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

44. Concept Form vs. Affiliative (Possessed) Form

What is the distinction between the concept form and the affiliative form of nouns in Hokkaido Ainu?

West Coast Sakhalin Ainu developed possessive forms for all nouns, plural possessive marking on nouns, and third-person plural marking on verbs. (Bugaeva 2016) In the Sakhalin Ainu possessive construction, the possessee takes the possessive suffixes -hV or -V(hV) and is marked with an A prefix for the person and number of the possessor, while the third person is zero-marked. (Bugaeva 2016) In Sakhalin Ainu, the main-clause nominalized predicate [(np…) v-poss]MC occurs in assertions, content questions, polar questions, and exclamations. (Bugaeva 2016) Murasaki (1979) treats Sakhalin Ainu hVV as a separate word without identifying it with nominal possessive endings or explaining its alternating vowel. (reported in Bugaeva 2016) In Sakhalin Ainu, the v-poss form is in most cases followed by conjunctions or auxiliaries that synchronically or diachronically contain the equative copula ne(e). (Bugaeva 2016) In Sakhalin Ainu, the copula is absent after the v-poss form only when v-poss occurs in clausal nominalizations and main clauses. (Bugaeva 2016) Because the changes in ordinary nouns and locative nouns are morphologically and syntactically different, the terms conceptual form and affiliative form are restricted to ordinary nouns, while locative noun forms are termed the basic form and the long form. (proposed in Nakagawa 2022: 14.3)

Overview: two forms of the common noun

What are the two citation forms of common nouns in Hokkaido Ainu?

Common nouns may have free, unmarked conceptual forms and bound possessive forms marked with possessive suffixes and pronominal prefixes of the A series cross-referencing the possessor. (Bugaeva 2012: 470–471) Nouns take different shapes depending on whether they represent purely an abstract concept or express a concept in a personal relation. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The noun form that purely expresses a concept is called the abstract form (抽象形). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The noun form that expresses a concept in a personal relation is called the concrete form (具體形). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The abstract form of a noun is used when expressing purely a concept without personal relations. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The concrete form of a noun is used when expressing a concept in personal relations. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Ainu nouns themselves do not inflect for case, using the abstract form to express the concept alone and the concrete form when personal relations are also indicated. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The genitive relation is indicated by placing the possessed noun in its concrete form. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In Hokkaido Ainu, common nouns possess two forms: the concept form and the affiliative form. (Nakagawa 2024: 217) In Ainu linguistics, the construct forms are also referred to as 'concrete forms', 'possessive forms', 'belonging forms', or 'affiliative forms'. (reported in Nam 2021) Kindaichi was the first to point out that the difference between pairs such as itak and itaki(hi) 'talk' was an opposition between an 'abstract form' and a 'concrete form' determined for grammatical person, rather than a distinction of number. (Refsing 1986: 23) Kindaichi maintained that all Ainu nouns have both an abstract form and a concrete form. (reported in Refsing 1986: 23) Ainu nouns possess a distinct belonging form. (Refsing 1986: 56) The belonging form is not obligatory, but it is almost always used when the noun in question allows it. (Refsing 1986: 81) The concept form of a noun represents a generic or abstract entity, whereas the affiliative form represents an entity possessed by or belonging to something specific. (Satō 2008: 152) The affiliative form (or personal form with a personal prefix) functions to indicate that a noun phrase expressing the possessor exists in the context. (Satō 2008: 157) Ainu nouns distinguish formally between generic concept forms and possessed forms, the latter marked by possessive personal prefixes and suffixal endings of varying phonological shapes. (Shibatani 1990)

Formation of the affiliative form

How is the affiliative form derived from the noun stem in Hokkaido Ainu?

