Knowledge base · Part VII — Possession and the Affiliative System · this topic as a network

45. Morphophonology of the Affiliative Suffix and Echo/Copy Vowels

How does the possessive suffix on common nouns vary in form, and what vowel-copy or echo processes determine its vowel quality?

While dialects differ in which possessive suffixes individual nouns take, the possessive formation processes described in this section are shared across Hokkaido dialects in general. (Nakagawa 2024: 230)

The short and long affiliative: the vowel-copy principle

How does the vowel of the possessive suffix on common nouns relate to the stem's final vowel, and what are the two forms of this suffix?

The possessed form of the noun is additionally marked with the possessive suffix -hV or -V(hV), which copies the root-final vowel with an epenthetic /h/. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) The functional difference between the short possessive forms and the long possessive forms is unclear. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) When a stem ends in a glide -w or -y, the causative suffix -V surfaces as -e, whereas after other consonants it is often identical to the stem vowel. (reported in Bugaeva 2014) The value of the vowel V of the possessed suffix partly depends on the final vowel of the root. (Bugaeva, Nichols & Bickel 2022) Possessed (PSD) suffixes in Ainu register a possessor without indexing its properties, marking a noun as requiring a possessor that is indexed with a possessive prefix. (Bugaeva, Nichols & Bickel 2022) Inalienable nouns are obligatorily possessed, taking the affiliative suffix -hV or -V(hV) registering a possessor plus a person-marking prefix. (Bugaeva 2022: 1.5) The difference between concrete forms in -V and -VhV (such as shiki and shikihi) is a minor phonetic variation: because Ainu vowels inherently lack phonemic length, emphasis leads to vowel doubling, which is realized with an intervening aspirated h. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) When forming the concrete (affiliative) form of a noun, the junctures t-i, u-e, and i-e become chi, we, and ye, respectively (e.g., am-set(-i) becomes am-sechi and am-toi(-e) becomes am-toye). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The personal possessive forms consist of ku...hV for 1SG, 'e...hV for 2SG, ...hV for 3SG, 'an...hV for 1PL, 'eci...hV for 2PL, and ...hVhcin for 3PL. (Murasaki 2025: 14) Affiliative forms basically have two variants, a short form and a long form, where the long form is formed by adding h- plus an echo vowel identical to the final vowel of the short form. (Nakagawa 2024: 219) There is basically no semantic difference between the short form and the long form of the affiliative form; their alternation is governed by rhythm and prosody. (Nakagawa 2024: 219) In the Shizunai material, the short belonging form is more frequent than the long belonging form. (Refsing 1986: 85)

Type ①: vowel-final stems

For vowel-final noun stems, what is the possessive form, and when does it differ from the base form?

In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in a short vowel form their affiliative suffix with -h followed by an echo of that vowel (-hV). (Murasaki 2025: 14, 99) In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in the long vowels -aa, -ee, or -oo form their affiliative suffix with -h followed by that same vowel. (Murasaki 2025: 14, 99) In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in the long vowel -ii form their affiliative suffix with -iyehe. (Murasaki 2025: 14, 99) In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in the long vowel -uu form their affiliative suffix with -uwehe. (Murasaki 2025: 14, 100) For vowel-final noun stems, the short affiliative suffix is zero and the long affiliative suffix is -hV. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4, Nakagawa 2024: 226) In Shizunai Ainu, vowel-final nouns form their belonging form with /-hV/, copying the final vowel of the stem. (Refsing 1986: 82) The possessive suffix takes the forms -ha, -hu, -ho, -he, or -hi on vowel-final noun roots. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) For nouns ending in an open syllable, the concrete (affiliative) form may remain unmarked, but an emphatic form with an echo suffix can also be used (e.g., the concrete form of am-so is am-so or am-soho). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) When the long affiliative suffix -hV1 is omitted on stems ending in a vowel, the resulting form is identical to the concept form, so with third-person possessors it can only be determined by context whether a form is concept or affiliative. (Nakagawa 2024: 227) In the Shizunai material collected by Refsing, there are no nouns ending in /-i/ that have a belonging form. (Refsing 1986: 82) When a noun stem ends in the long vowels ii or uu, the vowel of the affiliative suffix is e, the long vowel shortens, and the suffixes surface as -yehe and -wehe, respectively. (Tangiku 2022: 9.4)

Type ②: glide-final stems and the monosyllabic subtype

For noun stems ending in glides /y/ or /w/, what is the possessive suffix, and does it vary with the stem vowel?

