Uhm Phd 4271 R.Pdf

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Uhm Phd 4271 R.Pdf UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I LIBRARY A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ACCENTUAL HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE AND RYUKYUAN LANGUAGES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN LINGUISTICS DECEMBER 2002 BY Moriyo Shimabukuro Dissertation Committee: Leon A. Serafim, Chairman Robert Blust Kenneth Rehg Patricia Donegan Robert Huey llJ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Looking back upon my life in Honolulu, I have realized how wonderful my life has been. Vivid memories come back as if I am turning pages of a picture album. People that I have met made my life here precious. My studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa have been very fruitful. Since the day I arrived, I have learned a great number of things about the Japonic languages from Leon A. Serafim, my advisor. I have really enjoyed myself being with him. This dissertation could not have been completed without his valuable comments, insightful suggestions, and encouragement. lowe him a great amount, especially his time and energy that he spent with me while I was writing my dissertation. To express my appreciation, I would like to say "Ippee nihwee deebiru." I would also like to thank my other committee members, Ken Rehg, Robert Blust, Patricia Donegan, and Robert Huey, for reading this dissertation and giving me insightful comments. I learned a lot from discussions with them. I am grateful to them for being on my committee. I would also like to express my gratitude to Alexander Vovin, who has taught me a lot in class and outside classrooms while I was at the university. His comments and suggestions on my dissertation are very precious and helpful. I am also grateful to my parents, who have been looking forward to my graduation for a long time. They have been very understanding and supportive IV for my studies abroad since I left Okinawa. Without their support, my goal would not have been achieved. Special thanks go to my friends that I have met while at the university. I especially thank those in the Department of Linguistics and the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures for their support and encouragement. I also appreciate my friends in Hale Manoa for their friendship. I really enjoyed myself spending time with them. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the late Chizuko Kadekaru. I thank her for her constant support and encouragement. She was waiting to see me complete this dissertation in vain. I would like to dedicate this dissertation to her memory. v ABSTRACT This dissertation reconstructs the accentual history of the Japonic languages (Le., the Japanese and Ryukyuan languages). Applying the comparative method, the reconstruction of Proto Japonic (PI) accent is based on modem dialects ofJapanese and Ryukyuan and also on the dialect of the Ruiju My6gi-shO (a text written in the 11th century). The author looks into 'natural' accentual changes in theJaponic languages and formalizes them. Using these changes or rules, he accounts for the developments of the accent systems of descendant dialects or languages from PJ. Furthermore, he takes typology of accent (i.e., locus and register) into account and explains how typologically different accent systems develop. The dissertation has revealed that Hattori Shiro's accentual subcategories for disyllables are seen not only in Amami and Okinawa Ryukyuan, as he claims, but also seen in Yaeyama and Miyako Ryukyuan. Based on this, the author argues that Proto Ryukyuan (PR) and PJ must have had these distinctions, although Hattori did not reconstruct them. Therefore, there are in total eight accent categories for PJ disyllables - it had been thought that there were only five distinctions. Kyoto dialect has been thought to have evolved directly from the dialect of the Ruiju My6gi-shO. Because of this, it was difficult to account for the development of Kyoto dialect. However, based on accentual correspondences, the author contends that Kyoto dialect is not a direct descendant of the dialect of VI the Ruiju Myogi-shO, and that the development of the Kyoto dialect is explained by the aforementioned natural changes. The correlation between a long vowel in the initial syllable and word­ initial register has been suggested by Samuel E. Martin and Hattori. However, the register in relation to the length has not been reconstructed. This dissertation gives more evidence to support the register hypothesis, and reconstructs a register system in PR and PJ. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOLEWGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT v UST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND NOTATIONS vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .