Old Japanese

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Old Japanese 上代日本語 or 上古日本語
Spoken in:	Japan
Language extinction:	Evolved into Late Old Japanese during the Heian period
Language family:	Japonic  Old Japanese
Writing system:	Chinese characters and Man'yōgana
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	–
ISO 639-3:	–
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Old Japanese (上代日本語, Jōdai nihongo^?) is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language.

Contents 1 Dating 2 Writing system 3 Phonology 3.1 Phonemes 3.2 Transcription 3.3 Phonological Rules 4 Phonetics 4.1 Vowels 4.2 Consonants 4.2.1 /k, g/ 4.2.2 /s, z/ 4.2.3 /t, d/ 4.2.4 /n/ 4.2.5 /h/ 4.2.6 /m/ 4.2.7 /y/ 4.2.8 /r/ 4.2.9 /w/ 5 Syllable structure 6 Grammar 6.1 Pronouns 6.2 Verbs 6.2.1 Conjugation 6.2.2 Consonant / Vowel Stem 6.2.3 Irregular Verbs 6.3 Adjectives 6.4 Particles 6.4.1 Attaching to the Irrealis 6.4.2 Attaching to the Adverbial 6.4.3 Attaching to the Conclusive 6.4.4 Attaching to the Attributive 6.4.5 Attaching to the Realis 6.4.6 Attaching to the Imperative 6.4.7 Other 7 Dialects 8 Proto-Japanese 8.1 Four-vowel system 8.2 /h/ < *[p] 8.3 Co1 as Cwo 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Dating

A precise dating of the period is difficult. The upper bound for the period is 794 when the capital Heijōkyō moved to Heiankyō. However, the lower bound is more difficult. Some Japanese personal names and place names are in ancient Chinese texts such as the "Wei Zhi" of the Sanguo Zhi as the language of the Wa. Wooden tablets and relics with fragments of text written on them have also been excavated. However, the first extant written text of substantial length is the Kojiki of 712. Without necessarily excluding the minimal text fragments, the lower bound is generally discussed as from 712 for practical reasons. This coincides well with the Nara period (710-794). A more formal dating would not recognize a lower bound and date it as through 794. Besides Kojiki, the other oldest literary sources include Fudoki (720), Nihonshoki (720), and Man'yōshū (after 771).

[edit] Writing system

The earliest texts found in Japan are written in the classical Chinese language, not the native Japanese language, although they may have been meant to be read as Japanese (see Kanbun). Some of these Chinese texts show the influences of Japanese grammar, such as the word order (for example, placing the verb after the object). In these "hybrid" texts, Chinese characters are occasionally used phonetically to represent Japanese particles. Over time, the phonetic usage of Chinese characters became more and more prevalent, until Man'yōgana, a system of using the Chinese characters phonetically to record Japanese, was born. This system was already in use in the non-prose part of Kojiki, and was used in a highly sophisticated manner in Man'yōshū.

[edit] Phonology

The study of Old Japanese phonology is based on the comparative study of synchronous pronunciation of Chinese, reverse analysis of diachronic change in Japanese pronunciation, and comparative study of the Ryukyuan languages. Although the majority of Old Japanese writing represents the language of the Nara court in central Japan, some poems in the Man'yōshū are from southern and eastern Japan, and represent different dialects of Old Japanese. Some of these dialectical differences are still found today.

Old Japanese differed phonetically from later periods of the language. An analysis of Man'yōgana reveals a peculiar system known as Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai. See the Phonemes section for more details.

The transcriptions of Old Japanese words given in Kojiki differ from those found in Nihonshoki and Man'yōshū in that it distinguished the syllables /mo₁/ and /mo₂/ whereas the latter two do not. This has been correlated with the historical record of Kojiki being compiled earlier than Nihonshoki, and thus preserved an older distinction that soon vanished.

The Modern Japanese syllable [tsu] derives from affrication of [t] before [u] in the Old Japanese [tu], and Modern da-line [zu] arises by the same process from Early Modern [dzu] and Old [du]. Certain modern dialects preserve the distinction between [z] and [dz], for instance in the Nagoya dialect [midzu] for mizu "water". A similar process of palatalization resulted in Modern [tɕi] from Classical and Old [ti]. However, it cannot be ascertained when /ti/ was palatalized; it may have already been an affricate in Old Japanese.

