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Knowledge base · Part XX — Diachrony, Reconstruction, and Dialectology

156. Proto-Ainu Reconstruction: Segments and Accent Classes

What segments and accent classes are reconstructed for Proto-Ainu, and what are the correspondence sets to modern reflexes?

原アイヌ語の音素とアクセント類はどのように再構され、現代方言への対応集合は何か?

Reconstruction of the Proto-Ainu consonant/vowel inventory and accent classes, the correspondence sets to modern Hokkaido reflexes, Shiratori's *ia revision of the palatalization account, the accented/accentless split, and the Sakhalin length to Hokkaido pitch correspondence.

candidate topic from the first edition topic:diachrony/proto-ainu-segmental-reconstruction read this topic as text

26claims
52statements
14sources
2examples
14sections
97first-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

h- 7*H 3*s 3*h- 3*l 2*ɾ 2*w 2*d- 2*l- 2ham 2am 2*pʸ 2*sʸ, *s > *s 1*i 1*h 1*tʸ, *pʸ 1*c 1a e i o u 1i ü e ö E a ï ë A O o u 1-V 1-(V)hV 1*-x 1*CVC.Vx > CVC 1*CVC.Vx > CVC-Vx 1hi 1*p *t *k 1capus 1/l/ 1t- 1r- 1taarak 1raarak 1teera 1rera 1[ɾ] 1retar ~ tretar ~ tetar 1*tr- 1*ʈ- 1~*ʈɽ 1[tr]~[r] 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.

Sections

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Method and limits of Proto-Ainu reconstruction 8 sentences

How is Proto-Ainu reconstructed given that it is a language isolate and the comparative method cannot be used?

Periodization: Pre-Proto-Ainu, Proto-Ainu, Common Ainu 4 claims ·4 sentences

What are the three stages in the periodization of Proto-Ainu, and what innovations define each stage?

  1. Proto-Ainu is reconstructed as having diversified into all documented lects over a time depth of approximately one thousand years.
    祖アイヌ語は、記録されたすべての諸変種へと歴史的におよそ1000年の時間深度をかけて分化した母言語である。
    diachrony ainu all
    asserts alonso2022
  2. The modern word for 'fish' (Saru cep, Horobetsu ciʔep, Raiciska ceh) reconstructs to Pre-Proto-Ainu *ti=(ʔ)e pe, literally 'the thing eaten (by everyone)'.
    「魚」を表す現代語形(沙流 cep、幌別 ciʔep、来知志 ceh)は、文字通りには「(皆によって)食べられるもの」を意味する前祖アイヌ語 *ti=(ʔ)e pe に再構される。
    diachrony ainu all *ti=(ʔ)e pe*/ti-ʔe-p/*/ciʔep/cepciʔepceh
    asserts alonso2022
  3. Proto-Ainu can be reconstructed on the basis of Hokkaido Ainu, Sakhalin Ainu, and Northern Kuril Ainu, and has a relatively shallow time depth corresponding to the northward expansion of the language.
    祖アイヌ語は北海道アイヌ語・樺太アイヌ語・千島北部アイヌ語の3大方言に基づいて再構可能であり、その時間的深さは言語の北進拡大の歴史に対応して比較的浅い。
    diachrony ainu
    asserts janhunen2022
  4. The term sísam 'Japanese' dates back to Pre-Proto-Ainu and was originally a compound *sii+sam/o, as evidenced by the Yakumo dialect variant samó.
    「日本人」を意味する sísam はプレ祖アイヌ語に遡り、八雲方言の samó という異形からみて元来は *sii+sam/o という複合語であったと考えられる。
    diachrony ainuhokkaido/southwest/yakumo sísamsamó
    asserts janhunen2022

The Proto-Ainu vowel system 9 sentences

How many vowel qualities are reconstructed for Proto-Ainu, and what is the vowel system?

The Proto-Ainu consonant system: Vovin's reconstruction 5 sentences

What consonant inventory does Vovin reconstruct for Proto-Ainu?

Revisions to the consonant correspondences: Alonso 2022 6 sentences

How does Alonso de la Fuente revise the Proto-Ainu consonant correspondences?

*d- reanalysed as *l- 1 claims ·7 sentences

Why is Vovin's word-initial *d- reanalyzed as *l- in Proto-Ainu?

  1. In Common Ainu, the hypothetical lateral *l merged with the flap *ɾ.
    共通アイヌ語において、仮定された側音 *l は弾き音 *ɾ と合流した。
    diachrony ainu all *l*ɾ
    asserts alonso2022

*tr- reanalysed as *ʈ- 4 sentences

Why is Vovin's cluster *tr- reanalyzed as a single retroflex stop *ʈ-?