•....•............•...•..••......•.. 1 1.1. BRIEF INTRODUCTION ON JAPONIC LANGUAGE HISTORy •...•..•......•.•...............•........, 1 1.1.1. Proto Japonic and Proto Ryukyuan 1 1.1.2. Relation to social and political history ofJapanese archipelago " .. .. ..... .. 2 1.1.3. Relation to other languages in the region....................... 3 1.2. ISSUES TO BE DEALT WITH AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE ISSUES .•...............•.••...•.•........•....•...•..•.....•..•• 4 1. Kindaichi's or Ramsey's hypothesis.............................. 4 2. Pitch and vowel length 6 3. Devoiced vowels...................................................... 6 4. How pitch accent changes in Japanese 7 5. Whether neighboring languages such as Korean and Ainu have kept suprasegmental and segmental features of earlier stages of theJapanese language..................... 7 6. Whitman's Law....................................................... 7 7. Register and initial voiced obstruents 8 1.3. PITCH ACCENT IN RELATION TO MORAS, SYLLABLES, PITCH, STRESS, AND TONES ••••.•.•.••...•.... 9 CHAPTER 2: CRITICAL REVIEW •.•.•.•.•.••.••.•.•.•.•.••.•.•..•........ 17 2.1. HATTORI..............••...•.•.•..•.•...•...•.•.•..•. 17 2.2. KINDAICHI ...........•........•..•..••••...•.••...•.•...••......•.....•... 32 2.3. TOKUGAWA ..•••...•.•.•...••.....••.•.......••...•......•.....••......... 43 2.4. OKUDA ..••...•....••.•.••.•.•...•...••..•.. .•.....•..•....... 49 2.5. MCCAWLEY 52 2.6. RAMSEY ........................•..•....•.................. •.. 59 2.7. THORPE ...•..•... .•.•... 67 2.8. MARTIN .........................•.....••.....•................•..•..•......•. 73 2.9. MATSUMORI •......••••••......•.•.•....•.•................................ 77 viii CHAPTER 3: HISTORICAL LINGUISTIC METHODS . 86 3.1. "KOKUGOGAKU" IN JAPAN •..•..••......................'" . 86 3.2. WESTERN LINGUISTICS ...•...........•...•.•...•..•.....•........... 87 3.3. METHODOLOGY .•...•....•..•....•.•.......•...................••.•..... 88 3.3.1. Methods for reconstruction of Proto Japonic and Proto Ryukyuan accent . 88 3.3.2. Establishment of accent categories .. 89 3.3.3. Filling the categories with phonological material . 90 3.3.4. Explanation of the development of modem accent with phonetically reasonable sound changes . 92 3.3.5. Phonological framework .. 93 CHAPTER 4: ACCENT CHANGE ....•..•........••.•......•..•............ 96 4.0. INTRODUCTION .•..•.•••..•••.••...•..•...............................•. 96 4.1. ACCENT CHANGE IN JAPONIC LANGUAGES .•.............. 96 4.1.1. Accentual change in historical written records................... 97 4.1.2. Accent in careful speech and connected speech 107 4.1.3. Accent shift in relation to vowel devoicing 111 4.1.4. Accent change in relation to vowel length 113 4.1.5. Accent shift in relation to vowel quality 113 4.1.6. Accent conditioned by syllable structure 114 4.1.7. Accent in two different generations................................ 114 4.1.8. Overview 115 4.2. ACCENT CHANGE IN OTHER LANGUAGES .••........••..... 117 4.2.1. Korean 118 4.2.2. African languages......................................... .. 121 4.2.2.1. Phonetic tone rules 122 4.2.2.2. Morphophonemic tone rules................................. 126 4.2.2.3. Summary ~..... 128 4.2.3. Austronesian languages 129 4.2.3.1. Bahasa Indonesia 129 4.2.32. Mukah 130 4.2.3.3. Sangiric languages 131 4.2.3.4. Conclusion on accentual change in Austronesian languages...................................... 131 4.2.4. Chinese 132 4.2.5. Summary 133 CHAPTER 5: RECONSTRUCTION OF PROTO RYUKYUAN ACCENT....................................................... 135 5.1. INTRODUCTION 135 IX 5.2. AMAMI RYUKYUAN ..............•......•.••..........•.........•..'" 136 5.2.1. Description of Amami Ryukyuan accent........................ 136 5.2.1.1. Naze dialect 137 5.2.1.2. Kamishiro dialect... .. .... 142 5.2.1.3. Kametsu dialect 149 5.2.2. Correspondences and reconstruction of Proto Amami accent 154 5.2.3. Discussion on methods for reconstruction 161 5.2.4. Development of accent from PA to modem Amami dialects 172 5.2.4.1. Development of Naze accent 173 5.2.4.2. Development of Kamishiro accent 175 5.2.4.3. Development of Kametsu accent 178 5.3. OKINAWA RYUKYUAN .........•......••.••...•.•........•.......•. 180 5.3.1. Description of Okinawa Ryukyuan 180 5.3.1.1. Nakijin dialect 180 5.3.1.2. Shuri dialect 187 5.3.1.3. Aguni dialect 191 5.3.2. Correspondences and reconstruction of Proto Okinawan accent 195 5.3.3. Accent and vowel length 202 5.3.4. Development of Modem Okinawan accent from Proto Okinawan accent ,.. .. .. .. .. ... 208 5.3.4.1. Development of Nakijin accent 208 5.3.4.2. Development of Shuri accent.................................... 211 5.3.4.3. Development of Aguni accent 214 5.4. MIYAKO RYUKYUAN ..••....•.•.•............................•....•. 217 5.4.1. Description of Miyako Ryukyuan accent 217 5.4.1.1. Ikema dialect 217 5.4.1.2. Oura dialect
