A Research on Division of Japanese Dialect Word Accent in the Northern TOHOKU Region

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00592
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02060:Linguistics-related
• Research Institution: Iwate prefectural university,Miyako college
• Principal Investigator: Tanaka Nobuhiro 岩手県立大学宮古短期大学部, その他部局等, 教授 (60289725)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 北奥式アクセント / 重起伏調 / 低平調 / 太平洋沿岸部 / 内陸部 / 南奥特殊アクセント / 末尾母音狭広とアクセント決定 / 言語島

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In northern area of TOHOKU region, most of dialects in this area, they have unique word accent system　that is cotroled by “Ascending word accent kernels”. We had learned that there is two types of basic tone of word accent. One of these is “Plane tone”, and the other is “Double undulation tone” (Note ). In Inland area of Iwate prefecture, Akita prefecture and Tsugaru area of Aomori prefecture have plane tone systems. Pacific coastal area of northern TOHOKU region have double undulation tone systems.
In this research, with my detailed survey at over seventy points, we can verify exact boundaries between two divisions of Plane tone and Double undulation.
(Note)“Double undulation tone”: In some words, there are two high parts in single basic accent phrases (in most of Japanese word accent systems, words have only one high part in a single basic accent phrase). Phrase examples (capital letters mean high parts)：SAkaNA~SAKAna-GA (fish), KUruMA~KURUma-GA (motorcar).

Free Research Field

日本語地域言語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

主要３点の学術的新規性。１）太平洋沿岸部重起伏調地帯を詳細に区画。従前，「沿岸」表現から，『海沿い』の地点が範囲だとの認識も，内陸部の地点（青森県三戸町，岩手県二戸市ほか）も重起伏調を認め，方言アクセント区画は「沿岸部」のうちと理解できた。２）重起伏調地帯に２音節名詞第Ⅳ・Ⅴ類での末尾母音狭・広によるアクセント決定のある地域（青森県おいらせ町～八戸市～三戸町）を明らかにした。従前では内陸低平調地帯での現象と理解されていた。３）アクセント体系からみた言語島を区画。重起伏調地帯で岩手県洋野町中野，南奥特殊アクセントで同大船渡市盛町，太平洋沿岸部重起伏調地帯内の低平基調の同宮古市田老地区である。