2.1 Inventory of Phonemes

Shiraho has six vowels (/i, e, a, o, u, ɨ/). The vowel /e/ is realized as [je] optionally in syllable-initial position (e.g., [jema]~[ema] /ema/ ‘the Yaeyama region’). The vowel /ɨ/ only follows /s/, /z/, and /c/ (e.g., [amisɨna] /amisɨna/ ‘sugar cane’, [mizɨ] /mizɨ/ ‘water’, [kuːnatsɨju] /kuunacɨyu/ ‘Wishing for a good harvest in the coming year’). Shiraho seems to make a distinction between long and short vowels (e.g., [tu̥r̥u] /turu/ ‘bird’ vs. [tuːruː] /tuuruu/ ‘lamp’), but sometimes the distinction becomes blurred (e.g., [pitu]~[pituː] /pitu/ ‘people’). Diphthongs are descending diphthongs (e.g., /baima/ ‘1pl.excl’, /kui/ ‘voice’, /yoi/ ‘celebration’) and two ascending diphthongs (e.g., /muanu/ ‘(x) does not think’ and /uencyu/ ‘mouse’).

Shiraho has fifteen consonants (/p, b, t, d, k, g, c, s, z, f, h, m, n̥, n, r/) and two glides (/w, y/). As with other Yaeyaman dialects, aspiration is prominent in Shiraho. Aspiration occurs where the word starts with a voiceless obstruent. Because of aspiration, following vowels and sonorant consonants (i.e., /n, m, r/) are devoiced (e.g., [sɨ̥n̥u] /sɨnu/ ‘yesterday’, [tu̥r̥u] /turu/ ‘bird’), but this is not a phonologically distinctive feature. However, the voiceless nasal dental consonant /n̥/ and voiced consonant /n/ contrast in the word-initial position (e.g., [n̥da] /n̥da/ ‘why’ and [nda] /nda/ ‘appear (infinitive form)’). The consonant /h/ has allophones according to which vowel follows it: [ç] before the vowel /i/, [ɸ] before the vowel /u/, and [h] in elsewhere. In intervocalic position, /h/ sometimes becomes voiced or drops (e.g., [araɸu]~[araɦu]~[arau] /arahu/ ‘wash’). The consonant /f/ always appears as geminate (e.g., [ɸɸa] /ffa/ ‘saddle’, [nuɸɸi] /nuffi/ ‘sleep (imperative form)’). It may be possible to analyze [ɸɸ] as /hh/, but I do not adopt this analysis. The consonant /c/ is the voiceless affricate [ts]. The consonant /r/ is pronounced as [ɾ].

2.2 Syllable Structure and Phonotactics

The syllable structure in Shiraho is (#(C1) C2) (G) V1 (V2) (C3).¹ There is an obligatory vowel (V1), but other slots are optional. C1 can be filled by /s/, /f/, /m/, and /n/ only in word initial position (e.g., /ssu/ ‘cut’, /ffu/ ‘fall’, /mma/ ‘horse’, and /nta/ ‘mud’). When /n/ fills C1, it becomes a homorganic nasal with C2 (e.g., [nta] /nta/ ‘mud’ vs. [ŋgo] /ngo/ ‘go’). The /G/ slot is filled by /w/ or /y/. /w/ precedes only /a/. While other Yaeyaman dialects have sequences like [kʷaː] /kwaa/ ‘pedal’ (Funauki dialect (Urabe 2018), Shiraho has labialized consonants only in [mikkʷa] /mikkwa/ ‘blind person’. /y/ follows /p, b, c, s, z, k/ and palatalizes the preceding consonant. /y/ precedes only /u, o, a/. V2 can be occupied by /i/, /e/, /a/, or a vowel that is identical to V1. C3 can be filled by a voiceless obstruent in word-medial position and /n/ in word-medial and -final positions. In word-medial position, geminate consonants consist of C3 and C2 of the onset of the next syllable. C3 is always the same as C2 in the following syllable (e.g., /sip.pe/ (C2VC3.C2V) ‘much’).

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Figure 6.2

Falling-1: /mizɨ/ ‘water’

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Figure 6.3

Falling-2: /nabi/ ‘pan’

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2.3 Mora

Regarding syllable structure, V1, V2, C1, C3 each carry a mora (e.g., suu (CV1V2/ 2 morae) ‘tide’, ffa (C1C2V1/ 2 morae) ‘saddle’, kan (C2V1C3/ 2 morae) ‘crab’). In this schema, it is expected that the syllable in Shiraho can carry a maximum of four morae, but this is not attested.

