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A Grammar of Hokkaido Ainu

Knowledge base · Part XI — Valency, Voice, and Noun Incorporation

84. The Reflexive yay-

How does a language express coreference between subject and object on a verb?

言語は動詞において主語と目的語の同一指示をどのように表現するか？

The reflexive prefix yay- 'self', its A/O coreference and detransitivization, and its autobenefactive/emotive extensions.

candidate topic from the first edition topic:valency/reflexive-yay read this topic as text

27claims
42statements
17sources
6examples
5sections
59first-edition sentences

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Forms mentioned

yay- 22si- 13u- 2i- 2ho- 2yay-kara 2yay-rayke 2si-rayke 2si-etaye 2ko- 2ruska 2=as 1=an 1he- 1yay-kotan 1kotan 1yay-par-oyki 1par 1oyki 1yáy- 1yáyesiru 1yáy 1yay-si-turi-re 1*si-yay- 1kara 1cise-kar 1-kar 1nimawe-kar 1osoro-kar 1yayhonokka 1yay-ho-nok-ka 1ku=yayhonokka 1ci=honokka 1taan hanokka 1rayke 1kar 1yay-kar 1pusu 1yay-pusu 1si-pusu 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.

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The reflexive yay- in the valency system 8 claims ·6 sentences

How does a reflexive prefix reduce transitivity and indicate coreference with the subject?

  1. In Shizunai Ainu, the prefix yay- derives reflexive expressions where the subject and object of the verb are coreferential.
    静内アイヌ語において、接頭辞 yay- は動詞の主語と目的語が同一人物である再帰表現を形成する。
    form-function hokkaido/southwest/shizunai yay-
    asserts refsing1986
  2. Reflexive actions where the subject and direct/indirect object are coreferential are expressed by reflexive verbs prefixed with yai-.
    主語と目的語が同一である関係（我自身・汝自身・彼自身への作用）は、yai- を冠した再帰動詞によって表される。
    form-function ainu all yai-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  3. Attached to verbs, yai- expresses reflexive meanings 'to oneself' or 'oneself', although it often results in a middle-voice meaning.
    動詞に付く yai- は「自身に」「自身を」の意味を表すが、中相になることも多い。
    form-function generic yai-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  4. When transitive subject and object are coreferential, reflexivization occurs using the reflexive prefixes yay- or si- ('self') rather than a combination of personal affixes.
    主格と目的格が同一人称となる再帰形の場合は、人称接辞の組み合わせではなく、再帰接辞 yay-、si-「自分を・自分に」などを使って表される。
    form-function ainu all yay-si-
    asserts nakagawa2024
  5. Ainu has two reflexive prefixes meaning 'oneself (acc/dat)': yay- and si-.
    アイヌ語には「自分を」を意味する再帰接頭辞として yay- と si- の二つの形式がある。
    existence ainu all yay-si-
    asserts sato2008
  6. The reflexive prefix yay- can be used not only for direct actions upon oneself, but also for actions quasi-directed at oneself such as commanding one's own companions.
    再帰接頭辞 yay- は、主語による自分自身に対する直接的行為そのものだけでなく、自分の仲間に命令するようなそれに準ずる行為にも用いられる。
    form-function hokkaido/southwest/saru generic yay-
    asserts sato2008
  7. Personal affixes switch from transitive to intransitive forms when the reflexive prefix yay- derives an intransitive verb from a transitive one.
    再帰接頭辞 yay- が他動詞から対応する自動詞を派生させるときにのみ、人称接辞は他動詞用から自動詞用へと変化する。
    distribution ainu generic yay-
    asserts shibatani1990
  8. When prefixed to a transitive verb that takes only one object, the reflexive yay- or reciprocal 'u- fulfills the object role and typically turns the verb into an intransitive verb.
    他動詞に接頭した yay- や 'u- は普通その目的語の役割を果たし，目的語を一つだけとる他動詞に接合すると普通自動詞になる。
    form-function ainu generic yay-'u-
    asserts tamura1972

Morphological range and the possessive yay- 9 claims ·10 sentences

What range of verb classes and nominal bases does a reflexive prefix attach to, and what possessive function can it have on nouns?

