147. Conjunctions and Discourse Connectives

Word-class status and the connective–clause-linker boundary 10 claims ·7 sentences

Do conjunctions form a distinct word class, or are they subsumed under another class such as adverbs?

1. Conjunctions are not established as an independent word class in Ainu grammar, being subsumed under adverbs or conjunctive particles.
   アイヌ語文法において接続詞は独立した品詞としては立てられず、副詞や接続助詞に振り分けられる。
   analysis ainu all
   asserts nakagawa2024, sato2008
   • nakagawa2024:118 asserts checked
   • sato2008:3 asserts checked
   • supports(differs in framework): There are no genuine conjunctions in Ainu in the sense of morphemes whose exclusive function is to serve as conjunctions.— Refsing recognizes conjunctions as a functional category despite lacking dedicated morphemes, whereas Satō and Nakagawa eliminate conjunctions as a word class entirely.
2. There are no genuine conjunctions in Ainu in the sense of morphemes whose exclusive function is to serve as conjunctions.
   アイヌ語には、接続詞としての機能のみを持つ形態素という意味での「真の」接続詞は存在しない。
   absence ainu all
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
3. Composite expressions consisting of a positional noun and a case postposition can function as sentence connectors or conjunctions.
   位置名詞と格後置詞からなる複合表現は、文接続詞として機能することができる。
   form-function ainu some
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • supports: There are no genuine conjunctions in Ainu in the sense of morphemes whose exclusive function is to serve as conjunctions.— The fact that conjunctions are composite expressions of positionals and case postpositions explains why there are no morphemes whose sole function is conjunction.
4. In the Shizunai dialect, conjunctions often occur after a major juncture marked by a conjunctionalizer, so that clauses are connected by both.
   静内方言において、接続詞は接続助詞（conjunctionalizer）による大境界の後にしばしば現れ、節が双方によって二重に接続される。
   distribution hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986:131 asserts anchored
   • refsing1986:131 asserts checked
5. awa functions as a conjunctive particle.
   awa は接続助詞として機能する。
   membership ainu awa
   asserts kirikae1997
   • kirikae1997:11 asserts checked
6. Certain postpositions function as conjunctions either by standing clause-initially on their own or by combining with verbs such as nee 'be' or 'an 'exist'.
   後置詞のあるものは文頭に来てそのまま、あるいは nee「〜だ」や 'an「〜がある」などの動詞と結びついて接続詞として機能する。
   distribution sakhalin exists nee'an
   asserts murasaki2025
   • murasaki2025:109 asserts checked
7. In the Shizunai dialect, occurrences of conjunctionalizers functioning as conjunctions are few and far between.
   静内方言において、接続化辞が接続詞として機能する例は極めて稀である。
   frequency hokkaido/southwest/shizunai exists
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986:45 asserts checked
8. Conjunctions in Ainu are free forms and are much less commonly used than conjunctionalizers.
   アイヌ語の接続詞は自立形式であり、接続詞化辞よりも使用頻度がはるかに低い。
   frequency ainu all
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986:81 asserts checked
9. When a conjunction follows a major juncture marked by a conjunctionalizer, it resembles an adverb modifying the predicate of the sentence or may be viewed as an emphatic extension of the conjunctionalizer.
   接続詞が接続助詞による大境界の後に続く場合、それは文の述語を修飾する副詞に類似するか、あるいは接続助詞の強調的拡張と見なされ得る。
   analysis hokkaido/southwest/shizunai
   proposes refsing1986
   • refsing1986:131 proposes checked
10. In Ainu, conjunctions are free forms that begin a sentence or clause by semantically connecting it to a preceding spoken or implied sentence.
    アイヌ語において、接続詞は、先行する（発話された、または含意された）文と意味的に結びつけることによって文または節を開始する自立形式である。
    terminology ainu all
    asserts refsing1986
    • refsing1986:238 asserts checked

orano and orowano — the sequential connective 4 claims ·7 sentences· 1 examples

What form or forms express sequential 'and then, after that', and what is their origin?

