Knowledge base · Part III — Segmental Phonetics, Phonology, and Phonotactics · this topic as a network
17. The Vowel Inventory and Vowel Realization
What is the vowel system of Hokkaido Ainu, and how are its vowels realized phonetically?
In Sakhalin Ainu, /u/ is rounded rather than unrounded like Japanese, and is close to /o/ (Itabashi 2001). In open monosyllabic words in Sakhalin Ainu, the vowels are all long—as in cii, nii, ee, ree, aa, maa, too, poo, kuu, nuu, and ruu—and their pitch accent is all high (Itabashi 2001). Accented vowels in open syllables in Sakhalin Ainu are likewise long, as shown by niirus, heese, yeene, haacin, aane, pookero, tookes, tuitas, and huure (Itabashi 2001). In contrast, vowels of closed syllables ending in the sonorants or fricatives /s, m, n, w, y, r/ are always short in Sakhalin Ainu (Itabashi 2001). The root vowel in a single-syllable word in Karafuto dialects may be long, as in puu and kii, but it becomes short when a suffix is attached, as in ki-hci (Tangiku 2022: 9.2). Many vowels bearing a high accent in many Hokkaido dialects are lengthened in Karafuto dialects, as in Hokkaido káni and sések corresponding to Karafuto kaani and seeseh (Tangiku 2022: 9.2). Long vowels in Sakhalin Ainu and high pitch accent in Hokkaido Ainu do not necessarily stand in a one-to-one relationship, and there are several cases where a syllable with low pitch in Hokkaido corresponds to a long vowel in Sakhalin (Itabashi 2001). Itabashi proposes that the relationship between Hokkaido and Sakhalin Ainu cannot be properly understood unless pitch accent as well as vowel length is recognized as phonemically distinctive (proposed in Itabashi 2001). Regarding Hokkaido Ainu, Tamura attested from fieldwork with Tasuke Yamamoto that his idiolect in Kushiro did not have a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels (reported in Itabashi 2001).
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The Five-Vowel System
How many vowel phonemes does Hokkaido Ainu have, and what is their system?
Ainu has a five-vowel system consisting of /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. (Alonso de la Fuente 2022: 5.2, Bugaeva 2012: 466–467, Itabashi 2001, Kirikae 1997, Nakagawa 2024: 26, Ōno 2022: 12.8, Satō 2008: 10, Shibatani 1990) The five vowel phonemes of Ainu are pronounced very similarly to the corresponding Japanese vowels. (Refsing 1986: 68) Kuril Ainu has a five-vowel system: /i, e, a, o, u/. (Itabashi 2001) Ainu has five vowels, a, i, u, e, and o, which are in principle short, and glottal stop accompanies an initial accented vowel. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936)
Phonetic Realization
What are the acoustic and articulatory properties of the five vowels?
Unlike in Japanese, both /u/ and /o/ in Ainu are slightly rounded, and /u/ is pronounced further back than Japanese /u/. (Bugaeva 2012: 466–467) Vowel /i/ is a close front vowel, /e/ is a half-open front vowel, /a/ is open (tending toward back in isolation), /o/ is a half-open back vowel with slight lip rounding, and /u/ is a close back vowel with slight lip rounding. (Refsing 1986: 68) The acoustic distance between /i/ and /e/, as well as between /u/ and /o/, is closer in Ainu than in Japanese. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2)
The mid vowels e and o
How are the mid vowels /e/ and /o/ phonetically realized?
The Ainu vowel o is accompanied by lip protrusion, making it sometimes difficult to distinguish from u in unaccented, relaxed positions. (Satō 2008: 10) In most Ainu dialects, the vowel /o/ is phonetically a non-labialized vowel [ɤ] or [ɚ]. (Vovin 2022: 6.4)
The back vowel u
What are the articulatory and acoustic characteristics of /u/?
Ainu /u/ is articulated lower (more open) than Japanese /u/. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936; reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) In Hokkaido Ainu, /u/ is rounded rather than unrounded like Japanese, and is close to /o/. (Itabashi 2001) In Kuril Ainu, /u/ is rounded and close to /o/, unlike the unrounded Japanese /u/. (Itabashi 2001) While /a, i, e, o/ are pronounced almost the same as in standard Japanese, /u/ is pronounced with slightly more lip rounding and with the back of the tongue raised higher than in Japanese (a rounded back vowel). (Nakagawa 2024: 26) The Ainu vowel u has slightly stronger lip protrusion than Japanese /u/. (Satō 2008: 10) Ainu /u/ has a lower F2 than Japanese [ɯ], suggesting articulation further back in the vocal tract. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2)
Vowel Devoicing
Under what conditions do vowels devoice, and which vowels are affected?
The vowels /i/, /u/, and occasionally /e/ often undergo devoicing when flanked by voiceless consonants. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) Vowel devoicing is reported to occur more frequently in northern dialects of Ainu. (reported in Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) In the Saru dialect, the syllables si and ci are the most prone to vowel devoicing. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) In the Saru dialect, the syllables tu, pi, and pu never undergo vowel devoicing. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) In the speech of some Saru speakers, vowel devoicing can occur in closed, accented syllables as well as in consecutive syllables. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2)
Phonemic Length and Allophonic Lengthening
Does Hokkaido Ainu have phonemic vowel length, and what allophonic lengthening occurs?
