Knowledge base · Part X — The Personal-Affix System and Alignment · this topic as a network
65. The eci= Portmanteau (1A→2O) and Second-Person Plural Syncretism
What prefix encodes a first-person subject acting on a second-person object, and how is it syncretic with the second-person plural marker?
The two functions of eci=
What two grammatical roles does the second-person plural prefix also serve?
In Shizunai Ainu, both the nominative and the objective cases of the second-person plural are marked by the prefix eci-. (Refsing 1986: 217) The personal affix eci- functions as second-person plural for A, S, and O, and also expresses 1SG.A+2SG.O, 1SG.A+2PL.O, 1PL.A+2SG.O, and 1PL.A+2PL.O. (Bugaeva 2008) The portmanteau eci= has as its key function the marking of second-person plural for A, S, or O. (Bugaeva 2012: 474–475) The second-person plural subject affix for 1-valence verbs is es- in the Ishikari dialect and eci- in the other dialects. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.2) In the Ishikari dialect, the second-person plural possessor prefix on ordinary nouns is es-, whereas in other dialects it is eci-. (Nakagawa 2022: 14.4) The second-person plural subjective personal affix is eci-. (Satō 2008: 30) The second-person plural objective personal affix is eci- 'you (pl.)'. (Satō 2008: 32) The second-person plural objective person affix is eci- ('you pl.'). (Satō 2008: 120) In Classical Ainu, the second-person plural intransitive subject is marked by the prefix eci-. (Shibatani 1990: 24) In Classical Ainu, the second-person plural transitive subject is marked by the prefix eci-. (Shibatani 1990: 24) In the Saru dialect, the second-person plural pronoun is 'eci'oká (sometimes 'eci'oká 'utar to emphasize a large crowd), and the affix is 'eci- without distinction between nominative and objective case. (Tamura 1972: 28) The second-person plural form is used for two or more people on the addressee's side (including third parties belonging to the addressee's group), except when a woman addresses an adult male. (Tamura 1972: 28) When the addressees are two or more women, the second-person plural form is used. (Tamura 1972: 30)
Second-person neutrality: e= and eci=
Do second-person singular and plural prefixes distinguish subject and object roles?
The second-person plural affix eci- may be analyzed as consisting of the second-person singular affix e- plus ci-, which in turn may be identical with the first-person plural subject affix. (proposed in Refsing 1986: 217)
The 1A→2O portmanteau
What prefix is used when a first-person subject acts on a second-person object, regardless of number?
Southern Hokkaido Ainu dialects have several portmanteau personal affixes that combine cross-referencing for both A and O. (Bugaeva 2008) In Southern Hokkaido Ainu, the combination of a first-person A and a second-person O is invariably marked with the portmanteau prefix eci= rather than analytical combinations. (Bugaeva 2012: 474–475) In Saru Ainu, instead of combining the first-person singular subject prefix ku- and the second-person singular object prefix e- into *ku-e, the second-person plural marker eci- is used instead. (Bugaeva 2022: 1.4) In spoken Hokkaido Ainu, a first-person subject acting on a second-person object is expressed by echi- (in Iburi: e-...-ash for singular object, echi-...-ash for plural object). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In the Hidaka region and the Mukawa area of Iburi, the incorporating forms with a first-person subject have collapsed, and echi- (e.g. echi-kore) is used for all combinations of a first-person subject acting on a second-person object. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The portmanteau personal affix for a first-person singular subject acting on a second-person object (singular or plural) is 'eci=. (Murasaki 2025: 27) The prefixal personal affix 'eci= indexes first-person subject acting on second-person object ('I ... to you'). (Murasaki 2025: 43) In many dialects, expressing 'I give you' with the transitive verb kore involves circumfixing personal affixes as e=kore=an or eci=kore=an, whereas in the Saru and Chitose group only prefixal eci=kore appears. (Nakagawa 2024: 108) No dialect exists that uses ku= in the combination of first-person subject and second-person object. (Nakagawa 2024: 173) Highly irregular portmanteau forms termed 'nominative-objective personal affixes' appear when combining first and second person (such as 'I ... you' or 'you ... me'). (Satō 2008: 32) In Chitose Ainu, an action from first person (singular or plural exclusive) to second person (singular or plural) is expressed by the irregular prefix eci- instead of *ku-e-. (Satō 2008: 146) In the classical register, unlike colloquial eci-, the combination of a first-person singular subject acting on a second-person singular object is marked by a-e-, and on a second-person plural object by a-ci-. (Satō 2008: 262) The prefix eci- is an inseparable portmanteau morpheme indicating both a first-person actor subject and a second-person undergoer object. (Satō 2025) In the Ishikari dialect, the combinations of 1st-person subject and 2nd-person object are not collapsed into eci-. (Shibatani 1990)
Resolving the syncretism
How do speakers resolve the ambiguity between second-person plural and the 1→2 portmanteau?
In the Chitose dialect, according to Sato (2008a), the combination of second-person plural subject and first-person object is also expressed as en= and un=. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 173) For actions from second-person plural to first person (singular or plural), forms with overt subject indexing eci-en- and eci-un- have also been reported. (reported in Satō 2008: 147) The suffixes in parentheses (-es-) in Tables 3.4–3.6 are unique to the Ishikari dialect. (Shibatani 1990) In Colloquial Ainu, the transitive subject-object combinations ku-e- 'I-you', ku-eci- 'I-you(PL)', ci-e- 'we-you', and ci-eci- 'we-you(PL)' have all collapsed and neutralized to eci-. (Shibatani 1990) In Karafuto Ainu (Esutoru), an- appears when a first person and a second person plural participate in a subject-object or object-subject relation. (reported in Tangiku 2022: 9.7)
Plural marking and eci=
What three devices express verbal plurality in addition to the person prefix?
In Sakhalin Ainu, nouns with the second-person plural prefix eci- often co-occur with the plural suffix -hcin, as in eci-macihi-hcin 'your wives'. (Bugaeva 2022: 20.6) In the Chikabumi dialect, eshi- is used for the second-person plural nominative. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The suffix -yan is an incorporating personal affix of first-person singular and second-person plural. (Murasaki 2025: 38) In Karafuto Ainu, when a first-person subject is combined with a second person, the plurality of a second-person object is marked by the presence or absence of -an. (Tangiku 2022: 9.7)
Ijäs's learner grammar and the reference paradigm
In what order does a learner grammar introduce the second-person singular, plural, and portmanteau?