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i ull. Nara Univ. : Muo. Vol. 26, No. 1 (cult. & soc),
1977
Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I
Takao KawamotoDepartment of Foreign Longuages, Nara University
of Education, Nara, Japan
(Received April 25, 1977)
It is demonstrated here that Japanese is cognate with the
Austronesian family oflanguages. This demonstration is based mainly
on a few hundreds of Old Japanese (OJ)words paired with
corresponding Proto-Austronesian (PA) or one of its branches,
Proto-Indonesian (PI), Proto-Oceanic (PO), Proto-Eastem-Oceanic
(PE), and Proto-Polynesian (PP).
1. Phonology
1. 1. PHONEMES AND CORRESPONDENCES. OJ has eight vowels: a, e,
e, i, I,o, o, and u; e, e, and I are supposed to have been
originally diphthongs: e
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24 Takao Kawamoto
3) Often m4) Usually 05) Often {lu\
6) Usually {u\
7) Sometimes a8) Usually 6
7/CVCV_# (7.ll ; 7.16 ; 10.4 ; 14.8 ; 15.15 ; 15.16 ; 30.ll ;
36.2)N/#_VN(G)V (1.64 ; 3.5 ; 4.27 ; 4.28 ; 7.1 ; 8.6 ; 8.22 ; 10.8
; ll.14...)
V/#C__N(C)V (1.36 ; 1.44 ; 4.27 ; 7.4 ; 7.6 ; 8.6 ; 8.22 ; 12.ll
; 12.25...)
6/C_Ca, CaC___(1.46 ; 2.8 ; 2.9 ; 4.1 ; 4.28 ; 5.1 ; 5.8 ; 8.2 ;
9.4...)
6/CaC_ (7.20 ; 8.6 ; 9.1 ; 25.9)u/C_C6, C6C__ (1.15 ; 4.19 ;
4.21 ; 12.5 ; 15.9 ; 16.9 ; 28.27)
9) Sometimes -f\ : o/CwC_, C_Cu (1.37 ; 8.14 ; 31.8)
10) Usually o: m/C_| (1.2 ; 1.36 ; 1.71 ; 1.76 ; 4.10 ; 5.13 ;
6.1 ; 10.ll ; 12.13...)
The numbers in parentheses refer to the examples in the list of
words below (2),but they are not exhaustive.
1. 3. OJ PHONEMES AND SYLLABLES AND LIMITS OF THEIR
COMBINATION.The following combination of phonemes never occur in OJ
: any dental+if; any dental+8 ;w+i, w+e, and zv+u. No bilabials
combine with b to form a monosyllabic morpheme.
OJ syllables are always open : V or CV. Neither VV nor CC
occurs. Generally I ande occur only word-finally, and 6 does not
usually co-occur either with a or with u in amorpheme. No two Cos
may be consecutive within a morpheme.
1. 4. VOWEL AND CONSONANT ALTERNATION IN MORPHEMES. In
additionto the correspondences and the exceptional rules, it is
necessary to consider that both inOJ and in PA a morpheme may often
have its variant form with the alternation of vowels
or consonants.1. 41. VOWEL ALTERNATION. OJ examples a~b : madaki
premature, mbdbki
a plant similar but inferior to another; w~z : (kinb)fu (yester)
day, fi day, sun; w~6:kurum-i to wrap, kbrbmb robe.
PA examples a~u : karkar, kurkur kratzen ; a~e : kabal, kebel
Unverwundbarsein ;a~i : kaskas kratzen, kiskis schaben ; u~i :
ubaq, ibaq anderssein ; u~e : su(m)pit, se(m)pitengesein.
1. 42. CONSONANT ALTERNATION. OJ examples f~w~m:fase be quick,
waseearly-ripening, ModJ mase precocious ; ~y~ : itami, yami pain ;
taka tall, naga long ;s~y*~n; isa, iya, ina no! ; r~y~n: -raka,
-yaka -like; ara, ana alas! ; f~b: afaki ex-cavate, abaki expose
(secret) ; k~g: faki wear (socks), fagi-put (feather) on (a stick
tomake an arrow) ; ~s: tane, sane seed; t-r: mato, maro round.
PA examples p~b*~m: pajjpayi aus einander stehen, barjba-q
ausgebreitet; bayaoffenstehen, marqa Vulva ; t~d~n : tektek
abhacken, dakdak mit Hammer schlagen ; tipis,nipis dunnsein ; k~g~y
: tcrqkap, tatjgap ergreifen ; pakan Futter, pa-yon Essen ; l~n
:lamuk, namuk Miicke ; t~z : ta(m)bat festbinden, za(m)bat
zugreifen.