Other characteristic differences of Old Japanese as compared with its modern counterpart include:

• no long vowels or diphthongs;
• words do not begin with /r/ or voiced plosives;
• no syllable-final consonants of any kind.

Some scholars have suggested that there might be a link between Old Japanese and some of the extinct languages of the Korean peninsula, including the Goguryeo (a.k.a. Koguryo) language, but the relation of Japanese to any language other than Ryukyuan remains undemonstrated. See the Japanese language classification page for more.

[edit] Phonemes

Old Japanese distinguished between 88 syllables.

a	i		u	e		o
ka	ki1	ki2	ku	ke1	ke2	ko1	ko2
ga	gi1	gi2	gu	ge1	ge2	go1	go2
sa	si		su	se		so1	so2
za	zi		zu	ze		zo1	zo2
ta	ti		tu	te		to1	to2
da	di		du	de		do1	do2
na	ni		nu	ne		no1	no2
ha	hi1	hi2	hu	he1	he2	ho
ba	bi1	bi2	bu	be1	be2	bo
ma	mi1	mi2	mu	me1	me2	mo1	mo2
ya			yu	ye		yo1	yo2
ra	ri		ru	re		ro1	ro2
wa	wi			we		wo

Shortly after the Kojiki, the distinction between mo₁ and mo₂ is quickly lost reducing the total syllable count to 87.

Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the syllable doublets, including:

• an eight-vowel system
• palatalization of the initial consonant
• a six-vowel system

This issue is still strongly argued, and there is no general consensus.

[edit] Transcription

Keep in mind that the transcription does not necessarily represent either hypothesis and that the subscript 1 or 2 could apply to either the consonant or the vowel.

There are several competing transcription systems. One popular system places a dieresis above the vowel: ï, ë, ö. This typically represents i₂, e₂, and o₂, and assumes that unmarked i, e, and o are i₁, e₁, and o₁. There are several problems with this system.

• It implies a particular pronunciation, indirectly on the vowel.
• it neglects to distinguish between words where the 1 / 2 distinction is not clear, such as the /to/ in /toru/ as well as in /kaditori/.

Another system uses superscripts instead of subscripts.

[edit] Phonological Rules

In 1934, Arisaka Hideyo proposed a set of phonological restrictions permitted in a single morpheme. These are known as the "Arisaka Laws".

• -o₁ and -o₂ do not co-exist
• -u and -o₂ generally do not co-exist
• -a and -o₂ generally do not co-exist

These rules suggest two groups of vowels: /-a, -u, -o₁/ and /o₂/. Vowels from either group do not mix with each other; -i₁ and -i₂ can co-exist with either group. Some take this phenomenon as evidence that Old Japanese had vowel harmony as found in Altaic languages.

[edit] Phonetics

[edit] Vowels

A phonetic description of the vowels depends on the hypothesis being followed.

[edit] Consonants

[edit] /k, g/

/k, g/: [k, g]

[edit] /s, z/

Theories for /s, z/ include [s, z], [ts, dz], and [ʃ, ʒ]. It may have varied depending on the following vowel, as it does with modern Japanese.

[edit] /t, d/

/t, d/: [t, d]

[edit] /n/

/n/: [n]

[edit] /h/

/h/ was phonetically realized as [ɸ]. This assumption is predicated upon the following textual and phonological analyses:

• The modern /h/ causes a discrepancy in the pairing of voiceless vs. voiced consonants. Thus, /k, g/, /s, z/, /t, d/, and finally /h, b/. The pair /h, b/ does not fit. The voiceless version of /b/ is /p/.
• Comparison with Ryukyuan language shows [p] where mainland Japanese has [h]. As these two languages split at some point in history, this can be taken as evidence that the Japanese [h] was once pronounced identically to the Ryukyuan [p] (although the comparison alone does not directly address the issue of what its pronunciation was in Old Japanese).
• A look at /h/ in modern Japanese shows that it becomes [ɸ] when followed by /u/. Looking further back, Portuguese missionaries visiting Japan in the early 17th century wrote the entire /h/-row of kana as "fa, fi, fu, fe, fo". Korean visitors in the same century suggested a voiceless labial fricative sound, i.e. [ɸ].
• The oldest evidence is from 9th century. In 842, the monk Ennin writes in Zaitōki a description in which he states that Sanskrit "p" is more labial than Japanese. This is taken as evidence that Japanese /h/ was pronounced [ɸ] rather than [p] by that time.

