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A Grammar of Hokkaido Ainu

Knowledge base · Part VI — Word Classes and Nominal Morphology

40. Deverbal and Denominal Noun Derivation (Lexical Nominalizer Morphology)

How does Hokkaido Ainu derive lexical nouns from verbs and nouns using nominalizers?

北海道アイヌ語は、動詞や名詞からどのように語彙的名詞を派生するのか？

The morphology of forming nouns with -p/-pe, -i/-hi, and -kur, treated here as lexical word-formation, with syntactic nominalization/relativization deferred to Part XVI.

candidate topic from the first edition topic:nominal/deverbal-denominal-noun-derivation read this topic as text

28claims
50statements
18sources
7examples
12sections
71first-edition sentences

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The chapter, its sections, the sources it cites, the chapters it cross-references, the forms it mentions most, and the claims grouped under it with the sources that assert, propose, doubt or reject each.

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Forms mentioned

kur 4a= 4usi 3-p 3ci= 3cep 3ani 3-p/-pe 2-i/-hi 2-e/-we 2p 2pe 2aep 2a=e-p 2canup 2p/pe 2uske 2inonno 2itak 2-po 1e 1ci=e-p 1cie-p 1kuani 1kani 1cikarkarpe 1ci=kar-kar-pe 1kar-kar 1ca-nu-p 1ca 1-nu 1ecanupkar 1ani e=kanpinuye p 1ani humi a=aste p 1-p(e) 1a=i=ye p 1i= 1*a=i=ye kamuy 1ru-we 1ruwe, siri, humi, hawe 1

Claims

A claim is one proposition; under it stand the statements of each source, with the stance that source takes. Claims are grouped by a model from the extracted statements and carry that status until reviewed.

  1. Prefixing chi- to a verb forms a participial adjective, which is generally a past participle but can rarely be a present participle.
    動詞に接頭辞 chi- を前置した形式は分詞形容詞を形成し、一般に過去分詞であるが稀には現在分詞もある。
    form-function ainu generic chi-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  2. The suffix -ke (or -he) attaches to roots to form nouns, as in ar-ke 'half', kim-ke 'mountain', or-ke 'place', pan-ke 'downriver', pen-ke 'upriver', and rep-ke 'offshore'.
    接尾辞 -ke（-he）は語根に付いて名詞を作り、ar-ke「半分」、kim-ke「山」、or-ke「処」、pan-ke「かみ」、pen-ke「しも」、rep-ke「沖」などを形成する。
    form-function ainu generic -ke-hear-kekim-keor-kepan-ke
    asserts kindaichi1936
  3. The ending -ma functions as a noun-forming ending, as seen in nima 'wooden bowl' (from ni 'tree') and tesma 'snowshoes'.
    語尾 -ma は名詞法語尾として機能し、nima「木鉢」（ni「木」）や tesma「カンヂキ」などに見られる。
    form-function ainu generic -manimatesma
    asserts kindaichi1936
  4. The suffix -ram forms abstract nouns, as in kemram 'famine' and ponram 'childhood/youth'.
    接尾辞 -ram は kemram「饑餓」や ponram「幼少」のように抽象名詞を形成する。
    form-function ainu generic -ramkemramponram
    asserts kindaichi1936

Sections

·

Scope: lexical word-formation and the syntactic cut 3 claims ·9 sentences

What is the boundary between lexical word-formation and syntactic nominalization in Hokkaido Ainu?

  1. Lexical nominalizations in Ainu are derived with light head nouns such as hi 'thing/place/time', pe 'thing/person', and kur 'man'.
    アイヌ語における語彙的名詞化は、hi（もの／場所／時）、pe（もの／人）、kur（人）などの形式名詞を主要部として派生される。
    form-function ainu hipekur-p
    asserts bugaeva2016
  2. In Ainu, nouns derived by attaching a prefix to a verb in principle do not exist.
    アイヌ語において動詞に接頭辞が付くことで派生した名詞は原則として存在しないと考えられる。
    absence ainu generic
    asserts sato2008
  3. Nominalizing suffixes appear to function both as lexical derivational suffixes and as syntactic clausal nominalizers.
    名詞化接尾辞は語彙的派生接尾辞としても統語的節名詞化辞としても機能しているように見られる。
    form-function ainu generic
    asserts shibatani1990

The -p/-pe nominalizer at word level 1 claims ·0 sentences

How does the nominalizer -p/-pe operate at the word level in Hokkaido Ainu?