Unlike Hokkaido dialects which lack phonemic vowel length, Sakhalin Ainu distinguishes long and short vowels. (Tangiku 2022: 9.2, Bugaeva 2012: 466–467, Refsing 1986: 68) Hokkaido Ainu lacks a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels. (Nakagawa 2024: 26, Shibatani 1990) Sakhalin Ainu has a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels. (Itabashi 2001, Nakagawa 2024: 26) Sakhalin Ainu exhibits allophonic vowel length [a: e: i: o: u:] on stressed syllables. (Alonso de la Fuente 2022: 5.2) In Sakhalin and Kuril Ainu, noun and verb bases distinguish short and long vowels, with long vowels appearing only in open syllables. (Alonso de la Fuente 2022: 5.2) In Sakhalin Ainu, vowel length is phonetic rather than phonemic, occurring in open stem syllables while vowels outside the stem are always short. (Alonso de la Fuente 2022: 5.2) In modern Hokkaido Ainu dialects, an independent (C)V morpheme is phonetically lengthened when standalone but pronounced short in a compound, possessing no phonological vowel length contrast. (Bugaeva 2022: 3.5) Sakhalin Ainu is the only dialect that can definitely be said to have phonemic vowel length. (Itabashi 2001) In Hokkaido Ainu, all vowels are phonemically short, but in open monosyllabic words the vowel is generally pronounced long, which is not phonemically contrastive. (Itabashi 2001) In Kuril Ainu sources, many words (mainly in open syllables) are indicated with long vowels, but because records do not agree with one another, the existence of phonemic long vowels lacks credibility. (doubted in Itabashi 2001) In Hokkaido Ainu, an open-syllable vowel with high pitch accent has the phonetic characteristic of always being pronounced long. (Itabashi 2001) Ainu lacks contrastive long vowels that can distinguish lexical items, and open-syllable monosyllables are pronounced short when combined with other words. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Accentual contrasts in Hokkaido Ainu frequently correspond to vowel-length distinctions in Sakhalin Ainu. (Nakagawa 2024: 26) In Hokkaido Ainu, there is no phonemic distinction between long and short vowels, so a sequence of identical vowels like ee in teeta 'long ago' must be articulated distinctly with a syllable boundary as [te'eta] to avoid being perceived as teta 'here'. (Nakagawa 2024: 42) Sakhalin Ainu possesses distinct phonemic long vowels, so that the sequence aa in aane 'thin' constitutes a single vowel. (Nakagawa 2024: 57) When the accent kernel is on an open syllable, there is a tendency to prolong the vowel. (Refsing 1986: 73) Except in the Sakhalin dialects, Ainu lacks a phonemic vowel-length distinction. (Satō 2008: 5) A monosyllabic CV form tends to undergo lengthening when uttered in isolation. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) In polysyllabic forms, an accented vowel tends to undergo lengthening. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2) Emphatic lengthening is grammaticalized to break up the lengthened vowel with an inserted glottal stop. (Shiraishi 2022: 13.2)
Vowel Sequences and Coda Glides
How are sequences like ay and aw analyzed: as diphthongs or vowel plus coda consonant?
In Sakhalin Ainu, sequences of identical vowels occur, forming diphthongs or long vowels. (Itabashi 2001) The double vowels /aa/ and /oo/ in demonstratives are often shortened to single vowels in rapid speech. (Refsing 1986) Non-derived root forms such as kotan 'village' and poru 'cave' contain o-a and o-u vowel sequences within the root. (Shibatani 1990: 16)
The Vowel Co-occurrence Restriction
In which morphological contexts does vowel co-occurrence restriction apply, and how does it operate?
The vowel alternation e -> i occurs in certain words. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The vowel alternation o -> u occurs in certain words. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The vowel alternation u -> i occurs in certain words. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) In transitive verb derivations and noun personal forms, vowels of group A (a, u) and group B (o) do not co-occur across the stem-affix boundary according to Chiri's analysis. (reported in Shibatani 1990) In transitive verb derivations and noun personal forms, group C vowels (i, e) may co-occur with either group A vowels (a, u) or group B vowels (o), behaving as neutral vowels. (reported in Shibatani 1990)
Dialect Variation in Vowel Quality
How do vowel qualities vary across Hokkaido dialects, for example in Mukawa?
Sakhalin Ainu possesses a five-vowel system consisting of /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. (Tangiku 2022: 9.2, Murasaki 2025: 1, 88) Instead of the pitch accent contrast found in Hokkaido Ainu, Sakhalin Ainu distinguishes vowel length. (Murasaki 2025: 5, 84) Sakhalin Ainu /o/ is pronounced slightly closer and more fronted than Japanese /o/. (Murasaki 2025: 1) Sakhalin Ainu /u/ has lip rounding and is pronounced slightly more fronted than Japanese /u/, with the result that it can be confused with /o/ in unaccented syllables. (Murasaki 2025: 1) Hokkaido Ainu monosyllabic words such as pa, pi, pu, ke, and po correspond to Sakhalin Ainu forms with lengthened vowels pronounced with an initial high pitch, namely paa, pii, puu, kee, and poo. (Murasaki 2025: 84) Dialectal differences in Ainu phonology are relatively small, with no variation in vowel inventory and only minor differences in syllable structure constraints between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. (Nakagawa 2024: 25) In the u:o vowel alternation, it is characteristic for the Sōya dialect to take o where other dialects have u. (Nakagawa & Fukazawa 2022: 8.3) In the o:e vowel alternation, it is characteristic for the Yakumo dialect to take e where most Hokkaido dialects take o. (Nakagawa & Fukazawa 2022: 8.3) In word-final position, -e in Hokkaido dialects corresponds to -i in Karafuto dialects. (Tangiku 2022: 9.2)