  1. In Shizunai Ainu, some verb forms prefixed with yay- are completely lexicalized, such that their reflexive origin is evident only through etymological analysis (e.g. yaynu 'think' from nu 'listen', yaytura 'be alone' from tura 'join').
    静内アイヌ語において、yay- を伴う動詞形の中には、yaynu「思う」（< nu「聞く」）や yaytura「一人でいる」（< tura「連れる」）のように、語源分析によってのみ再帰的起源が明らかになるほど完全に語彙化しているものがある。
    diachrony hokkaido/southwest/shizunai yay-yaynunuyayturatura
    asserts refsing1986
  2. The prefix yay- has a primary reflexive function along with reflexive-possessive, autocausative, and occasionally anticausative functions.
    接頭辞 yay- は主要な再帰機能に加えて、再帰所有、自己使役（autocausative）、そして時には反使役（anticausative）の機能を持つ。
    form-function ainu generic yay-
    asserts bugaeva2012
  3. Both reflexive prefixes yay- and si- can attach as possessors to category 1 locative nouns and to incorporated body part nouns.
    再帰接頭辞yay-とsi-の双方は、第1類位置名詞および抱合された身体部位名詞に所有者として付加することができる。
    distribution ainu generic yay-si-
    asserts bugaevakobayashi2022
  4. Attached to nouns, yai- expresses 'mere/ordinary' (1), 'only one / one's own only' (2), and 'one's own' (3).
    yai- は名詞に付いて、(1)「ただの」、(2)「ただひとつの」「自分だけの」、(3)「自分の」という意味を表す。
    form-function generic yai-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  5. The combination yai-ewen contracts to yayewen.
    yai-ewen の結合は yayewen になる。
    alternation all yayewenyai-ewen
    asserts kindaichi1936
  6. The combination yai-omap contracts to yayómap.
    yai-omap の結合は yayómap になる。
    alternation all yayomapyayómapyai-omap
    asserts kindaichi1936
  7. The form yai-shitoma contracts to yashtoma.
    yai-shitoma は yashtoma と縮約する。
    alternation all yashtomayai-shitoma
    asserts kindaichi1936
  8. The adjunct-reducing prefixes yay-, u-, and si- do not appear to have undergone decay in Shizunai Ainu.
    補語減少接頭辞 yay-、u-、si- は、静内アイヌ語において同様の衰退を経験していないように見受けられる。
    distribution hokkaido/southwest/shizunai all yay-u-si-
    asserts refsing1986
  9. The reflexive prefixes yay- and si- belong to derivation rather than inflection, as they cannot be freely attached to any verb or locational noun.
    再帰接頭辞 yay- と si- は屈折ではなく派生に属する要素であり、どんな動詞や位置名詞にも自由に付けられるわけではない。
    analysis ainu all yay-si-
    asserts sato2008

Self-affecting verb classes: grooming, emotion, and self-transformation 1 claims ·11 sentences· 2 examples

Which semantic verb classes most productively take a reflexive prefix?

  1. The reflexive prefix yay- derives the transitive verb yay-ko-ruska 'to be angry at oneself about something' from the ditransitive verb ko-ruska.
    複他動詞 ko-ruska に再帰接頭辞 yay- が付くことで、他動詞 yay-ko-ruska「自分に対して～を怒る」が派生される。
    form-function ainu ko-ruskayay-ko-ruskayay-
    asserts sato2023b
asinuma ka nusa sam ta yay-karkarse-re=an kor paraparak
1SG.EMPH even altar beside LOC REFL-roll-CAUS=4.S CONJ wail
‘I too rolled about by the altar, wailing.’
ilcaa1976 SAR Kawakami Matsuko, uwepeker 民話11; ILCAA materials aa-irc/013#377
aynu ne yay-kar wa kamuy ko-sunke wa an ru-we ne
human COP REFL-make CONJ deity APPL-lie CONJ exist track-POSS COP
‘He had taken on human form and was deceiving the deity.’
bugaevakobayashi2022:§4.1.1 SAR Nakagawa corpus K8007292UP; Bugaeva & Kobayashi ex. 4b

The yay-/si- distinction: competing analyses 5 claims ·22 sentences· 3 examples

What is the functional difference between two competing reflexive prefixes?