2.4 Word-Level Prosody

Shiraho has a three-pattern pitch accent system that is determined lexically (Nakagawa and Celik 2019). The accent patterns are shown in figures 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4. Falling-1 is a steep falling pattern in which pitch falls around the second syllable. Falling-2 is a slightly falling pattern in which the pitch falls around the second syllable, but the degree of fall in pitch is lower than Falling-1. The level pattern keeps a high pitch.

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Figure 6.4

Level: /ami/ ‘rain’

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According to Nakagawa and Celik (2019), the falling-2 and level patterns are in complementary distribution; words with the falling-2 pattern have an initial voiced consonant, and words with the level pattern begin with a vowel or voiceless consonant.

In compound nouns, the tonal pattern is determined by that of the first constituent.

(171) a. Falling-1: /nisi+kaci/ ‘north wind’ (F1+F1), /mizi+maffa/ ‘water pillow’ (F1+F2), /mizɨ+uki/ ‘water bucket’ (F1+L),

b. Falling-2: /yamatu+pitu/ ‘Japanese’ (F2+F1), /macci+yama/ ‘pine-clad hill’ (F2+F2), /macci+kii/ ‘pine tree’ (F2+L),

c. Level: /pari+sigutu/ ‘needle work’ (L+F1), /aba+nabi/ ‘oil pan’ (L+F2), /kii+usi/ ‘mill made from wood’ (L+L),

2.5 Intonation

Intonation in Shiraho distinguishes sentence types: a rising intonation in polar questions, falling in content questions, falling sharply in imperatives, and flat in declaratives. Examples of each sentence type are shown in § 11.1. Intonation changes depending on whether the sentence is with or without final particles. For example, the intonation falls sharply in imperatives (e.g., tupi! ‘Fry!’), but not when ⸗ba is attached to imperative form (e.g., tupiba! ‘Fry!’).

3.1 Morphological Units

In this paper, I distinguish three morphological units: word, affix, and clitic. The word has a fixed order within it, so root and affixes are arranged in order. For example, within lexical nouns the diminutive suffix -ntama and the plural suffix -nda are arranged in the order root-diminutive-plural (e.g., maya-ntama-nda (cat-dim-pl) ‘kittens’). Affixes and clitics differ in their distribution. While an affix is included within a word, a clitic is attached to a phrase. For example, ⸗obi (only) is attached to a verbal phrase, not a single word.

(172)

miri	hiiruobi
mir-i	hiir-u⸗obi
look-inf	ben-npst⸗only

‘(S/he) just takes care of me.’

In Shiraho, suffixes and enclitics are abundant, but prefixes and proclitics are rare. bii- ‘male’ and mii- ‘female’ are the only prefixes found in Shiraho (e.g., bii-turu ‘a cock’).² No proclitics are found. As with other Japonic languages, suffixes abound in Shiraho.

3.2 Word Class

Shiraho distinguishes six word classes based on syntactic and morphological criteria. Nouns fill the head of the NP. Verb inflects for tense and mood and fills the predicate of the clause. Adjectives take adjectivalizer suffixes -har-/-sar-/-har- and are accompanied by a negative verb to encode negation. Adverbs modify verbal predicates. Adnominals can only be the modifier of an NP. Particles are always attached to phrases and clauses.

3.3 Grammatical Relations

Subject is marked with the nominative marker ⸗nu and tends to be topicalized with the topic marker ⸗ya in narrative data. The object appears without markers, but is marked with ⸗yu or ⸗ba in narrative converbal clauses. The indirect object is marked with the dative marker ⸗go. In (173), the subject (okkan ‘mother’) is marked with ⸗nu and the object (kee ‘gruel’) is not overtly marked.

(173)

bainu	okkannu	meenu	ii	kee	takitayoo …
bai⸗nu	okkan⸗nu	mee⸗nu	ii	kee	tak-ita⸗yoo
1pl.excl⸗gen	mother⸗nom	rice⸗gen	meal	gruel	boil-seq⸗sfp

‘Our mother cooked rice.’

Shiraho has a S(X)OV and modifier-head word order. It has a nominative-accusative alignment system. Nominative is marked with ⸗nu and accusative is without markers basically and is marked with ⸗yu or ⸗ba depending on the clause type. Occasionally intransitive subjects are marked with ⸗yu or ⸗ba. The same behavior of ⸗yu and ⸗ba is reported in the literature on other dialects (e.g., Harada (2015)), but details are unclear.

