place. These changes in close vowels are interpreted here as chain shifts. The core assumption is that changes in *i and *u occurred in response to the raising of *e and *o in order to avoid or compensate for the functionally damaging merger of *i/*e and *u/*o.
The paper shows that there is a rather wide range of conditions under which *i and *u produced distinct reflexes in Miyakoan. Consequently, these vowels acted differently after stops, after sibilants, after nasals, in
an onsetless/standalone position, after the flap, before the flap, and before nasals and other sonorants word-initially.
At the same time, reflexes of both proto-vowels have been observed to maintain certain symmetry, meaning that in a similar environment, *i and *u generally underwent similar or analogical changes. Thus, the conditions for identifying Miyakoan reflexes or *i and *u are listed and specified in this paper. Conversely, it is argued that unless one of these conditions has been met, one should reconstruct a Proto-Ryukyuan
mid-vowel rather than a close vowel. Such specification may influence the comparative study of Ryukyuan languages to a significant degree, challenging a number of the so far established reconstructions
(most notably Thorpe 1983).
Starting with an assumption that in some environments, the post-nasal raising of the mid-vowels led to the merger of original mid- and close vowels, while in different environments changes to the original close vowels keeps the reflexes of mid- and close vowels apart, the paper analyzes and compares Ryukyuan vocabulary containing the pertinent sound sequences of *mi, *mu, *ni and *nu, contrasting it with the reflexes of *me, *mo, *ne and *no. By scrutinizing in detail as many different environments of the sound sequences in question as possible, the paper aims to discover some patterns in the behavior of these sequences, examining both shared innovations and shared retentions among the daughter languages, observing the differences in the PR distribution of post-nasal mid-and close vowels, and entertaining the implications these findings hold for the general knowledge of PR.
他の宮古諸方言における二重母音ai が来間方言の長母音eːに相当する場合を検討する。宮古諸方言と上代中央語との比較を通して、areː「洗え」のように、来間方言の命令形はエ甲に対応する痕跡を保っていると論じる。一方、宮古語多良間方言において長母音eːが現れるのは接続形 ― 已然形対応形 ― である。これは上代中央語の命令形にエ甲、已然形にエ乙が現れていたような、日琉祖語から継承した区別と思われる。宮古祖語で前者を*aje、後者を*ae と再建する。さらに、来間方言の受身・可能形に-ari と-reːという２形式があり、これらも甲乙の区別に相当し、上代の-ru と-je 形式に対応しているとする。
The leading theme of the Conference stems from the perspective that the image of Japan is often blurred by myths and misconceptions, the identification of which is necessary to render this image more clear and closer to reality. It is the organizers’ hope that through offering a space for a vigorous, taboo-free academic discussion of relevant and timely subjects, the Conference will provide an opportunity to make a small step into this direction.