LINGUIST List 17.312

Mon Jan 30 2006

Diss: Historical Ling: Robbeets: 'Is Japanese Relate...'

Editor for this issue: Meredith Valant <meredithlinguistlist.org>

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Directory         1.    Martine Robbeets, Is Japanese Related to the Altaic Languages?

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Message 1: Is Japanese Related to the Altaic Languages?
Date: 30-Jan-2006
From: Martine Robbeets <martine_robbeetshotmail.com>
Subject: Is Japanese Related to the Altaic Languages?


Institution: Leiden University Program: Department of Comparative Linguistics Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2003

Author: Martine Irma Robbeets

Dissertation Title: Is Japanese Related to the Altaic Languages?

Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics

Subject Language(s): Japanese (jpn) Korean (kor)

Language Family(ies): Altaic

Dissertation Director(s): Lars Johanson Frederik H .H. Kortlandt Alexander Lubotsky Sergej A Starostin

Dissertation Abstract:

Where does Japanese come from? Is Japanese Related to Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic?The linguistic origin of the Japanese language is among the most disputed questions of language history. One current hypothesis is that Japanese is an Altaic language, sharing a common ancestor with Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic. But, the opinions are strongly polarized. Especially the inclusion of Japanese into this classifi cation model is very much under debate. Given the lack of consensus in the field, my doctoral dissertation presents a state of the art for the etymological evidence relating Japanese to Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic.

The different Altaic etymologies proposed in the scholarly literature are gathered in an etymological index of Japanese appended to this dissertation. An item-by-item sifting of the evidence helps to hold down borrowings, universal similarities and coincidental look-alikes to a small percentage. When the remaining core-evidence is screened in terms of phonological regularity, the answer to the intriguing question is beginning to take shape.