Reconstruction:Proto-Ryukyuan/kura ~ kuCa

This Proto-Ryukyuan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Ryukyuan

Reconstruction

The reconstruction of this word is controversial. This word is typically associated with Old Japanese 子 (ko₁, “child”) and/or its deriative 子等 (ko₁ra, “children”). The phonetic development of the first consonant in many Ryukyuan developments (i.e. glottalization and/or affrication) imply that the first vowel should be reconstructed as *ku, but phonetically, it does not correspond to Old Japanese vowel o₁, which should have also been preserved in Ryukyuan. Most linguists reconstruct the labialization and second vowel as *-ura, in analogy to other phonetic developments like *makura (“pillow”), hence the association with Old Japanese 子等 (ko₁ra, “children”). Thorpe (1983:271) reconstructs *kuwa; see also the developments of *kuwa (“mulberry”).

Noun

*kura ~ kuCa

1. child

Suffix

*kura ~ kuCa

1. diminutive suffix

Descendants

• Northern Ryukyuan:
  • Kikai: 子 (k'wa, k'a)
  • Kunigami: 子 (k'wā)
  • Northern Amami Ōshima: 子 (k'wa)
  • Okinawan: 子 (kkwa)
  • Okinoerabu: 子 (k'wā)
  • Southern Amami Ōshima: 子 (k'wā)
  • Tokunoshima: 子 (k'wa, k'wā)
  • Yoron: 子 (k'wa)
• Southern Ryukyuan:
  • Miyako: 子 (ffa)
  • Yaeyama: 子 (fā)
  • Yonaguni: 子 (pā)