Reflexes of Proto-Ryukyuan Mid Vowels in Haedong Chegukki
Abstract
Thorpe (1983, 31) reconstructed only two mid vowels in Proto-Ryukyuan: *e and *o. He also reconstructed nonphonemic aspiration before nonhigh vowels in a daughter of PR, Proto-Amami-Okinawan. Serafim and Shinzato (2021) build upon his reconstruction, positing intermediate stages between it and their phonetic interpretation of the Old Okinawan of the Omoro sōshi. However, an examination of the earlier stage of Okinawan recorded in Haedong chegukki reveals that (1) Proto-Ryukyuan had *əj and *a(ː)j in addition to *e and (2) aspiration before nonhigh vowels was still in progress as late as the fifteenth century CE.
Submitted: Sept. 22, 2023 | Accepted: March 12, 2024 | Published Aug. 28, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Vowels • Aspiration • Okinawan • Haedong chegukki • Ryukyuan
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