Layers of Words and Volcanic Ash in Japan and Korea

Proto-Japanese was not spoken in Japan during the Jōmon period, yet archaeologists doubt that Japanese was introduced by conquest just prior to the first large tumuli. But if proto-Korean-Japanese accompanied the introduction of Yayoi techniques, the rise of Kofun culture may nevertheless have witne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Japanese studies 2001, Vol.27 (1), p.81-111
Main Author: Unger, J. Marshall
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeological paradigms
Chinese culture
Ethnolinguistics
Etymology
Japan
Japanese culture
Japanese language
Japanese studies
Korea
Korean culture
Language
Lexicology
Linguistics
Semantics
Words
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Summary:Proto-Japanese was not spoken in Japan during the Jōmon period, yet archaeologists doubt that Japanese was introduced by conquest just prior to the first large tumuli. But if proto-Korean-Japanese accompanied the introduction of Yayoi techniques, the rise of Kofun culture may nevertheless have witnessed significant linguistic changes. A number of uncommon or semantically narrow Japanese words have Korean cognates, yet more common or broader near-synonyms do not. A Koguryŏ, Paekche, or Tungusic cognate is often found instead. Such word-pairs suggest an adstratum of borrowings. Early Yamato seems to have been more willing than Silla to adopt words from its neighbors.
ISSN:0095-6848
1549-4721
DOI:10.2307/3591937