- Convenor:
-
Arkadiusz Jabłoński
(Adam Mickiewicz University)
Send message to Convenor
- Chair:
-
Petra Kanasugi
(Charles University)
- Discussants:
-
Vít Ulman
(Palacky University Olomouc)
Aleksandra Wąsowicz-Peinado (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
- Format:
- Panel
- Section:
- Language and Linguistics
Short Abstract
Japanese is typically classified as agglutinative in morphological terms. Still, the notion of agglutination (a sub-type of inflection) does not seem to have been established in many sources. A need to revisit it from different theoretical and practical angles seems to emerge.
Long Abstract
It is common to mention Japanese as an agglutinative language in morphological terms. Deeper insight reveals that such classification is less frequently accompanied by detailed definitions of basic notions, embedded in and related to a more general concept of inflection. Instead, partial or unclear elucidations on the phenomenon are offered, as “attaching separate word units” (Yoshida 1927: 129), "agglutination of the Turkish type" (Shibatani 1990: 215 ff.) or simple though deceptive mentions that “the units of meaning are glued to one another” (Hasegawa 2018: 3).
Certain misunderstandings can be related to first definitions of agglutination, which obviously lack scientific precision (Humboldt 1988/1836: 107-108, 187, 225, 267). Still, also contemporary mentions on the phenomenon in expert sources on Japanese do not seem to differentiate between agglutination and derivation (cf. “agglutinative character of the language, coupled with the intricate system of vocabulary strata, makes it possible for compounding, derivation, conversion, and inflection to be closely intertwined with syntactic structure” Shibatani, Kageyama 2016: xi), which violates basic morphological oppositions. Alternatively, many statements are internally contradictive (cf. "the boundary between morphological structure and syntactic structure is often unclear in an agglutinative language like Japanese” Kageyama, Saito 2016: 12).
The concept of agglutination will be revisited in four presentations proposed within the panel: from general perspective, from the Turco-Japanese perspective, with focus on inflectional system of contemporary Japanese and with extension to Japonic languages.
References
Hasegawa, Yoko 2018. “Introduction.” [In:] Hasegawa, Yoko [ed.] The Cambridge Handbook of Japanese Linguistics. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, New Delhi, Singapore: Cambridge University Press, 2-14.
Humboldt, Wilhelm von 1988/1836. On Language. Transl. Peter Heath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kageyama, Taro, Hideki Kishimoto [eds.] (2016). Handbook of Japanese Lexicon and Word Formation. – Boston, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Kageyama, Taro, Michiaki Saito 2016. „Vocabulary strata and word formation processes.” [In:] Kageyama, Kishimoto [eds.] 2016, 11-50.
Shibatani, Masayoshi 1990. The Languages of Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shibatani, Masayoshi, Taro Kageyama (2016). „Introduction to the Handbook of Japanese Languages and Linguistics.” [In:] Kageyama, Kishimoto [eds.] 2016, vii-xxxiii.
Yoshida Kyūrō 1927. Chiisai kokubunpō [a concise grammar of Japanese]. Tōkyō: Kōbundō.
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed) |
Accepted papers
Paper short abstract
While it is common to classify Japanese as agglutinative, this may be based on superficial understanding of the term. Alternatively, agglutination can be viewed as a sub-type of inflection. It enables a paradigmatic approach to word forms, with individual exceptions explained within general rules.
Paper long abstract
In theoretical terms, morphological categorization of Japanese as agglutinative is common (Shibatani 1990, Kiyose 1991, Shibatani, Kageyama 2016). It is despite contradictive definitions of agglutination in first sources mentioning this concept (von Humboldt 1988, F. von Schlegel in Greenberg 1954). Further insight reveals that the sources mentioning Japanese agglutination often base on its incoherent or contradictive definitions. This shows detachment from the inflectional origin of the term.
Agglutinative inflection features prove valid in practice i.e. in morphological analysis of Japanese. Inflectional word forms, nominal and verbal, with uni-functional marker strings, can easily be parsed into stems and markers. Lexical stems are constant in Japanese nominal forms, while verbal stems show highly regular changes at boundaries of their phonemic structures.