Recommended publications
  • Morphological Clues to the Relationships of Japanese and Korean
    Morphological clues to the relationships of Japanese and Korean Samuel E. Martin 0. The striking similarities in structure of the Turkic, Mongolian, and Tungusic languages have led scholars to embrace the perennially premature hypothesis of a genetic relationship as the "Altaic" family, and some have extended the hypothesis to include Korean (K) and Japanese (J). Many of the structural similarities that have been noticed, however, are widespread in languages of the world and characterize any well-behaved language of the agglutinative type in which object precedes verb and all modifiers precede what is mod- ified. Proof of the relationships, if any, among these languages is sought by comparing words which may exemplify putative phono- logical correspondences that point back to earlier systems through a series of well-motivated changes through time. The recent work of John Whitman on Korean and Japanese is an excellent example of productive research in this area. The derivative morphology, the means by which the stems of many verbs and nouns were created, appears to be largely a matter of developments in the individual languages, though certain formants have been proposed as putative cognates for two or more of these languages. Because of the relative shortness of the elements involved and the difficulty of pinning down their semantic functions (if any), we do well to approach the study of comparative morphology with caution, reconstructing in depth the earliest forms of the vocabulary of each language before indulging in freewheeling comparisons outside that domain. To a lesser extent, that is true also of the grammatical morphology, the affixes or particles that mark words as participants in the phrases, sentences (either overt clauses or obviously underlying proposi- tions), discourse blocks, and situational frames of reference that constitute the creative units of language use.
    [Show full text]
  • On Translation a Short Introduction to the Japanese Language Will
    On Translation A short introduction to the Japanese language will illustrate the kind of difficulties one encounters in translating Japanese into the European languages, and vice versa. Linguistically, Japanese is an isolated language. It has no relation to Chinese. It must have had some relation to Korean, another isolated language, but the two went into different directions thousands of years ago. Some linguists claim that the Japanese language, along with the Korean, belongs to the Ural-Altaic family, yet the claim remains hypothetical. The Japanese language features some characteristics that would seem most strange to those who are only familiar with the European languages. For example, a grammatical subject is unnecessary in Japanese to construct a grammatically complete sentence. “淋しい” (Sabishii) means (someone is) lonely. It is a complete sentence, but there is no subject. The sentence may mean ‘I’m lonely,’ ‘you are lonely,’ ‘he/she is lonely,’ ‘the rock is lonely,’ ‘all human beings are lonely,’ etc, depending on the context. It may furthermore refer to a vague sense of loneliness which needn’t be specified. It is true that in some European languages, such as Italian, a grammatically complete sentence is possible without a named subject. But the subject can always be determined by the inflection of the verb (and often also by the changes in the articles, adjectives and nouns): “Sono sola,” “Sei solo.” A Japanese sentence may be very long and still be without a subject. Tale of Genji , for instance, might contain a sequence of three long sentences without subjects, yet in each a different subject would be implied.
    [Show full text]
  • Uhm Phd 9506222 R.Pdf
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UM! films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent UJWD the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adverselyaffect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-band comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. U·M·I University Microfilms tnternauonat A Bell & Howell tntorrnatron Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. M148106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800:521·0600 Order Number 9506222 The linguistic and psycholinguistic nature of kanji: Do kanji represent and trigger only meanings? Matsunaga, Sachiko, Ph.D. University of Hawaii, 1994 Copyright @1994 by Matsunaga, Sachiko.
