1 Introduction
1.1 Location
Owase is spoken in the Owase district of Owase City, which is situated in the southern region of Mie Prefecture. The prosodic system of Owase exhibits distinct features that set it apart from the varieties spoken in other districts of Owase City (Kindaichi 1975), that is, Kuki, Kita-Wauchi, Minami-Wauchi, and Sugari districts (Owase-shi-shi Hensan Junbikai ed. 1969: 652).
1.2 Speakers
As of April 2024, the total population of the Owase district is reported to be 13,695 (Owase City 2024). However, owing to ongoing changes in the prosodic systems among the younger generation, the number of Owase speakers who possess the prosodic system described in this chapter is estimated to be 10,000 or fewer. A previous survey of young people (teens at the time of 2014) conducted by the author documented a change in the prosodic system; the figure of 10,000 is due to the fact that about 3,000 people in their 30s or younger are recorded in the Owase district.
1.3 Classification
Tojo (1954) states that Owase is classified within the Kinki group (see § 2.1 of Chapter 1, this volume). However, Owase exhibits remarkably different prosodic features, both synchronically and diachronically, from well-known varieties of Kinki such as those found in Kyoto and Osaka.
1.4 Previous Studies
Kindaichi (1959) conducted the earliest study of the prosodic system of Owase. Subsequently, Uwano (1987: 31–32) identified diachronic changes that distinguish it from other Kinki varieties across several varieties in Owase City, including the Owase variety, specifically in the tonal mergers of two-mora words between Owase variety and Kinki varieties and the tonal change in the registers. Hirata (2020a) provides a comprehensive description of the prosodic system of Owase, while Hirata (2020b) details the vocative intonation patterns that appear in personal names when calling out to someone.
1.5 Data
All data presented herein are based on a female speaker born in 1954 and were collected through the author’s fieldwork primarily conducted at Owase City Central Community Center, Mie Prefecture. The data were collected by having the speaker pronounce a list of words or short sentences prepared by the author.
1.6 Overview of the Segmental Phonology
Owase has five vowel phonemes (1).
(1) Vowel phonemes
/i, e, a, u, o /
The phoneme /u/ is realized as [ɯ] and vowel length is distinctive. In this chapter, long vowels are transcribed as a sequence of identical vowels, for example /toori/ [toːɾi] ‘street’.
Owase has 15 (or 17) consonant phonemes (2) (Table 5.1).
(2) Consonant phonemes:
/p, t, k, b, d, ɡ, s, h, c, z, m, n, r, j, w, (ɸ,
β )/
Based on fieldwork, the phoneme /c/ is realized as a voiceless alveolar affricate [ts]. The phoneme /z/ can be realized as either an affricate [dz] or a fricative [z]. Alveolo-palatal allophones are systematically observed in alveolar obstruents /c, z, s/, realized as [tɕ], [ʑ ~ dʑ], and [ɕ], respectively, before /i/ or /j/. The phonemes /ɸ/ and /
Table 5.1
Consonant phoneme inventory and typical allophones. (Phonemes are indicated by slashes, whereas typical allophones are listed in parentheses. Symbols in square brackets are used for phonemic transcriptions where the phonetic realization may not be immediately apparent.)
|
Bilabial |
Labio-dental |
Alveolar |
Alveolo-Palatal |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Plosive |
/p/ |
/b/ |
/t/ |
/d/ |
/k/ |
/ɡ/ |
||||||||
|
Affricate |
/c/ [ts] |
/z/ [dz] |
(tɕ) |
(dʑ) |
||||||||||
|
Nasal |
/m/ |
/n/ |
||||||||||||
|
Tap |
/r/ [ɾ] |
|||||||||||||
|
Fricative |
/ɸ/ |
/ |
/s/ |
(z) |
(ɕ) |
(ʑ) |
/h/ |
|||||||
|
Approximant |
/j/ |
/w/ |
||||||||||||
The syllable structure in Owase follows the pattern C1 G V1 V2 C2, with the nucleus vowel V1 being obligatory. The other elements—the onset consonant C1, glide G, second element of a diphthong or long vowel V2, and coda consonant C2—are optional. The coda slot C2 can be filled by either a nasal or the same obstruent as the onset of the following syllable. The glide /j/ can occupy the G slot. The rhyme slots, namely V1, V2, and C2, each have a length of one mora.
