< Reconstruction:Proto-Japonic

Reconstruction:Proto-Japonic/nə

This Proto-Japonic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Japonic

Etymology

Probably an apophonic form of *-na (“genitive marker”).

Particle

*nə

  1. genitive case marker

Usage notes

According to Pellard (2023), Proto-Japonic *-nka originally applied only to genitive forms of pronouns. Elsewhere, *nə was used. In Proto-Ryukyuan, due to later animistic influence, it was semantically extended as a nominative case marker (Proto-Japonic simply used the bare noun for the nominative).

However, in Old Japanese, が (ga) was used after nominatives in general, not just pronouns. Morever, when following pronouns or other nominatives indicating persons, が (ga) marked other nominatives that were relatively close to the indicated person, while の (no) was used for nominatives that were more psychologically or emotionally distant.[1][2]

Descendants
  • Old Japanese: の (no2)
    • Japanese: の (no)
  • Proto-Ryukyuan: *no
    • Northern Ryukyuan: 노 (/no/) (Haytong Ceykwukki, 1501)
      • Kikai: ぬ (nu)
      • Kunigami: ぬ (nu)
      • Northern Amami-Oshima: ぬ (nu)
      • Okinawan: ぬ (nu)
      • Oki-No-Erabu: ぬ (nu)
      • Southern Amami-Oshima: ぬ (nu)
      • Toku-No-Shima: ぬ (nu)
      • Yoron: ぬ (nu)
    • Southern Ryukyuan:
      • Miyako: ぬ (nu)
      • Yaeyama: ぬ (nu)
      • Yonaguni: ぬ (nu)

See also

References
  1. “の”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. “が”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
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