Contrastive Studies on Meaning and Functions of Four Directionals in Polynesian Languages
| Project/Area Number |
17520247
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Linguistics
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| Research Institution | Muroran Institute of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
SHIONOYA Toru Muroran Institute of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (10281867)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
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| Keywords | Polynesian languages / Directionals / Hawaiian / Tahitian |
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| Research Abstract |
Previous works on Polynesian languages and various kinds of linguistic data of Polynesian languages were collected in this research. In order to collect some materials unavailable in Japan, two trips to French Polynesia were made.
Polynesian languages have a limited number of words called directionals. Descriptions of directionals in 24 Polynesian languages were obtained from previous works collected in this research. Two directionals, meaning "towards the speaker" and "away from the speaker" respectively, were found in almost all 24 Polynesian languages. Two more directionals, meaning "upward" and "downward" respectively, were found in the majority of the 24 Polynesian languages. The fifth directional and the sixth directional were found in descriptions of a few Polynesian languages. In many Polynesian languages, the verb/adverb "differ/differently" also has a directional meaning "away, apart", which is considered a directional in some previous works on Polynesian languages.
Directionals are basically used to show a direction of movement. Directionals are also used to show location in space or in time. There are many derivative usages of directionals. Four common directionals are used to show comparison in many Polynesian languages. In comparative expressions, two directionals, meaning "away from the speaker" and "upward" respectively, tend to be used extensively, while the other two directionals, meaning "towards the speaker" and "downward" respectively, are used to mean "smaller" or "fewer".
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Report
(3 results)
Research Products
(2 results)