The affiliative form of poo 'child' is pooho. (Murasaki 2025: 53, 67) The affiliative form of sampe 'heart' is sampehe. (Murasaki 2025: 54, 70) Nouns in Ainu distinguish an unmarked free 'concept form' and a bound 'affiliative form' derived by the possessive suffix -(h)V/-VhV. (Bugaeva 2014) Nouns ending in a vowel form their concrete form by pronouncing the final vowel slightly longer and more carefully (orthographically -' or -hV). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Nouns ending in a diphthong take -e to form their concrete form, with i + e changing to ye and u + e changing to we. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Most nouns ending in a consonant take -i (or -ihi) to form their concrete form. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Certain consonant-final nouns can take either -i or -u in their concrete form. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Certain nouns (such as at, kap, kat, tak, ras, ram, rap, sep) usually take -u in their concrete form, but rarely can also take -i. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Some consonant-final nouns form their concrete form by repeating the vowel of the final syllable as an echo vowel. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The nouns chi, pi, ru, okkai, and par form irregular concrete forms (chiye, piye, ruye/ruwe, okkayo, paro). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Some nouns take different concrete forms depending on their meaning, such as sar 'tail' (sara) vs. sar 'reed bed' (sari). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The concrete possessed form of ka 'top' in compound verbs is kashi rather than the expected ka- or kaha, making compound verbs with ka classified as Class III Type ii. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) All nouns can take possessed (affiliative) forms, which are formed by attaching personal possessive affixes before and after the noun stem. (Murasaki 2025: 14) The form 'atayehe is the affiliative (possessed) form of 'atay, meaning 'its price'. (Murasaki 2025: 26) The possessed form cipihi means 'someone's boat'. (Murasaki 2025: 42) The possessed form of 'etu 'nose' is 'etuhu. (Murasaki 2025: 43) The possessed form hawehe means 'someone's voice'. (Murasaki 2025: 44) The possessed form of hon 'belly' is honihi. (Murasaki 2025: 44) The possessed form honihi means 'something's belly'. (Murasaki 2025: 44) The affiliative form of nohkiri 'chin' is nohkirihi. (Murasaki 2025: 51) The affiliative form of 'ommo 'mother' is 'ommoho. (Murasaki 2025: 52) The affiliative form of 'ona 'father' is 'onaha. (Murasaki 2025: 52) The affiliative form of pise 'stomach' is pisehe. (Murasaki 2025: 53) The affiliative form of pii 'seed' is piyehe. (Murasaki 2025: 53) The affiliative form of puu 'storehouse' is puwehe. (Murasaki 2025: 53) The affiliative form of ram 'chest, heart, mind' is ramuhu. (Murasaki 2025: 53) The affiliative form of reh 'beard' is rehcihi. (Murasaki 2025: 54) The affiliative form of rus 'pelt, fur' is rusihi. (Murasaki 2025: 54) The affiliative form of ruu 'road, path' is ruwehe. (Murasaki 2025: 54) 'unuhu is the affiliative (possessed) form meaning "someone's mother". (Murasaki 2025: 59) 'utarihi is the affiliative (possessed) form meaning "someone's relative(s)". (Murasaki 2025: 59) In Sakhalin Ainu, the possessed (affiliative) form of seta ('dog') takes the suffix -ha (setaha). (Murasaki 2025: 63) In Sakhalin Ainu, the possessed (affiliative) form of nan ('face') takes the suffix -uhu (nanuhu). (Murasaki 2025: 65) In Sakhalin Ainu, the possessed (affiliative) form of takuh ('shoulder') takes the suffix -pihi (takuhpihi). (Murasaki 2025: 65) The affiliative form of caru 'mouth' is caruhu. (Murasaki 2025: 67) The affiliative form of tumam 'waist, body' is tumamuhu. (Murasaki 2025: 68) The affiliative form of 'uskuy 'buttocks, rear' is 'uskuyehe. (Murasaki 2025: 70) The affiliative suffix for vowel-final nouns normally follows the rule of /h/ plus copy vowel, according to which the affiliative form of /ru/ 'footprint' should regularly be /ruhu/. (Nakagawa 2024: 34) The affiliative form of a common noun is derived by suffixation to the concept form, making the concept form the basic stem shape. (Nakagawa 2024: 217) The forms par 'mouth' (possessive paro(ho)) and mor 'hair in front of the ears' (possessive moru(hu)) are complete exceptions in their possessive formation. (Nakagawa 2024: 230) The word mor 'hair in front of the ears' was originally moru (with mo 'small'), which was reanalyzed as mor-u with -u as a possessive suffix, giving rise to the concept form mor. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 230) In place names like wakka hure nay, wakka can be analyzed as an affiliative form identical in shape to the concept form. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 270) Even when the concept form of the initial noun ends in a vowel and is thus identical to the basic affiliative form, the initial noun in body-part characteristic compounds is analyzed as an affiliative form. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 272) The forms sakehe and saha represent affiliative forms of the noun sa, originally meaning 'its melody' or 'the melody portion'. (Nakagawa 2024: 576) Ainu nouns have construct forms marked by the construct suffix -hV ~ -V(hV), which signal that the referent of the noun is possessed by somebody or something. (Nam 2021) The belonging form consists of the basic form of the noun (the concept form) plus an ending. (Refsing 1986: 82) The affiliative form of a noun is formed by adding an affiliative suffix such as -o to the stem, and personal forms are created by attaching personal prefixes to this form. (Satō 2008: 150) For consonant-final nouns, the affiliative form is most often formed by suffixing -i to the stem, but can also end in -a, -u, -e, or -o, and may optionally further take the suffix -hV. (Satō 2008: 154) The noun mawe is the affiliative form of maw. (Satō 2008: 248) The noun emusi is the affiliative form of emus 'sword'. (Satō 2008: 249) hawe is the affiliative (possessed) form of haw 'voice'. (Satō 2008: 298) katu is the affiliative (possessed) form of kat 'shape, appearance, way'. (Satō 2008: 303) kapuhu is the affiliative (possessed) form of kap 'skin, bark'. (Satō 2008: 369) onaha is the affiliative (possessed) form of ona 'father'. (Satō 2008: 371) Nouns in Ainu take personal forms when used with reference to a possessor, formed with vocalic suffixes involving all five vowels. (Shibatani 1990) Ainu cin 'cliff bottom, cliff foot' derives from Proto-Ainu *tin and has a possessive form in -i in Hokkaido Ainu. (reported in Vovin 2022: 6.5)

