Grammatical aspect of the Japanese Kagoshima dialect
The grammatical particles (助詞joshi) used in the Kagoshima dialects of Japanese have many features in common with those of other dialects spoken in Kyūshū, with some being unique to the Kagoshima dialects. Like standard Japanese particles, they act as suffixes, adpositions or words immediately following the noun, verb, adjective or phrase that they modify, and are used to indicate the relationship between the various elements of a sentence.[1][2]
Unlike central Japanese dialects, particles in the Kagoshima dialects are bound clitics, as they have the effect of resyllabifying the last word they attach to. So, for example, the standard forms 本をhon o "book ACC", 書きをkaki o "writing ACC" and まりをmari o "ball ACC" would be realized as /hoNno/, /kakjo/ and /majo/ ( ← /maɽjo/) in most of northern and central Kagoshima, and /hoNnu/, /kakju/~/kaku/ and /maju/ ( ← /maɽju/) in parts of Kagoshima's southern mainland.[3]
Resyllabification has also led to the reanalysis of some particles in a few dialects. For instance, the topic particle (w)a has been completely superseded by the form na in Izumi,[4] which in most mainland dialects is merely a variant of (w)a after a moraic nasal.
Resyllabification rules
When a word is followed by a particle that starts with a vowel (such as the topic particle はa, the accusative particle をo or the dative particle いi), the final syllable of that word will be fused with the particle and be subject to Kagoshima's vowel coalescence rules as well as other sound changes occurring in the regional dialect. As a simple example, when the word これ/koɽe/kore "this" is followed by the topic particle は/a/, it becomes こりゃ/koɽja/korya "this=TOP". A secondary sound change in Mainland Kagoshima then causes the medial /ɽj/ry to become /j/y, giving the common form こや/koja/koya "this=TOP".
Two main exceptions to this rule exist:
If a word's underlying form ends in a moraic nasal (i.e. /N/), an epenthetic/n/ is inserted between the word and the particle. For example, 本/hoN/hon "book" becomes 本は/hoNna/honna when fused with the topic particle.
If a word's underlying form ends in a long vowel or sequence of vowels, then an epenthetic consonant is sometimes inserted between the word and the particle. In the case of topic particle はa and the accusative particle をo, the epenthetic consonant is /w/. In the case of the dative particle いi, the epenthetic consonant is /n/. This rule is not consistently applied across all dialects of Kagoshima.
The following table shows how particles change the final syllable of words in the mainland Kagoshima dialects.
The rules of resyllabification differ only slightly in peripheral areas. The following table shows how particles change the final syllable of words in the Sato dialect of the Koshikijima Islands.
Resyllabification in the Sato village of Koshikijima[6][7]
Note: The accusative particle (をo) is not listed above because the Sato dialect replaced it with the particle ばba. For example, the accusative form of koi "this" is simply koi ba.[7]
And the following table shows how particles change the final syllable of words in the Tanegashima dialects.
Note: Blank entries indicate that examples could not be found or inferred from the source.
Historical attestation
The phenomenon of resyllabification (or particle fusion) is first attested for the Kagoshima dialect in the 18th-century works of Gonza, a Japanese castaway from Satsuma who was taken to Saint Petersburg, Russia around 1733-1734. Under the supervision of assistant librarian Andrei Bogdanov, Gonza helped produce several reference works on the Japanese language in Russian, including an introductory, a grammar and a dictionary.[9] These works provide the oldest glimpse into the Kagoshima dialect.
For the most part, the works of Gonza show that the topic particle はa and the dative particle いi followed the same rules as they do today, fusing with the final syllable of the preceding word and being subject to the same exceptions that exist today. The accusative particle をwo, however, was independent and shows fusion in only a couple recorded examples.[9]
The following table gives an overview of some of the main particles used in Kagoshima as compared to those used in Northern Amami, a language group spoken directly to the south of the Kagoshima dialects, as well as standard Japanese.
Comparison of particles between Kagoshima, Amami and standard Japanese
1.^^^^^ These forms are not attested in the referenced source, but are inferred based on the Kagoshima City forms and known sound changes in Minamikyūshū.