The above facts are largely neglected by majority of sources, on a preconception that “agglutination is not inflection”. Nominal stems are identified with nouns, adnominal grammatical markers being viewed as analytic “particles”. Verbal forms are admittedly described, but with the markers habitually referred to as analytic “auxiliary verbs”. Word forms may hence merge with the phenomena of word formation. This obscures the specifically Japanese grammatical dimensions, with regular, finite values. An alternative approach, based on precise definition of agglutination as a sub-type of inflection, enables systemic description. Individual words can thus be reduced to paradigmatic word forms, with inevitable exceptions to be explained primarily in terms of general rules.
References (selected)
Greenberg, J. H. 1954: A quantitive approach to the morphological typology of language. [In:] R. W. Spencer [ed.] Method and Perspective in Anthropology: Papers in Honor of Wilson D. Wallis. Minneapolis, 192-220.
Humboldt, Wilhelm von 1988/1836. On Language. Transl. Peter Heath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kiyose Gisaburō 1991. Nihongo no kōchakuteki seikaku – nihongo no dōshi wa katsuyō nado shinai. The Agglutinative Character of Japanese Language: Japanese Verbs Do Not Conjugate. [In:] Gisaburō N. Kiyose [ed.] Nihongo to Arutaigogaku. Japanese Linguistics and Altaic Linguistics. Tokyo: Meiji Shoin, 26-53.
Shibatani, Masayoshi 1990. The Languages of Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shibatani, Masayoshi, Taro Kageyama 2016. „Introduction to the Handbook of Japanese Languages and Linguistics.” [In:] Kageyama, Kishimoto [eds.] 2016, vii-xxxiii.
Paper short abstract
This paper compares Japanese and Turkic agglutination, using Turkish as a model. It analyzes the structure of Turkish word forms in contrast with Japanese. By examining the lexeme-suffix opposition and the unifunctionality of grammatical markers, it offers insights into Japanese & general typology.
Paper long abstract
Japanese agglutination has more than once been compared to that of Turkic languages, thus justifying a closer comparative analysis of the morphological systems of these two language groups. Using Turkish as an example – owing to its status as the most extensively researched Turkic language and its highly transparent word structure – this paper presents the basic concepts of Turkic morphological description.
Particular attention is given to inflected parts of speech (nominal and verbal ones), their core grammatical categories, and the mechanisms of inflectional-form production. The analysis examines the opposition lexeme vs suffix, the rules of suffix ordering, as well as indicators of “connection strength” within synthetic forms, specifically vocalic and consonantal harmony (including formal stability and variability). Furthermore, grammatical markers are discussed in terms of their unifunctionality.
The study delineates the distinctions between synthetic and analytic forms, as well as between inflectional and derivative forms, while addressing the challenges inherent in their differentiation. Each element of the Turkish morphological system is contrasted with Japanese agglutination. Given its complex agglutinative morphology, Turkish serves as an effective comparative framework for both Japanese studies and general linguistic typology.
Select bibliography
• Ersen-Rasch, Margarete I.: Türkische Grammatik für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene, Ismaning 2004: Max Hueber Verlag
• Huszcza, Romuald & Ikushima, Maho & Majewski, Jan: Gramatyka japońska. Podręcznik z ćwiczeniami, I, Kraków 2003: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
• Johanson, Lars: Turkic, Cambridge 2021: Cambridge University Press
• Johanson, Lars: The structure of Turkic — Lars Johanson, Éva Á. Csató (eds): The Turkic languages, London / New York 2022: Routledge, 26-59
• Kowalski, Tadeusz: Próba charakterystyki języków tureckich — Myśl Karaimska, 1945-1946, 23:1.35-73
• Rickmeyer, Jens: Japanische Morphosyntax, Tübingen 2014: Edition Julius Groos im Stauffenburg Verlag
• Stachowski, Marek: Gramatyka języka tureckiego w zarysie, Kraków 2009: Księgarnia Akademicka
Paper short abstract
Japanese is often labeled agglutinative without critical reflection. This paper revisits agglutination as a scalar typological concept and applies it to Japanese, showing that while many features are agglutinative, others complicate a simple classification.