Short and long affiliative forms

What are the short and long variants of the affiliative suffix in Hokkaido Ainu?

Aside from prosodic differences, there is no semantic or functional difference between the short and long affiliative forms of nouns. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) For vowel-final nouns in Hokkaido Ainu, either the bare concept form or the suffix -hV can serve as the affiliative form, with no apparent difference in meaning. (Satō 2008: 153) Ordinary nouns generally take three morphological forms: a conceptual form, a short affiliative form, and a long affiliative form ending in -hV. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) mípi is an affiliative (possessed) form of amip 'clothing'. (Satō 2008: 370) mípihi is an affiliative (possessed) form of amip 'clothing'. (Satō 2008: 370)

The possessive person-prefix system

Which possessive person prefixes attach to the affiliative form in Hokkaido Ainu?

Common nouns in the affiliative form take transitive subject personal affixes, whereas positional nouns take transitive object personal affixes. (Nakagawa 2024: 216) In Hokkaido Ainu, common nouns that undergo personal inflection take transitive subject personal affixes, in contrast to locational nouns which take object personal affixes. (Satō 2008: 151) In nominal personal inflection, transitive subject personal affixes (1sg ku-/k-, 1pl excl ci-/c-, 1pl incl a-, 2sg e-, 2pl eci-, 3rd zero) are used. (Satō 2008: 155) Possessive person affixes attach obligatorily only to the affiliative form of a noun and never to the concept form. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) Personal affixes never attach to the concept form of common nouns, except when the noun functions as the object in a verbal compound. (Nakagawa 2024: 216) The noun uni ('home, house') can take subject personal affixes to express possession. (Satō 2008: 132) In Saru Ainu, the noun cise ('house') normally does not undergo personal inflection. (Satō 2008: 132) In the head-marking possessive construction, the head noun is marked with an A-series prefix indexing the person and number of the possessor. (Bugaeva 2012: 478–479) In poetic language, the possessive person marking on concrete noun forms uses a- for 1st person singular and plural, e- for 2nd singular, echi- for 2nd plural, and no prefix for 3rd person. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In colloquial language, the possessive person marking on concrete noun forms uses ku- for 1sg, chi- for 1pl exclusive, a- for 1pl inclusive, e- (or a- honorific) for 2sg, echi- (or a- honorific) for 2pl, and zero for 3rd person. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Third-person possessive forms can refer not only to 'he' but also to 'she' and 'it', with the exact translation determined by the context in which it is used. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) While the third person normally takes an unmarked form, the prefix i- is rarely used as an expletive third-person subjective prefix on nouns. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The personal affiliative affixes are ku-...-hV (1SG), 'an-...-hV (1PL), 'e-...-hV (2SG), 'eci-...-hV (2PL), -hV (3SG), and -hVhcin (3PL). (Murasaki 2025: 99) The possessive plural suffix -hcin attaches exclusively to the affiliative (possessed) form of a noun. (Murasaki 2025: 101) On ordinary nouns, person affixes attach only to the affiliative form and never to the conceptual form, whereas on locative nouns, person affixes attach to both the basic form and the long form. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.3) Nominal prefixes equivalent to affiliative forms, such as e- and o-, have an arity of 0. (Nakagawa 2024: 366)