Overall, Kagoshima and Amami varieties appear more similar to each other when it comes to the overlapping use of the genitive and nominative particles, the use of a topicalized accusative particle (absent in standard Japanese), the use of a purposive particle that is separate from the dative particle, and the use of multiple terminative particles. When it comes to dative, locative, directional and instrumental particles, Kagoshima is more similar to standard Japanese than it is to Amami, as Amami varieties use a number of different particles for these cases. Kagoshima also uses a regular accusative particle like standard Japanese, whereas most Amami varieties do not.
Case-marking particles are short lexical items that attach to the end of nouns, verbs or adjectives and help indicate their grammatical relation within a phrase, clause or sentence.
To illustrate, the following example shows how the word "cat" is explicitly marked to indicate that it is the subject of the transitive verb, while the word "fish" is marked to indicate that it is the object of the verb within the phrase "The cat ate the fish".
Note that most case-marking particles do not have a direct translation in English, as modern English mostly relies on word order, although it does have some basic subject (aka nominative) and object (aka accusative) marking in personal pronouns such as "he" versus "him".
Ablative
kara
Like standard Japanese, the particle からkara is used to indicate a time or place from which something begins. In this sense, it can generally be translated to "from" in English. Regional variants of this particle include かあkaa and かka. In the Higashimorokata district of Miyazaki specifically, the form かいkai is used.[14]
Unlike standard Japanese, this particle is not used to mark a reason. Instead, the Kagoshima particle でde is used for that purpose. For example, in the standard Japanese sentence 町から取ってくるものですからmachi kara totte kuru mono desu kara "because it was bought from town",[5] the first instance where からkara is used to mean "from" remains unchanged in Kagoshima, while the second, where it's used to mean "because", is replaced by the particle でde:
In a few Kagoshima dialects, the particle からkara can be used in two additional ways that are different from standard Japanese.
(1) In the first, it can be used to indicate the means used to arrive to a situation (such as the means of transportation), overlapping with the standard particle でde "by" in this sense. For example:
バスから行くでえ (basu kara iku dee)[7] (Example from Koshikijima)
basu=kara
bus=ABL
ik-u=dee
go-NPST=CNSQ
basu=kara ik-u=dee
bus=ABL go-NPST=CNSQ
'Since (I) go by bus'
The particle からkara does not replace the other usages of でde "by". For instance, it cannot be used to mark the tool used to achieve an action. So in the sentence "to write with a brush", でde would be used.[7]
(2) In the second, it can be used to mark the agent in an adversative-passive sentence, replacing the standard particle にni. For example:
It is worth noting that both usages of からkara in (1) and (2) above may have once been more widespread in Japan, as they were historically attested in Diego Collado's Ars Grammaticae Iaponicae Linguae (Grammar of the Japanese language), published in 1632. Examples of the first taken from his work include fune kara maitta "(he) came by ship" and kachi kara maitta "(he) came on foot" (spellings modernized).[17] An example of the second would be Pedro kara korosareta "(he) was killed by Pedro".[17]
Accusative
o (1)
The particle をo is a case particle that marks the direct object in a sentence. Depending on the word that precedes, it can also be pronounced うu.
Like the particles あa and いi, when をo is added to a word, the final syllable of that word will be subject to resyllabification. For instance, こいkoi "this" becomes こよkoyo "this=ACC".
Example:
(1)
ほんの読ん (honno yon)
hon=o
book=ACC
yo-n
read-NPST
hon=o yo-n
book=ACC read-NPST
'(I) read a book.'
oba and ba
The particle をばoba or ばba marks a topicalized direct object. This form historically derives from a contraction of the accusative marker wo and the topic particle ɸa (modern day wa ~ a).[18] In several Western Kyūshū dialects, ba has completely replaced the particle o as the accusative marker. However, the use of the particle ba within the Kagoshima dialects is restricted mainly to the Koshikijima Islands[19] and is not as widespread elsewhere. Considered an archaism in Standard Japanese,[20] the form oba, pronounced uba in Southern Kagoshima, is more frequently used instead.[21] In contrast with the particle o, oba can be described as an emphatic accusative; that is, it places more emphasis on the direct object.
Examples:
(1)
みっをば飲んだ (miʔ oba nonda)
miʔ=o=ba
water=ACC=TOP
no-nda
drink-PST
miʔ=o=ba no-nda
water=ACC=TOP drink-PST
'(I) drank water.'
(2)
本ば読ん (hon ba yon)
hon=ba
book=ACC.TOP
yo-n
read-NPST
hon=ba yo-n
book=ACC.TOP read-NPST
'(I) read a book.'