2 Word-Prosodic System
2.1 Classification Based on Uwano (1989, 1999)
The prosodic system of Owase is classified as Uwano’s (1989, 1999) multipattern system, which is defined as the system where the number of tonal contrasts increases proportionally with the word length (see § 2.4 of Chapter 1, this volume).
2.2 Number and Nature of Tonal Contrasts
Since the prosodic system of Owase is classified as a multipattern system, defining the number of contrastive tonal patterns poses challenges (see § 2.4 of Chapter 1, this volume).
Hirata (2020a) proposes that the prosodic system of Owase is characterized by a lowering accent kernel (see § 2.3 of Chapter 1, this volume) and three registers (see § 2.3.2 of Chapter 1, this volume). Such a system theoretically predicts that the number of contrastive tonal patterns for n-mora words is 3n + 2 (Hirata 2020a).1 However, as Hirata (2020a) also notes, this prediction is not borne out due to numerous gaps in the proposed framework. For example, three-mora words exhibit only five contrastive patterns.
Based on Hirata (2020a), this chapter posits that Owase has a lowering accent kernel and three registers:
The tonal patterns of two- to four-mora nouns produced in isolation in Owase (Hirata 2020a) are illustrated in Table 5.2. The diacritics “⸢” and “⸣” indicate a pitch rise and fall, respectively, between morae, whereas “⸣⸣” denotes a pitch fall within a mora (see § 2.2 of Chapter 1, this volume). Owase has no monomoraic lexical words. Consequently, in monosyllabic words with a monophthong in their syllable nucleus, the vowel is lengthened, resulting in bimoraic words such as Type
Table 5.2
Tonal patterns of Owase
|
Unaccented |
Initial-accented |
Second-accented |
Third-accented |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2- |
Register |
Type |
Type |
||
|
u⸢si ‘cattle’ |
⸢i⸣si ‘stone’ |
||||
|
Register |
Type |
||||
|
⸢ito ‘thread’ |
|||||
|
3- |
Register |
Type |
Type |
Type |
Type |
|
saka⸢na ‘fish’ |
⸢i⸣noci ‘life’ |
o⸢to⸣ko ‘man’ |
asi⸢ta ‘tomorrow’ |
||
|
Register |
Type |
||||
|
⸢kuzira ‘whale’ |
|||||
|
4- |
Register |
Type |
Type |
Type |
Type |
|
tomoda⸢ci ‘friend’ |
⸢ka⸣puseru ‘capsule’ |
e⸢ha⸣gaki ‘picture postcard’ |
kami⸢so⸣ri ‘razor’ |
||
|
Register |
Type |
Type |
|||
|
⸢mezi⸣rusi ‘mark’ |
i⸢cizi⸣ku ‘fig’ |
||||
|
Register |
Type |
||||
|
⸢murasa⸣ki ‘purple’ |
Hirata’s (2020a) evidence for a tonal contrast based on the location of the accent kernel in Owase can be observed, for example, in (3), which presents four-mora nouns with Register
|
(3) |
a. |
Type |
⸢ka⸣puseru ‘capsule’ |
|
b. |
Type |
e⸢ha⸣gaki ‘picture postcard’ |
|
|
c. |
Type |
kami⸢so⸣ri ‘razor’ |
As discussed later, Register
Evidence for a tonal contrast based on features other than accent kernel locations—specifically, contrasts that Hirata (2020a) attributes to the registers—is provided, for example, by the three four-mora words in (4).
