Chapter 160Hokkaido Dialect Variation in Sound and Grammar
Accent systems, lexical sound correspondences, person and verbal number, and regional connective and aspectual forms.
160.1 Accent systems
Hokkaido varieties differ in whether word accent is distinctive and where it falls. Nakagawa and Fukazawa contrast a widespread pattern, represented by Saru, with Yakumo's pattern and varieties described as unaccented. In Yakumo, when the first two syllables are open, high pitch falls on the third: iperékut ‘esophagus’, sinuyé ‘tattoo’, and hopuní ‘rise’ correspond to Saru ipérekut, sinúye, hopúni. A closed second syllable can retain second-syllable accent, as in parúnpe ‘tongue’ Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §3.1, Table 3).
Their unaccented group includes Shizunai, Urakawa, Samani, Bihoro, Kushiro, and Shiranuka. This means that lexical accent is not distinctive; pitch still varies in speech. Samani has a tendency toward final high pitch, while Shizunai lacks a stable corresponding pattern Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §3.1).
160.2 Consonants and vowels across lexical items
Several correspondences recur without sharing one geographic boundary. Initial h is absent in selected words in Obihiro, Kushiro, Bihoro, Asahikawa, and Nayoro: examples include huraye/uraye ‘wash’, hoku/oku ‘husband’, and hekaci/ekaci ‘child’. Other words show insertion of h, particularly in northeastern unaccented varieties. Neither process licenses adding or deleting h in every word Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §§3.2, 3.5).
| Pattern | Recorded comparison | Distribution of the second form |
|---|---|---|
| Cluster assimilation | hotke/hokke ‘lie down’ | Obihiro, Kushiro, Bihoro |
| iw/uy | ciw/cuy ‘stab’ | Bihoro |
| iw/uy | nociw/nocuy ‘star’ | Kushiro |
| u/o | upas/opas ‘snow’ | Sōya |
| e/i | seta/sita ‘dog’ | Samani, Obihiro, Kushiro, Bihoro |
| y/w | nuye/nuwe | See the lexical distinction below |
The table summarizes published records, with accent marks omitted Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §§3.3, 3.6–3.8, Tables 5, 7, 9, 11–12). For ‘sweep’, nuwe occurs in Yakumo, Saru, and Nayoro beside nuye in Horobetsu, Obihiro, and Bihoro; for ‘write’, the same table lists nuwe only for Nayoro. Likewise, uy occurs in some Saru words, so iw/uy cannot serve as an exceptionless east–west division.
Phonetic realization also varies. Simeon's three-consultant study reports bilabial [f] before u as obligatory for his Horobetsu and Higashi-Shizunai consultants and optional for Hiratori. This describes realization in that sample, without establishing a separate phoneme /f/ Simeon (1968: 13–17, especially 16).
160.3 Person marking and verbal number
Grammatical distributions can cut across lexical groupings. Nakagawa and Fukazawa compare Saru and Chitose eci-kore ‘I give to you’ with Horobetsu e-kore-as and Ishikari e-kore-an. The latter combine material before and after the verb; the Saru and Chitose expression has a prefix. Their wider person paradigms must be compared cell by cell Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §4.1, Tables 18–20).
Saru and Chitose can also combine fourth-person marking with a singular verb where other varieties use a plural form for a singular narrative speaker. The Handbook contrasts Shizunai paye-an with this Saru example Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §4.1, examples 1–2).
Full interaction patterns and analytical differences appear in the person chapters, especially Chapter 67 (Fourth-Person Forms and Their Uses).
160.4 Aspectual and connective variation
Several varieties east of Shizunai use kane/kan for continuing actions and sustained states, where other descriptions distinguish constructions with kor and wa. Nakagawa and Fukazawa illustrate a sustained state in Ishikari and ongoing actions in Tokachi; they also compare continuing-result ayne with Tokachi ahinne Nakagawa & Fukazawa (2022: §4.3.2, examples 19–20).
Such distributions explain why a rule drawn from Saru should carry that locality into comparisons. The same spelling in another variety may have a broader or narrower set of functions.