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 25
2. Lexicon
2.0. A CLASSIFIED LIST OF OJ WORDS PAIRED WITH PA, PI, PO, PE,
ORPP MORPHEMES. The semantic classification of words done by
Hattori (Hattori 1964)has been borrowed here. The classification is
done for the purpose of emphasizing thefact that these few hundreds
of cognate or possibly cognate words not only include basicconcepts
but also they are distributed over all the 35 semantic
categories.
The words under each category are arranged in alphabetical
order. In square bracketsthe numbers refer to the exceptional rules
(1.2), and the sign (~) is used to indicate thata vowel or
consonant alternation is to be considered. The arrow head () are
read as ' develops from ' and 'Refer to' respectively.
Frequently Middle Japanese (MJ) and occasionally Modern Japanese
(ModJ) words arequoted, whenever necessary. MJ is conveniently
defined here, though 'Eontrary to the tra-dition, as the language
of the Heian, the Kamakura, and the Muromachi periods (ca.
9thc.~16th a), because by the beginning of these periods the eight
vowel system had beencollapsed and that of five vowels established,
which remains essentially unchanged till thepresent day. ModJ is
the language of the Yedo period and after it; one of the most
dis-tinct phonological features of ModJ is the loss of labiality
from OJ and MJ f or its shiftto h before all the vowels except
u.
2. 1. PARTS OF THE BODY; BODY FUNCTIONS.1) abara-fone MJ
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26 Takao Kawamoto
17) fusi knot, joint. 1>18) huke ModJ dandruff
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 27
Paar : go together, accompany one another ; any substance
branching out.51) maN-ko ModJ vulva -PA bayja: maya id. =>
ciNko.52) mata crotch, matag-e stand with one's legs apart,
matag-ari sit astride, stride
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28 Takao Kawamoto
82) tuku-baf-i MJ prostrate oneself - PA Du-qkul krummer
Koperteil ; papak Flachsein ;PP tukupapa to prostrate.
83) tum-a, tum-e nail, finger-tip, turn-ami hold between fingers
[/~5, ra~/] - PI zu{m)putmit Fingern Nehmen.
84) ura back, rear, buttock, urakak-i (of an arrow) pierce to
the back tuma.87) yume dream ^ img.
2. 2. LIFE AND DEATH ; HEALTH AND DISEASE.1) cuwasi ModJ dial,
press the pus out
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 29
juicy.7) wo man, male [w~/]-PA pu Herr z$> me.8) womina
woman[w~/, 1, m~f]-PO babine (PA binay) id.9) wbtb-ko, wotd-me
marriageable man (woman)
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30 Takao Kawamoto
2) azi Okinawa dial, daimio f|\3) fari MJ pitch a camp - PI
parij Befestigungs-Anlage.4) fatari to tax, to levy-PA [pd\taRuq
Hinsetzen; PA pa- pref. of goal.5) fiziri emperor, saint
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 31
2) ayu-mi to walk, to move one's legs- PA ayun Schaukeln.3)
fana-re go away, part - PApanaw Gehen, Fortgehen.4) funa, fune 1.
feme.5) ikada raft [a~6] - PA iket[an\ bundle.6) ini to leave
-C^inuy-i
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32 Takao Kawamoto
14) musub-i to contract, to promise 4. tuma.16) nige run away
from
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 33
PI setagi Band, Schnur.
2. ll. FOOD AND DRINK.1) adi taste
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34 Takao Kawamoto
15) nifa place of hunting, fishing ; yard ; flat land ; calm
ife.20) takh burn (incense), yaki burn, scorch [t, y~s] - PI saqit
Versengen, Stinken.21) takiv boil, cook, heat - PA da-q-darq
Erhitzen.22) tatamii straw mat [m~f] - PI lampit Matte aus
Rotan.23) tatamii pile up, fold up - PI la(m)pis platte Schicht.24)
to door, [10] -PI pin-tu id.25) tubo MJ courtyard 5. miyake.27)
yaki burn d$> takh.28) yu hot spring, bath, hot water [.y~] - PI
an-Duy Baden.
2. 13. WORK.1) asa-ri to search for (food) 1. kaki.5) kbr-i hew
- PA keRet Abschneiden ^> kari.6) mu-mak-i pasture [6] - PA
\rn\einpatj Absperrung.7) sifo act of dipping cloth into dye -PO
(n)si-sipo go down into water.8) ta paddy field - PA sabaq
bewassertes Reisfeld.9) tayu-si be tired i> 2. naye.