In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in -w or -y take -ehe as their affiliative suffix. (Murasaki 2025: 14, 100) Noun roots ending in w or y always select the possessive suffix allomorph -ehe. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) When a conceptual form ends in y or w, the affiliative suffix is -e for the short form and -e-he for the long form. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) Nouns ending in /w/ take /-e(-he)/ as their affiliative suffix. (Nakagawa 2024: 35) When a concept form ends in a semi-vowel glide (-y or -w), the affiliative suffix is +e(he). (Nakagawa 2024: 227) Monosyllabic open-syllable nouns ending in i or u take the affiliative suffixes -ye(he) and -we(he) as regular exceptions, behaving as if they underlyingly ended in -y or -w. (Nakagawa 2024: 229) Nouns ending in the semi-vowels /-y/ and /-w/ only have belonging forms ending in /-e(he)/, regardless of what the preceding vowel is. (Refsing 1986: 82)

Type ③: consonant-final stems

For noun stems ending in consonants other than /y/ or /w/, what are the possible possessive suffix shapes, and how is the choice among them determined?

The possessive suffix takes the forms -a(ha), -u(hu), -o(ho), -e(he), or -i(hi) on consonant-final noun roots. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) When a concept form ends in a consonant other than y or w, the affiliative suffix takes one of three patterns: +i(hi), +V1(hV1), or (when V1=a) +u(hu). (Nakagawa 2024: 227) If a noun ends in a consonant, the belonging form ending is /V/ or /VhV/. (Refsing 1986: 82)

The default: ③-1 (-i/-ihi)

What is the default possessive suffix pattern for consonant-final noun stems, and what are the short and long forms?

In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in -m or -n take -ihi as their affiliative suffix. (Murasaki 2025: 15, 100) When a noun ending in -t takes the concrete suffix -i, t + i changes to chi. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The affiliative suffix -i is the default formative for consonant-final ordinary nouns and appears on compound nouns and foreign words. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) For consonant-final stems where the final vowel is /i/, the affiliative suffix is always -ihi without exception. (Nakagawa 2024: 227) When the vowel preceding the final consonant is /i/, the belonging form is always formed with the vowel /i/. (Refsing 1986: 82) Nouns ending in /-uC/ can form the belonging form with /-i(hi)/. (Refsing 1986: 85) Nouns ending in /-eC/ can form the belonging form with /-i(hi)/. (Refsing 1986: 85) Final -t before the possessed suffix -i obligatorily changes to -ci-. (Satō 2008: 13) Consonants that have changed to h in syllable-final position appear as p, t, and k before affiliative form suffixes and before the person suffix -an. (Tangiku 2022: 9.2) For nouns where the stem-final consonant becomes -h in the conceptual form, the underlying consonant surfaces before the affiliative suffix, and only a form corresponding to the Hokkaido long affiliative form is used. (Tangiku 2022: 9.4)

The minority echo-vowel sub-patterns: ③-2 and ③-3

For some consonant-final stems, how does the possessive suffix vowel relate to the stem's last vowel, and what are the two minority patterns?

In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in -am or -an take -uhu as their affiliative suffix. (Murasaki 2025: 15, 100) Nouns ending in /-oC/ can form the belonging form with the suffix /-o(ho)/, as in osor becoming osoro. (Refsing 1986: 85) Nouns ending in /-uC/ can also form the belonging form with /-u(hu)/. (Refsing 1986: 85) Nouns ending in /-eC/ can form the belonging form with /-e(he)/. (Refsing 1986: 85)

The ③-1 default surfaces in compounds

When a consonant-final stem that uses a non-default possessive suffix appears as the second element of a compound, what possessive suffix does it take?

The suffix -i(hi) is the most basic affiliative suffix for consonant-final common nouns; even words originally taking echo-vowel suffixes may take -ihi when they occur as the second element of a compound. (Nakagawa 2024: 228) The form takupi is frequently used, potentially as a compound word formed with the preceding nominal element, in which case the final -i is interpreted as an affiliative suffix. (proposed in Satō 2008: 68)

True irregulars

Are there any irregular possessive forms for common nouns that do not follow the regular patterns, and what are they?

A few irregular nouns take the possessive suffix -ihi, and occasionally -oho or -uhu. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) The nouns nan and kotan are irregular in taking /-u(hu)/ as their belonging form ending instead of the expected /-i(hi)/ or /-a(ha)/. (Refsing 1986: 82)

Lexical conditioning: what is predictable and what must be memorized

Which aspects of the possessive suffix shape are predictable from the phonology of the stem, and which are lexically determined?

