Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I Takao Kawamoto

i
ull. Nara Univ. : Muo. Vol. 26, No. 1 (cult. & soc), 1977
Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I
Takao Kawamoto
Department of Foreign Longuages, Nara University of Education, Nara, Japan
(Received April 25, 1977)
It is demonstrated here that Japanese is cognate with the Austronesian family of
languages. This demonstration is based mainly on a few hundreds of Old Japanese (OJ)
words paired with corresponding Proto-Austronesian (PA) or one of its branches, Proto-
Indonesian (PI), Proto-Oceanic (PO), Proto-Eastem-Oceanic (PE), and Proto-Polynesian (PP).
1. Phonology
1. 1. PHONEMES AND CORRESPONDENCES. OJ has eight vowels: a, e, e, i, I,
o, o, and u; e, e, and I are supposed to have been originally diphthongs: e

24 Takao Kawamoto
3) Often m
4) Usually 0
5) Often {lu\
6) Usually {°u\
7) Sometimes a
8) Usually 6
7/CVCV_# (7.ll ; 7.16 ; 10.4 ; 14.8 ; 15.15 ; 15.16 ; 30.ll ; 36.2)
N/#_VN(G)V (1.64 ; 3.5 ; 4.27 ; 4.28 ; 7.1 ; 8.6 ; 8.22 ; 10.8 ; ll.14...)
V/#C__N(C)V (1.36 ; 1.44 ; 4.27 ; 7.4 ; 7.6 ; 8.6 ; 8.22 ; 12.ll ; 12.25...)
6/C_Ca, CaC___(1.46 ; 2.8 ; 2.9 ; 4.1 ; 4.28 ; 5.1 ; 5.8 ; 8.2 ; 9.4...)
6/CaC_ (7.20 ; 8.6 ; 9.1 ; 25.9)
u/C_C6, C6C__ (1.15 ; 4.19 ; 4.21 ; 12.5 ; 15.9 ; 16.9 ; 28.27)
9) Sometimes -f°\ : o/CwC_, C_Cu (1.37 ; 8.14 ; 31.8)
10) Usually o: m/C_| (1.2 ; 1.36 ; 1.71 ; 1.76 ; 4.10 ; 5.13 ; 6.1 ; 10.ll ; 12.13...)
The numbers in parentheses refer to the examples in the list of words below (§2),
but they are not exhaustive.
1. 3. OJ PHONEMES AND SYLLABLES AND LIMITS OF THEIR COMBINATION.
The following combination of phonemes never occur in OJ : any dental+if; any dental+8 ;
w+i, w+e, and zv+u. No bilabials combine with b to form a monosyllabic morpheme.
OJ syllables are always open : V or CV. Neither VV nor CC occurs. Generally I and
e occur only word-finally, and 6 does not usually co-occur either with a or with u in a
morpheme. No two Cos may be consecutive within a morpheme.
1. 4. VOWEL AND CONSONANT ALTERNATION IN MORPHEMES. In addition
to the correspondences and the exceptional rules, it is necessary to consider that both in
OJ and in PA a morpheme may often have its variant form with the alternation of vowels
or consonants.
1. 41. VOWEL ALTERNATION. OJ examples a~b : madaki premature, mbdbki
a plant similar but inferior to another; w~z : (kinb)fu (yester) day, fi day, sun; w~6:
kurum-i to wrap, kbrbmb robe.
PA examples a~u : karkar, kurkur kratzen ; a~e : kabal, kebel Unverwundbarsein ;
a~i : kaskas kratzen, kiskis schaben ; u~i : ubaq, ibaq anderssein ; u~e : su(m)pit, se(m)pit
engesein.
1. 42. CONSONANT ALTERNATION. OJ examples f~w~m :fase be quick, wase
early-ripening, ModJ mase precocious ; £~y~« : itami, yami pain ; taka tall, naga long ;
s~y*~n; isa, iya, ina no! ; r~y~n: -raka, -yaka -like; ara, ana alas! ; f~b: afaki excavate,
abaki expose (secret) ; k~g: faki wear (socks), fagi-put (feather) on (a stick to
make an arrow) ; £~s: tane, sane seed; t-r: mato, maro round.
PA examples p~b*~m: pajjpayi aus einander stehen, barjba-q ausgebreitet; baya
offenstehen, marqa Vulva ; t~d~n : tektek abhacken, dakdak mit Hammer schlagen ; tipis,
nipis dunnsein ; k~g~y : tcrqkap, tatjgap ergreifen ; pakan Futter, pa-yon Essen ; l~n :
lamuk, namuk Miicke ; t~z : ta(m)bat festbinden, za(m)bat zugreifen.