  1. The suffix -p(e) derives a noun denoting a person or thing characterized by the meaning of the base verb.
    接尾辞 -p(e) は、基底動詞の意味によって特徴づけられる人や物を表す名詞を派生する。
    form-function ainu generic -p-pe
    asserts shibatani1990

Allomorphy 2 sentences· 2 examples

What conditions the allomorphy of the nominalizer -p/-pe in Hokkaido Ainu?

huci na ipe yakne pirka p
grandmother FIN eat COND good NMLZ
‘Grandmother, it would be nice if you ate more!’
sato2008:177 SAR
ratcitara rok=an pe ne na
quietly sit.PL=4.S NMLZ COP FIN
‘One ought to sit quietly.’
sato2008:177 SAR

Lexicalized agent/patient nominals 6 sentences· 2 examples

How are lexicalized agent and patient nominals formed with -p/-pe in Hokkaido Ainu?

a=e-p
4.A=eat-NMLZ
‘food’
constructed
kani ku=respa p anakne
1SG 1SG.A=raise NMLZ TOP
‘those whom I raised’
nakagawa2024:214 SAR

Arity-slot nominalizations: ci= and a= with -p 3 claims ·8 sentences

How does Hokkaido Ainu form lexicalized nominals with ci= and a= prefixes and -p?

  1. The noun amip 'clothing' originates from a phrase consisting of the inflected form a-mi 'one wears' with the indefinite personal prefix a- plus the nominalizer p 'thing', which became established as an individual word.
    名詞amip「着物」は不定人称接辞a-を取った人称形a-mi「人が着る」とp「もの」からなる句に由来するが、単独の語として定着したものである。
    diachrony ainu example_only amipa-mip
    asserts sato2008
  2. In ci-kuy-pas 'chewed ash', ci- has a nominative meaning but has low productivity and should be regarded as a derivational prefix rather than a personal affix.
    ci-kuy-pas「噛んだ灰」におけるci-は主格的な意味を持つものの、生産性が低く、人称接辞ではなく派生接辞とみなすべきである。
    analysis ainu example_only ci-ci-kuy-pas
    asserts sato2008
  3. The prefix ci- (c- before vowels), originally a fourth-person affix, functions as a prefix that nominalizes transitive verbs, and is mainly used in the elevated/poetic register.
    接頭辞 ci-（母音の前で c-）は本来は不定人称の一種であるが、ここでは他動詞を名詞化する働きをする接頭辞であり、主に雅語で用いられる。
    form-function ainu generic ci-c-
    asserts sato2008

Instrument nominalization: ani X p 4 sentences

How does Hokkaido Ainu form instrument nouns using ani and the nominalizer?

The lexical–syntactic boundary 5 sentences· 1 examples

What criteria distinguish lexical from syntactic nominalizations in Hokkaido Ainu?

hoka e=o p ne na
fire 2SG.A=put.in NMLZ COP FIN
‘It is the thing to put on the fire!’
nakagawa2024:505 SAR

The affiliative suffix as nominalizer: -i/-hi and -e/-we 2 claims ·3 sentences

How does Hokkaido Ainu use the affiliative suffix -i/-hi as a derivational nominalizer?

  1. The suffix -hV forms verbal nouns meaning 'the fact that, the thing that'.
    語尾 -hV は「〜こと、〜の」を意味し、動名詞を作る。
    form-function sakhalin generic -hV
    asserts murasaki2025
  2. The suffix -i derives nouns with the meaning 'X-place' or 'X-time', while -ike derives nouns with the meaning 'thing' or 'person'.
    名詞形成接尾辞 -i は「Xの場所」または「Xの時」を意味する名詞を派生し、-ike は「物」または「人」を意味する名詞を派生する。
    form-function ainu generic -i-ike
    asserts shibatani1990

Conditioning of the suffix allomorphs 9 sentences

What conditions the allomorphy of the affiliative nominalizer suffix in Hokkaido Ainu?

Lexical class-noun heads: kur and usi/uske 9 sentences· 2 examples

How do the nouns kur and usi/uske function as denominative heads in Hokkaido Ainu?

Sar un kur
Saru ALLAT person
‘a Saru person’
nakagawa2024:234 SAR
nanu memke usi ku=oman wa ek ruwe ne
face shave place 1SG.S=go CONJ come track-POSS COP
‘I went (and came back) to the face-shaving place.’
nakagawa2024:258 HK Kushiro

Zero-conversion and the verb–noun interface 8 claims ·9 sentences

How does Hokkaido Ainu handle zero-conversion between verbs and nouns?