Paper long abstract
Japanese has long been classified as a prototypical agglutinative language in both general linguistic typology and Japanese linguistics. This classification is often treated as self-evident and used as a descriptive starting point rather than as an object of critical reflection. At the same time, the notion of agglutination is frequently employed in an underspecified manner and rarely discussed in relation to other typological concepts such as inflection, fusion, or cumulative exponence.
The aim of this paper is to re-examine the status of Japanese as an agglutinative language by revisiting agglutination as a general typological concept. From a contemporary typological perspective, agglutination is not understood as a discrete language type, but as a scalar phenomenon defined by a set of interacting parameters, including the formal uniformity of grammatical morphemes, the transparency of morpheme boundaries, the mode of attachment to lexical stems, and the degree to which grammatical meanings are accumulated or kept separate.
On the basis of these parameters, the paper outlines a prototypical model of agglutination and situates individual languages along a continuum that also includes inflectional and fusional tendencies. This framework is then applied to Japanese, whose grammatical structure displays both strongly agglutinative properties and features that complicate a straightforward classification. Particular attention is paid to phenomena discussed in Japanese linguistics, such as verbal complexes, auxiliary elements, syncretism, and partial functional overlap.
By confronting typological approaches to agglutination with analyses developed within Japanese linguistics, the paper seeks to clarify the descriptive value and limits of the term “agglutinative” as applied to Japanese and to argue for a more nuanced characterization of its grammatical structure.
Selected bibliography
• Haspelmath, Martin et al. (eds.). 2001. Language Typology and Language Universals: An International Handbook. Berlin / New York: Walter de Gruyter.
• Croft, William. 2003. Typology and Universals. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Minegishi, Makoto. 2000. Ruikeiron kara mita bunpō riron. Tokyo: Hitsuji shobō.
• Niwa, Kazuya. 2012. Nihongo wa dono yō-na kōchakugo ka – Yōgen fukugōtai no kenkyū. Tokyo: Hitsuji shobō.
Paper short abstract
This paper analyzes nominal and verbal morphology in Ryukyuan languages from a unifunctional, typological perspective. Focusing on agglutination and inflection, it examines morphological markers in the Suri–Naha dialect and compares them with other Ryukyuan varieties.
Paper long abstract
The Ryukyuan languages (RL) are part of the Japonic language family, therefore there are some similarities among the languages themselves. However, we find that their early documentation and grammatical descriptions were heavily influenced by the agenda and socio-political context of the researchers.
Early syllabaries used either the Latin alphabet, or the kanji-kana majiri style orthography in the case of Japanese researchers. The method of the transcription was often inconsistent even within a single work, and Japanese syllabic system is not fully applicable to the phonetic system of the RL. Therefore, the morphological attributes were not presented systematically. Western works on the grammar of the RL (e.g. Bettelheim) often focused on the similarities to Japanese (Osterkamp 2015, Griesenhofer 2015), and the premise of the research of Japanese linguists (e.g. Hattori) was that the RL are dialects of Japanese (Uemura 1995), therefore the methods and the terminology used in the descriptions are based on the traditional Japanese linguistic perspective. The recent descriptions and comparisons (e.g. Shimoji) are relying on the Western typology structures and methods with inclusion of Japanese terminology, which creates further ambiguity.
The aim of this paper is to examine and compare some of the morphological features of RL. With a systematic perspective on agglutination and inflection introduced by the panel, we analyze the unifunctional aspects of the markers and their grammatical dimensions in the Suri-Naha dialect, and then we compare them to the other RL (e.g. Kurima).
References:
Griesenhofer, C. 2015. B. J. Bettelheim 1849: The first grammar of Ryukyuan. In P. Heinrich, S. Miyara, & M. Shimoji (Eds.), Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages: History, structure, and use, De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 81–110.
Osterkamp, S. 2015. A sketch history of pre-Chamberlainian Western studies of Ryukyuan. In P. Heinrich, S. Miyara, & M. Shimoji (Eds.), Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages: History, structure, and use. De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 61–76.
Shimoji, M. (Ed.) 2022. An introduction to the Japonic languages: Grammatical sketches of Japanese dialects and Ryukyuan languages. Brill.
Uemura, Y. 1995. From Ryukyuan dialectology to general linguistics. Gengo Kenkyū (Journal of the Linguistic Society of Japan), 107, 56–86.