Slide 1

The Austronesian-Japanese Connection
You can’t make this stuff up!
...Or could you?
So… Japanese is related to Hawai’ian?
それが真珠湾攻撃の理由なのか?
The Austronesian languages are thought to
have split 6-8,000 years ago.
The Malayo-Polynesian subfamily is the
largest with approximately 300 million speakers.
Archeological evidence indicates an origin in
southern China.
Found in the Philippines, Indonesia, the Malay
peninsula, Taiwan, Polynesia and Madagascar!
9 out 10 branches found only in Taiwan.
Austronesian Taiwan
Bunun Planting Ritual
Rukai
Chief
Amis Harvest
Festival
Atayal
Woman
How long ago did Japanese branch off?
偽言語比較論-tastic!
The idea that Japanese is an Austronesian
language is considered unlikely by most.
Benedict: Japanese came from Southern
China of Austro-Tai stock over 5,000 years
ago.
Murayama: Japanese is an
Altaic/Austronesian Hybrid
Shinmura, Oono etc.: Japanese is Altaic
with Austronesian substratum
Miller: Japanese is purely Altaic.
南方系の人々とは相当に
大きな距離がある
genetic relations
日本人は遺伝子的に北方
系集団に親密であり、
Phological Diachronic Evolution of Words
Copping out can be easy!
Reduction-right – (RR)
Elision of final syllable(s)
持つ motu < OJ mötu < PAJ *ramoc “to grasp”
Reduction-left – (RL)
Elision of first syllable(s)
毛 ke < OJ kë < *kai < *ka +*i < bukas
Phological Diachronic Evolution of Words
Copping out can be easy!
Benedict seems to related apparently unrelated
terms via hybrid etyma
百 momo “100” ~ PA *ribu
PAJ etymon: *ri(m)bəw
水 midu ~ P-Atayalic biyuq “juice”
PAJ etymon: *(m)bidźuq
Analogously:
口 kuti ~ Eng. Mouth
P-English-Japanese: kumau(θ)ti
Austronesian Family
語彙の比較
Old
Javanese
MalayoPolynesian
Gloss
*anak
child
anak
anak
tamaiti
patgon
anak
anaka
anak
*buŋa
flower
buŋa
wuŋa
pwa:wai
(flores)
(<Sp.)
buŋa
(fruit)
vuni
savosavoŋ
*lelaki
male
lelaki
laki
ta:ne
lahi
lalaki
lahi
mehakaj
*mata
eye
mata
mata
mata
mata
mata
maso
mata
Malay
Maori
Chamorro
Tagalog
Malagasy
Tao
(Formosan)
Japanese Relations
童 wara-Fe < ʔu+alak
ʔu = frozen topic marker
花 Fana < baŋa (Benedict’s A. Reconstruction)
cf. Paiwan (For.) baŋal “fruit”
P-Kadai *baal < *baŋal “fruit”
(no correspondence to *lelaki “male”)
目 me < më < *mai < *ma +*i < PAT mapra
Austronesian Family
語彙の比較
MalayoPolynesian
Gloss
*putiʔ
white
putih
putih
*sakit
sick/
pain
sakit
*SuSuʔ
*tawən
Malay
Old
Javanese
Tao
(For.)
Chamorro
Tagalog
Malagasy
ma:
aʔpaka
putiʔ
fotsi
malavaŋ
sakit
ma:uiui
sageʔ
sakit
rari
miŋən
breast susu
susu
u:
susu
susuʔ
nono
ṣuṣuʔ
year
tahun
tau
aɲu
sakkan
taʔun
taona
awan
tahun
Maori
Japanese Relations
(no correspondence to *putiʔ “white”)
(no correspondence to *sakit “sick/pain”)
乳 titi < PAK tśitśi
this seems to me onomatopoeic
cf. Turkic čičig, Eng. tit etc.
年 tosi < OJ tösi < PAJ tuxiɣ
Austronesian Family
語彙の比較
MalayoPolynesian
Gloss
Malay
Old
Javanese
Maori
Chamorro
Tagalog
Malagasy
Tao
(For.)
*esa/isa
one
satu
sa-
tahi
hatʃa
isa
isa
asa
*duSa
two
dua
rwa
tua
rua
hawa
dalawa
roa
ruʔaʔ
*telu
three
tiga
təlu
toru
tulu
tatlo
telo
atlo
tiluʔ
*Sepat
four
empat
pat
ɸa:
fatfat
apat
efatra
apat
*lima
five
lima
lima
rima
lima
lima
dimi
limaʔ
(hand)
Japanese Relations
いざなみ < *iza+*na+*mi
iza < PAK ʔitsa
na = subordinating particle
mi = variant of 女 me < PAT ba(m)bəhi
(伝統分析)<誘う(いざなう, “invite”)+女
…similarly いざなぎ
Japanese Relations
二- futa-<Futa < (bound form) PAus. Putśa
cf. Paiwan maka-pusa-ɫ, PTsou –pusa(no correspondence to *duSa “three”)
四- yo- < yö- < Austro-Kadai śəpat (!)
五つ itutu < *i+*tutu < PAK *lima
tutu = reduplicated numeral suffix -tu
Most Convincing Examples:
竹 < takë < *taka+*i < PA batakan
鎚 tuti “hammer”<tutui<*tutu+*i< PA tutu
鳴く < nak- < PAK *ŋak(ŋak)
飲む < nom- < PA ʔinom
舐める < OJ namu < PA nam(nam) “to taste”
荒 ara “wild, of the wild” < ʔalats “forest”
穴 < PAJ *qanan “hole”
Abosolute worst examples ever!
田 ta “field” < PAK (m)plalaq
早/速い <*(m)baɣat “NW monsoon,
east wind etc”
矢 < PA *lawi “feather”
滝 < *(m)pujak “foam, bubble”
岡 oka “hill” < woka < PAJ *po(ŋ)krak
Extra-lexical Motivation
Phonological simplicity of Japanese
Rather few phonemes
Tendency towards open syllables
Austronesian morphemes are largely CVCVC
Should this explain high rate of twosyllable morphemes in Japanese?
Or CVCVC structure of verbs like koros-?
Ainu is also heavily CVCVC…
Extra-lexical Motivation
Reduplicated reduplication
Plurals – 人々
Onomatopoeias – バラバラ
Austronesian has twice the doubling!
Plurals - orangorang
Verbal conjugations
Ainu Ainu!
merimeri “sparkles”
Conclusion:
Japanese is a dialect of English