Comparative
yokka
The particle よっかyokka[22] or its variant よかyoka[23] is used in place of standard Japanese よりyori and, like it, it has two main functions. The first is that it can be used to indicate the origin of something, akin to "from" or "beginning from" in English. The second is that it can be used to make comparisons, roughly translating to "more than" or "rather than". In southern Koshikijima and northern Tanegashima, the variant よいかyoika is used, while in northern Koshikijima, the forms よきゃあyokyaa and ゆうきゃあyuukyaa are observed.[24][7] Etymologically, the particle is considered a contraction of よりyori and かka.[25]
'(I believe that) that mountain is taller than Sakurajima'
Dative and locative
i
The dative-locative particle いi[23] (and its variant にni) can be used to mark a location, a direction, a time, a state, a goal, the recipient of an action, or the agent in a passive sentence. Its usage is very similar to those of the particles にni "in/at/to" and へe "to/towards" in standard Japanese. In English, this particle can variously be translated by the prepositions "to", "in", "at", "into", "towards", "by" or "with" depending on the sentence.
Like the particles はa and をo, when いi is added to a word, the final syllable of that word will be subject to resyllabification.
Example of its use to mark a location or direction:
(1)
あそけ行かんか (asoke ikan ka)
asoko=i
over_there=DAT
ik-an=ka
go[TR]-NEG=Q
asoko=i ik-an=ka
over_there=DAT go[TR]-NEG=Q
'How about we go over there'
Example of its use to mark the recipient of an action:
The particle いなina (or いにゃあinyaa in northern Koshikijima)[7] generally means "for", "in", "to" or "in order to". Etymologically, it is a combination of the particles いi and はa and is cognate with the standard Japanese construction にはni wa.
"There are Scalpel Sawtail fish floating (in) here"
Genitive and nominative
In Old Japanese, the particles がga and のno had overlapping functions as genitive and nominative markers, and were ultimately distinguished by their degree of politeness.[18] The Kagoshima dialects, like other Western Kyūshū dialects and Ryukyuan varieties, are notable in that this original distinction is largely maintained, although some regional variation in usage occurs.
ga
In Kagoshima, the particle がga is considered somewhat more derogatory and occurs mainly with a human subject or possessor.[30]
山のたっか (yama no takka)[33] (Example from Yakushima)
yama=no
mountain=NOM
taʔ-ka
high-ADJ
yama=no taʔ-ka
mountain=NOM high-ADJ
'The mountain is high'
The particle のno is sometimes reduced to んn.
(3)
机ん中 (tsukuen naka)
tsukue=n
desk=GEN
naka
inside
tsukue=n naka
desk=GEN inside
'inside the desk'
Instrumental
de
The instrumental particle でde is used to mark the means or tool used to accomplish an action. It can typically be translated to "with", "by" or "using" in English.
(1)
筆で書いた (fude de kaita)[7] (Example from Koshikijima)
fude=de
brush=INSTR
ka-ita
write-PST
fude=de ka-ita
brush=INSTR write-PST
'(He) wrote with a brush'
(2)
麦で作った (mugi de tsukutta)[7] (Example from Koshikijima)
mugi=de
wheat=INSTR
tsuku-tta
make-PST
mugi=de tsuku-tta
wheat=INSTR make-PST
'It was made with wheat'
From an etymological standpoint, this particle is cognate to the standard Japanese particle でde, broadly meaning "with", "at" or "by". However, it does differ from its standard counterpart in two main ways:
When indicating the means used to arrive at a situation (similar to the English word "by" in the sentence "he travelled by boat"), most Kagoshima dialects favour the ablative particle からkara instead of でde.
When marking the location of an action, most Kagoshima dialects favour either the lative particle せえsee "in, at, to" or the dative-locative particle いi "in, at, to, by" instead of でde.
Lative
see
The particle せえsee and its many regional variations (e.g. せse, さいsai, さえsae, さんsan, さねsane, さめsame, さめえsamee, さみゃあsamyaa)[29][34][35] marks direction. It can roughly be translated as "in" or "to" in English and is comparable in usage to へe in standard Japanese. Etymologically, the particle is said to originate from the expression 様にsama ni "by way of, in the state of".[36]
Other than its standard usages, the particle とto is also a nominalizing particle in the Kagoshima dialects. That is, it can be appended to a verb, an adjective or another utterance to transform it into a noun. This usage is similar to how のno is used in standard Japanese.