Semantic classes of affiliative nouns

What semantic classes of nouns require the affiliative form when possessed in Hokkaido Ainu?

Nouns denoting natural phenomena cannot normally be attributed to anyone and are therefore used in the abstract form. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Natural phenomena nouns can take the concrete (possessed) form in special situations, such as when deities contrast their realms or refer to tutelary spirits. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Not all common nouns have possessive forms in Southern Hokkaido Ainu, unlike in Sakhalin Ainu. (Bugaeva 2012: 470–471) The affiliative form 'utár-i means 'relatives' or 'our (Ainu) people'. (Janhunen 2022: 2.2) In Hokkaido dialects proper nouns do not take the possessive form, whereas in Sakhalin dialects proper nouns can take the possessive form (e.g. ku=Harumihi 'my Harumi'). (Nakagawa 2024: 233) Tamura showed that only a limited set of nouns can appear in the 'belonging form', namely nouns expressing body parts and their functions, parts of an entity, products made from some material, and a few fossilized forms. (reported in Refsing 1986: 23) The noun atkocike is the affiliative (possessed) form of the word for fish tail. (Satō 2008: 294) The noun sikihi is the affiliative (possessed) form of sik 'eye'. (Satō 2008: 295) The noun upsoro is the affiliative (possessed) form of upsor 'bosom / fold of a robe'. (Satō 2008: 296) The affiliative form can be used to mark a member-group or part-whole relationship, as seen in a-poho utari 'my children' and icanuy serkehe 'a school of trout'. (proposed in Satō 2008: 361) ipehe is the affiliative (possessed) form meaning 'meat, edible parts'. (Satō 2008: 368)

Obligatory possession and the non-possessed-noun form

Which nouns are obligatorily possessed in Hokkaido Ainu?

Chiri excluded certain nouns as 'non-possessable' rather than admitting that all nouns possess both forms. (reported in Refsing 1986: 23) In the author's Shizunai material, the nouns mip 'garment' and mouri 'undergarment' always appear in the belonging form when possessed. (Refsing 1986) The noun cise 'house, home' can be expressed either in the belonging form or in the periphrastic construction with kor without any apparent difference in meaning or frequency. (Refsing 1986) The noun kotan 'village, settlement' occasionally appears in the belonging form. (Refsing 1986) In the possessor-requiring intransitive subject incorporation construction ku-tek-e-pase 'I feel as if I had aged' (lit. 'I am my-hands-heavy'), the suffix -e originally marks nominal possession but functions to add the possessor as the clausal subject. (Satō 2016)

The personal form and its syntax

What is the syntactic function of the personal form of nouns in Hokkaido Ainu?

Common nouns function grammatically as places when inflected into the affiliative form. (Nakagawa 2024: 216) In Hokkaido Ainu, while the concept form of a common noun is generally not treated as a grammatical place, its affiliative form functions as a place. (Nakagawa 2024: 458) In compound verbs formed with an intransitive verb like an, such as keraan 'be delicious', the initial noun element has arity 0 and therefore represents the affiliative form rather than the concept form. (Nakagawa 2024: 263) Concept-form common nouns, formal nouns, and pronouns other than personal pronouns have an arity of -1, while affiliative-form common nouns and personal pronouns have an arity of 0. (Nakagawa 2024: 367) The combination of two affiliative-form nouns (such as e=yupihi kamihi 'your elder brother's meat') expresses the possession of something belonging to an entity marked by an affiliative form, with both nouns belonging to separate noun phrases. (Nakagawa 2024: 382) The genitive is expressed by the belonging form or by attributive postpositions. (Refsing 1986) The form oro is the affiliative form of the positional noun or 'inside, place', used to refer back to an element in the preceding clause. (Satō 2008: 123) The affiliative form in principle always takes a personal affix, and the resulting personal form always has its referent within the sentence or the speech context. (Satō 2008: 157) Possessive expressions formed with the affiliative form can alternate with a relative-clause construction using the verb koro 'have'. (Tangiku 2022: 9.4)

