Chapter 7Written Sources: Grammars, Dictionaries, and the Philological Record

7.1 The early grammatical descriptions

A source's dialect, speaker, and purpose determine what evidence it supplies. A reference grammar may synthesize a system from many examples; a dictionary records properties of individual words; a text edition preserves expressions in discourse. Their contributions overlap, but each has its own limits. The history of these publications is traced in Chapter 6 (The History of Ainu Language Description and Previous Research); recordings and text collections are described in Chapter 8 (The Oral-Literature Corpus and Spoken-Language Data).

The 1936 outline by Kindaichi and Chiri builds on Kindaichi's grammatical work on heroic epic. Nakagawa describes its comparison of the Saru material with Horobetsu Nakagawa (2024: 93); Kindaichi & Chiri (1936). Chiri's 1942 study centres on Sakhalin Chiri (1942). The two works consequently supply different geographical perspectives, as well as evidence for the development of grammatical analysis.

Refsing's comparison of the earlier tradition shows that familiar labels can conceal differences in classification. She contrasts semantic groupings with categories established through the distribution of forms Refsing (1986: §2.4.1). A citation to an older analysis therefore needs to preserve both the author's terminology and the construction to which it refers.

7.2 Modern descriptions

Refsing describes Shizunai, principally the speech of Oda Suteno Refsing (1986); Nakagawa (2024: 95). Satō's grammar is based on the Chitose speech of Shirasawa Nabe, whose expressions he preserves in his examples Satō (2008: preface). Nakagawa's 2024 grammar takes Saru as its principal basis, frequently draws on Chitose, and compares other Hokkaido varieties Nakagawa (2024: 16). These descriptions cannot be treated as interchangeable samples of an undifferentiated Hokkaido variety.

The Handbook contains separately authored chapters. References to an analysis of phonology, valency, or evidentiality identify the relevant chapter's author; a citation to the volume as a whole identifies the collection. Differences among these treatments may concern the analysis of the same construction or the behaviour of different varieties. Both possibilities need to be considered when comparing the accounts.

7.3 Dictionaries

Tamura's and Kayano's dictionaries document Saru; Nakagawa's dictionary documents Chitose Tamura (1996); Kayano (1996); Nakagawa (1995). Their entries provide lexical evidence relevant to grammar, including the forms and constructions in which a word occurs. An entry's illustrative sentence also has a different evidentiary role from a general rule proposed in a grammar.

Hattori's 1964 dictionary brings together ten regional sets of lexical material. Nakagawa lists nine varieties surveyed with a common questionnaire: Yakumo, Horobetsu, Saru, Obihiro, Bihoro, Asahikawa, Nayoro, Sōya, and Sakhalin Rayciska. Torii's Kuril recordings supply the tenth Nakagawa (2024: 99); Hattori (1964). The nineteen-locality, 200-item survey belongs to the separate study by Hattori and Chiri published in 1960 Nakagawa (2024: 100); Hattori & Chiri (1960).

Chiri's classified dictionaries organize lexical material by semantic domain, including plants, animals, and human beings Chiri (1953); Refsing (1986: §2.3). Their locality information matters when using an entry in dialect comparison. Comparative dictionaries and their sampling are discussed further in Chapter 161 (Lexical Geography and Survey History).

7.4 Historical dictionaries and manuscripts

Batchelor's dictionary was first published in 1889; the 1905 and 1938 editions represent later stages of its publication history Refsing (1986: §2.1). Nakagawa describes its dialect base as chiefly Saru Nakagawa (2024: 91). Refsing discusses errors identified by Chiri and the need to check individual forms and translations Refsing (1986: §2.1). The edition cited is therefore relevant to the assessment of a particular entry.

Earlier manuscripts preserve words and expressions from periods and places for which later documentation may be sparse. Refsing surveys practical vocabularies such as the Ezo hōgen moshiogusa and their use by later scholars Refsing (1986: §1). The analysis of such records must account for spelling, translation, and transmission between copies. The grammatical interpretation of an old spelling is discussed in Chapter 14 (Historical Orthographies and the Batchelor Tradition).

7.5 Direct and reported citations

A reported citation indicates that a work is being used through another account. The intermediary supplies the passage available for examination, including any selection, normalization, translation, or interpretation it contains. Naming both works makes that chain of evidence visible. Reported material can support a discussion, but it does not establish that the original wording or wider context has been checked.

For a grammatical example, the source note identifies the edition and its page, section, or example number where available. A transcription adapted to the conventions of this grammar can differ from the printed spelling; a source's grammatical analysis can also differ from the gloss used here. These distinctions are explained in Chapter 10 (Interlinear Glossing, Abbreviations, and Citation Conventions).