JPN494/598: History of the Japanese Language

Sound Changes (2)

The differences between the phonetic systems of modern/old Japanese1. The vowel system: An 8-vowel system?

2. The consonants of the エ段 syllables ( セ , etc.)

3. The consonants of チ・ツ・ヂ・ヅ・ジ・ズ

4. The consonants of the ハ行・パ行 syllables

5. ワ・ヰ・ _ ・ヱ・ヲ6. ヤ・ _ ・ユ・江・ヨ

7. There were no 拗音 ( ようおん )’s (like キャ )

8. The syllable final nasal (‘ ン’ ) didn’t exist

9. There was no consonant geminate (‘ ッ’ )

10. There was no long vowel (‘ ー’ )

1. The eight-vowel hypothesis

上代特殊仮名遣 ( じょうだいとくしゅかなづかい )

万葉仮名 : Use of 漢字’ s as phonograms ( 借音 )

e.g. 夜麻 ( やま ), 也万 ( やま )

甲類 vs. 乙類 (A-series vs. B-series)

こ ( 子 ), こひ ( 恋 こい ): 古 , 故 , 高 , 胡 , 姑 , …こ ( 此 ), こゑ ( 声 こえ ): 許 , 去 , 居 , 虚 , 巨 , …

こ甲 vs. こ乙

カ・ガ・ハ・バ・マ行のイ段・エ段 カ・ガ・サ・ザ・タ・ダ・ナ・マ・ヤ・ラ行のオ

段

The 8 vowel hypothesis:

[a], [i], [ï], [u], [e], [ë], [o], [ö]

甲類 ( こうるい ): [i], [e], [o]

乙類 ( おつるい ): [ï], [ë], [ö]

weak points typologically unlikely system constraints on consonant-vowel pairings (esp. for [ï] and

[ë])

The 6 vowel hypothesis:[a], [i], [u], [e], [o], [ö] ([ə])

The vowel of “ 乙類オ段音” is a mid-central vowel. The 甲 / 乙 distinction in the イ段音・エ段音 corresponds

to palatalization of the consonant.

キ甲 [ki] 　 vs. キ乙 [kji] (cf. クィ vs. キ )ケ甲 [ke] 　 vs. ケ乙 [kje] (cf. ケ vs. キェ )

{[ki], [kji]} → kji{[ke], [kje]} → kje → ke

The 甲・乙 distinction of イ・エ段 exists only in:

カ・ガ・ハ・バ・マ 行but not in: ア行 ヤ・ワ行 (palatal/velar approximant) サ・ザ・タ・ダ・ナ・ラ行 (alveolar)

上代 (hypothesis): “An alveolar consonant preceding [i] or [e] must be palatalized or become (alveo-)palatal.”“A non-alveolar consonant preceding [i] or [e] can be either palatalized or not.”

中古 ~ 中世 (hypothesis): “A consonant preceding [i] or [e] must be(alveo-)palatal or palatalized.”

現代 (fact):“A consonant preceding [i] must be (alveo-)palatal or palatalized.”

Nara シ [ʃi] ・ジ [ʒi] ・チ [tji] ・ヂ [dji] ・ニ [nji] ・リ [rji] セ [ʃe] ・ゼ [ʒe] ・テ [tje] ・デ [dje] ・ネ [nje] ・レ [rje]

modern シ [ʃi] ・ジ [ʤi] ・チ [ʧi] ・ヂ [ʤi] ・ニ [nji] ・リ [rji] セ [se] ・ゼ [ze] ・テ [te] ・デ [de] ・ネ [ne] ・レ [re]

Roland Lange ( 「文献資料に反映した中世日本語エ列音の口蓋性」 国語学 86 S46)

up to late 15c

[kje] > [ke] [ʃe] > [se]

音節結合法則 ( おんせつけつごうほうそく ) ( 有坂秀世 ありさかひでよ ; 1933) 乙類オ段音 do not co-occur with 甲類オ段音 wit

hin a single word; e.g. イト甲コ甲　（従兄弟） , ソ乙コ乙 ( 底 )

乙類オ段音 rarely co-occur with ウ段音 within a single word.

乙類オ段音 rarely co-occur with ア段音 within a single word.