The affiliative constraint: specificity, grammar, and non-possessive uses

What condition triggers the use of the affiliative form over the concept form in Hokkaido Ainu?

An affiliative noun cannot normally be followed by a concept-form noun because an affiliative noun refers to a specific entity. (Nakagawa 2024: 382) An affiliative noun can be followed by a concept-form noun when the following noun is a formal noun. (Nakagawa 2024: 382) Tamura claims that the possessed noun takes the affiliative form only when the possessor noun refers to a specific entity. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 231) In Chitose Ainu, the possessed noun can take the affiliative form even when the possessor noun refers to a non-specific entity. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 231) Nouns modified by usa 'various' or nep 'what / any' can appear in the affiliative form. (Nakagawa 2024: 232) The use of the affiliative form after nep is more widespread than after usa and extends to converted intransitive verbs. (Nakagawa 2024: 232) In collocations (phrases), both the concrete (affiliative) form and the abstract form can be used. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Expression with the concrete form is regarded as rational but prosaic, whereas the abstract form is frequently used in epic poetry and similar genres. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Vocative terms of address are generally used in the abstract form (e.g., ekashi, huchi, michi, hapo). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In epic poetry, vocatives for 'father!' and 'mother!' take the concrete form (a-ona, a-unu). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In the Hidaka region, vocatives using concrete forms such as ku-sapo ('my elder sister!') and k'aki ('my younger brother!') are heard even in spoken language. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The meaning of a sentence can change depending on whether an abstract form or a concrete form is used, distinguishing apposition or compounding from possessive belonging. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) shiri in the evidential construction is the concrete form of shir. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The affiliative form of an ordinary noun is generally treated as having the feature <location>. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) A combination of two nouns in the concept form, such as cironnup sar, designates a generic entity, whereas concept form plus affiliative form, such as cironnup saraha, refers to a specific possessed part of a specific entity. (Nakagawa 2024: 380) The belonging form of nouns in the Shizunai dialect is restricted to expressions of inalienable possession, including the partitive genitive. (Refsing 1986: 23) In partitive genitive expressions of inalienable possession, the belonging form is typically used to narrow the scope from the whole to its part or parts. (Refsing 1986) In rare instances such as cikap topaha 'a flock of birds' and ki motaha 'a cluster of reeds', the whole takes the belonging form while the constituent parts remain in the concept form. (Refsing 1986) In the phrase humi ne, the form hum-i is the affiliative form of the noun hum 'sound, feeling', functioning to nominalize a clause. (Satō 2008: 4) While nouns like ru, sir, hum, and haw normally appear in their affiliative forms (ruwe, siri, humi, hawe) when used as nominalizers, they do not appear in affiliative forms before konna. (Satō 2008: 65) Both the concept form and affiliative form of haw(e) and hum(i) appear after modifying clauses, though the exact semantic difference between them remains unclear. (Satō 2008: 172) When a locative noun is modified by an expression like the demonstrative ne 'that', it often takes its affiliative/possessed form (e.g. corpoki), but it may sometimes unexpectedly remain in the concept form (e.g. corpok). (Satō 2008: 336) When cise 'house' is in its affiliative form and immediately followed by the locative particle ta, the affiliative suffix is pronounced lightly or dropped, surfacing almost without exception as an-cise ta with the person prefix an-. (Tangiku 2022: 9.5) In the phrase cise ene 'to the house', cise is always pronounced without the affiliative suffix -he. (Tangiku 2022: 9.5) When the plural affiliative form cise-he-hcin is followed by ta or ene, the affiliative suffix -he drops out to give cise-hcin, and the final -n of -hcin also drops, leaving -hci. (Tangiku 2022: 9.5)