    [Show full text]
  • The Interlinear Poetic Gloss of Japanese
    Rubi -The interlinear poetic gloss of Japanese Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology at SOL Lund Centre for Languages and Literature Div of Chinese Studies and Japanese Studies Bachelor thesis: Spring 2016 Edvin Melander Supervisor: Lars Larm © Copyright Edvin Melander The Faculties of Humanities and Theology Lund University Box 201 SE-221 00 Lund Sweden Phone: +46 (0)46 222 32 10 Humanistiska och teologiska fakulteterna vid SOL Lund Lund Universitet Box 201 SE-221 00 Lund Phone: +46 (0)46 222 32 10 Abstract The Japanese language has a complex system containing four different scripts. Through the combined usage of these scripts into something sometimes referred to as interlinear glossing, it is possible for the writer to express a wide range of poetic styles in a way that is quite unique to the Japanese language. Ranging from metonymical relations between words and sentences, to synecdoche, word play and visual rhymes. This thesis reviews some of the more recent research that has been conducted surrounding the combining of these different scripts to form poetical nuances and functions in written text, to try and find out just what functions and nuances these provide for written text and dialogue. The usage of five distinct but often overlapping categories of interlinear gloss will also be examined. This is done through the use of a questionnaire, where native Japanese speakers have been asked about these five different styles of usage separately in order to gain more sociolinguistic data regarding what nuances, implications, societal implications, functions etc, that these provide. Keywords: Ateji, Furigana, Interlinear gloss, Playful gloss, Rubi Foreword First, I would like to thank my teacher and thesis supervisor Lars Larm for his enthusiastic and tireless guidance, for the many hours spent after class discussing all kinds of matters relating to both language and writing, and especially for his many encouraging words along the way.
    [Show full text]
  • UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Speaking with an Accent in Northern Japan: Discrimination and Dialect Ideologies Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9888279n Author Everhart, Edwin Keely Publication Date 2018 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Speaking with an Accent in Northern Japan: Discrimination and Dialect Ideologies A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Edwin Keely Everhart 2018 © Copyright by Edwin Keely Everhart 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Speaking with an Accent in Northern Japan: Discrimination and Dialect Ideologies by Edwin Keely Everhart Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Paul V Kroskrity, Chair This dissertation investigates the practices by which local language activists and college students in the Touhoku (Tōhoku 東北) region reproduce and challenge stigma toward local language (“dialect,” “accent”). Touhoku has for decades been a source of labor and other resources for the national economy of Japan which favors the urban core, and language standardization reinscribes Touhoku speakers as belonging to a periphery. People of this region, subject to metropolitan cultural hegemony in the post-war period, often came to bear an inferiority complex about local culture due to linguistic discrimination and cultural marginalization. Registers of local language here tend to absorb weighty meaning from social relations of power, as emblems of shameful backwardness, tourist appeal, political resistance, and fashionable authenticity by turns. Following the last “dialect boom” (1980s-90s), local language activists (“dialect activists”) have pursued projects of language documentation, language valorization, and language revitalization in a spirit of renewal after the triple disasters of March 11, 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • Hokkaido Ainu Dialects: Variation from the Perspective of the Geographical Distribution of Vocabulary
    Hokkaido Ainu Dialects: Variation from the Perspective of the Geographical Distribution of Vocabulary Mika FUKAZAWA Preparatory Office for National Ainu Museum (The foundation for Ainu culture) 1 INTRODUCTION • The aim of this study is to generate geographical maps and to describe the variations in Hokkaido Ainu dialects. • The Ainu language has three dialect categories: Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Northern Kurils. • It is well known that “for Hokkaido, there are some differences in vocabulary, phonology, word formation, and the like between northeastern and southwestern dialects” (Tamura 2000: 3) 2 INTRODUCTION The Kamchatka Peninsula Sakhalin The Kuril Islands Hokkaido Honshu 3 INTRODUCTION • Regarding the Ainu dialects, the most important work on them was conducted by Hattori, Chiri, and their collaborators from 1955–1956. • Currently, few native speakers of Ainu exist, and collecting sufficient words and sentences through fieldwork is difficult. • My studies adopted geolinguistics for the Ainu language, referring to the audio and written materials that Hattori, Chiri, and other researchers have collected. 4 THE ATLAS OF AINU DIALECTS 5 AINU DIALECTS Hokkaido: 1. Yakumo/ 2. Oshamambe/ 3. Horobetsu/ 4. Biratori (Fukumitsu)/ 5. Nukibetsu/ 6. Niikappu/ 7. Samani/ 8. Obihiro/ 9. Kushiro/ 10. Bihoro/ 11. Asahikawa/ 12. Nayoro/ 13. Sōya/ 14. Chitose/ 15. Shizunai/ 16. Hombetsu/ 17. Mukawa/ 18. Nemuro Sakhalin: 19. Ochiho/ 20. Tarantomari/ 21. Maoka/ 22. Shiraura/ 23. Raichishka/ 24. Nairo Kurils: 25. Shumushu 6 INTRODUCTION • Nakagawa (1996) first suggested the geographical distribution and several patterns of Ainu. • Here, I consider the following major three types within Hokkaido Ainu dialects. • The Eastern-Western type • The Saru-Chitose (and Sakhalin) type • The ABA type 7 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Japanese Word Prediction
