Proto-Ryukyuan language

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Proto-Ryukyuan
Reconstruction ofRyukyuan languages
RegionJapan, possibly in Kyushu[citation needed]
Reconstructed
ancestor
Lower-order reconstructions
  • Proto-Amami-Okinawa/Proto-Northern-Ryukyuan
  • Proto-Sakishima

Proto-Ryukyuan is the reconstructed ancestor of the Ryukyuan languages.

Background[edit]

Main article: Ryukyuan languages

The modern Ryukyuan lanaguages are spoken on the Ryukyu Islands, from the Amami Islands to Yonaguni. All Ryukyuan varieties are endangered.[citation needed]

Phonology[edit]

Consonants[edit]

The following consonants can be reconstructed for Proto-Ryukyuan:[1]

Proto-Ryukyuan consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal *m *n
Stop (voiced) *p *t *k
Stop (voiced) *b *d *g
Fricative (voiceless) *s
Fricative (voiced) *z
Tap *r [ɾ]
Approximant *w *j
  • Proto-Japonic *-p- generally lenites to *-w-, as in pJ *apa 'foxtail millet' > pR *awa 'id.'[citation needed] It is irregularly preserved in some words, which lead Thorpe to suggest a geminate consonant blocking lenition.[2]
  • Approximants in proto-Japonic preceding a high vowel are merged to a zero consonant in proto-Ryukyuan. [3]
  • No Ryukyuan dialects preserve the yotsugana distinction.[citation needed]

Vowels[edit]

The following vowels can be reconstructed for Proto-Ryukyuan:[4]

Proto-Ryukyuan vowels
Front Central Back
Close *i *u
Mid *e *o
Open *a

All Ryukyuan languages have raised the mid-vowels *e and *o. The dialects go through different developments depending on the preceding consonant. In various Northern Ryukyuan dialects, *i will often palatalize the preceding consonant.[5] To give an example, Shuri ʔitɕi 'pond'[6] < pR *ike, but Shuri ʔiku- 'how many?'[7] < pR *eku.

Reflexes of pR *i, *e, *u, and *o[8]
Proto-Ryukyuan Amami (Koniya) Okinawa (Nakijin-Yonamine) Miyako (Ōgami) Yaeyama (Ishigaki-Shika) Yonaguni
*i ʔi, N ˀi, ʲi, N ɿ,[9] ɯ, s, N, ∅ ɿ, N, ∅ i, N, ∅
*e ʰɨ, i ʰi, i i i i
*u ˀu, N u, N u, N, ∅ u, N, ∅ u, N, ∅
*o ʰu u u u u

Vocabulary[edit]

Thorpe (1983) reconstructs the following pronouns in Proto-Ryukyuan. For the first person, the singular and plural are assumed based on the Yonaguni reflex.

  • *a, 'I' (singular)
  • *wa 'we' (plural)
  • *u, *e 'you' (singular)
  • *uya, *ura 'you' (plural)
Ryukyuan numerals
Proto-Ryukyuan Amami Ōshima (Yuwan)[10] Shuri (Okinawa)[11] Hatoma (Yaeyama)[12] Miyako Yonaguni[13]
1 *pito tïï- tii- pusu- pitii- tʼu-
2 *puta taa- taa- huta- ftaa- tʼa-
3 *mi mii- mii- mii- mii- mii-
4 *yo juu- juu- juu- juu- duu-
5 *etu ïcï- ici- ici- itss- ici-
6 *mu muu- muu- muu- mm- muu-
7 *nana nana- nana- nana- nana- nana-
8 *ya jaa- jaa- jaa- jaa- daa-
9 *kokono kuunu- kukunu- (ku)kunu- kkunu- kuɡunu-
10 *towo tuu tuu tuu tuu tuu

Pellard (2015) reconstructs the following cultural vocabulary words for Proto-Ryukyuan.

  • *kome B 'rice'
  • *mai A 'rice'
  • *ine B 'rice plant'
  • *momi A 'unhulled rice'
  • *mogi B 'wheat'
  • *awa B 'foxtail millet'
  • *kimi B 'broomcorn millet'
  • *umo B 'taro, yam'
  • *patake C 'field'
  • *ta B 'rice paddy'
  • *usi A 'cow'
  • *uwa C 'pig'
  • *uma B 'horse'
  • *tubo A 'pot'
  • *kame C 'jar'
  • *pune C 'boat'
  • *po A 'sail'
  • *ijako B 'paddle'

References[edit]

  1. ^ Igarashi (2022), pp. 237–238.
  2. ^ Thorpe (1983), p. 60-61.
  3. ^ Igarashi (2022), pp. 237.
  4. ^ Thorpe (1983), p. 31.
  5. ^ Thorpe (1983), pp. 51–53.
  6. ^ National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (2001), p. 246.
  7. ^ National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (2001), p. 254.
  8. ^ Pellard (2013), pp. 84–85.
  9. ^ This is a fricative vowel in Miyako.
  10. ^ Numerals for counting inanimates.
  11. ^ Shimoji (2012), p. 357.
  12. ^ Lawrence (2012), p. 387.
  13. ^ Izuyama (2012), p. 429.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Hattori, Shirō (2018). 日本祖語の再建 [Reconstruction of Proto-Japanese] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 9784000612685.
  • Hirayama, Teruo (1986). 琉球奄美方言の基礎語彙の総合的研究 [A Study of the Basic Vocabulary of the Amami Dialects in Ryukyuan] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kadokawa. ISBN 4-04-022200-8.
  • Igarashi, Yōsuke (2022). "Reconstruction of Ryukyuan tone classes of Middle Japanese Class 2.4 and 2.5 nouns". Open Linguistics. 8 (1). De Gruyter: 232–257. doi:10.1515/opli-2022-0193.
  • Izuyama, Atsuko (2012). "Yonaguni". In Tranter, Nicolas (ed.). The Languages of Japan and Korea. Routledge. pp. 412–457. ISBN 978-0-415-46287-7.
  • Lawrence, Wayne P. (2012). "Southern Ryukyuan". In Tranter, Nicolas (ed.). The Languages of Japan and Korea. Routledge. pp. 381–411. ISBN 978-0-415-46287-7.
  • National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (2001). 沖縄語辞典 [Okinawan Dictionary] (in Japanese). Zaimushō Insatsu-kyoku.
  • Pellard, Thomas. "Ryukyuan perspectives on the proto-Japonic vowel system". Japanese/Korean Linguistics. 20. CSLI Publications: 81–96.
  • Pellard, Thomas. 2015. The Linguistic archeology of the Ryukyu Islands. In Heinrich, Patrick and Miyara, Shinsho and Shimoji, Michinori (eds.), Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages: History, Structure, and Use, 13–37. Berlin: DeGruyter Mouton.
  • Shimoji, Michinori (2012). "Northern Ryukyuan". In Tranter, Nicolas (ed.). The Languages of Japan and Korea. Routledge. pp. 351–380. ISBN 978-0-415-46287-7.
  • Thorpe, Maner Lawton (1983). Ryūkyūan Language History (doctoral dissertation). Los Angeles: University of Southern California. doi:10.25549/usctheses-c3-505374.
  • Vovin, Alexander (2012-08-07). "琉球祖語の語中における有声子音の再建について [On the reconstruction of the Proto-Ryukyuan voiced consonants]". National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (in Japanese).

External links[edit]

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