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Chapter 5. Autosegmental evaluative morphology in Japanese

Augmentative and diminutive mimetics
  • Takashi Toyoshima
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Topics in Theoretical Asian Linguistics
This chapter is in the book Topics in Theoretical Asian Linguistics

Abstract

Augmentatives and diminutives have never been recognized as such in grammars of Japanese though they constitute well-recognized classes in many languages, under the rubric of evaluative morphology. This study puts forward a view that the Japanese augmentatives and diminutives are found predominantly in the mimetic vocabulary, and especially as autosegmental subphonemic morphemes, thus escaping recognitions as such, in otherwise segmental agglutinative morphology of Japanese.

Abstract

Augmentatives and diminutives have never been recognized as such in grammars of Japanese though they constitute well-recognized classes in many languages, under the rubric of evaluative morphology. This study puts forward a view that the Japanese augmentatives and diminutives are found predominantly in the mimetic vocabulary, and especially as autosegmental subphonemic morphemes, thus escaping recognitions as such, in otherwise segmental agglutinative morphology of Japanese.

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