The particle たta or its variant たあtaa is a combination of the nominalizing particle とto and the topic particle はa. It can be combined with a verb or adjective to turn it into a noun, similar to how ものはmono wa and のはno wa work in standard Japanese.[23]
(1)
どいけ?一番こまんかた。 (doi ke? ibban komanka ta.)
doi=ke?
which=Q?
iʔ.ban
one.number
koman-ka=to=a.
small-ADJ=NOM=TOP.
doi=ke? iʔ.ban koman-ka=to=a.
which=Q? one.number small-ADJ=NOM=TOP.
'Which one? The smallest one.'
Purposive
ke (2)
The particle けke[38] can be used with verbs in their stem form to indicate either the purpose of a movement or the arrival point of a movement. It most often occurs in the construction ~け行っ~ ke iʔ "to go (do something)". In parts of the Koshikijima islands, the variant きゃあkyaa is used; in Tanegashima, the variant かあkaa is used;[38] in parts of the Tokara islands, げえらgeera is used;[38] in southern Satsuma, the variant げge is used;[38] and amongst older people in the Higashimorokata district of Miyazaki, the variant げge is observed.[14] In the nearby Kikai language spoken to the south of Kagoshima, three similar particles are reported: かいkai, がちgachi or かちkachi, and かにkani.[11]
The quotative particle とto is used to mark speech or thought that is being directly quoted (e.g. something someone else said) or indirectly quoted (e.g. paraphrasing what someone else said or indicating hearsay). While both this particle and the particle ちchi largely overlap in usage, the particle とto tends to be favoured with verbs of thought such as 思っomoʔ "to think".
The quotative particle ちchi is used to mark speech or thought that is being directly quoted (e.g. something someone else said) or indirectly quoted (e.g. paraphrasing what someone else said or indicating hearsay). While both this particle and the particle とto largely overlap in usage, the particle ちchi tends to be favoured with verbs of speech or communication such as ゆyu "to say" or 聞っkiʔ "to hear".
'If (we) were to say something', 'Relatively speaking'
Binding particles
Topic
(w)a
The particle はa or wa is a topic marker. That is, it marks the main thing being talked about in a sentence. Like the particles をo and いi, when はa is added to a word, the final syllable of that word will be subject to resyllabification. For instance, こいkoi "this" becomes こやkoya "this=TOP" when topicalized.
(1)
あんひたせんせーじゃっど (an hita sensee jaddo)[41] (Example from Kagoshima city)
Conjunctive particles are a category of particles that connect words, phrases or clauses together.
Concessive
batten ("but")
The particle ばってんbatten[23] is a conjunctive particle meaning "but" or "although". It is less commonly used than どんdon. In the peripheral islands of Tanegashima, Yakushima and Tokara, the variants ばってbatte and ばっちぇbatche are also used alongside ばってんbatten.[33]
don ("but")
The particle どんdon[23] is a conjunctive particle meaning "but" or "although" and typically follows a declarative verb.
From an etymological standpoint, while the particle どんdon is technically cognate with the standard Japanese particle どもdomo "even though", it may be more accurate to say that it stems from a reduction of the standard expression けれどもkeredomo "but" which carries the same meaning. This is supported by the fact that, in neighboring provinces such as Miyazaki (including the Higashimorokata district), the form けんどんkendon is used, which can be further shortened to けんken (as opposed to どんdon like in Kagoshima).[14]
The particle でde (sometimes でえdee in northern Koshikijima)[7] can be combined with verbs or adjectives to mean "because".[22] It is used in place of the standard Japanese particles からkara or のでnode.
(1)
きゅはてそかでもう行かん。 (kyu wa tesoka de mō ikan.)
kyu=wa
today=TOP
teso-ka=de
tired-ADJ=CNSQ
mō
anymore
ik-an.
go-NEG
kyu=wa teso-ka=de mō ik-an.
today=TOP tired-ADJ=CNSQ anymore go-NEG
"I won't be going anymore because I'm too tired today."