There is general agreement that between the 9th and 17th century /h/ was [ɸ]. The dialectal and distributional evidence suggest that at some point it must have been [p]. However, it most likely was prior to the Old Japanese period.

[edit] /m/

/m/: [m]

[edit] /y/

/y/: [j]

[edit] /r/

/r/: [r]

[edit] /w/

/w/: [w]

[edit] Syllable structure

The Old Japanese syllable was CV (consonant-vowel).

• A bare vowel does not occur except for word-initially.
• /r/ is not found word-initially (with the exception of two foreign loans: /rikizimahi₁/ and /rokuro/).
• A voiced consonant does not occur word-initially.

Vowel elision occurred to prevent vowel clusters:

• Initial vowel is dropped: /hanare/ + /iso₁/ → /hanareso₁/
• Post vowel is dropped: /ara/ + /umi₁/ → /arumi₁/
• Two continuous vowels merge into a separate vowel: i₁ + a → e₁, a + i₁→e₂, o₂ + i₁→i₂
• /s/ is inserted between the two vowels: /haru/ + /ame₂/→/harusame₂/ (It is possible that /ame₂/ was once */same₂/)

[edit] Grammar

[edit] Pronouns

• First person: wa, a, ware, are
• Second person: na, nare, masi, mimasi, imasi, ore
• Third person:
  • Proximal: ko, kore, koko, koti
  • Mesial: so, si, soko
  • Distal: ka, kare
• Interrogative: ta, tare, idu, idure, iduti, iduku, idura

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Verbs

Old Japanese distinguished between eight verbal conjugations: Quadrigrade (四段), Upper Monograde (上一段), Upper Bigrade (上二段), Lower Bigrade (下二段), K-irregular (カ変), S-irregular (サ変), N-irregular (ナ変), and R-irregular (ラ変). Lower Monograde (下一段) does not exist yet.^[1][2][3]

[edit] Conjugation

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	-i1	-u	-u	-e2	-e1
Upper Monograde(上一段)	-	-	-ru	-ru	-re	-(yo2)
Upper Bigrade (上二段)	-i2	-i2	-u	-uru	-ure	-i2(yo2)
Lower Bigrade (下二段)	-e2	-e2	-u	-uru	-ure	-e2(yo2)
K-irregular (カ変)	-o2	-i1	-u	-uru	-ure	-o2
S-irregular (サ変)	-e	-i	-u	-uru	-ure	-e(yo2)
N-irregular (ナ変)	-a	-i	-u	-uru	-ure	-e
R-irregular (ラ変)	-a	-i	-i	-u	-e	-e

[edit] Consonant / Vowel Stem

Verbs having a base that ends in a consonant are known as consonant-stem. These are exhibited by the Quadrigrade, the R-irregular and N-irregular verb classes.

There are only three N-irregular verbs, which were originally verbs in the Adverbial conjugation combined with the negative auxiliary -nu, but which were later reinterpreted as verbs in their own right.

Verbs having a base that ends in a vowel are known as vowel-stem. Upper Monograde represents monosyllabic vowel stems ending in -i.

Upper Bigrade is made up of polysyllabic roots ending in the vowel -i, while Lower Bigrade represents polysyllabic roots ending in -e. This ending vowel was elided in the conclusive, attributive, and realis conjugations.

K-irregular and S-irregular represent verbs whose stems appear to be comprised of only one consonant each. These verbs behave as verbs with consonant stems, but they are originally vowel stems whose irregular conjugations are the result of vowel mutation and elision.

[edit] Irregular Verbs

There are several verbs with irregular conjugations.

• K-irregular: k- "come"
• S-irregular: s- "do"
• N-irregular: sin- "die", in- "go, die"
• R-irregular: ar- "be, exist", wor- "be, exist"

The conjugation class for each is named after the final stem consonant.