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Lund University Publications - Student Papers Japanese word prediction Fredrik Lindh [email protected] 850320-0290 073-6479325 Japanese studies, Lund University, Sweden. Degree project in Japanese and linguistics, First Level. Supervisors Lars Larm ([email protected]) Arthur Holmer ([email protected]) Referat Denna uppsats beskriver en implementation av en japansk ordprediktor skriven av författaren. Eftersom en ordprediktor inte verkar existera för Japanska, så kan den bli värdefull som ett mjukvaruverktyg inom assistiv teknik och kommunikation (AAC). Den största fördelen som ett sådant system för med sig är förbättrad skrivhastighet, samt att färre tangenttryckningar krävs för att producera text. Ordprediktion ställs ofta i kontrast mot ordkomplettering; den teknologi som T9-systemet i många mobiltelefoner och intellisense-motorer är baserade på. Det finns dock en skillnad då ordprediktion handlar om att föreslå ett följande ord då ett ord skrivs klart, mot att avsluta ett ord som håller på att skrivas. De fungerar oftast genom att tillhandahålla en lista över bigramsfrekvenser viktade med användarens preferenser och korpusdata. Ordprediktion tillsammans med ordkomplettering är bland de kraftfullaste assistiva verktyg som finns för att hjälpa funktionsnedsatta med deras dagliga kommunikationsbehov. Huvudmålen för denna uppsats är: 1. Att röna ut de skillnader som uppstår i implementationen jämfört med andra språk 2. Undersöka vad som kvarstår att göra, både inom prototypen i sig och i allmänhet. 3. Skapa en fungerande prototyp av programmet för Japanska. All kod i projektet är fritt tillgänglig och ligger för tillfället på: http://www.mediafire.com/?rrhqtqsgp6ei6m3 Abstract This report deals with the implementation of a Japanese word prediction engine written by the author.
    [Show full text]
  • Drastic Demographic Events Triggered the Uralic Spread to Appear in Diachronica
    Drastic demographic events triggered the Uralic spread To appear in Diachronica Riho Grünthal (University of Helsinki) Volker Heyd (University of Helsinki) Sampsa Holopainen (University of Helsinki) Juha Janhunen (University of Helsinki) Olesya Khanina (Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences) Matti Miestamo (University of Helsinki) Johanna Nichols (University of California, Berkeley; University of Helsinki; Higher School of Economics, Moscow) Janne Saarikivi (University of Helsinki) Kaius Sinnemäki (University of Helsinki) Abstract: The widespread Uralic family offers several advantages for tracing prehistory: a firm absolute chronological anchor point in an ancient contact episode with well-dated Indo-Iranian; other points of intersection or diagnostic non-intersection with early Indo-European (the Late PIE-speaking Yamnaya culture of the western steppe, the Afanasievo culture of the upper Yenisei, and the Fatyanovo culture of the middle Volga); lexical and morphological reconstruction sufficient to establish critical absences of sharings and contacts. We add information on climate, linguistic geography, typology, and cognate frequency distributions to reconstruct the Uralic origin and spread. We argue that the Uralic homeland was east of the Urals and initially out of contact with Indo-European. The spread was rapid and without widespread shared substratal effects. We reconstruct its cause as the interconnected reactions of early Uralic and Indo-European populations to a catastrophic climate change episode and interregionalization opportunities which advantaged riverine hunter-fishers over herders. Keywords Uralic; Finno-Ugric; Indo-European; Yamnaya; Indo-Iranian; Siberia; Eurasia; Seima-Turbino, 4.2 ka event; linguistic homeland Note: In-text references have not yet been fully deanonymized. 2 Drastic demographic events triggered the Uralic spread (Contents, for convenience) Main text (pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Characteristics of Developmental Dyslexia in Japanese Kana: From
    al Ab gic no lo rm o a h l i c t y i e s s Ogawa et al., J Psychol Abnorm Child 2014, 3:3 P i Journal of Psychological Abnormalities n f o C l DOI: 10.4172/2329-9525.1000126 h a i n l d ISSN:r 2329-9525 r u e o n J in Children Research Article Open Access Characteristics of Developmental Dyslexia in Japanese Kana: from the Viewpoint of the Japanese Feature Shino Ogawa1*, Miwa Fukushima-Murata2, Namiko Kubo-Kawai3, Tomoko Asai4, Hiroko Taniai5 and Nobuo Masataka6 1Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan 2Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan 3Faculty of Psychology, Aichi Shukutoku University, Aichi, Japan 4Nagoya City Child Welfare Center, Aichi, Japan 5Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya Central Care Center for Disabled Children, Aichi, Japan 6Section of Cognition and Learning, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Aichi, Japan Abstract This study identified the individual differences in the effects of Japanese Dyslexia. The participants consisted of 12 Japanese children who had difficulties in reading and writing Japanese and were suspected of having developmental disorders. A test battery was created on the basis of the characteristics of the Japanese language to examine Kana’s orthography-to-phonology mapping and target four cognitive skills: analysis of phonological structure, letter-to-sound conversion, visual information processing, and eye–hand coordination. An examination of the individual ability levels for these four elements revealed that reading and writing difficulties are not caused by a single disability, but by a combination of factors.