|
(4) |
a. |
Type |
kami⸢so⸣ri |
|
b. |
Type |
i⸢cizi⸣ku |
|
|
b. |
Type |
⸢murasa⸣ki |
The words in (4) equally have a pitch fall from the third to the fourth morae, which Hirata (2020a) interprets as the realization of a lowering kernel located on the third mora. Therefore, following Hirata’s (2020a) framework, the four-mora words in (4) share the common feature of having an accent kernel on the third mora, which is presented in bold. However, despite the identical location of the accent kernel, the three words in (4) are distinguished by the pitch patterns of the portion preceding the accented mora. Hirata (2020a) refers to such patterns contributing to the paradigmatic contrasts in this portion as Registers
In patterns where the accent kernel is on the word-final mora, a pitch fall is not realized when the word is produced in isolation, thereby leading to neutralization between, for example, Type
|
(5) |
a. |
Type |
asi⸢ta ‘tomorrow’ |
asi⸢ta⸣=wa ‘tomorrow=top’ |
|
b. |
Type |
saka⸢na ‘fish’ |
sakana=⸢wa ‘fish=top’ |
|
|
c. |
Type |
⸢kuzira ‘whale’ |
⸢kuzira⸣=wa ‘whale=top’ |
As illustrated in (5b), Type
Register
|
(6) |
a. |
Type |
⸢ka⸣puseru ‘capsule’ |
→ |
kono ⸢ka⸣puseru ‘this capsule’ |
|
b. |
Type |
⸢mezi⸣rusi ‘mark’ |
→ |
kono ⸢mezi⸣rusi ‘this mark’ |
|
|
c. |
Type |
⸢murasa⸣ki ‘purple’ |
→ |
ko⸢no murasa⸣ki ‘this purple color’ |
|
|
~ ko⸢no⸣ murasa⸣ki |
This alternation in Register
As previously noted, Hirata’s (2020a) framework has numerous gaps. For instance, Register
2.3 Domain of Lexical Tone Assignment
The domain of tone assignment is primarily the lexical word, although the tone of Type
As presented in (5b), Type
|
(7) |
a. |
Type |
saka⸢na ‘fish’ |
sakana=⸢wa ‘fish=top’ |
|
b. |
Type |
⸢i⸣noci ‘life’ |
⸢i⸣noci=wa ‘life=top’ |
|
|
c. |
Type |
o⸢to⸣ko ‘man’ |
o⸢to⸣ko=wa ‘man=top’ |
|
|
d. |
Type |
asi⸢ta ‘tomorrow’ |
asi⸢ta⸣=wa ‘tomorrow=top’ |
As noted in § 2.2, the high pitch of Type
|
(8) |
a. |
Type |
saka⸢na ‘fish’ |
Type |
ara⸢u ‘to wash’ |
|
→ sakana ara⸢u ‘(I) wash the fish.’ |
|||||
|
b. |
Type |
saka⸢na ‘fish’ |
Type |
⸢i⸣tamu ‘to be damaged’ |
|
|
→ sakana ⸢i⸣tamu ‘Fish are damaged.’ |
|||||
|
c. |
Type |
kore=⸢wa ‘this=top’ |
Type |
o⸢to⸣ko ‘man’ |
|
|
→ kore=wa o⸢to⸣ko ‘This is a man.’ |
|||||
|
d. |
Type |
kore=⸢wa ‘this=top’ |
Type |
asi⸢ta ‘tomorrow’ |
|
|
→ kore=wa asi⸢ta ‘This is tomorrow.’ |
|||||
|
e. |
Type |
kore=⸢wa ‘this=top’ |
Type |
⸢mezi⸣rusi ‘mark’ |
|
|
→ kore=wa ⸢mezi⸣rusi ‘This is a mark.’ |
|||||
|
f. |
Type |
kore=⸢wa ‘this=top’ |
Type |
i⸢tizi⸣ku ‘fig’ |
|
|
→ kore=wa i⸢tizi⸣ku ‘This is a fig.’ |
|||||
|
g. |
Type |
kuru⸢ma ‘car’ |
Type |
⸢hairu ‘to enter’ |
|
|
→ kuru⸢ma⸣ hairu ‘The car enters.’ |
|||||
|
h. |
Type |
kore=⸢wa ‘this=top’ |
Type |
⸢dango ‘dumpling’ |
|
|
→ kore=⸢wa⸣ dango ‘This is a dumpling.’ |
|||||
This could suggest that the high pitch of Type
The high pitch of Type
|
(9) |
a. |
Type |
saka⸢na ‘fish’ |
sakana=gu⸢ra⸣i ‘fish=at_least’ |
|
b. |
Type |
⸢a⸣bura ‘oil’ |
⸢a⸣bura=gu⸢ra⸣i ‘oil=at_least’ |
|
|
c. |
Type |
o⸢to⸣ko ‘man’ |
o⸢to⸣ko=gu⸢ra⸣i ‘man=at_least’ |
|
|
d. |
Type |
asi⸢ta ‘tomorrow’ |
asi⸢ta⸣=gu⸢ra⸣i ‘tomorrow=at_least’ |
