Kasu-type Verbs in Materials Attributed to the Japanese Castaway Gonza

Abstract

Kasu-type verbs are commonly employed in the Satsugu dialect recorded in the set of materials attributed to the Japanese castaway Gonza. In this study, I consider their morphological features and expressive characteristics in the light of research on the history of Japan's ‘central language.’ In doing so, I focus particularly upon such features as each kasu-type verb's relationship to the verb that can be understood as its source of derivation, the meaning of its Russian equivalent, and inconsistencies caused by use alongside other word forms employed in the materials. In terms of morphology, it has become clear that ra-line verbs most frequently take the form of “－ rakasu”; also, four-syllable examples are most common. In terms of their expressive characteristics, we can see that in almost all cases they possess transitivity, that they express completion or superfluity, more than conventional transitive verbs and that they more forcefully convey the position of the actor.