[u] became unrounded ([ɯ]) in the mid-18th century

2. サ・ザ行エ段音

サ シ ス セ ソ ; シャ シュ シェ ショ

(Nara) [sa] [ʃi] [su] [ʃe] [so](mid-Heian?) [sa] [ʃi] [su] [ʃe] [so]; [ʃa] [ʃu] [ʃo] (Modern) [sa] [ʃi] [su] [se] [so]; [ʃa] [ʃu] [ʃe] [ʃo]

[ʃe] > [se] (ap-to-a)by 16c in the East in mid-19c in the West

(advanced issue)

Phonetics[sa] [ʃi] [su] [se] [so]; [ʃa] [ʃu] [ʃe] [ʃo]Phonology/sa/ /si/ /su/ /se/ /so/; /sja/ /sju/ /sje/ /sjo/

hanas-u [hanasu], hanas-i-te [hanaʃite]

Realization Rules1. /s/ is realized as [ʃ] when it is followed by /i/ or /j/; othe

rwise, /s/ is realized as [s].2. /j/ is deleted after Rule 1 was applied.

ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ ; ジャ ジュ ジェ ジョ(Nara) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ʒe] [zo](mid-Heian?) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ʒe] [zo]; [ʒa] [ʒu] [ʒo] (Modern) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ze] [zo]; [ʒa] [ʒu] [ʒe] [ʒo]

Note: in the 17th century, [ʒi]/[zu] (and [ʒa]/[ʒu]/[ʒo]) began to freely alternate with [ʤi]/[ʣu] (and [ʤa]/[ʤu]/[ʤo]); affricates are more common in modern Japanese.

(advanced issue)

Phonetics

[ʣa] [ʤi] [ʣu] [ʣe] [ʣo]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤe] [ʤo]

Phonology

/za/ /zi/ /zu/ /ze/ /zo/; /zja/ /zju/ /zje/ /zjo/

(advanced issue)

ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ ; ジャ ジュ ジェ ジョ ( 東日本 )

(Nara) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ʒe] [zo](mid-Heian?) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ʒe] [zo]; [ʒa] [ʒu] [ʒo] (by 16 c) (ap-to-a) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ze] [zo]; [ʒa] [ʒu] [ʒo](late 17 c) (affrication) [za] [ʤi] [ʣu] [ze] [zo]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤo](Modern) [za] [ʤi] [ʣu] [ze] [zo]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤe] [ʤo]

(advanced issue)

ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ ; ジャ ジュ ジェ ジョ ( 西日本 )

(Nara) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ʒe] [zo](mid-Heian?) [za] [ʒi] [zu] [ʒe] [zo]; [ʒa] [ʒu] [ʒo] (late 17 c) (affrication) 　 [za] [ʤi] [ʣu] [ʤe] [zo]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤo](mid-19 c) (ap-to-a) [za] [ʤi] [ʣu] [ze] [zo]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤo](Modern) [za] [ʤi] [ʣu] [ze] [zo]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤe] [ʤo]

3. The consonants of チ・ツ・ヂ・ヅ・ジ・ズタ チ ツ テ ト ; チャ チュ チェ チョ

(Nara) [ta] [tji] [tu] [te] [to](mid-Heian) [ta] [tji] [tu] [te] [to]; [tja] [tju] [tjo](early 16c) (affrication) [ta] [ʧi] [ʦu] [te] [to]; [ʧa] [ʧu] [ʧo](modern) [ta] [ʧi] [ʦu] [te] [to]; [ʧa] [ʧu] [ʧe] [ʧo]

(advanced issue)

a single affricate or a stop-fricative sequence? pets [pɛts] /pɛts/ 松 [maʦu] /matu/

[matsu]

(i) /t/ is realized as [ʦ] when followed by /u/

(ii) When /t/ is followed by /u/, [s] is inserted between their realizations.

(advanced issue)

Phonetics

[ta] [ʧi] [ʦu] [te] [to]; [ʧa] [ʧu] [ʧe] [ʧo]

Phonology

/ta/ /ti/ /tu/ /te/ /to/; /tja/ /tju/ /tje/ /tjo/

ダ ヂ ヅ デ ド ; ヂャ ヂュ ヂェ ヂョ

(Nara) [da] [dji] [du] [de] [do](mid-Heian?) [da] [dji] [du] [de] [do]; [dja] [dju] [djo](early 16c) (affrication) [da] [ʤi] [ʣu] [de] [do]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤo](modern) [da] [ʤi] [ʣu] [de] [do]; [ʤa] [ʤu] [ʤe] [ʤo]

[ʤi], [ʣu], etc., which resulted from “affrication”, are similar to [ʒi], [zu], etc. in their acoustic qualities.

