Reconstruction:Proto-Ryukyuan/kita

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This Proto-Ryukyuan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Ryukyuan

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Etymology

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Cognate to Old Japanese (KITA, north), but it is not clear whether this is an early loan from Old/Middle Japanese. See the reconstruction notes for further information.

Pronunciation

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  • Tone class: A?

Noun

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*kita

  1. (obsolete) north
    Synonym: *nisi (general term)

Reconstruction notes

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The general Ryukyuan term for "north" is *nisi, a cognate to Old Japanese 西 (nisi, west). However, the Yamatohama dialect has a distinction: nishi means "west; north wind", but kita only means "north".

Just as *minami (south, obsolete), Jarosz (2023) argues that it is not likely that loanwords from mainland Japanese should just be limited to remote dialects, and not spread throughout Ryukyuan.

Descendants

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  • Northern Ryukyuan:
    • Kunigami: (kita, Uka)
    • Northern Amami Ōshima: (kita, Yamatohama, Ongachi, Yuwan)
    • Southern Amami Ōshima: (xtā / kita, Shodon / Kushi, Yoro)

References

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  • Jarosz, Alexandra (2023) “Common Kyushu-Ryukyuan substratum in maritime vocabulary: A preliminary analysis”, in The Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 7-46