Coordinating particles (sometimes called connective particles or parallel markers) are particles used to link more than one noun or nominalized phrase together. They generally cover the meanings of "and" and "or".
to ("and, with")
The conjunctive or comitative particle とto generally serves to coordinate nouns or noun phrases and can be translated to "and", "with" or "together with" in English. This particle is the same in both pronunciation and usage as standard Japanese.
Note that verbs and adjectives are coordinated using verbal suffixes instead of this particle. See Kagoshima verb conjugations: Te form for details.
yara ("and")
The conjunctive particle やらyara is used to coordinate nouns and signal that the list is incomplete. In this sense, it can translated to "A, B and C (amongst other things)" or "A, B, C, etc.". The particle is equivalent in usage to the standard Japanese particle やya.
(1)
かんやらすんやらふでやらもろた。 (kan yara sun yara fude yara morota.)[26]
kan=yara
paper=CONJ
sun=yara
ink=CONJ
fude=yara
brush=CONJ
moro-ta
receive-PST
kan=yara sun=yara fude=yara moro-ta
paper=CONJ ink=CONJ brush=CONJ receive-PST
'I received paper, ink and a brush (amongst other things)'
ka ("or")
The disjunctive particle かka serves to coordinate nouns or noun phrases and can be translated to "or" in English. This particle is the same in both pronunciation and usage as standard Japanese.
Adverbial particles
Adverbial particles are a broad category of particles that attach to the end of nouns or phrases (such as noun phrases and verb phrases) and "express such meanings as restriction, exemplification or similarity",[44] amongst others.
Approximation
doma ("roughly")
The particle どまdoma[23] typically follows nouns and marks approximation. It can be translated as "roughly", "approximately", "just about", "around" or "or so" in English. The closest standard Japanese equivalents would be ばかりはbakari wa, ぐらいはgurai wa and などはnado wa.[23][45]
Etymologically, どまdoma stems from the word 共tomo, meaning "together with" in standard Japanese, and the topic particle は (w)a.[45]
そげんかったくったかんどまいらん。 (sogen kattakutta kan doma iran.)
so=gen
this=like
kattakutta
scribble.PST
kan
paper
doma
roughly
iran.
want.NEG
so=gen kattakutta kan doma iran.
this=like scribble.PST paper roughly want.NEG
'I do not want scribbled paper like this'
Exemplification
nando or nado ("for example")
The particle of exemplification なんどnando[23] and its variant などnado roughly translates to "for example" or "such as" in English.
Focus
mo or n ("also")
The focus particle もmo and its variant んn marks inclusion or similarity and roughly translates to "also", "too" or "as well" in English.
(1)
あー、おいもそがんしてかなー (aa, oi mo sogan shite kanaa)[46] (Example from Koshikijima)
aa
oh
oi=mo
1=also
sogan
that_kind_of
shi-te-ka-naa
do-CONJ-AUX:in_advance-NEG
aa oi=mo sogan shi-te-ka-naa
oh 1=also that_kind_of do-CONJ-AUX:in_advance-NEG
'Oh, I will also have to do that'
seka ("even")
The focus particle せかseka[14][47][23] (or さあかsaaka in northern Koshikijima)[7] expresses an extreme example and roughly translates to "even", "(if) only" or "as long as" in English. The particle is usually followed by a verb in the conditional form. From a usage perspective, this particle is equivalent to the standard Japanese particle さえsae "even", to which it is related.
The restrictive particle ばっかいbakkai, roughly translating to "just", is functionally the same as standard Japanese ばかりbakari (colloquially ばっかりbakkari).[48][23]
The restrictive particle ほずhozu[14] is used to show the extent to which the following verb or adjective applies to what precedes. In English, it can be roughly translated with the expressions "to the extent of", "as (much) as" or "so (...) that". This particle is cognate with the standard Japanese particle ほどhodo and is largely limited to the Higashimorokata district of Miyazaki.[14] In Kagoshima, the particle しこshiko is used instead.
shiko ("to the extent of")
The restrictive particle しこshiko (sometimes pronounced ひこhiko)[50] is used to show the extent to which the following verb or adjective applies to what precedes. In English, it can be roughly translated with the expressions "to the extent of", "as (much) as" or "so (...) that". The particle しこshiko is used in place of standard Japanese だけdake[22] or ほどhodo.[23] Etymologically, しこshiko may be related to standard Japanese しきshiki, found in compounds like これしきkoreshiki "only this much", as well as しかshika "only", which is limited in standard Japanese to negative phrases.