10) wan-a snare, we bait
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 35
8) katum-a bamboo basket [3] - PA kaTwq Korb.9) ka, ke vessel,
container
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36 Takao Kawamoto
13) kosok-uri MJ (ModJ kusug-uri) to tickle [6~w] - PI gusuk
Reiben.14) kuda-ki break into pieces kudaki.18) mafari MJ turn
round - PI \md\bali-q Winden.19) muk-i MJ strip, peel [m~~f] - PA
buka Offnen : aufdecken.20) musi-ri MJ pluck [m~f, s~i] - PApuTik
Abpfliicken.21) nagam-il MJ take a view of [~*, tw~/]
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 37
2. 16. EXISTENCE ; CHANGE ; SIMILARITY.1) art be, appear, take
place (ari-ari MJ clear, vivid, visible) ari.8) narii become [~s] -
PI zadi Werden.9) nbkbr-i be left alone 8. nige, nogare, 15.
nuki.
10) nbr-i be like [n~t, o~] -PI tuRut : copy, imitate.ll) tomb
follower, friend [o~a] ^> 4. tuma.12) wor-i sit, be [w~/] -
belum Leben.
2. 17. ABILITY ; ACTS.1) afe endure, withstand
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38 Takao Kawamoto
1) faka grave [/~w/| - PA ru-wat) id.2) foki
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 39
14) kci2, sika 12. kafara.16) kara MJ shell-PA karaq id.17)
keNkeN MJ cry of a pheasant (koNkoN ModJ cry of a fox)
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40 Takao Kawamoto
15) miru green sea weed \m~~f\ ^> firu.16) mo
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 41
3) idu-mi spring, well ^> 2. ide, ll. tnidu.4) mama, ModJ
dial, haba
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42 Takao Kawamoto
Windstille.17) siduk-u drop of water
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 43
2.27. TIME.1) aki autumn, harvest
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44 Takao Kawamoto
9) * fifty (=5x10) fo.10) i-tu five - PA batu stone, numeral
coefficient ; cf. Malay
satu one PI gas Entzweisein.12) ko- little 4> 4. o.13) kokono
nine - PI genep Vollzahligsein ; cf. Sunda. ganap six.14) mi three
fo.17) mor-i fill, heap up [w~/] - PI pel-pel id.18) ma, mu-yu six
4. ofo.20) saa unit of length, capacity - PI zartjka MaB.21) 5
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 45
2.30. COLORS; SOUNDS; SMELLS.1) afa-afa-si light (of color,
taste), faint (of light), pale :> 18. afatasi.2) aka, ak'e
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46 Takao Kawamoto
2. 33. PRONOUNS, DEMONSTRATIVES, ETC.1) a, a-re (MJ ako) 1st
pers. sg.-PA aku, PE au id.
2) ana, na, na-re 2nd pers. sg. - PA ini, PE ena, ina that,
those (near addressee).3) ani how?-PA ( )anu( ) Jemand, Etwas
(Ersatz einer Benennung) : was?, Sache.4) i-ku how many? how
much?-PA ( )kuha{ ) wie?5) kimi 2nd pers. sg. honorific - PA kamu,
kamiu kimiu 2nd pers. pi.
6) kimu-tati 2nd pers. pi. honorific, kimu=kimi [w~t] -f>,
^> tata'.7) kimu-ti MJ 2nd pers. sg. honorific, kimu -f>, /
-PA DiRi selbst.
8) koto thing, matter, fact, question ; word, voice, poem,
rumor, saying, language 30. oto, 20. uta.
9) mono something hard to name ani.10) -mu-tii commonhonorific -
PA mu2nd pers. pi., DiRi selbst.ll) -muti-i affetional 8.
mutumasi.12) na\ 1st pers. sg.-PE nau id.13) nai 2nd pers. sg.,
na-muti id. honorific or affectional ^> ana, mutii, muti ani.15)
owo, ono-re oneself - PA ini, PE ewt, ani this, these (near
speaker), => ana.16) ono-ga-zisi everyone, severally ; dno
ft1,.gvz connective i> 34. gvz, zz'st kimuti, muti\.22) wa,
wa-re 1st pers. sg. -PP w-awid.
2. 34. PARTICLES AND OTHER SYNONYMOUS FORMS.1) fata mata or, or
else, either... or [f~m, t~s] -PA pasatj Paar.2) ga possession of
emotional relation - PE -rjka id.3) kara cause, reason -PA kal
id.4) made
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Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I
14) tame
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48 Takao Kawamoto
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