Variation in a Japanese Dialect: a Study of Verbal Morphology.

Abstract

This dissertation is a comparative study of the verbal system of the dialect of Funo village, Hiroshima Prefecture. Attention is focused on the categories of the verbal system which differ semantically and /or formally from St and ard Japanese, and which display some type of formal variation. The data for the Funo dialect represent twenty-two speakers and consist of conversations recorded in the village and later transcribed. The first chapter gives a brief history of st and ard language versus dialects of Japanese. The second chapter discusses the socio-cultural background of Funo and presents a brief outline of the Funo dialect. The third chapter has two sections: the first is a discussion of the differential distribution of da and zya in the copular paradigm, and the second is a comparative analysis of the semantics of the aspectual markers - yoru and - toru. The fourth chapter deals with three features: (1) the reportatives - gena and - zyato, the evidentials - gena, -mitayoona, -mitaina, and -yoona, (2) the two potential constructions -(r) areru/-eru and yoo Verb, and (3) the six different negative gerund constructions (including -(a) Nkooni). The fifth chapter gives a brief discussion of the social underpinnings of honorific systems in Japanese, and describes the honorifics system of St and ard Japanese as a preface to a comparative historical analysis of the honorifics system (which includes -nasaru, -Nsaru, -(r) areru, and Verb -te zya) of the Funo dialect. The concluding remarks summarize the results of the investigation and indicate those areas where dialect data may provide evidence for arguments used in the linguistic analysis of St and ard Japanese. The appendices contain data on the phonetics and the lexicon, maps of national dialect distribution, and selected texts from the transcribed conversations.