Historical Process of the Emergence of Heavy Syllables in Setouchi-chō in Amami-ōshima: Focusing on the Relative Chronology Regarding the Change of Vowel Raising

Abstract

Focusing on the dialects in Setouchi-chō in Amami-ōshima, which constitute one of the subgroups of Ryukyuan, this paper presents a diachronic analysis of the occurrences of different types of heavy syllables. These are represented by word-final closed syllables in k'uˑp (neck) and Ɂusaˑk (rabbit), the word-internal long syllables in kutuːba (word) and waɾaːbï (child), or word-internal closed syllables in ɸuk'ɾu (paper bag) and Ɂapɾa (oil), in the Shodon dialect of Kakeroma-jima in Setouchi-chō.

To explain how and why such different types of heavy syllables were generated in this area, this paper proposes that a relative chronology between accentual changes, which were supposed to have occurred in this area, and various phonological changes that motivated the appearance of the heavy syllables, must be taken into consideration. The paper also contends that the vowel raising of mid to high vowels (^*o> u, ^*e> ï) must have taken place after the phonological changes that motivated the emergence of those heavy syllables.