A Study of Grammar of the Verbs in Yaeyama Dialect

• Project/Area Number: 11610438
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 国語学
• Research Institution: Takushoku University
• Principal Investigator: SOZOKI Shigeyuki Takushoku University, Faculty of Foreign anguages professor, 外国語学部, 教授 (70017721)
• Project Period (FY): 1999 – 2000
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2000)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000); Fiscal Year 2000: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000); Fiscal Year 1999: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
• Keywords: Ryukyu Dialect / Yaeyama Dialect / Ishigikijima Dialect / Morphology / Tense / Aspect / Perfect / Grammar

Research Abstract

Yaeyama Dialect, a dialect used in the southernmost part of Japan, which is classified as one of Ryukyu Dialects (RDs), has been studied by not a few students and researchers, but most of these sudies are from the phonological point of view, not from the grammatical one.
In our Study, choosing the dialect used in the urban district of Ishigaki Shi, a city in the central part of Yaeyama Area, we investigate, from among various morpological problems, the tense-aspcts of the verbs used in Ishigaki Dialect (ID) from our grammatical viewpoint.
Our study also aims at passing the dialect down to posterity by recording it in a proper way on the basis of the recent research of the Japanese language, the dialect being danger of extinction.
In collaboration with Mr Karimata Shigehisa, Mr Miyara Angen, Ms Tonoshiro Ruriko, and Ms Shimabukuro Yukiko (she joind us in the latter half of our research work), quite a few new findings about the grammatial meanings of the tense-aspects of ID have been observ ed, just through self-examination by several native speakers of the dialect.
The ID aspects are in ternary opposition : Perfective (numuN), Durative (numiN), Resultative (nume : N). Durative of ID is somewhat different from 'shite iru' of Standard Japanese (SJ), and Resultative is also different from 'shite aru' of SJ.In particular, Resultative, though it sounds or looks like 'sihite art' of SJ, functions uniquely, its meaning and usage being quite different from that of SJ.As mentioned above, the ID aspects are in temary opposition, but this opposition has been confirmed to be quite different not only from that of dialects used in western areas of this country but also from that of Shuri Dialect, one of RDs.
W should say that some more new findings about ID aspects have been observed : this dialect has synthetic or analytic verb-forms, name : re : N, numi ure : N and numi ure : re : N, including two or more aN ('aru') and uN ('oru'), and these verb-forms have unique functions in meaning and usage.