Empirical and theoretical research into the conjugation and accent conjugation of verbs and adjectives in mainland Japanese dialects and period Japanese

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K00621
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02070:Japanese linguistics-related
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: Yanaike Makoto 慶應義塾大学, 文学部(三田), 名誉教授 (00182361)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 動詞 / 形容詞 / 活用 / アクセント活用 / 二段活用 / 音便形 / 日本語方言 / 日本語史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The first half of the research went smoothly as planned, but fieldwork had to be suspended from 2020 due to Covid19.
As for accent conjugation, we were able to collect valuable data on the accent systems with unique characteristics in the peripheral areas of the Keihan accent region, and we gained the prospect of tracing the distinctive forms of accent conjugation in the Keihan-kei accent in a unified manner as a result of historical differentiation since the Middle Ages.Regarding conjugation, historical research based on documentary sources has progressed, and it has become possible to clarify in detail the mechanism of nidan-katsuyo two-stage conjugation, the driving force behind ichidan-katsuyo-ka, and the process by which onbinkei was established.

Free Research Field

日本語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来の動詞・形容詞活用の研究は、具体的な語形を列挙する程度の素朴な現象記述の域にとどまり、時代語や方言の多様なあり方を整理することも、なぜそのような語形変化をするのかを説明することもできていなかった。日本語動詞・形容詞は活用と同時にアクセントも語形変化（「アクセント活用」）するのだが、こちらはほとんど研究として取り上げられてすらきていない。
本研究は、各時代・諸方言の活用・「アクセント活用」を新しい簡明な方法で統一的に記述し、歴史的な変化や地理的な差異までも説明しようとするもので、国語教育や日本語教育での活用が期待できる。