As a result, ジ・ヂ・ズ・ヅ ( 四つ仮名 ) began to be confounded. ( 山口 : 132)

ジ・ヂ are most commonly pronounced as [ʤi]; ズ・ヅ [ʣu]

[ʒi] and [zu] may occur in fast speech, though.

4. The consonants of the ハ行 syllables ([p] >) [ɸ] > [h]

(Nara) [ɸa] [ɸji] [ɸu] [ɸe] [ɸo]

(16-17c) [ha] [çi] [ɸu] [he] [ho] (/ha/ /hi/ /hu/ /he/ /ho/)

If a language has [b], [t], [d], [k], and [g], it is likely to have [p] as well.

母 ( はは )

ひかり vs. ピカリ( 何かがピカリと光った )

はた vs. パタパタ( 旗がパタパタとはためいている )

パタパタ , ピカピカ , ピラピラ , …

(mid-Edo) パン , ペンキ ; ピン ( 一 ), …

(10-11c) [ɸ]: word-initial

春 はる , 昼 ひる , 降る ふる , 経る へる , 掘る ほる　

[w]: word-medial ( ハ行転呼 はぎょうてんこ ) 川 かは , 貝 かひ , 買ふ かふ , 帰り かへり , 顔 か

ほ 粟 あは ‘ grains of millet’ vs. 泡 あわ ‘ bubble’; 濡れ

手でアワ ( ぬれてであわ )

(16-17c) word-initial [ɸ] becomes {[h], [ç], [ɸ]}

[papa] > [ɸaɸa] > [ɸawa] > [hawa] (> [haha])

5. ワ・ヰ・ _ ・ヱ・ヲ / 6. ヤ・ _ ・ユ・江・ヨ

(Nara) [wa] [wji] [u] [we] [wo] [ja] [i] [ju] [je] [jo](Modern) [wa] [i] [u] [e] [o] [ja] [i] [ju] [e] [jo]

ゐのしし ( 猪 ) ‘bore’, いのち ( 命 ) ‘life’ ゑ ( 絵 ) ‘picture’, 江 ( 枝 ) ‘branch’, え ( 榎 ) ‘hack

berry (tree)’ をとこ ( 男 ) ‘man’, おと ( 音 ) ‘sound’

[i] & [wji]; [e], [we] & [je]

(9-10c) [e] & [je] are integrated into [je]

(13c) [i] and [wji] are integrated into [i] [je] and [we] are integrated into [je](first word-medial, then word-initial)

(mid-18c) [je] > [e]

[o] & [wo]

(early 11th century) [wo] and [o] are integrated into [wo] (?)

(mid-18th century) [wo] > [o]

ゐのしし ‘ bore’ いのち ‘ life’ ゑ ‘ picture’ 江 ‘ branch’ え ‘ hackberry’

をとこ ‘ man’ おと ‘ sound’

7. 拗音 ( ようおん )

拗音 ( 開拗音 ; ヤ行拗音 ) becomes part of the Japanese phonetic system in the mid-Heian period. 「行かなければ」 > 「行かなきゃ」 ( 「いらしてある ? 」 >) 「いらっしゃる」

合拗音 ( ワ行拗音 ) 関 [kwaɴ], 願 [gwaɴ]

合拗音’ s (labialized consonants) are present in the カ・ガ行 only.

イ段・エ段・オ段ワ行拗音’ s were marginally used until the 13th century.

ア段ワ行拗音’ s were lost in the 18th century (in Edo). くわ & ぐわ are part of the classical orthographic c

onvention; other 合拗音’ s are not.

