Middle Japanese
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| Middle Japanese 中世日本語 |
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|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Japan | |
| Language extinction: | Evolved into Early Modern Japanese in the 17th century | |
| Language family: | Japonic Middle Japanese |
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| Writing system: | Hiragana, Katakana, and Han | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | – | |
| ISO 639-3: | – | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Middle Japanese (中世日本語 chūsei nihongo?) is a stage of the Japanese language following Late Old Japanese and proceeding Early Modern Japanese.[1] It is a period of transition in which the language sheds many of its archaic features and becomes closer to its modern form.
The period spanned roughly 500 years extending from the 12th century through the 16th century. It is customarily split into an Early and Late division.[2] Politically, Early Middle Japanese (EMJ) consists of the end of the Heian period known as Insei and the Kamakura period; Late Middle Japanese (LMJ) consists of the Muromachi period.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The end of the 12th century was a time of transition from the aristocratic society of the nobles into the Heian period to the feudalistic society of the warrior class. Accompanying this change, the political center moved with establishment of various shogunates in the east.
Various new Buddhist movements began and literacy increased due their spread.[3]
In the middle of 16th century, Portuguese missionaries arrived in Japan. While introducing western concepts and technology, they also shared their language. Various Portuguese loanwords entered the language.[4]
In an attempt to spread their religion, the Portuguese missionaries studied and learned Japanese. They created a number of linguistic grammars, dictionaries, and even translated some of their literature. These resources have proven extremely valuable in Middle Japanese studies.
[edit] Phonology
[edit] Vowels
There were five vowels: /i, e, a, o, u/.
- /i/: [i]
- /e/: [je], [e]?
- /a/: [a]
- /o/: [wo], [o]?
- /u/: [u]
Initially, /e/ and /o/ were realized as semivowels [j] and [w], respectively. This is a result of earlier mergers inherited from Late Old Japanese. However, it is unclear and a matter of debate to how they were realized when preceded by a consonant.[5]
In addition, there were two types of long o: [ɔː] and [oː]. The vowel sequence /au/ contracted into [ɔː], while /ou/ and /eu/ contracted into [oː] and [joː], respectively.[6] Several examples include:
- /hayaku/ "quickly" > /hayau/: [ɸajaku] > [ɸajau] > [ɸajɔː]
- /omou/ "think": [womou] > [womoː]
[edit] Consonants
Middle Japanese had the following consonant inventory:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p b | t d | k g | |||
| Affricate | t͡s d͡z | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɴ | |||
| Fricative | ɸ | s z | ɕ ʑ | |||
| Flap | ɺ | |||||
| Approximant | j | ɰ |
In addition, there are two phonemes /N/ and /Q/. "Before a pause, /N/ is a uvular [ɴ]; it assimilates to the place of articulation of a following stop, affricate, or nasal". "/Q/ becomes a phonetic copy of a following obstruent".[7]
- /s, z/, /t, d/, /n/, /h, b/, /p/, /m/, and /r/ could be palatalized.
Labialized consonants /kw, gw/ appeared during Late Old Japanese. During this period, labialized consonants preceding -i and -e merged with their non-labial counterparts.[8] Specifically:
- /kwi/ > /ki/
- /gwi/ > /gi/
- /kwe/ > /ke/
- /gwe/ > /ge/
The distinction between /ka/ and /kwa/ remained.
The sibilants /s, z/ were palatalized before /i/ and /e/. They have the following distribution:[9]
- /sa, za/: [sa, za]
- /si, zi/: [ɕi, ʑi]
- /su, zu/: [su, zu]
- /se, ze/: [ɕe, ʑe]
- /so, zo/: [so, zo]
João Rodrigues notes in Arte da Lingoa de Japam that the eastern dialects are famous for realizing /se/ as [se] rather than [ɕe].[10] Note that /se, ze/ has become [se, ze] in Modern Japanese, while retaining [ɕi, ʑi] for /si, zi/.