1. The sequence oro wa literally means 'from there/that place' but functions as a connective meaning 'and then, therefore'.
   oro wa は文字通りには「そこから／その所から」を意味するが、「そして、それから、それだから」という接続表現として機能する。
   form-function ainu all oro waorowa
   asserts sato2008
   • sato2008 asserts checked
   • sato2008:60 asserts checked
   • sato2008:123 asserts checked
2. In the Shizunai dialect, orwa, orowa, and orowano (derived from or) function as temporal or sequential conjunctions meaning 'and then, afterwards'.
   静内方言において、or に由来する orwa、orowa、orowano は「それから、その後に」という意味の時間的・継時的接続詞として機能する。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all orwaorowaorowanoor
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
3. Adverbs derived from the locational noun or and the case particle wa (such as orowa, orowano, orowaun, ora, oraun) differ from conjunctional particles in that they are not restricted to post-verbal position and can follow conjunctional particles.
   位置名詞 or と格助詞 wa から派生した一連の副詞（orowa, orowano, orowaun, ora, oraun など）は、接続助詞が基本的に動詞句の後ろに来るのに対し、その制約がなく接続助詞の後ろにも置くことができる。
   distribution ainu generic orowaorowanoorowaunoraoraun
   asserts nakagawa2024
   • nakagawa2024:517 asserts checked
4. Orwa(no) is frequently used as a temporal conjunction or conjunctionalizer.
   orwa(no) は時間的接続詞または接続語尾として頻繁に用いられる。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai usually orwaorwano
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked

rapokke and rapoketa — simultaneous temporal 1 claims ·4 sentences

How does the language mark temporal overlap or simultaneity between narrative events?

1. In the Shizunai dialect, rapoketa (derived from rapok) functions as a contemporal conjunction meaning 'during that time, while'.
   静内方言において、rapok に由来する rapoketa は「その間に、〜しているうちに」という意味の同時的接続詞として機能する。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all rapoketarapok
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986:131 asserts anchored
   • refsing1986:131 asserts anchored

tane — temporal adverb and scene-shift marker 5 sentences· 1 examples

How is the temporal adverb 'now' used to shift scene or time reference at a clause boundary?

newaanpe — the resumptive anaphoric connective 8 sentences· 1 examples

What connective form refers back to a prior fact or situation, and how is it structurally composed?

NP coordinators — newa and usa 3 claims ·8 sentences· 2 examples

What forms coordinate noun phrases, and where does each appear within the coordinated phrase?

1. When listing nouns in the sense of 'and', newa is used.
   and の意味で物を列挙するときには newa を用いる。
   form-function newa
   asserts kindaichi1936
   • kindaichi1936 asserts checked
2. The particle newa originates from the verb ne ('to become') and the connective particle wa, originally meaning 'having become', and functions to express 'both' and the conjunction 'and'.
   助詞 newa は動詞 ne（「に成る」）と接続助詞 wa（「て」）からなり原義は「に成って」であって、「とも」や並列接続「と」を表す。
   diachrony newa
   asserts kindaichi1936
   • kindaichi1936 asserts checked
3. When two or more successive nominal adjuncts are marked with ka, ka functions as a coordinative postposition.
   2つ以上の連続する名詞副加語が ka で標示される構文では、ka は並列後置詞として機能する。
   analysis hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all ka
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986:172 asserts checked

nea and tap — demonstrative-adjacent forms 8 sentences

How do demonstrative forms like 'that' function to link clauses by resuming a topic?

Connective inventory 6 claims ·4 sentences

What connective forms are attested, and how do corpus frequency counts reflect their multiple functions?

1. In the Shizunai dialect, etokta (derived from the positional noun etok) functions as a temporal or sequential conjunction meaning 'before then'.
   静内方言において、位置名詞 etok に由来する etokta は「その前に」という意味の時間的・継時的接続詞として機能する。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all etoktaetok
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
2. In the Shizunai dialect, orpakno (derived from or) functions as a temporal or sequential conjunction meaning 'until then'.
   静内方言において、or に由来する orpakno は「その時まで」という意味の時間的・継時的接続詞として機能する。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all orpaknoor
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
3. In the Shizunai dialect, ekari (derived from the positional kari) functions as a contemporal conjunction meaning 'around that time'.
   静内方言において、位置詞 kari に由来する ekari は「その頃」という意味の同時的接続詞として機能する。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all ekarikari
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
   • refsing1986 asserts anchored
4. In the Shizunai dialect, yak functions as a conditional conjunction meaning 'then (a condition being fulfilled)'.
   静内方言において、yak は「それなら（条件が満たされたら）」という意味の条件接続詞として機能する。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all yak
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986:131 asserts anchored
   • refsing1986:131 asserts anchored
5. Orpakno may function as a conjunction or conjunctionalizer meaning 'until'.
   orpakno は「〜まで」という意味の接続詞または接続語尾として機能することがある。
   form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai generic orpakno
   asserts refsing1986
   • refsing1986 asserts checked
6. ayne functions as a connective meaning 'in the end, after doing..., finally'.
   ayne は「あげくに, 〜して, ついに」を意味する接続表現である。
   form-function ayne
   asserts sato2008
   • sato2008:366 asserts checked