In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in -s select -uhu, -ehe, or -ihi as their affiliative suffix depending on the lexical item. (Murasaki 2025: 15, 100) In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns ending in -h take lexically determined affiliative suffixes such as -pihi, -puhu, -tuhu, -kihi, -cihi, or -rihi. (Murasaki 2025: 15, 100) When the vowel preceding the final consonant is /e, u, o, a/, the belonging form is formed using either /i/ or the same vowel as the preceding vowel, fixed lexically for each noun. (Refsing 1986: 82) The choice between the long belonging form /-VhV/ and the short form /-V/ appears to depend primarily on sentence rhythm and speech velocity. (Refsing 1986: 85) The long belonging form appears more frequently with monosyllabic words than with polysyllabic words. (Refsing 1986: 85) When the long belonging form does appear in polysyllabic words, they have the accent kernel on the last syllable of the concept form. (Refsing 1986: 85) Tamura maintains that the longer belonging form is basic and that /hV/ is lost in rapid speech. (reported in Refsing 1986: 85) Chiri Mashio claimed that the shorter belonging form was the basic form and that /hV/ was sometimes added for emphasis. (reported in Refsing 1986: 85) The quality of the vocalic suffix in personal forms of nouns is not fully predictable from the stem vowel alone. (Shibatani 1990) V1-V2 co-occurrence restrictions apply in two derivational contexts: transitive verb formation and possessive noun formation. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.4) In transitive verb formation and possessive noun formation, V2 /i, u, e/ outnumber /a, o/ to a considerable degree. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.4) In transitive verb and possessive noun derivation, when V2 is /e/, V1 is either /e/ or is followed by the glides /y/ or /w/. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.4) The V1-V2 vowel co-occurrence restrictions do not expand to other morphological contexts such as the plural suffix -pa or personal prefixes, nor do they apply to underived roots. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.4)

Diachrony: the source of -hV and the vowel-copy analysis

What is the historical origin of the possessive suffix -hV, and how does the vowel-copy analysis explain its form?

The echo-vowel affiliative formation +V1(hV1) in common nouns historically originates from the long-form suffixation of locative nouns. (Nakagawa 2024: 228; proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 249) In Pre-Proto-Ainu, the affiliative marker had the phonological shape CVCVx, where x represents an undetermined consonant. (Alonso de la Fuente 2022: 5.4) The root of par 'mouth' is likely pa (or paw), and par is presumed to be a contraction of pa + or 'inside', which is why the possessive ending -o, the long-form suffix of or, is used to yield par-o(ho). (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 230) Many anatomical nouns that take the +V₁(hV₁) affiliative form, such as kiputur, osor, par, setur, and tapsut, are derived or converted from locative nouns. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 249) The construct suffix allomorph -ihi is historically the original form, dating back to the generic noun *ihi 'thing, place, time'. (reported in Nam 2021) The short allomorphs of the construct suffix represented as -V developed through erosion of the older long allomorphs represented as -VhV. (reported in Nam 2021) The initial i of ihi may be a supporting vowel, making hi the older root. (reported in Nam 2021) One could analyze the belonging suffix as an underlying /-hV/ that remains unchanged after vowels but loses /h/ after consonants due to phonological constraints against consonant clusters with /h/ as the second element. (proposed in Refsing 1986: 85)

Sakhalin contrast and the -ike/-hike variant

How does Sakhalin Ainu differ from Hokkaido Ainu in the formation of the possessive suffix, especially regarding the long form and the -hike variant?

In Sakhalin Ainu, the possessive suffixes -hV or -V(hV) often copy the root-final vowel with an epenthetic /h/, yielding -ha/-hu/-ho/-he/-hi for vowel-final roots and -a(ha)/-u(hu)/-o(ho)/-e(he)/-i(hi) for consonant-final roots. (Bugaeva 2016) In Sakhalin Ainu, noun roots ending in w or y always trigger the possessive suffix -e(he). (Bugaeva 2016) In Sakhalin Ainu, the noun 'imah 'tooth' forms its affiliative form with the suffix -kihi. (Murasaki 2025: 45) In Sakhalin Ainu, the noun kema 'leg, foot' forms its affiliative form with the suffix -ha. (Murasaki 2025: 47) In Sakhalin Ainu, the noun kisaru 'ear' forms its affiliative form with the suffix -uhu. (Murasaki 2025: 47) In Sakhalin Ainu, consonants corresponding to Hokkaido coda stops resurface before a following vowel, as seen in affiliative forms such as kapuhu, katuhu, and tekihi. (Murasaki 2025: 84) In Karafuto dialects, affiliative forms are formed by adding a suffix of the form -VhV to the conceptual form. (Tangiku 2022: 9.4)