  1. One-argument (intransitive) verbs in Ainu can undergo zero-conversion to form nouns without morphological modification.
    アイヌ語の1項動詞（自動詞）は、形態的な変更を伴わずにそのまま名詞へと品詞転換（ゼロ転成）することができる。
    form-function ainu as a rule
    asserts nakagawa2024, sato2025a
  2. Class II verbs can often be used directly as nouns without morphological modification.
    第II類の動詞はその多くがそのまま名詞として用いることができる。
    form-function ainu usually
    asserts kindaichi1936
  3. When a Class I verb combines with an object noun or a prefix, it converts to Class II and can thus be used directly as a noun.
    第I類の動詞も目的格の名詞または接頭辞と結合すれば第II類に転ずるため、そのまま名詞として用いることができる。
    form-function ainu generic
    asserts kindaichi1936
  4. All verbs formed by detransitivizing i- can be converted into nouns.
    自動詞化の i- によって派生された動詞は、すべて名詞に転成することができる。
    distribution ainu all i-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  5. The words yukar and uepeker are underlyingly intransitive verbs meaning 'recite a yukar' and 'tell a uepeker', and yukar can take the causative suffix -e to form yukare 'cause someone to recite a yukar'.
    yukar や uepeker は本来そのまま「ユカラを語る」「ウエペケレを語る」という自動詞であり、使役接尾辞 -e をつけて yukare「〜にユカラを語らせる」を作ることができる。
    form-function ainu all yukaruepekeryukare-e
    asserts nakagawa2024
  6. The intransitive verb ipe 'eat / have a meal' converts to a noun meaning 'meal', which underwent semantic extensions to 'food', 'kernel/contents of a nut', 'blade of a sword', and 'contents of a song/speech'.
    自動詞 ipe「食事する」は名詞「食事」に転換し、さらに「食料」、木の実の「中身」、刀の「刀身」、歌や言葉の「内容」へと意味派生している。
    diachrony ainu all ipe
    asserts nakagawa2024
  7. The transitive verb e 'eat' does not undergo zero-conversion to a noun or the semantic shift seen in ipe.
    他動詞 e「〜を食べる」には、ipe に見られるような品詞転換や意味の変容は見られない。
    absence ainu all eipe
    asserts nakagawa2024
  8. Compounds consisting of a possessed noun subject plus an intransitive verb can be converted directly into agentive nouns without any derivational affixes, as in sapa-kay 'dried headless salmon' (literally 'head-breaks').
    主語（名詞所属形）＋自動詞型の動詞形成は、何も加えずそのままの形で行為者名詞（〜する者）として転成（conversion）されることがあり、例として sapa-kay「頭を取って作った干しサケ（文字通り：頭・折れる）」がある。
    form-function hokkaido exists sapa-kay
    asserts sato2008

Grammaticalization cline and the Sakhalin contrast 7 claims ·7 sentences

How do lexical nominalizers in Hokkaido Ainu extend along a grammaticalization cline?

  1. Lexical nominalizers in Ainu diachronically originate in relative clauses with fully-fledged nominal heads that became reanalyzed successively as nominalizing words and then nominalizing suffixes.
    アイヌ語における語彙的名詞化辞は通時的に、十全な名詞主要部をもつ関係節に由来し、それが名詞化語、次いで名詞化接尾辞へと段階的に再分析されたものである。
    diachrony ainu
    asserts bugaeva2016
  2. Unlike Hokkaido Ainu (np…) v nmz, the Sakhalin Ainu v-poss form is not used for lexical nominalization, although it functions in clausal nominalization, adverbial clauses, modal/evidential sentences, and main clauses.
    北海道アイヌ語の(np…) v nmzとは異なり、樺太アイヌ語のv-poss形式は節名詞化、副詞節、証拠性・モダリティ文、主節では機能するものの、語彙的名詞化には用いられない。
    absence sakhalin none v-poss
    asserts bugaeva2016
  3. In Karafuto Ainu, unlike Hokkaido dialects, a verb can be nominalized by suffixing -hV to the verb.
    樺太アイヌ語では北海道方言と異なり、動詞に-hVを付加することで名詞化できる。
    variation sakhalinhokkaido -hV
    asserts tangiku2022
  4. If a verb ends in an open syllable, the nominalizing suffix -hV is formed using the final vowel, yielding the forms -ha, -he, -hi, -ho, and -hu.
    動詞が開音節で終わる場合、名詞化接尾辞-hVは語末母音を用いて形成され、-ha, -he, -hi, -ho, -huという形をとる。
    alternation sakhalin all -hV-ha-he-hi-ho-hu
    asserts tangiku2022
  5. If a verb ends in a closed syllable, the nominalizing suffix -ihi is added.
    動詞が閉音節で終わる場合、名詞化接尾辞として-ihiが付加される。
    alternation sakhalin all -ihi
    asserts tangiku2022
  6. A noun formed with the -hV nominalizing suffix expresses an individual, specific event.
    名詞化接尾辞-hVによって形成された名詞は、個別的・具体的な出来事を表す。
    form-function sakhalin generic -hV
    asserts tangiku2022
  7. The nominalizing suffix -hV is used in presuppositional contexts.
    名詞化接尾辞-hVは前提的な文脈で用いられる。
    distribution sakhalin -hV
    reports tangiku2022