[edit] Adjectives

There were two types of adjectives: regular adjectives and adjectival nouns.

The regular adjective is sub-classified into two types: those where the adverbial form (連用形) ends in -ku and those that end in –siku. This creates two different types of conjugations:

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
-ku	-ke1	-ku	-si	-ki1	-ke1 or -ke1re
	-kara	-kari	-si	-karu	-kare	-kare
-siku	-sike1	-siku	-si	-siki1	-sike1 or -sike1re
	-sikara	-sikari	-si	-sikaru	-sikare	-sikare

The -kar- and -sikar- forms are derived from the verb ar- "be, exists". The adverbial conjugation (-ku or -siku) is suffixed with ar-. The conjugation yields to the R-irregular conjugation of ar-. As Old Japanese avoids vowel clusters, the resulting -ua- elides into -a-.

The adjectival noun has a single conjugation:

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

[edit] Particles

[edit] Attaching to the Irrealis

• ba Expresses hypothesis: "if". Non-conjugatable.

• h- Repetition

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
h-	-a	-i	-u	-u	-e	-e

• ray- Potential

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
ray-	-e

• r- 1) Passive 2) Potential 3) Spontaneity. See y-

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
r-	-e	-e	-u	-uru	-ure	-e(yo)

• s- Honorific

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
s-	-a	-i	-u	-u	-e	-e

• s- Formed transitive and causative verbs. Also functioned as a mild honorific.

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
s-	-e	-e	-u	-uru	-ure	-e(yo)

• sim- Causative. Later honorific usage not established.

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
sim-	-e	-e	-u	-uru	-ure	-e(yo)

• y- 1) Passive 2) Potential 3) Spontaneity

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
y-	-e	-e	-u	-uru	-ure	-e(yo)

• zu Negative

[edit] Attaching to the Adverbial

• ker- Past test.

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
ker-	-a		-i	-u	-e

• ki Retrospective past. Irregular conjugation.

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
	se		ki	si

• masiz- Negative supposition. Evolves into later maz-

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
masiz-			-i	-iki

• tar- Perfective

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
tar-	-a	-i	-i	-u	-e	-e

[edit] Attaching to the Conclusive

• mer- Strong supposition

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
mer-		-i	-i	-u	-e

• nar- Hearsay

Stem	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-			-i	-u	-e

• ras- Objective conjecture

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
ras-			-i	-iki	-ikere

[edit] Attaching to the Attributive

• nar- Copula

Stem	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-	-a	-i	-i	-u	-e	-e

[edit] Attaching to the Realis

• ba Marks condition or reason. See irrealis ba. Non-conjugatable.

[edit] Attaching to the Imperative

• r- Perfect

Stem	Irrealis 未然形	Adverbial 連用形	Conclusive 終止形	Attributive 連体形	Realis 已然形	Imperative 命令形
r-	-a	-i	-i	-u	-e	-e

[edit] Other

• tu Possessive. Similar to -ga and -no.

• yo, yu, yori, yuri

Marks the temporal or spacial point of an action. Non-conjugatable.

• namo, namu Emphatic
• zo Emphatic
• ya Interrogative
• koso Emphatic

[edit] Dialects

The Man'yōshū includes poems written in an eastern dialect.

[edit] Proto-Japanese

[edit] Four-vowel system

The following contractions took place:

• *i₁a > /e₁/
• *ai₁ > /e₂/
• *ui₁ > /i₂/
• *o₂i₁ > /i₂/
• *au > /o₁/
• *ua > /o₁/

Thus, the proto vowel system can be reconstructed as /*a, *i, *u, *o₂/.

[edit] /h/ < *[p]

While Old Japanese /h/ was pronounced as [ɸ], it most likely was once *[p].

[edit] Co₁ as Cwo

Distributionally, there may have once been *ho₁, *ho₂ and *bo₁, bo₂. Note that the distinction between /mo₁/ and /mo₂/ is only seen in Kojiki and vanished afterwards. If this is true, then a distinction was made between Co₁ and Co₂ for all combinations except for /wo/. Some take this as support that Co₁ may have represented Cwo.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Learning Wa People's Language

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