  1. The distinction between yay- and si- is analyzed as direct reflexivity, where the subject acts directly, versus indirect reflexivity, where the action relies on or involves other people.
    再帰接頭辞 yay- と si- の区別は、主語が直接手を下して行為を行う「直接的再帰」と、他者の関与や力に依存して間接的に行為を行う「間接的再帰」の対立として分析される。
    analysis ainu yay-si-
    proposes sato2008reports bugaevakobayashi2022, nakagawa2024
  2. The distinction between the reflexive prefixes yay- and si- is analyzed as volitional or intentional versus non-volitional or spontaneous reflexivity.
    再帰接頭辞 yay- と si- の区別は、意志的・意図的な再帰（yay-）と無意志的・自発的な再帰（si-）の対立として分析される。
    analysis ainu yay-si-
    reports nakagawa2024, sato2008, shibatani1990
  3. Ainu has two reflexive prefixes: canonical or direct reflexive yay- and indirect reflexive si-.
    アイヌ語には2つの再帰接頭辞、すなわち典型的な直接再帰を表すyay-と間接再帰を表すsi-が存在する。
    existence ainu all yay-si-
    asserts bugaevakobayashi2022
  4. In contrast to volitional yai-pusu 'emerge', shi-pusu expresses involuntary emergence.
    意志的な yai-pusu「出る」に対し、shi-pusu は無意志的である。
    form-function generic yai-pusushi-pusu
    asserts kindaichi1936
  5. Both yay- and si- are translated as 'oneself' and express reflexive voice, but their usage differs considerably: si- has restrictions on the verbs it prefixes to, while yay- attaches relatively freely to any verb as well as to intransitive verbs and common nouns with an arity of 0.
    yay- と si- はどちらも「自分」と訳され再帰態を表すが使われ方はかなり異なり、一般に si- の方が接頭する動詞に制限があるのに対し、yay- は比較的どんな動詞にもつき、自動詞や普通名詞にもアリティ0としてつくことができる。
    distribution ainu generic yay-si-
    asserts nakagawa2024
sunku anakne peka ta si-pusu wa mom pe ne
spruce TOP surface LOC ANTIC-float CONJ drift thing COP
‘Spruce floats on the water and drifts — that is its nature.’
sato2007 CHI Satō ex. 4; narrator 白沢ナベ, Chitose
ku=ko-si-ranpewtek-ka wa ki=an
1SG.A=APPL-REFL-know-CAUS CONJ do=4.S
‘I was pretending to know nothing about it.’
sato2007 CHI Satō ex. 6; Chitose
i=nukar rok pe si-etaye wa isam
4.O=see PRF thing AUTOC-withdraw CONJ be.absent
‘On seeing me, it withdrew and was gone.’
ilcaa1976 SHI Oda Suteno, reyep kamuy; ILCAA materials aa-irc/027#108

Stacking with applicatives and the verb-word template 4 claims ·10 sentences· 1 examples

How does a reflexive prefix combine with applicative prefixes, and how does this affect transitivity?

  1. The combination yai-ko means 'toward oneself', 'against oneself', or 'by oneself alone'.
    yai-ko の結合は「自身に對して」「自身に向つて」「自分ひとりで」を意味する。
    form-function generic yaiko-yai-ko-
    asserts kindaichi1936
  2. There are examples where yay- appears outside si- (e.g. yay-si-turi-re 'stretch one's body out and lie down'), but none where si- appears outside yay-, suggesting si- is closer to a word-formation affix positioned closer to the root.
    yay-si-turi-re「自分の体を伸ばして横たわる」のように yay- が si- の外側に来る例はあるが、逆に si- が yay- の外側に来る例は見られないため、si- の方が語根に近い形成接辞に近い性質を持つといえる。
    ordering ainu generic yay-si-yay-si-turi-re
    proposes nakagawa2024
  3. The reflexive prefix yay- functions as the equivalent of an object of the verb, whereas yay-ko- plays an adverbial role.
    yay- は動詞の目的語相当であるが、yay-ko- は副詞的な役割を果たす。
    form-function hokkaido generic yay-yay-ko-
    asserts nakagawa2024
  4. When reflexive yay- applies to an applicative object while the direct object is retained, the verb complex remains transitive.
    直接目的語が保持されたまま再帰接頭辞 yay- が適用形目的語に適用される場合、動詞複合体は他動詞のままである。
    form-function ainu generic yay-
    asserts shibatani1990
petkorkamuy kamuy katkemat a=ko-yay-irayke hi a=ye a a=ye a kor
river.deity deity woman 4.A=APPL-REFL-be.grateful NMLZ 4.A=say PFV 4.A=say PFV CONJ
‘Again and again giving thanks to the river-deity woman, as she was telling it …’
ilcaa1976 SAR Kawakami Matsuko, uwepeker 民話9; ILCAA materials aa-irc/009#289