4.1 Pronouns

The personal pronouns are summarized in Table 6.1. The first- and second-person singular have alternative forms depending on the case marking. baa/ daa are the forms for the nominative/genitive (see (187a) and (199a)), while banu/danu appear in other circumstances.

Plural forms do not have alternative forms based on grammatical relations as their singular counterparts do. The first-person plural distinguishes between inclusive and exclusive. baima is the basic exclusive form and banda is rarely used.

(174)

a.

beema	keera.
beema	keer-a
1pl.incl	return-vol

‘Let’s go home.’

b.

baima	pitegiya	deema	piteginka	gumahadaraa.
baima	pitegi⸗ya	deema	pitegi⸗nka	guma-ha⸗daraa
1pl.excl	field⸗top	2sg	field⸗comp	small-adj⸗sfp

‘Our field is smaller than yours.’

c.

unu	iiya	bandadu	kaki	sikeru.
unu	ii⸗ya	banda⸗du	kak-i	sik-er-u
this	picture⸗top	1pl.excl⸗foc	write-inf	put-prf-npst

‘This picture is what we drew.’

The third-person pronouns usita (singular) and usita-nda (plural) refer to a person or people who is/are neither the speaker nor the addressee. While speakers of Shiraho used this form in our elicitation sessions, these forms never appeared in narrative and conversation data. In narrative and conversational data, the demonstrative pronouns (kuri and uri) are used to refer to non-participants.

(175)

a.

usitasi	sungara.
usita⸗si	s-u-n⸗gara
3⸗ins	do-npst-ind⸗conj

‘S/he will do it by himself/herself.’

b.

usitandanu	sungara.
usita-nda⸗nu	s-u-n⸗gara
3-pl⸗nom	do-npst-ind⸗conj

‘They will do it.’

The reflexive pronoun, which takes the subject NP as its antecedent, is duu. This pronoun is derived from duu ‘body’.

(176)

tarooya	duunu	pitegi	duusi	keesero.
taroo⸗ya	duu⸗nu	pitegi	duu⸗si	kees-er-∅-o
Taroo⸗top	refl⸗gen	field	refl⸗ins	cultivate-prog-npst-ind

‘Taroo (proper name) is cultivating his field by himself.’

4.2 Lexical Nouns

Lexical nouns take suffixes: the diminutive suffix -ntama, the plural suffix -nda, and the location suffix -nta. The diminutive suffix refers to a young child and small animals (e.g., yarabi-ntama ‘a child’, maya-ntama ‘a kitty’). The plural suffix -nda denotes associative plural with proper nouns (e.g., hanako-nda ‘Hanako and others’) and additive plural with other human, animal, and non-animate nouns (e.g., sara-nda ‘dishes’). The location suffix -nta is attached to directional nouns (e.g., me-nta ‘the front side’, nisya-nta ‘the north side’).

4.3 Numerals

Numerals consist of a numeral root and classifier suffix. Shiraho has the native set shared among Japonic languages up to ten and uses Sino-Japanese roots to count months (e.g., ici-gacu ‘January’) or for higher numbers. Classifier suffixes take on different forms depending on what is counted. So far five classifiers have been identified: -ci for general nouns, -gara for non-human animate nouns, -tari for humans, -giburi for buildings, and -siki for months. Table 6.2 shows a list of numeral roots and word forms to count general nouns and human beings.

5.1 Inflectional Morphology

Tables 6.3 and 6.4 show the inflectional paradigm and types of stem-ending phonemes respectively. Table 6.3 shows inflectional paradigm of finite verbs. Table 6.4 lists verb stems with different phonemes which are found in Shiraho. Parenthesized forms are unattested, but expected based on the forms of other verbs.

As shown in Table 6.3, finite endings include tense (non-past -u,-∅ / past -ta), indicative (-n/-o), volitional (-a), imperative (-i/-u), and prohibitive (-una). -∅ is postulated in non-past indicative forms because there is a contrast between the past with an overt tense suffix (e.g., kutaro) and the non-past (e.g., ko). While indicatives are marked for tense and polarity, the other forms are not. Verbal stems in Shiraho are divided into three types based on (i) the availability of stem alternation (only class 2), (ii) negative suffix -an (class 1, optionally class 2) versus -un (class 3, optionally class 2), and (iii) imperative suffix -i (classes 1 and 2)/-u (only class 3). Class 3 contains only k- ‘come’. Class 1 includes verbs which show regular inflection. Class 2 verbs are basically those that end in a final -i or -e (e.g., kee-/keer- ‘return’).