As presented in (9a), the high pitch of Type
2.4 Tone-Bearing Units
Determining the tone-bearing in Owase is challenging. The “counting unit” for measuring phonological length or distance (McCawley 1978; see § 2.7 of Chapter 1, this volume) has yet to be fully investigated. While the mora serves as the unit bearing the accent kernel in Register
The fact that the mora is the unit bearing the accent kernel in Register
|
(10) |
a. |
Type |
vs. |
Type |
|
|
inza⸢i⸣si ‘Inzai City’ |
egu⸢za⸣iru ‘EXILE’ (A band’s name) |
||||
|
b. |
Type |
vs. |
Type |
||
|
to⸢o⸣ri ‘street’ |
⸢go⸣oru ‘goal’ |
||||
|
c. |
Type |
vs. |
Type |
||
|
o⸢n⸣na ‘woman’ |
⸢ka⸣nna ‘plane (woodworking tool)’ |
||||
|
d. |
Type |
vs. |
Type |
||
|
senta⸢k⸣ki ‘washing machine’ |
suku⸢ra⸣ppu ‘scrap’ |
In (10a), the second syllable is heavy with a diphthong; in (10b), the first syllable is heavy with a long vowel; in (10c), the first syllable is heavy with a nasal in the coda; and in (10d), the penultimate syllable is heavy with an obstruent in the coda. The examples on the left have an accent kernel on the second mora of the heavy syllable, while those on the right have it on the first mora.
However, a contrast like (10) is not found in Register
|
(11) |
a. |
⸢mome⸣n ‘cotton’ |
b. |
⸢jaro⸣o ‘guy’ |
|
c. |
⸢cvcv⸣ncv (meaning omitted) |
d. |
⸢musi⸣nkee ‘insensibility’ |
In these four words, the accent kernel is located on the second mora counting from the beginning of the word, thus making them appear to be Type
The question of counting units in Owase remains an area for future research. Hirata (2020a) highlights that the Latin Stress Rule (Kubozono 1996) constitutes part of the loanword accentuation rules in Owase, just as it does in Tokyo Japanese. This rule dictates that an accent kernel is placed on the penultimate syllable if it is heavy; otherwise, on the antepenultimate syllable. Given that the aforementioned rule is sensitive to the weight of the penultimate syllable, some loanword accentuation patterns described in Hirata (2020a) may indicate that the counting unit in Owase is the syllable.
2.5 Directionality
In Owase, determining directionality, which is defined as the direction in which the position of word-level prominence is calculated (see § 2.8 of Chapter 1, this volume), is also challenging. While systematic gaps in the distribution of the accent kernel could hint at directionality, such an explanation is not evident.
Register
However, if the Latin Stress Rule discussed in § 2.4 applies to loanword accentuation in Owase, the right boundary of the words is used to determine the prominence location, as this rule places the accent kernel on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable. This may suggest a right-to-left directionality in loanword accentuation rules.
2.6 Obligatoriness and Culminativity
Obligatoriness requires at least one prominence within the word domain, whereas culminativity requires at most one prominence within the word domain (Hyman 2006; see § 2.5 of Chapter 1, this volume). The prosodic system of Owase meets the culminativity requirement but not the obligatoriness requirement.