(1)
どしこでん (doshiko den)
do=shiko
what=extent
de=n
is=however
do=shiko de=n
what=extent is=however
'As many as one likes'
(2)
あったしこ持っけ (atta shiko mokke)
atta=shiko
have.PST=extent
moʔ=ke
bring=come.IMP
atta=shiko moʔ=ke
have.PST=extent bring=come.IMP
'Bring all that you have'
Terminative (or limitative)
gii ("until, up to")
The terminative particle ぎいgii or its variant ぎgi is used to indicate a time or place as a limit[22][23] and can be translated as "until" or "up to" in English. It is functionally similar to the particle までmade in Japanese.[23]
Etymologically, the particle originated from the noun 切りkiri meaning "end" or "bound" (rendaku form: ぎりgiri), possibly by way of shortening the term 限りkagiri "limit, as far as, as much as". The noun 切りkiri also gave way to the standard Japanese particle きりkiri (ぎりgiri), meaning "just" or "only".[51] To the south of Kagoshima, similar terminative particles are attested in Northern Ryukyuan varieties, such as がりgari in Kikai[11] and がでぃgadi in Okinoerabu.[52] However, it is unclear if these are related.
Just like in standard Japanese, the terminative particle までmade is used to indicate a time or place as a limit and can be translated as "until" or "up to" in English. In the Nakatane dialect of Tanegashima, the form まじぇmaje is used,[54] while in the Taira dialect of Koshijijima, the form みゃーmyaa is used.[55]
(1)
あっちゃみゃー行け。 (atcha myaa ike.)[55] (Example from Koshikijima)
atcha=myaa
over_there=TERM
ik-e
go-IMP
atcha=myaa ik-e
over_there=TERM go-IMP
'Go over there.'
zui ("until, up to")
The terminative particle ずいzui (also spelled づいdzui) is used to indicate a time or place as a limit[22][23][56] and can be translated as "to", "until" or "up to" in English. It is functionally equivalent to the particle までmade "to, up to, until", used in both standard Japanese[23] and the local Kagoshima dialects. In the Higashimorokata district of Miyazaki, the form ずりzuri is used,[14] while in the town of Ei, Kagoshima (now Minamikyūshū), the form ぢゅいdjui is used.[10]
Etymologically, the particle ずいzui likely originates from the noun 出り "setting out (to)", which was historically pronounced dzuri in Kagoshima and would be cognate with the form 出de "coming out" in modern standard Japanese. This is evidenced by the fact that the verb 出る "to go out; to exit; to set out" and its nominal form are still pronounced ずい zui or dzui in the traditional Kagoshima dialects.[57] The oldest attestation of this particle is found in the 18th-century works of Gonza under the form ドゥイdui ~ dwi (possibly pronounced [d͡zui] or [d͡zwi] at the time), as in モスクゥィドゥイmoskwi dui/dwi "up to Moscow".[58]
Sentence-final particles, sometimes called sentence-ending particles or interactional particles, are uninflected lexical items that appear at the end of a phrase or sentence. Unlike other types of particles such as case particles or conjunctive particles, sentence-final particles do not indicate the grammatical relation of different elements in a clause. Instead, they can be described as indicating "the illocutionary force of the proposition as well as the speaker's attitude towards the proposition and/or the interloculor(s)".[60] This means that, among other things, sentence-final particles can be used to indicate how true the speaker believes the utterance is (e.g. definitely true, probably true, hearsay, personal opinion, etc.), to express the speaker's personal feelings towards the utterance (e.g. admiration, shock, etc.), or to solicit a reaction from the listener. They can also vary based on the speaker's relation with the listener and the degree of politeness they wish to express.
The particle あいai or more rarely わいwai is a sentence-final particle used to bring awareness to something and to indicate that the speaker is expressing their own view. Unlike other sentence-final particles, this particle attaches to the preceding word (typically a verb in its non-past form) and fuses with the vowel of the final syllable of that word. Functionally, this particle is similar in usage to the particle よyo in standard Japanese. In the Koshikijima islands, the variants あa and わwa are used.[6]
Etymologically, the particle is said to originate from the historical pronoun 我ware "I" and to be cognate with the sentence-ending particles わwa, わいwai and ばいbai used dialectally throughout Japan.[61]
After a verb in its volitional form (also called the presumptive form), the particle is reduced to いi and serves to add insistence to what is being said. Examples from Izumi, Kagoshima include 飲もいnomoi "let's drink", 行こいikoi "let's go", 見ろいmiroi "let's see" and しゅいshui "let's do (it)".[62]
do
The sentence-final particle どdo, sometimes lengthened to どお・どーdoo, is used to mark an assertion and to grab the attention of the addressee, if one is present. It is functionally similar to the particles よyo and ぞzo in standard Japanese[22] as well as the particle どーdoo used in most Ryukyuan languages such as Okinawan.