    [Show full text]
  • Research on Endangered Ryukuan Dialects with an Aim to Preserve
    KAKENHI NEWS2009 vol.2 Research on Endangered Ryukuan Dialects � Culture & � Society with an Aim to Preserve and Propagate Shigehisa Karimata� Professor� University of the Ryukyus 【Background】� /ã, õ, ı˜/and /ë˜/ for a total of 18 vowels. particle ga is spoken in the interrogative, UNESCO announced in February 2009 But the dialect of Yonakuni Island, the and nu in yes-or-no questions, to enable that of the over six thousand languages westernmost island in Japan, primarily the speaker to add extra meaning to his spoken in the world, 2500 are in danger use the three vowels a, i and u. The Miya- question. The Ryukyuan languages shed of becoming extinct. Among them are Ja- ko Ookami Island dialect has only 10 con- light on the history of the Japanese lan- pan's Ryukyuan languages (UNESCO sonants: /p, t, k, f, v, s, m, n, j/and /r/. But guage, and has many interesting linguistic treats each Ryukyuan dialect as a separate it has been discovered that the consonants typological features. � language). Although experts have long /f, v, s, m/ and n are used as monosylla- � been aware of the threat to the dialects, bles, that the /f/ and /s/ in words such as 【Outlook】� and research on their preservation and /kffi/ (make) and /pstu/ (person) function Urgent research is needed on the Ryu- propagation has been ongoing for more as vowels in a syllable, and that there are kyuan languages in order to pass them than 30 years, the inclusion of Ryukyu also long and short consonants, with down to future generations.
    [Show full text]
  • Approaches to Endangered Languages in Japan and Northeast Asia (Poster Session)”
    Non-Core Vocabulary Cognates in Ryukyuan and Kyushu* JAROSZ, Aleksandra Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń 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. Keywords: comparative linguistics, Kyushu, Ryukyuan, Kyushu-Ryukyuan, Japonic 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Vowel Devoicing of Ainu -How It Differs and Not Differs from Vowel Devoicing of Japanese-*
    Vowel Devoicing of Ainu -How it differs and not differs from Vowel Devoicing of Japanese-* Hidetoshi Shiraishi University of Groningen 1 Introduction The oldest description of Vowel Devoicing (henceforth VD) of Ainu dates back to the earliest stages of linguistic research of the language (Kindaichi 1931, Chiri 1936, 1942). Nevertheless, our knowledge of the phenomenon has not been deepened since then. For instance, we still know little about the exact phonological environment for VD to occur, or its distribution in actual speech. This situation contrasts sharply with that of Japanese, the geographic neighbor of Ainu, where VD has always been one of the most appealing phonological topics among linguists. Numerous investigations were conducted from various linguistic fields for more than a century long. The present work is an attempt to fill this gap. It is still preliminary in nature. As a primary source, I have used sound recordings of only two speakers of a single dialect. My first task was to check VD in these recordings in order to verify whether previous works were adequate in their description. Except for a couple of recent descriptions (Tamura 1997, 1998), there were no studies that tackled this issue using sound materials in the first place. I will therefore compare the results of my investigation with those previous descriptions. Another interesting issue is whether VD of Ainu shares characteristics with VD of Japanese. Considering those facts that 1) these two languages have * Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the meetings of the Tsukuba Circle of Phonologists (July 2000), Chiba University Eurasian Society (March 2001) and De Dag van Fonetiek (December 2002).
    [Show full text]