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 25
2. Lexicon
2.0. A CLASSIFIED LIST OF OJ WORDS PAIRED WITH PA, PI, PO, PE, OR
PP MORPHEMES. The semantic classification of words done by Hattori (Hattori 1964)
has been borrowed here. The classification is done for the purpose of emphasizing the
fact that these few hundreds of cognate or possibly cognate words not only include basic
concepts but also they are distributed over all the 35 semantic categories.
The words under each category are arranged in alphabetical order. In square brackets
the numbers refer to the exceptional rules (§1.2), and the sign (~) is used to indicate that
a vowel or consonant alternation is to be considered. The arrow head () are read as ' develops from ' and 'Refer to' respectively.
Frequently Middle Japanese (MJ) and occasionally Modern Japanese (ModJ) words are
quoted, whenever necessary. MJ is conveniently defined here, though '•Eontrary to the tradition,
as the language of the Heian, the Kamakura, and the Muromachi periods (ca. 9th
c.~16th a), because by the beginning of these periods the eight vowel system had been
collapsed and that of five vowels established, which remains essentially unchanged till the
present day. ModJ is the language of the Yedo period and after it; one of the most distinct
phonological features of ModJ is the loss of labiality from OJ and MJ f or its shift
to h before all the vowels except u.
2. 1. PARTS OF THE BODY; BODY FUNCTIONS.
1) abara-fone MJ

26 Takao Kawamoto
17) fusi knot, joint. 1>
18) huke ModJ dandruff

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 27
Paar : go together, accompany one another ; any substance branching out.
51) maN-ko ModJ vulva -PA bayja: maya id. => ciNko.
52) mata crotch, matag-e stand with one's legs apart, matag-ari sit astride, stride

28 Takao Kawamoto
82) tuku-baf-i MJ prostrate oneself - PA Du-qkul krummer Koperteil ; papak Flachsein ;
PP tukupapa to prostrate.
83) tum-a, tum-e nail, finger-tip, turn-ami hold between fingers [/~5, ra~/] - PI zu{m)put
mit Fingern Nehmen.
84) ura back, rear, buttock, urakak-i (of an arrow) pierce to the back tuma.
87) yume dream ^ img.
2. 2. LIFE AND DEATH ; HEALTH AND DISEASE.
1) cuwasi ModJ dial, press the pus out

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 29
juicy.
7) wo man, male [w~/]-PA pu Herr z$> me.
8) womina woman[w~/, 1, m~f]-PO babine (PA binay) id.
9) wbtb-ko, wotd-me marriageable man (woman)

30 Takao Kawamoto
2) azi Okinawa dial, daimio f|\
3) fari MJ pitch a camp - PI parij Befestigungs-Anlage.
4) fatari to tax, to levy-PA [pd\taRuq Hinsetzen; PA pa- pref. of goal.
5) fiziri emperor, saint

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 31
2) ayu-mi to walk, to move one's legs- PA ayun Schaukeln.
3) fana-re go away, part - PApanaw Gehen, Fortgehen.
4) funa, fune 1. feme.
5) ikada raft [a~6] - PA iket[an\ bundle.
6) ini to leave -C^inuy-i

32 Takao Kawamoto
14) musub-i to contract, to promise 4. tuma.
16) nige run away from

PI setagi Band, Schnur.
Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 33
2. ll. FOOD AND DRINK.
1) adi taste

34 Takao Kawamoto
15) nifa place of hunting, fishing ; yard ; flat land ; calm ife.
20) takh burn (incense), yaki burn, scorch [t, y~s] - PI saqit Versengen, Stinken.
21) takiv boil, cook, heat - PA da-q-darq Erhitzen.
22) tatamii straw mat [m~f] - PI lampit Matte aus Rotan.
23) tatamii pile up, fold up - PI la(m)pis platte Schicht.
24) to door, [10] -PI pin-tu id.
25) tubo MJ courtyard 5. miyake.
27) yaki burn d$> takh.
28) yu hot spring, bath, hot water [.y~£] - PI an-Duy Baden.
2. 13. WORK.
1) asa-ri to search for (food) 1. kaki.
5) kbr-i hew - PA keRet Abschneiden ^> kari.
6) mu-mak-i pasture [6] - PA \rn\einpatj Absperrung.
7) sifo act of dipping cloth into dye -PO (n)si-sipo go down into water.
8) ta paddy field - PA sabaq bewassertes Reisfeld.
9) tayu-si be tired i> 2. naye.
10) wan-a snare, we bait

