Fossilized infixes in Seediq : Identification through dialect comparison

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  • セデック語の方言比較から浮き彫りになる化石接中辞
  • セデックゴ ノ ホウゲン ヒカク カラ ウキボリ ニ ナル カセキセツチュウ ジ

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Abstract

This study compares two dialects of Seediq (Atayalic, Austronesian), Paran Seediq and Truku Seediq, and identifies fossilized infixes in their cognates. Each of the cognates discussed in this paper displays a fossilized infix in, either Paran Seediq or Truku Seediq, or both. Fossilized infixes are categorized into three types: a fossilized front infix which is inserted after the initial consonant, a fossilized central infix which is inserted after the middle consonant, and a fossilized back infix which is inserted after the final vowel. This paper deals with the fossilized infixes seen in Seediq; that is, fossilized front and fossilized back infixes. Through a comparison with fossilized infixes in Atayal (Atayalic, Austronesian), the fossilized front infix is reconstructed in Proto-Atayalic as *<əl>, *<ən>, or *<əR>. The fossilized front infix is widely observed in Austronesian languages. This paper demonstrates that it is usually inserted into reduplicated stems; however, Atayalic is peculiar in that the fossilized front infix is rarely inserted into reduplicated stems. On the other hand, the fossilized back infix is only seen in the Atayalic languages. Their function is uncertain; however, they could have been used to create a secret language as infixation causes a radical phonological change to the extent that the original word can not be retrieved. Through a comparison of the fossilized back infixes in Seediq and those in Atayal, the fossilized back infix in Proto-Atayalic is reconstructed as *<ra>.

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