/t/ and /d/ are distinguished from the sibilants in all positions. However, the undergo affrication before /i, u/:
- /ti, di/: [tʃi, dʒi]
- /tu, du/: [tsu, dzu]
[edit] Prenasalization
Voiced plosives and fricatives were prenasalized[11]:
- /g/: [ng]
- /z/: [nz]
- /d/: [nd]
- /b/: [mb]
João Rodrigues makes this observation in Arte da Lingoa de Japam. In addition, the Korean text "Chephay sine spells [...] b, d, z, g with the Hankul letter sequences -mp-, -nt-, -nz-, -ngk-"[12] indicating prenasalization.
The effects of prenasalization may also be seen in the transcription of words such as muma < /uma/ "horse" and mube < /ube/ "truly".
[edit] /h/ and /p/
Although Proto-Japanese had a *[p], by Old Japanese it had already become [ɸ] and subsequently [h] during Early Modern Japanese where it remains today. Middle Japanese reintroduces [p]. [p] contrasts with [ɸ] and is thus treated as a new phoneme. It is found in mimetic words such as pinpin and patto as well as in Chinese loanwords such as sanpai and nippon.[13]
Medial /h/ becomes [w] when followed by /a/. Before all other vowels, it becomes zero.[14][15] Thus:
- /-ha/: [wa]
- /-hi/: [i]
- /-hu/: [u]
- /-he/: [je]
- /-ho/: [wo]
[edit] Glides
/w/ has the following distribution:
- /wa/: [wa]
- /wi/: [i]
- /we/: [je]
- /wo/: [wo]
The prior merger between /o/ and /wo/ into [wo] during Late Old Japanese continues into Middle Japanese with the addition of /e/ and /we/ merging into [je] by the 12th century.
/y/ has the following distribution:
- /ya/: [ja]
- /yu/: [ju]
- /ye/: [je]
- /yo/: [jo]
Due to various mergers, /e/, /we/ and /ye/ are all realized as [je] and thus indistinguishable.
[edit] Syllable structure
Traditionally syllables were of (C)V structure. As such, there was no need to distinguish between syllables and mora. However, Chinese loanwords introduced a new type of sound that could end in -m, -n, or -t. This structure is (C)V(C) and is a syllable. The mora is based on the traditional (C)V structure.
During this period, syllable final -m and -n were initially distinguished; however, by the end of the Early period, both had merged into /N/.[16]
[edit] Liaison
Syllable final -m, -n, -t following by a vowel or glide underwent liaison and become consonant clusters -mm-, -nn-, and -tt-.[17]
-m > -mm-:
- samwi > sammi "third rank"
-n > -nn-:
- ten'wau > tennau > tennoː "emperor"
- kwan'on > kwannon "Goddess of Mercy"
- kon'ya > konnya "tonight"
-t > -tt-:
- set'in > settin "toilet"
- konnitwa > konnitta "as for today"
- but'on > button "blessing of Buddha"
[edit] Onbin
Onbin are a type of sporadic sound changes. They "were not automatic or exceptionless" [18] and their exact causes are still debated. While they also appear in earlier stages of the language, onbin is particularly prevalent throughout Middle Japanese in which it has a great effect on verbal and adjectival morphology.
Verbs:
- yom- "read": /yomite/ > /yoNde/ [joɴde]
- kuh- "eat": /kuhite/ > /kuute/ [kuːte] :: /kuQte/ [kutte]
In the kuh- example, there are two possible outcomes. The former is particular of the western dialects while the latter particular of the eastern dialects.[19]
Adjectives:
- /hayaku/ "quickly" > /hayau/: [ɸajaku] > [ɸajau] > [ɸajɔː]
- /kataki/ "hard" > /katai/ [katai]
In both words the medial -k- drops out.
[edit] Grammar
A number of archaic grammatical forms are shed bringing the language closer to its modern form.
