Talk:Yaeyama language

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[edit] History section

Could someone provide the source for the "Proto-Japanese" (should this be "Proto-Japonic")? I'm interested in any information I can find about this language family. ThomasWinwood(tc) 11:46, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

An entry for Proto-Japanese is on my to-do list.Bendono 07:50, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Vowels

One example is the vowel system. Proto-Japanese had 8 vowels; this has been reduced to 5 in modern Japanese,

The 8 vowel hypothesis applies to Old Japanese. I must emphasis that it but one hypothesis. Another popular hypothesis was that the A/B distinction palalatized the consonant. There is little academic agreement on the issue. Wikipedia should not state the issue as if it is a fact.

There is more agreement that Proto-Japanese had fewer vowels than Old Japanese -- more likely 4 vowels. Refer to works by Susumu Ōno.

There is no need to evoke modern Japanese to discuss a 5 vowel system. Classical Japanese, immediately following Old Japanese, had 5 vowels. Bendono 08:05, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Migration from the Asian mainland?

What is the evidence for claiming that the Ryukyuan languages diverged from Japanese when their speakers migrated from the Asian continent to the Ryukyu Archipelago? This claim seems to be totally indefensible.

Also, I would like to see a citation for the source of Yaeyama /tani/ ("seed"). In most Ryukyuan languages, this etymon (the words cognate with Japanese /tane/ "seed") actually have the meaning "penis" (c.f. Kunigami language /tanii/ "penis", /hu?pudani/ "large penis," /tanii-bu?taa/ or /tanimagii/ "one who has a large penis," etc.).

[edit] Hajimiti

Is hajimiti a borrowing from mainland Japanese? If not, then why is it not *pajimiti? That is, why did the /p/ weaken in that word? Nik42 03:30, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

p occurs only in certain Yaeyama dialects. I haven't read about the language in a couple of years, but from what I recall, this does not include the dialect of Ishigaki, arguably the most-spoken. --Node (talk) 03:43, 19 February 2008 (UTC)