Knowledge base · Part XV — Evidentiality and Mirativity · this topic as a network

124. humi ne — the Non-Visual Sensory Evidential

How does the language express that a statement is based on non-visual sensory evidence like sound, smell, or feeling?

22 sentences from 17 sources · every sentence names the pages it rests on

humi is used as a conjunctive particle. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936)

Place in the evidential paradigm

Where does the non-visual sensory evidential stand among direct evidentials, and what source does it mark?

Humi is neither used as a generalized nominalizer nor employed in sentence-final nominalizations like hawe, siri, and ruwe in Refsing's Shizunai material. (Refsing 1986)

Morphology: humi is hum-i, 'the sound/feeling of —'

What is the morphological make-up of the noun meaning 'sound/feeling' in this evidential construction?

hum was originally a noun meaning 'sound', and humi is its concrete form meaning 'the sound of ...'. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) humi-an (plural humi-okai) expresses a subjective sensory impression or conjectural feeling. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In Refsing's analysis, humi is interpreted as a general noun meaning 'sound'. (Refsing 1986) The noun humi originally means 'sound', but can also be used for internal bodily sensations such as nasal congestion. (Satō 2008: 133)

Meaning: the non-visual sensory domain

Which sensory modalities count as non-visual evidence for this evidential form?

The complex predicate humi ne functions as a non-visual (semblative) evidential ('it feels that'). (Bugaeva 2012: 494–495) In Tamura (1997), "humi ne" is described as being used for matters concerning hearing, touch, mood, or a "feeling". (reported in Hirosawa 2026) In Nakagawa's (1995) dictionary of the Chitose dialect, "humi ne" is defined as a sentence-final particle expressing a sense of 'it feels like...', expressing exclamation at sensory perceptions other than vision or words (such as sound, smell, taste, bodily sensation, or intuition). (reported in Hirosawa 2026) The evidential expression humi ne expresses that a judgment was made based on information other than that obtained through sight or speech, such as sound, smell, taste, bodily sensation, or intuition (Nakagawa 1995: 338). (reported in Hirosawa 2026) The evidential humi ne can also express an action that has not been realized. (Hirosawa 2026) humi-ne expresses sensory evidentiality / judgment based on non-visual sensory impression. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In the concept form, hum(i) usually refers to non-voice sounds, but when used in sentence-final phrases, it refers to things confirmed through sensations other than speech and vision, including smell, taste, tactile sensations, and mental/internal sensations. (Nakagawa 2024: 400) While in Japanese dreams are 'seen' (visual), in Ainu wentarap 'dream' takes humi ne, showing that dreaming is conceptualized as a sensation other than vision. (Nakagawa 2024: 400) humi ne is a construction expressing internal sensation ('it feels like', 'I have a feeling that'). (Satō 2008: 333) Humi (derived from hum 'sound') expresses semblative mood ('it sounds', 'it appears', 'I gather'). (Shibatani 1990)

usa sisakpe a=i=y-e-re hum-i ne ya

various delicious.things 4.A=4.O=EP-eat-CAUS sound-POSS COP Q

‘Whether I was given all sorts of delicious things to eat…’

Dal Corso 2018: 306 · SAR

rupus hum-i ne awan

freeze.solid sound-POSS COP MIR

‘It had completely frozen solid.’

Hirosawa 2026: 66 · HK

a=ruska hum-i ne pekor yay-nu=an

4.A=be.angry sound-POSS COP like REFL-hear=4.S

‘It felt as though anger was welling up.’

ILCAA Ainu materials 1976 · SAR

hum-as hum-i ne kunak ku=ramu kor ku=soyne a p

sound-stand sound-POSS COP COMP 1SG.A=think while 1SG.S=go.outside PFV NMLZ

‘Thinking that it sounded like there was a noise, I went outside — but (nothing was there).’

ILCAA Ainu materials 1976 · SAR

Clause-final frames and illocution

How does the non-visual evidential interact with clause-final frames, including interrogative versions?

Unlike other sentence-final evidential expressions, humi ne rarely ends a sentence on its own and is often followed by expressions meaning 'think', 'seem like', or 'whether...'. (Nakagawa 2024: 400)

usey ku=ku wa keraan hum-i

tea 1SG.A=drink CONJ be.delicious sound-POSS

‘I drank tea — how delicious!’

Nakagawa 2024: 396 · CHI

The indirect counterpart: humi as

How does replacing the copula with a posture verb change the kind of sensory evidence expressed?

hum(i)-ash expresses perception or inference based on auditory or sensory evidence ('it seems that ... based on the sound/feeling'). (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The construction népenepo ... wa húmas a ka a-eramuskari forms an idiomatic expression meaning 'I did not know how ... it felt (= it was terribly ...)'. (Satō 2008: 326)

aynu ek hum-i as

person come sound-POSS stand

‘The sound of someone arriving was heard.’

ILCAA Ainu materials 1976 · SAR

Double evidentiality with humi

How can two evidentials stack with this form to mark multiple evidence sources at once?

poro cep a=ne hum-i ne hum-i as orano a=yupi-hi os ma=an wa

big fish 4.A=COP sound-POSS COP sound-POSS stand after.that 4.POSS=elder.brother-POSS follow swim=4.S CONJ

‘It felt as though I had become a great fish, and then I swam after my elder brother.’

ILCAA Ainu materials 1976 · SAR

Scope, mirativity, and the admirative tail

What clause elements does the evidential scope over, and how does it convey surprise or mirativity?

humi expresses an exclamation. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936)

Diachrony and dialect variation

From what noun did this evidential grammaticalize, and along what path did it develop?

humi shifted from the lexical meaning 'sound' to express subjective, tentative judgments based on non-visual sensory cues such as taste, smell, appearance, or bodily feeling. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936; reported in Hirosawa 2026) Kansai-hō expresses an event as the speaker's sensory impression or feeling. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936)