One of the most prominent developments is the replacement of the conclusive form with the attributive. [20] This has a number of effects:
- It is instrumental in the change from bigrade to monograde verbs.[21]
- It causes a chain of events in the two adjectival classes which eventually results in the two merging into one.
- It weakens the Kakarimusubi system.
- The verb ar- "be", which was once irregular, begins to regularizes as a quardrigrade.
[edit] Verbs
Middle Japanese inherits all nine verbal conjugations from Late Old Japanese:
| Verb Class | Irrealis 未然形 |
Adverbial 連用形 |
Conclusive 終止形 |
Attributive 連体形 |
Realis 已然形 |
Imperative 命令形 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrigrade (四段) | -a | -i | -u | -u | -e | -e |
| Upper Monograde(上一段) | -i | -i | -iru | -iru | -ire | -i(yo) |
| Upper Bigrade (上二段) | -i | -i | -u | -uru | -ure | -i(yo) |
| Lower Monograde (下一段) | -e | -e | -eru | -eru | -ere | -e(yo) |
| Lower Bigrade (下二段) | -e | -e | -u | -uru | -ure | -e(yo) |
| K-irregular (カ変) | -o | -i | -u | -uru | -ure | -o |
| S-irregular (サ変) | -e | -i | -u | -uru | -ure | -e(yo) |
| N-irregular (ナ変) | -a | -i | -u | -uru | -ure | -e |
| R-irregular (ラ変) | -a | -i | -i | -u | -e | -e |
However, throughout the period bigrade verbs gradually change into monogrades. This process comes to a completion during Early Modern Japanese. This is in part a result of the merging of the conclusive and attributive forms.[21]
[edit] Adjectives
There were two types of adjectives: regular adjectives and adjectival nouns.
The regular adjective was traditionally sub-classified into two types: those where the adverbial form ends in -ku and those that end in –siku:[22]
| Adjective Class | Irrealis 未然形 |
Adverbial 連用形 |
Conclusive 終止形 |
Attributive 連体形 |
Realis 已然形 |
Imperative 命令形 |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ku | -ku | -si | -ki | ||||
| -u | -ki | -i | Early | ||||
| -u | -i | -i | Late | ||||
| -kara | -kari | -karu | -kere | -kare | |||
| -siku | -siku | -si | -siki | ||||
| -siu | -sisi | -sii | Early | ||||
| -siu | -sii | -sii | Late | ||||
| -sikara | -sikari | -sikaru | -sikere | -sikare |
There were three notable changes that eventually collapse this two-way distinction into one:
- In the Early period, the -siku conclusive develops a -sisi form.
- The conclusive and attributive forms merge
- In the Late period, adjectival suffix -ki is reduced to -i
There are two classes of adjectival nouns inherited from Late Old Japanese: -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 |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nar- | -nara | -nari -ni |
-nari | -naru -na |
-nare | Early | |
| -nara | -ni -de |
-dya -na |
-naru -na -no |
-nare | Late | ||
| Tar- | -to | -tari | -taru | Early | |||
| -to | -taru | Late |
The most prominent development is the reduction of attributive -naru to -na.[23] When the conclusive and attributive merge, they both share the new -na. The tar- type becomes more archaic and is continually reduced in distribution.
[edit] Hypothetical
The realis base develops into the hypothetical.[24] The realis base was used to describe something that has already occurred. This usage begins to fade and results in hypothetical usage that have not already occurred. Note that Modern Japanese only has a hypothetical, not a realis base anymore.
[edit] Imperative
The imperative traditionally concluded without any suffix or with -yo. During this period, the suffix -i was attached to lower bigrade, k-irregular and s-irregular verbs:[25]
- kure + i: kurei "give me"
- ko + i: koi "come"
- se + i: sei "do"
João Rodrigues notes in Arte da Lingoa de Japam that -yo could be replaced with -ro as in miyo > miro "look".[26]. Note that the eastern dialects of Old Japanese during the 8th century also contained this -ro imperative. It is also the standard imperative in Modern Japanese.
