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
Published online on 1 July 2008

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

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | p. vii

Introduction

Bjarke Frellesvig and John Whitman | pp. 1–9

Abbreviations | pp. 10–12

Part I. Reconstructing the basic phoneme inventory

Evidence for seven vowels in proto-Japanese

Bjarke Frellesvig and John Whitman | pp. 15–41

Early Japanese lexical strata and the allophones of /g/

J. Marshall Unger | pp. 43–53

Part II. Use of dialects in reconstruction

Proto-Japanese and the distribution of dialects

Takuichiro Onishi | pp. 57–78

The uses of Ryukyuan in understanding Japanese language history

Leon A. Serafim | pp. 79–99

Part III. Reconstructing accent

On the reconstruction of the proto-accentual system of Japanese

Akiko Matsumori | pp. 103–124

A reconstruction of proto-Japanese accent for disyllabic nouns: Focusing on the problem of subclasses

Moriyo Shimabukuro | pp. 125–139

Proto-Japanese beyond the accent system

Alexander Vovin | pp. 141–156

Part IV. Reconstructing morphology and syntax

The source of the bigrade conjugation and stem shape in pre-Old Japanese

John Whitman | pp. 159–173

On reconstruction of proto-Japanese and pre-Old Japanese verb inflection

Bjarke Frellesvig | pp. 175–192

The Nominal and Adnominal forms in Old Japanese: Consequences for a reconstruction of pre-Old Japanese syntax

Janick Wrona | pp. 193–215

Index | pp. 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 (6)

Cited by six other publications

Order by:

Vance, Timothy J., Shigeto Kawahara & Mizuki Miyashita

2021. The diachronic origins of Lyman's Law: evidence from phonetics, dialectology and philology. Phonology 38:3 ► pp. 479 ff.

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.

Unger, J. Marshall

2014. Chapter 8. Old Japanese bigrade paradigms and Korean passives and causatives. In Paradigm Change [Studies in Language Companion Series, 161], ► pp. 177 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.

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 11 january 2025. 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

Theoretical linguistics

Historical linguistics

Japanese linguistics

Main BIC Subject

CFF: Historical & comparative linguistics

Main BISAC Subject

LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General

ONIX Metadata

ONIX 2.1

ONIX 3.0

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