8. 撥音 (The syllable final nasal)

(13-16c) 山 サン [san] > [saɴ] 三 サン [sam] > [saɴ] 散 サン [saŋ] > [saɴ]

唐 トウ , 明 メイ [toŋ] > [tou] > [to:] [meŋ] > [mei] > [me:]

9. 促音 (Consonant gemination)

(late-Heian) 達成　 (cf. 達人 ) 学校 (cf. 学士 )

[tatusei] > [tas:ei]

[gakukau] > [gak:au]

10. 長音 (Long vowel)

Mono-syllabic words 蚊 : か vs. かあ　“加安”

Changes from vowel sequences to single long

vowels (連母音の長音化 ) 　

アラ + イソ = アリソ (荒磯 ) ナガ + アメ = ナガメ (長雨 ) カイ (櫂 ) ‘oar’

(歴史 / 現代 )ウ段(mid-Muromachi) uu (u’u) > u:

食ふ /食ウ ([kuɸu] >) [kuu] > [ku:]cf. 里親 [satooya] ([sato’oya] ) vs. 砂糖屋 [sato:ya]

iu > ju: ; Ciu > Cju: 言ふ /言ウ [iu] > [ju:] /iu/ > /ju:/ 流 [riu] > [rju:] /riu/ > /rju:/

オ段(mid-Muromachi) au > ɔ:

孝行 ‘ considerate action’ [kaukau] > [kɔ:kɔ:] 書かふ /書コウ ([kakaɸu] >) [kakau] > [kakɔ:] 　

ou > o: 奉公 ‘ service’ [houkou] > [ho:ko:] 思ふ /思ウ ([omoɸu] >) [omou] > [omo:]

eu > jo: Ceu > Cjo: 要 [eu] > [jo:] /eu/ > /jo/ 今日 [keu] > [kjo:] /keu/ > /kjo:/

ɔ: = ‘ 開音’ , o: = ‘ 合音’ ; the 開合 distinction was lost by the end of the

Muromachi period.

エ段(Edo) ei > e:

芸 [gei] > [ge:]

ai > e: 高い [takai] > [take:]

ae > e: 帰る [kaeru] > [ke:ru]

oi > e: 太い [ɸutoi] > [ɸute:]

ie > e: 教える [oʃieru] > [ose:ru]

ア段・イ段 ui > i:

暑い [aʦui] > [aʧi:]

岡さん [okasaɴ] vs. お母さん [oka:saɴ] 鬼さん [onjisaɴ] vs. お兄さん [onji:saɴ]

ばあさま , かかあ , マー坊 , …じいさん , おひいさま , キー坊 ,

音便 ( おんびん ) ‘euphony’

Semi-systematic (grammatically conditioned) sound changes that occurred in the Heian (~ Chusei) period イ音便 ウ音便 撥音便 促音便

動詞の音便 (どうしのおんびん )

イ音便 ( カ・ガ・サ四 + テ・タリ ) 咲きて > 咲いて ‘ to bloom’

sak-i-te > sa-i-te 注ぎて > 注いで ‘ to pour’

sosog-i-te > soso-i-de (指して > 指いで ‘ to point’)

(sas-i-te > sas-i-te)

cf. つきたち (月立 ) > ついたち ( 一日 )

ウ音便 ( ハ・マ・バ四 + テ・タリ ) (思ひて > 思うて )

omoΦ-i-te > omou-te (飛びて > 飛うで )

tob-i-te > tou-de (飲みて > 飲うで )

nom-i-te > nou-de

促音便 ( タ・ハ・ラ四 / ラ変 + テ・タリ ) 立ちて > 立って

tat-i-te > tat:e 思ひて > 思って

omoΦ-i-te > omot:e 取りて > 取って

toɾ-i-te > tot:e 在り > 在って

aɾ-i-te > at:e

撥音便 ( マ・バ四 / ナ変 + テ・タリ ) 読みて > 読んで

yom-i-te > yon-de 呼びて > 呼んで

yom-i-te > yon-de 死にて > 死んで

sin-i-te > sin-de

形容詞の音便 ( けいようしのおんびん )ウ音便 (形容詞連用形 ) (白く > 白う )

siro-ku > siro-u

イ音便 (形容詞連体形 ) 白き > 白い

siro-ki > siro-i

三 ( さん ) 達成 ( たっせい ) 平安 ( へいあん )

ハ行転呼

アラ + イソ = アリソ (荒磯 ) ナガ + アメ = ナガメ (長雨 ) カイ (櫂 ) ‘oar’