[edit] Tense and aspect
The tense and aspect system undergo radical changes. The perfective n-, t-, and r- as well as the past tense k-/s- and ker- become obsolete. In their place tar- develops from perfective aspect into a common past tense. This eventually becomes ta, the modern past tense marker.[27]
[edit] Particles
A new case particle de is developed from ni te.[28]
The conjecture suffix -mu undergoes a number of phonological changes: mu > m > N > ũ. Combining with the vowel from the irrealis base to which it attaches, it would then become a long vowel sometimes with a preceding -y-.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Shibatani (1990: 119)
- ^ Nakata (1972: 175)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 97)
- ^ Shibatani (1990: 121)
- ^ Nakata (1972: 181)
- ^ Yamaguchi (1997: 86-87)
- ^ Miyake (2003: 76-77)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 103)
- ^ Miyake (2003: 75)
- ^ Yamaguchi (1997: 87-88)
- ^ Ōno (2000: 53-54)
- ^ Miyake (2003: 75)
- ^ Nakata (1972: 197-198)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 71)
- ^ Miyake (2003: 74-75)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 102)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 103)
- ^ Frellesvig (1995: 21)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 128)
- ^ Yamaguchi (1997: 95-96)
- ^ a b Tsuboi (2007: 14-30)
- ^ Matsumura (1971: 961, 966-967)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 113)
- ^ Yamaguchi (1997: 96)
- ^ Yamaguchi (1997: 97)
- ^ Yamaguchi (1997: 97-98)
- ^ Shibatani (1990: 123)
- ^ Kondō (2005: 113-114)
[edit] References
- Doi, Tadao (1985). Jidaibetsu Kokugo Daijiten: Muromachi Jidaihen I (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Sanseidō. ISBN 4-385-13296-8.
- Doi, Tadao [1604-1608] (1955). Nihon Daibunten (in Japanese). Sanseidō. ISBN 978-48301-02974.
- Doi, Tadao [1603] (1980). Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-0008-0021-3.
- Frellesvig, Bjarke (1995). A Case Study in Diachronic Phonology: The Japanese Onbin Sound Changes. Aarhus University Press. ISBN 87-7288-489-4.
- Ikegami, Mineo [1620] (1993). Nihongo Shōbunten (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-336811-8, ISBN 4-00-336812-6.
- Kondō, Yasuhiro; Masayuki Tsukimoto, Katsumi Sugiura (2005). Nihongo no Rekishi (in Japanese). Hōsō Daigaku Kyōiku Shinkōkai. ISBN 4-595-30547-8.
- Martin, Samuel E. (1987). The Japanese Language Through Time. Yale University. ISBN 0-300-03729-5.
- Matsumura, Akira (1971). Nihon Bunpō Daijiten (in Japanese). Meiji Shoin. ISBN 4-6254-0055-4.
- Miyake, Marc Hideo (2003). Old Japanese : a phonetic reconstruction. London; New York: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-415-30575-6.
- Nakata, Norio (1972). Kōza Kokugoshi: Dai 2 kan: On'inshi, Mojishi (in Japanese). Taishūkan Shoten.
- Ōno, Susumu (2000). Nihongo no Keisei (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-001758-6.
- Shibatani, Masayoshi (1990). The Languages of Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-36918-5.
- Tsuboi, Yoshiki (2007). Nihongo Katsuyō Taikei no Hensen: Zōteiban (in Japanese). Kasama Shoin. ISBN 978-4-305-70353-8.
- Yamaguchi, Akiho; Hideo Suzuki, Ryūzō Sakanashi, Masayuki Tsukimoto (1997). Nihongo no Rekishi (in Japanese). Tōkyō Daigaku Shuppankai. ISBN 4-13-082004-4.
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