The *g / *hd / *s tangle: two scenarios 5 sentences

What two scenarios are proposed to resolve the convergence of *g, *hd, and *s on h- and s- before i?

Initial *h- and medial *-ʔ-: complementary distribution 4 sentences

Are initial *h- and medial *-ʔ- in complementary distribution in Proto-Ainu?

Bihoro h-prothesis: an independent innovation 4 sentences

Is Bihoro prothetic h- before vowel-initial stems an independent innovation or a reflex of PA *H?

The palatalized series: a Pre-Proto-Ainu hypothesis 1 claims ·6 sentences

What palatalized consonants are hypothesized for Pre-Proto-Ainu, and what evidence supports them?

  1. In Common Ainu, the palatalized consonant series collapsed, with *sʸ and *s merging after *i.
    共通アイヌ語において口蓋化子音系列は崩壊し、*i の後で *sʸ と *s が合流した。
    diachrony ainu all *sʸ*s
    asserts alonso2022

Dialect correspondence sets 7 claims ·10 sentences· 2 examples

What dialect correspondence sets illustrate the principal Proto-Ainu reconstructions?

  1. In Nairo Sakhalin Ainu, initial t- reflects Proto-Ainu *l and *ʈ, whereas r- reflects *ɾ.
    樺太アイヌ語内路方言において、語頭の t- は祖アイヌ語の *l および *ʈ を反映し、r- は *ɾ を反映する。
    diachrony sakhalin all t-r-*l*ʈ*ɾ
    asserts alonso2022
  2. The forms for 'mouth' differ across dialects as par and car, but they are considered cognate words.
    「口」を表す語形は方言によって par と car という異なった形になるが、同源の語と考えられる。
    alternation ainu generic parcar
    asserts nakagawa2024
  3. The oldest reconstructed Ainu form for 'father' is inferred by Nakagawa to be aca.
    中川は「おとうさん」を表す最古形は aca であると推測している。
    diachrony ainu aca
    proposes nakagawa2024
  4. The ca- : pa- correspondence is not found with the vowels e, i, o, or u, and thus cannot be considered a regular phonological correspondence.
    ca- : pa-の対応は母音e、i、o、uの前には見られず、真の意味での音韻対応とは言えない。
    distribution ainu none ca-pa-
    asserts nakagawafukazawa2022
  5. Ainu pétpa ~ pétca 'bank, shore' is reconstructed to Proto-Ainu *petpya, compounded from pét 'river' and pa 'bank, shore, edge'.
    アイヌ語の pétpa 〜 pétca「岸」は、pét「川」と pa「岸、縁」の複合による祖語形 *petpya に再建される。
    diachrony ainu pétpapétca*petpyapétpa
    asserts vovin2022
  6. In Horobetsu Ainu, toci-ni denotes 'horse-chestnut tree' and toci denotes 'fruit of a horse chestnut tree', reconstructible to Proto-Ainu *toti.
    幌別アイヌ語において toci-ni は「トチノキ」、toci は「トチの実」を意味し、祖語形 *toti に遡る。
    form-function hokkaido/southwest/horobetsu all toci-nitoci✶toti
    reports vovin2022
  7. Ainu pun-i 'to lift, to raise (SG)' derives from Proto-Ainu *pum-i.
    アイヌ語 pun-i「(単数を)持ち上げる」は祖語形 *pum-i に遡る。
    diachrony ainu all pun-i✶pum-i
    asserts vovin2022
cep
fish
‘fish’
ci=e-p
4.A=eat-NMLZ
‘(Pre-PA reconstructed form) 'the thing that all eat'’
constructed

Proto-Ainu suprasegmentals: the length–pitch dispute 10 claims ·17 sentences

How is the suprasegmental system of Proto-Ainu reconstructed, given the length-pitch dispute between Sakhalin and Hokkaido?