As discussed in § 2.2, Owase does not exhibit tonal patterns with two or more metrical prominences within the word domain, thereby satisfying the former requirement. In other words, once a pitch fall occurs, another pitch fall does not occur in the same bunsetsu. In addition, Owase includes Type
Although accent kernels provide prominence to words, not all tonal patterns that lack an accent kernel are without prominence. Tonal patterns lacking an accent kernel include Type
2.7 Prosodic Compound Rules
The prosodic compound rules in Owase are right-dominant: the tonal pattern of the compounds is determined by the lexical information of the second member, with the first playing no role.
The tonal pattern of a compound is determined by its second member, referring to its lexical rather than prosodic information. For instance, although eki ‘station’, sjugi ‘principle’, and iro ‘color’ all belong to Type
|
(12) |
a. |
Type |
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
b. |
Type |
|
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
c. |
Type |
|
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
d. |
Type |
|
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
||
|
Type |
||
|
→ Type |
2.8 Merger and Split of Historic Tonal Classes
The correspondences in tonal classes of one- and two-syllable nouns between Middle Japanese (MJ) (see § 2.10 of Chapter 1, this volume) and Owase are illustrated in Table 5.3.
Table 5.3
Correspondences in tonal classes between MJ and Owase
|
MJ tonal classes |
Owase tonal classes |
|---|---|
|
1.1 |
Type |
|
1.2 |
Type |
|
1.3 |
Type |
|
2.1 |
Type |
|
2.2 |
Type |
|
2.3 |
|
|
2.4 |
Type |
|
2.5 |
While Owase exhibits the merging of Classes 2.2 with 2.3 and Classes 2.4 with 2.5, similar to the Nairin and Churin types, it differs from these in that it retains the distinction between Classes 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. Uwano (1987: 31) emphasizes that the prosodic system of Owase is a subcategory of the Chuo type, developed through tonal changes from the same system found in the Katsuura variety.
3 Detailed Description of the Prosodic System
3.1 Alternation in Register γ Words
As mentioned in § 2.2, Tonal Register
This alternation occurs, for example, when the Type
|
(13) |
Pitch patterns of Register |
||
|
a. |
Type |
ko⸢no⸣ ame ‘this rain’ |
|
|
b. |
Type |
ko⸢no⸣ ame=wa ‘this rain=top’ |
|
|
c. |
Type |
ko⸢no⸣ kuzira ‘this whale’ |
|
|
d. |
Type |
ko⸢no⸣ kuzira⸣=wa ‘this whale= |
|
|
top |
|||
|
~ ko⸢no kuzira⸣=wa |
|||
The alternation of Register
|
(14) |
a. |
Type |
Type |
|
→ usi=⸢o⸣ kau ‘(I) feed cows.’ |
|||
|
b. |
Type |
Type |
|
|
→ kaze=⸢ga⸣ hui-ta ‘Wind blew.’ |
|||
|
c. |
Type |
Type |
|
|
→ ⸢huru⸣ ame ‘the rain that falls’ |
|||
There is no alternation when the pitch fall due to the accent kernel is realized on the preceding bunsetsu; in such cases, Register
|
(15) |
a. |
Type |
Type |
|
→ aso⸢ko⸣=ni ⸢kuru ‘(I) come there.’ |
|||
|
b. |
Type |
Type |
|
|
→ aso⸢ko⸣ kuru ‘(I) come there.’ |
|||
|
c. |
Type |
Type |
|
|
→ ⸢kabuto⸣=o ⸢dasu ‘(I) put out the helmet’. |
|||
|
d. |
Type |
Type |
|
|
→ ⸢kabuto⸣ dasu ‘(I) put out the helmet.’ |
|||
The above discussion demonstrates that Register
4 Phrase-Level Prosody
4.1 Interrogative Intonation
As of May 2024, research regarding interrogative intonation has not been conducted.
4.2 Vocative Intonation
In some varieties like traditional Koshikijima in Kagoshima Prefecture (Kubozono 2018) and Kobayashi (Hirata 2018), a vocative particle is obligatory in every vocative sentence; however, Owase lacks an overt morphological marker for vocative forms, instead relying on intonation to differentiate vocative forms from citation or declarative forms.