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 35
8) katum-a bamboo basket [3] - PA kaTwq Korb.
9) ka, ke vessel, container

36 Takao Kawamoto
13) kosok-uri MJ (ModJ kusug-uri) to tickle [6~w] - PI gusuk Reiben.
14) kuda-ki break into pieces kudaki.
18) mafari MJ turn round - PI \md\bali-q Winden.
19) muk-i MJ strip, peel [m~~f] - PA buka Offnen : aufdecken.
20) musi-ri MJ pluck [m~f, s~i] - PApuTik Abpfliicken.
21) nagam-il MJ take a view of [»~*, tw~/]

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 37
2. 16. EXISTENCE ; CHANGE ; SIMILARITY.
1) art be, appear, take place (ari-ari MJ clear, vivid, visible) ari.
8) narii become [«~s] - PI zadi Werden.
9) nbkbr-i be left alone 8. nige, nogare, 15. nuki.
10) nbr-i be like [n~t, o~«] -PI tuRut : copy, imitate.
ll) tomb follower, friend [o~a] ^> 4. tuma.
12) wor-i sit, be [w~/] - belum Leben.
2. 17. ABILITY ; ACTS.
1) afe endure, withstand

38 Takao Kawamoto
1) faka grave [/~w/| - PA ru-wat) id.
2) foki

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 39
14) kci2, sika 12. kafara.
16) kara MJ shell-PA karaq id.
17) keNkeN MJ cry of a pheasant (koNkoN ModJ cry of a fox)

40 Takao Kawamoto
15) miru green sea weed \m~~f\ ^> firu.
16) mo

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 41
3) idu-mi spring, well ^> 2. ide, ll. tnidu.
4) mama, ModJ dial, haba

42 Takao Kawamoto
Windstille.
17) siduk-u drop of water

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 43
2.27. TIME.
1) aki autumn, harvest

44 Takao Kawamoto
9) * fifty (=5x10) fo.
10) i-tu five - PA batu stone, numeral coefficient ; cf. Malay
satu one PI gas Entzweisein.
12) ko- little 4> 4. £o.
13) kokono nine - PI genep Vollzahligsein ; cf. Sunda. ganap six.
14) mi three fo.
17) mor-i fill, heap up [w~/] - PI pel-pel id.
18) ma, mu-yu six 4. ofo.
20) sa£a unit of length, capacity - PI zartjka MaB.
21) 5

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I 45
2.30. COLORS; SOUNDS; SMELLS.
1) afa-afa-si light (of color, taste), faint (of light), pale :> 18. afatasi.
2) aka, ak'e

46 Takao Kawamoto
2. 33. PRONOUNS, DEMONSTRATIVES, ETC.
1) a, a-re (MJ ako) 1st pers. sg.-PA aku, PE au id.
2) ana, na, na-re 2nd pers. sg. - PA ini, PE ena, ina that, those (near addressee).
3) ani how?-PA ( )anu( ) Jemand, Etwas (Ersatz einer Benennung) : was?, Sache.
4) i-ku how many? how much?-PA ( )kuha{ ) wie?
5) kimi 2nd pers. sg. honorific - PA kamu, kamiu kimiu 2nd pers. pi.
6) kimu-tati 2nd pers. pi. honorific, kimu=kimi [w~t] -f>, ^> tata'.
7) kimu-ti MJ 2nd pers. sg. honorific, kimu -f>, £/ -PA DiRi selbst.
8) koto thing, matter, fact, question ; word, voice, poem, rumor, saying, language 30. oto, 20. uta.
9) mono something hard to name ani.
10) -mu-tii commonhonorific - PA mu 2nd pers. pi., DiRi selbst.
ll) -muti-i affetional 8. mutumasi.
12) na\ 1st pers. sg.-PE nau id.
13) nai 2nd pers. sg., na-muti id. honorific or affectional ^> ana, mutii, muti ani.
15) owo, ono-re oneself - PA ini, PE ewt, ani this, these (near speaker), => ana.
16) ono-ga-zisi everyone, severally ; dno ft1,.gvz connective i> 34. gvz, zz'st kimuti, muti\.
22) wa, wa-re 1st pers. sg. -PP w-awid.
2. 34. PARTICLES AND OTHER SYNONYMOUS FORMS.
1) fata mata or, or else, either... or [f~m, t~s] -PA pasatj Paar.
2) ga possession of emotional relation - PE -rjka id.
3) kara cause, reason -PA kal id.
4) made

Toward a Comparative Japanese-Austronesian I
47
14) tame

48 Takao Kawamoto
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