Note that when this particle follows the polite auxiliary verb もんすmonsu, the final -su gets dropped. For example, 行っもんどiʔ-mon do "(I'm) going!" (instead of *iʔ-monsu do).[64]
gaa
The sentence-final particle があgaa or sometimes just がga is used to mark a statement that the speaker believes to be true. In English, it can be overtly translated as "I believe (that)" or "I think (that)", whereas in standard Japanese, there is no direct equivalent to this particle, so it is often translated with the tag-marker ねne "eh?" or "right?", with the declarative modal particle よyo or with the modal auxiliary of probability だろうdarou.[65]
(1)
やっせんがあ (yassen gaa)
yassen=gaa
hopeless=FP:EPIS
yassen=gaa
hopeless=FP:EPIS
"(I believe that) it's hopeless"
(2)
子どまあす△けおおがあ (kodoma aske oo gaa)[65] (Example from Izumi)
kodomo=a
children=TOP
asko=i
there=DAT
oo=gaa
be=FP:EPIS
kodomo=a asko=i oo=gaa
children=TOP there=DAT be=FP:EPIS
"(I believe that) the children are over there", "The children should be over there."
As a regular noun, もん (物) mon means "thing" and often follows verbs in their nominal form or stem form to create a compound noun. For example, 食い物kuimon "food" is a compound of 食いkui "eating" and 物mon "thing".
This word can also be used at the end of a sentence, where it functionally acts like both a nominalizer and a sentence-final particle marking a cheeky comment, sometimes translated as "you know" in English. When used as such, it is always written in kana as もんmon. In regards to its usage, the particle もんmon typically follows adjectives and verbs directly and is often also followed by the copula じゃja "is".
The compound particle もんかmon ka (pronounced むんかmun ka in the southern Satsuma Peninsula)[69] typically follows a declarative verb and serves to both nominalize the phrase and to repudiate or dismiss the idea brought forth. In this sense, it can be overtly translated as "as if (I would)" or "there's no way (I could)". It can also simply be translated in English with negation, e.g. "(I) will not".
Functionally, this compound particle is the same as standard Japanese もんかmon ka, and ultimately derives from a combination of the sentence-final particle もんmon and the question particle かka.
(1)
がっつい食がないむんか (gattsui ku ga nai mun ka)[69] (Example from Minamikyūshū)
gattsu=i
really=DAT
ku-u=ga
eat-NPST=NOM
na-i=munka
be_able-NPST=FP:NMZ:as_if
gattsu=i ku-u=ga na-i=munka
really=DAT eat-NPST=NOM be_able-NPST=FP:NMZ:as_if
"As if I could really eat them!", "There's no way I would truly be able to eat them!"
naa, nee and nii
The sentence-final particles なあ / なー / なna(a), ねえ / ねー / ねne(e) and にい / にーnii (used chiefly in Minamikyūshū)[70] are used to indicate or solicit acknowledgement, agreement or confirmation regarding non-controversial information. In English, these particles are typically translated using tag question markers such as "eh?", "right?", "isn't it?" or "aren't you?" because of their use in utterances where the speaker is looking for agreement or confirmation from the listener. That said, they also play a role in narration where they help indicate that the statement uttered is incomplete and is the basis for what will be said next, and that the speaker may or may not be seeking acknowledgement from the listener (through backchannel responses).
Etymologically, these particles are all cognate with the standard Japanese particle ねne and its variant なna, common in most Western Japanese dialects.
いっがにー (igga nii)[70] (Example from around Minamikyūshū)
i-ʔ=ga=nii
go-NPST=FP:EPIS=Q
i-ʔ=ga=nii
go-NPST=FP:EPIS=Q
'We should go, right?'
