Adjectival noun (Japanese)

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An adjectival noun (Japanese: 形容動詞, keiyō-dōshi, "adjectival verb") or sometimes just adjectival is a noun that functions as an adjective. This term is often used in analyses of the Japanese language to refer to members of the word class commonly known as "na-adjectives".

Contents

[edit] Old Japanese

Old Japanese has one type of adjectival noun with the following inflections.

Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Realis
已然形		 Imperative
命令形
-nara -nari -nari -naru -nare -nare

[edit] Late Old Japanese

Late Old Japanese has two types of adjectival nouns: nar- and tar-.

Type Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Realis
已然形		 Imperative
命令形
Nar- -nara -nari
-ni		 -nari -naru -nare -nare
Tar- -tara -tari
-to		 -tari -taru -tare -tare

The newly developed tar- inflections are used in kanbun kundoku (reading a Chinese text in Japanese).

[edit] Early Middle Japanese

Early Middle Japanese has two types of adjectival nouns: na- and tar-.

Type Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Realis
已然形		 Imperative
命令形
Na- -nara -nari
-ni		 -nari -naru
-na		 -nare  
Tar-   -to -tari -taru    

[edit] Late Middle Japanese

Late Middle Japanese has two types of adjectival nouns: na and t-.

Type Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Realis
已然形		 Imperative
命令形
N- -nara -ni
-de		 -dya
-na		 -naru
-na
no		 -nare  
T-   -to   -taru    

[edit] Early Modern Japanese (Kamigata)

The early half of Early Middle Japanese as exhibited in the Kamigata region has a single type of adjectival noun with the following inflections.

Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Realis
已然形		 Imperative
命令形
  -ni
-de		 -na -na -nare  

The deteriorating tar- type is lost.

[edit] Early Modern Japanese (Edo)

The later half of Early Modern Japanese as found in Edo has a single type of adjectival noun with the following inflections.

Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Hypothetical
仮定形		 Imperative
命令形
-daro -daQ
-de
-ni		 -da -na -nara  

[edit] Modern Japanese

There is one type of adjectival noun in modern usage, with inflections as follows.

Irrealis
未然形		 Adverbial
連用形		 Conclusive
終止形		 Attributive
連体形		 Hypothetical
仮定形		 Imperative
命令形
-daro -daQ
-de
-ni		 -da -na -nara  
  • The modern inflections are based on two primitive forms: d- and n-. The n- forms are historical older while the d- forms are newer and have replaced some of the older n- forms.
  • Irrealis -daro is found with particle -u, resulting in -darou (-darō). Historically it was -dara. /au/ regularly changed into [ō].
  • Adverbial -daQ is often found with past particle -ta, resulting in "daQta" -> "datta".
  • Adverbial -de is found before "aru" and "nai", as well as being used in to terminate one clause before beginning another (中止法).
  • Adverbial -ni is used in adverbial constructions.
  • Modern Japanese no longer inflects for imperative.

[edit] Etymology

All forms of the copula (the vehicle for the inflection of adjectival nouns) can be considered to derive from two infinitive forms, ni and to. Because the copula lacked any other forms, secondary conjugations with the verb ari were used. The original ni ari and to ari contracted to form nari and tari. To derive the modern forms na and da, changes such as the following have been proposed.

For attributive na (rentaikei):

  • ni aru > naru > na

For predicative da (shūshikei):

  • ni te ari > de ari > de a > da

In some regions these changes progressed differently, resulting in forms such as ja or ya.

The infinitive form ni is still in widespread use (e.g. hen ni naru, "become strange"), but the form to has become a much rarer alternative.

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