According to Hirata’s (2020b) study on the vocative form of personal names, vocative intonation depends on whether the fall due to an accent kernel is realized. For names with an accent kernel in a non-final mora, such as Type
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 14J09547 and 16H06784. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the speakers of Owase for their kind cooperation during the fieldwork. Their contributions were invaluable to this research. Any remaining errors or inaccuracies are, of course, solely the responsibility of the author.
The expected number of tonal patterns should be 3(n+1) assuming no restrictions on the location of the accent kernel within a word, a tonal class lacking an accent kernel (unaccented class), and three registers with no restrictions on their combinations with accentuations exist. However, since one of the three registers, specifically, Register
References
Hirata, Shu (2018) Kobayashi hōgen no yobikake intonēshon [Vocative intonation in Kobayashi Japanese]. Proceedings of the 157th Meeting of the Linguistic Society of Japan: 438–441.
Hirata, Shu (2020a) Mie-ken Owase hōgen no akusento kenkyū [Accentology of the Owase dialect in Mie Prefecture]. Tokyo: Hituzi Syobo.
Hirata, Shu (2020b) Mie-ken Owase hōgen no jinmei akusento to yobikake intonēshon [The accentuation of person’s names and vocative intonation in the Owase dialect in Mie Prefecture]. Proceedings of the 161st Meeting of the Linguistic Society of Japan: 368–373.
Hyman, Larry M. (2006) Word-prosodic typology. Phonology 23(2): 225–257.
Kindaichi, Haruhiko (1959) Kumanonada engan shohōgen no akusento—Kitamuro-gun no bu [The accents of dialects spoken in Kumano-nada coastal area: The part of Kitamuro-gun]. In Nagoya Daigaku Bungaku-bu jisshūnen kinen ronshū [Essays in celebration of the 10th anniversary of School of Letters, Nagoya University], 681–702. Nagoya: Nagoya Daigaku Bungaku-bu.
Kindaichi, Haruhiko (1975) Nihon no hōgen: Akusento no hensen to sono jissō [Japanese dialects: The change of accent and its states]. Tokyo: Kyoiku Shuppan.
Kubozono, Haruo (1996) Syllable and accent in Japanese: Evidence from loanword accentuation. The Bulletin of the Phonetic Society of Japan 211: 71–82.
Kubozono, Haruo (2018) Kagoshima hōgen to koshikijima hōgen no yobikake intonēshon [Vocative intonation in Kagoshima and Koshikijima Japanese].Proceedings of the 157th Meeting of the Linguistic Society of Japan: 432–437.
McCawley, James D. (1978) What is a tone language? In Victoria A. Fromkin (ed.) Tone: A linguistic survey, 113–131. New York: Academic Press.
Owase City (2024) Nenrei-betsu danjo-betsu jinkō-chō [Age- and gender-specific population survey]. Retrieved 1 April 2004 from https://www.city.owase.lg.jp/cmsfiles/contents/0000004/4231/R6.5.pdf.
Owase-shi-shi Hensan Junbikai (ed.) (1969) Owase-shi-shi (gekan) [The history of Owase City (last volume)]. Mie: Owase-shi.
Tojo, Misao (1954) Nihon hōgengaku [Japanese dialectology]. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan.
Uwano, Zendo (1987) Nihon hondo shohōgen akusento no keifu to bunpu (2) [Genealogical relationships and the geographical distribution of the accents in Mainland Japan (2)]. Nihon Gakushi-in Kiyo 42–41: 15–70.
Uwano, Zendo (1989) Nihongo no akusento [Accent in Japanese]. In Miyoko Sugito (ed.) Kōza Nihongo to Nihongo kyōiku 2: Nihongo no onsei on’in jō [Series on Japanese language and Japanese language education 2: Japanese phonetics and phonology volume 1], 178–205. Tokyo: Meiji Shoin.
Uwano, Zendo (1999) Classification of Japanese accent systems. In Shigeki Kaji (ed.) Proceedings of symposium cross-linguistic studies of tonal phenomena: Tonogenesis, typology, and related topics, 151–178. Tokyo: ILCAA.