(3)
じゃらいにー (jarai nii)[26] (Example from around Minamikyūshū)
ja-ru=ai=nii
COP-NPST=EMP=Q
ja-ru=ai=nii
COP-NPST=EMP=Q
"Right?", "It is, isn't it?"
A study on sentence-final particles in the Sato dialect of Koshikijima found that, while な(ー)na(a) and ね(ー)ne(e) mostly overlapped in usage, speakers felt that the particle ne(e) was not native to their dialect and was instead an artifact of standard Japanese.[46] The same study confirmed that the usage of ne(e) was very similar to that of the particle ne in standard Japanese and that some minor differences with the native particle na(a) existed. One such difference is that ne(e) tends to only be used when speakers mix in standard Japanese grammar.[46] Another is that it is not used when talking to oneself (e.g. it would not be used when thinking to oneself "*that flower is so pretty"), whereas the native particle na(a) can be.[46]
o
The particle おo or おーoo (sometimes written を and をー respectively) is a sentence-final particle used to stress the utterance. It tends to follow declarative or imperative statements and is similar in usage to the particles よyo and わwa in standard Japanese.
Etymologically, it is likely that this particle is a holdover from Old and Middle Japanese and that it has the same origins as the accusative case particle をo, which is used to mark the direct object in a sentence. In Old Japanese, the particle を started as an exclamatory particle expressing consent and response and was sometimes used in sentence-final position as an interjectional particle used to mark admiration in a declarative phrase or to add strength to an imperative phrase.[71]
(1)
早よ行っきゃいおー (hayo ikkyai oo)[72] (Example from the Eastern Satsuma Peninsula)
haya=u
fast=ADV
i-ki=ya-i
go-INF=do.aux.POL-IMP
oo
EMP
haya=u i-ki=ya-i oo
fast=ADV go-INF=do.aux.POL-IMP EMP
'Please go quickly'
(2)
良か天気ぢゃなお (yoka tenki ja na o)[72] (Example from Yakushima)
In Tanegashima, this particle fuses with the preceding word. For example, the phrase 良かおyoka o "it's good" would become 良こーyokoo.[72]
yoo
The sentence-final particle よーyoo or sometimes just よyo is used mark an assertion and to grab the attention of the addressee, if one is present. Etymologically, it is cognate with the standard Japanese particle よyo.
(1)
いま起きらんと学校におくるいよ。 (ima okiran to, gakkou ni okurui yo.)[74]
ima
now
okir-an=to,
get_up-NEG=COND,
gakkou=ni
school=DAT
okuru-i=yo
be_late[INTR]-NPST=FP:DECL
ima okir-an=to, gakkou=ni okuru-i=yo
now get_up-NEG=COND, school=DAT be_late[INTR]-NPST=FP:DECL
"If you don't get up now, you'll be late for school."
A study on sentence-final particles in the Sato dialect of Koshikijima found that, while よ(ー)yo(o) and ど(ー)do(o) mostly overlapped in usage, speakers felt that the particle yo(o) was not native to their dialect and was instead an artifact of standard Japanese.[46] The study, however, was not able to validate this claim as speakers did not tend to mix in standard Japanese grammar when the particle was used (unlike the particle ね(ー)ne(e)). The study only found one salient difference between the two particles which was that speakers did not use yo(o) when speaking or thinking to themselves, preferring do(o) instead.[46]
Question markers
ka
Like standard Japanese, the sentence-final particle かka (pronounced がga in Makurazaki city) is used to mark a question at the end of a phrase. Compared to the question particles けke and なna, the particle かka is neutral and can be used with anyone regardless of age.
The sentence-final particle けke or sometimes けえkee (pronounced げge and げえgee in Makurazaki city) is used to mark a question at the end of a phrase. While this particle is functionally equivalent to the question particle かka, it is more specifically used when talking to someone who is younger.[75]
戻っ来たげ? (modokkita ge?)[75] (Example from around Makurazaki city)
modo-ʔ=ki-ta=ge?
return-SEQ=come-PST=Q
modo-ʔ=ki-ta=ge?
return-SEQ=come-PST=Q
'Have (they) come back?'
na
The sentence-final particle なna is used to mark a question at the end of a phrase. While this particle is functionally equivalent to the question particle かka, it is more specifically used when talking to someone who is older.[75]
(1)
戻って来たもんぢゃながどな? (modotte kita mon janaga do na)[75] (Example from around Makurazaki city)
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