Class 2 stems are gradually taking an r-ending stem. For example, mi- ‘look’ historically belonged to class 2, but it has changed into the r-ending stem mir- and now belongs to class 1 in Shiraho.

Additionally, verbs have non-finite ending forms. So far four converb forms have been identified: sequential converb -ita/-ata, conditional converb -(u)cyaa, causal converb -ikii, and simultaneous converb -ici (see § 12.1.2). The conditional, causal, and sequential converbs inflect for polarity. The simultaneous converb always takes an affirmative form. Infinitive forms ending in -i/-a function as a constituent of compounds (yum-i+kak-i (read-inf+write-inf) ‘reading and writing’, § 7.1) and as a narrative converb (§ 12.2).

5.2 Derivational Morphology

There are four suffixes which form new verbal stems: two causative suffixes, -ah and -sim/-simir, the passive/potential suffix -ar/-arir, and the aspect suffix -er/-ar. These suffixes derive a new stem from the verbal root with the order verbal root-(caus)-(pass)-(asp) (e.g., num-ah-ar-atta (drink-caus-pass-seq) ‘be made to drink’, nogor-ar-er-ta (survive-cap-prf-pst) ‘was able to survive’).

5.3 Existential, Stative and Copula

Existential verbs denote the existence of the subject NP and are differentiated by the animacy of the subject NP. Copular verbs are used in equative constructions. The inflectional paradigm of existential, stative, and copular verbs is shown in Table 6.5. Parenthesized forms are unattested, but expected based on the forms of other verbs. The non-animate existential verb has suppletive form neen- for negation. /r/ often assimilates to [t] when the past tense suffix follows and drops when indicative suffix -n follows. These are similar to the inflectional paradigm of tur- in Table 6.3, but with some differences: bur- has the alternative stem bu- for the non-past and past tense. The non-past tense suffix -∅ appears in indicative forms.

6.1 Inflectional Adjectives

Inflectional adjectives consist of a property concept root, adjectivalizer (-har/-sar/-syar), and inflectional suffixes. Inflectional adjectives share their inflectional paradigm with the existential verb ar-, as is shown in Table 6.6. This is because inflectional adjectives are derived using the nominalizer *-sa and the existential verb ar- (Karimata 2015). The three adjectivalizers -har-/-sar-/-syar- are allomorphs, and the choice between them is determined by the final vowel of the preceding root: -sya after i- or e-, -sa after a long vowel, and -ha elsewhere. /r/ assimilates to [t] when the past suffix follows and drops in the non-past forms or in indicative -n forms.

Inflectional adjectives and verbs differ in how negation is expressed. While verbs express negation through suffixation, inflectional adjectives are accompanied by the negative stative verb neen- (see § 11.5). Inflectional adjectives have attributive (177a) and predicative functions (177b).

(177)

a.

bagaharu	munu
baga-har-u	people
young-adj-npst	people

‘Young people’

b.

inagandu	tuusarikii …
inaga⸗n⸗du	tuu-sar-ikii
sea⸗nom⸗foc	far-adj-csl

‘Because the sea is far from here, …’

6.2 Non-inflectional Adjectives

Almost all adjectives belong to the inflectional category, and there is only one root that can be categorized as a non-inflectional adjective: magi ‘big’. This root behaves like a noun, i.e., it takes the copular verb to function as the predicate (178a). In attributive function, there are two ways in which magi functions as a modifier of the head of NP: (i) reduplication plus genitive ⸗nu (178b) and (ii) compounding (e.g., magi+paci (big+pot) ‘a big pot’).

(178)

a.

tanabura	mata	magi	arungara …
tanabura	mata	magi	ar-u-n⸗gara
mud.snail	also	big	exist-npst-ind⸗conj

‘Mud snails are big, so …’

b.

magimaginu	munu
magi~magi⸗nu	munu
big~red⸗gen	thing

‘big one’

7.1 Nominalization

Nominalization occurs through suffixation. Verbs take infinitive suffixes -i (classes 1, 3) or -a (class 2). Nominalized verbs are found in compound nouns (e.g., asa+nuff-i (morning+sleep-inf) ‘oversleeping’, yum-i+kak-i (read-inf+write-inf) ‘reading and writing’). In the case of adjectives, root + adjectivalizer -ha/-sa/-sya function as nouns to nominalize adjectives (e.g., acaha ‘heat, warmth’). Adjectival roots may comprise a part of compound nouns (e.g., buu+zara ‘large plate’).