  1. Proto-Ainu possessed both phonologically distinctive vowel length and phonologically distinctive pitch accent.
    祖アイヌ語には母音の長短とピッチアクセントの両方が独立して音韻上弁別的特徴として存在していた。
    analysis ainu
    proposes itabashi2001reports itabashi2001
  2. Proto-Ainu possessed phonologically distinctive vowel length but lacked phonologically distinctive pitch accent.
    祖アイヌ語には音韻上弁別的な母音の長短が存在したが、弁別的なピッチアクセントは存在しなかった。
    analysis ainu
    reports bugaeva2022, itabashi2001
  3. Long vowels in Hokkaido Ainu were never an archaic Proto-Ainu property, but rather a temporary, redundant secondary development that was subsequently lost without becoming phonemically distinctive.
    北海道アイヌ語における長母音は祖アイヌ語の古い特徴ではなく、一時的な余剰的二次発達にすぎず、音韻的対立をなさずに最終的に消失した。
    diachrony hokkaido all
    proposes bugaeva2022
  4. Satō (2016b) claims that the phonological vowel length opposition in Sakhalin Ainu is a secondary development rather than an archaic retention from Proto-Ainu.
    佐藤(2016b)は服部(1967)とは対照的に、樺太方言における母音長短の対立は祖アイヌ語からの保持ではなく二次的発達であると主張している。
    diachrony sakhalin all
    reports bugaeva2022
  5. Sakhalin Ainu inherited vowel length as phonologically distinctive and inherited pitch accent as a phonetic feature.
    樺太アイヌ語では母音の長短を音韻上の弁別的特徴として継承し、ピッチアクセントは本来の音声上の弁別的特徴として継承したとされる。
    diachrony sakhalin generic
    reports itabashi2001
  6. Two-mora words with long vowels in Sakhalin Ainu are considered to have possessed long vowels in Proto-Ainu as well.
    樺太アイヌ語における長母音をもつ2モーラの語は、アイヌ祖語においても長母音であったと考えられる。
    diachrony ainusakhalin generic
    proposes itabashi2001
  7. In Hokkaido dialects (excluding Tasuke Yamamoto's dialect), the distinction between long and short vowels in Proto-Ainu monosyllabic open words was lost and pitch accent foregrounded instead, with all vowels in monosyllabic words becoming short.
    北海道方言(山本多助氏の方言を除く)では、アイヌ祖語の開音節単音節語の長母音と短母音の区別が消失してピッチアクセントが弁別として前景化したが、単音節語の母音はすべて短くなったと考えられる。
    diachrony hokkaido generic
    proposes itabashi2001
  8. In Sakhalin Ainu, the Proto-Ainu vowel length distinction in open monosyllabic words largely disappeared and mostly shifted to long vowels.
    樺太方言においては、アイヌ祖語の開音節単音節中の母音の長短の弁別がほとんど消失し、ほとんど長母音に移行したと考えられる。
    diachrony sakhalin generic
    proposes itabashi2001
  9. The vowel-length distinction found in Sakhalin Ainu is considered to be older than the accentual distinction in Hokkaido Ainu.
    長短母音の対立のほうが、アクセントの対立より古い形式であると考えられている。
    diachrony ainu all
    reports nakagawa2024
  10. There is a regular phonological correspondence between pitch accent in Hokkaido Ainu and vowel length in Sakhalin Ainu, which is reconstructible to Proto-Ainu.
    北海道方言のアクセントと樺太方言の長短母音の間には音韻対応関係があり、アイヌ祖語にまでたどれるものと想定されている。
    alternation hokkaidosakhalin
    asserts nakagawa2024

Open questions and honest gaps 3 claims ·8 sentences

What open questions and honest gaps remain in the reconstruction of Proto-Ainu segments?

  1. To explain the exceptional first-syllable accent in CVCV stems such as réra 'wind', an unidentified consonant *H can be reconstructed in the proto-form, as in *reHra.
    réra「風」のようなCVCV語幹における第1音節の例外的なアクセントを説明するために、祖形に *reHra のような未知の子音 *H を再構することができる。
    diachrony ainu example_only réra*reHra
    proposes bugaeva2022
  2. To explain the kana spelling piruka for pirka 'good' as opposed to shiri- for sir, it is proposed that pirka historically contained an intervening consonant *H (*piHrka) that prevented the palatalization of /r/ by /i/.
    sir に対する「志り」と pirka に対する「ぴるか」という仮名表記の違いを説明するために、pirka には歴史的に介在子音 *H(*piHrka)が存在し、それによって /i/ による /r/ の口蓋化が阻害されたという仮説が提案されている。
    diachrony ainu example_only pirka*piHrkasir
    proposes bugaeva2022
  3. Patrie suggests on comparative evidence that ar may be an older morpheme meaning 'one'.
    Patrie は比較言語学的証拠に基づき、ar が「1」を表すより古い形態素であった可能性を示唆している。
    diachrony ainu ar
    reports refsing1986