Proto-Japanese

Issues and Prospects

Editors

Bjarke Frellesvig

| University of Oxford & University of Oslo

John Whitman

| Cornell University

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027248091 | EUR 105.00 | USD 158.00

Paperback – Available

ISBN 9789027248442 | EUR 39.00 | USD 59.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027291622 | EUR 105.00/39.00*
| USD 158.00/59.00*

Proto-Japanese is the reconstructed language stage from which all later varieties of Japanese, including Ryukyuan, descend. It has been studied both as an end in itself (as the genetic code of the Japanese language) and as part of endeavors to clarify the genetic affiliation of Japanese. Based on the state of the field, especially as represented in Samuel E. Martin's seminal work The Japanese Language Through Time (1987), this volume singles out key areas in the reconstruction of proto-Japanese where salient progress has been or promises to be made since Martin. Contributions were invited from scholars working on the following areas: segmental phonology, use of dialect evidence, accent, morphology, and syntax. While the book first of all presents new research which advances our understanding of proto-Japanese, it also gives an overview over the state of the art in the field and its main issues.

[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 294] 2008. vii, 229 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.294

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction Bjarke Frellesvig and John Whitman	1–9
Abbreviations	10–12
Part I. Reconstructing the basic phoneme inventory	13
Evidence for seven vowels in proto-Japanese Bjarke Frellesvig and John Whitman	15–41
Early Japanese lexical strata and the allophones of /g/ J. Marshall Unger	43–53
Part II. Use of dialects in reconstruction	55
Proto-Japanese and the distribution of dialects Takuichiro Onishi	57–78
The uses of Ryukyuan in understanding Japanese language history Leon A. Serafim	79–99
Part III. Reconstructing accent	101
On the reconstruction of the proto-accentual system of Japanese Akiko Matsumori	103–124
A reconstruction of proto-Japanese accent for disyllabic nouns: Focusing on the problem of subclasses Moriyo Shimabukuro	125–139
Proto-Japanese beyond the accent system Alexander Vovin	141–156
Part IV. Reconstructing morphology and syntax	157
The source of the bigrade conjugation and stem shape in pre-Old Japanese John Whitman	159–173
On reconstruction of proto-Japanese and pre-Old Japanese verb inflection Bjarke Frellesvig	175–192
The Nominal and Adnominal forms in Old Japanese: Consequences for a reconstruction of pre-Old Japanese syntax Janick Wrona	193–215
References	217–226
Index	227–229

“An attractive volume on the reconstruction of the ancestor of Japanese and Ryukyuan: both a state of the art, and a collection of the most recent, cutting-edge work on phonology, morphosyntax, accentual systems and use of dialect evidence, by the most prominent specialists in the field.”

Laurent Sagart, CRLAO, Paris

“It is [...] exciting to have a flood of new scholarship on the language history of Japanese [...]. The volume is a compilation of cutting-edge research by a variety of scholars who tackle numerous issues.”

John R. Bentley, Northern Illinouis University, in the Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 37:1 (2011)

“Frellesvig & Whitman have brought together a distinguished group of linguistic experts who explore some of the most important questions surrounding the reconstruction of proto-Japanese. In doing so, they have produced a collection of essays that reflect recent scholarly thinking. The incorporation of Ryukyuan evidence in the findings is a noteworthy feature of this volume; and the presentation of the latest hypotheses about the proto-Japanese vowel system is excellent.”

S. Robert Ramsey, University of Maryland

“This collection is a landmark in the study of proto-Japanese, comprising contributions from many of the current leaders in the field.”

Timothy Vance, University of Arizona

“This book makes the first impact of the 21st century on historical linguistics in Japan. In order to enjoy growth and development in our field, we must engage in dialogue with the authors of these contributions.”

Satoshi Kinsui, Osaka University

Cited by

Cited by other publications

Labrune, Laurence

2014. The phonology of Japanese /r/: A panchronic account. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 23:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

Labrune, Laurence

2017. More on Japanese /r/. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 26:3 ► pp. 301 ff.

Lee, Sean & Toshikazu Hasegawa

2011. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis supports an agricultural origin of Japonic languages. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 278:1725 ► pp. 3662 ff.

Unger, J. Marshall

2014. In Paradigm Change [Studies in Language Companion Series, 161], ► pp. 177 ff.

Yanagida, Yuko & John Whitman

2009. Alignment and word order in Old Japanese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 18:2 ► pp. 101 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 08 january 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Subjects

Linguistics

Historical linguistics

Theoretical linguistics

Japanese linguistics

BIC Subject: CFF – Historical & comparative linguistics

BISAC Subject: LAN009000 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General

U.S. Library of Congress Control Number: 2007049685 | Marc record