7.2 Verbalization

There is no way to derive verbs from nouns and adjectives by affixation. For this function, there is a light verb construction in which nouns appear with the light verb s- (do) as in (179).

(179)

suu	pisucyaa	mata	asarago	sii …
suu	pis-ucyaa	mata	asarago	s-i
tide	ebb-cond	again	clamming	do-inf

‘When the tide is on the ebb, (we) go clamming, and …’

7.3 Adjectivalization

There are four suffixes which derive adjectives from verbs: -igisyar- ‘seem to do’ (toor-igisyar-∅-o ‘seems to fall down’), -yassar- ‘easy to do’ (sike-jassa ‘easy to use’), -ingurisyar- ‘difficult to do’ (e.g., en-ingurisya ‘difficult to say’), and -bohar-/bahar- ‘want to do’ (e.g., ibi-bahar-∅-o (plant-des-npst-ind) ‘want(s) to plant’). Inflectional morphology of these suffixes is the same with the inflectional adjectives (§ 6.1). There is no way to derive adjectives from nouns.

8.1 Demonstratives

Demonstratives are summarized in Table 6.7. Shiraho has three series: the ku-series referring to proximate, the ka-series for distal, and the u-series. While the distinction between the ku- and ka- series is clear, the distinction between u- and the others is unclear in their deictic-pronoun usage. The same lack of clarity in the function of the u-series is reported not only on the literature of other Yaeyaman dialects, but also in the literature on other Ryukyuan languages (Uchima 1984). In addition to the demonstrative kuma/uma/kama locatives in Table 6.7, there is another locative series moo, n, and ha. The difference between the two series of demonstrative locatives is unclear.

8.2 Interrogatives and Indefinites

Table 6.8 summarizes interrogatives and indefinites in Shiraho. The number interrogative uu- is a bound morpheme which has to attach to a classifier (see § 4.3). Indefinite forms of number and reason interrogative are lacking in my data.

9.1 The Head

The head is filled with lexical nouns (180a), numerals (180b), and formal nouns (180c). Formal nouns have abstract meanings, and fill the head of NPs. They have to be accompanied by one or more modifiers. So far, seven formal nouns have been identified in Shiraho: basu ‘time’, kami ‘period’, kutu ‘thing’, munu ‘thing’, kata ‘place’, tami ‘purpose’, and kuti ‘manner’.

(180)

a.

uwanu	suuyoo	saikoo	mmahattaro.
uwa⸗nu	suu⸗yoo	saikoo	mma-ha-ttar-o
pig⸗gen	soup⸗sfp	best	tasty-adj-pst-ind

‘Pork soup was the best.’

b.

hutarigo	ssabomuniba	narahu	kutoo …
hutari⸗go	ssabo+muni⸗ba	narah-u	kutu⸗ya
two⸗dat	Shiraho+langauge⸗acc	teach-npst	thing⸗top

‘To teach Shiraho to both of you’

c.

unu	panayu	ibiru	katayu	kimira.
unu	pana⸗yu	ibir-u	kata⸗yu	kimir-a
this	flower⸗acc	plant-npst	place⸗acc	decide-vol

‘Let’s decide where we plant this flower.’

9.2 The Modifier

The modifier slot of an NP can be occupied by an NP with the genitive marker ⸗nu (181), an adnominal, or an adnominal clause (182). With regard to the genitive NP, the semantic relation between the modifier and the head ranges widely. However, unlike other Japonic languages, Shiraho modifiers cannot express an appositional relation (181b).

(181)

a.

ssabunu	hikoozyoo
ssabu⸗nu	hikoozyoo
Shiraho⸗gen	airport

‘Shiraho Airport’

b.

sinsiinu	maa
sinsii⸗nu	maa
teacher⸗gen	grandchild

‘OK The teacher’s grandchild / *The grandchild who teaches in a school’

An adnominal can only occur in the modifier slot. The members of this category are few: yunu ‘same’ (e.g., yunu munu ‘the same thing’), yana ‘unpleasant’ (e.g., yana kutu ‘an unpleasant thing’), and demonstrative adnominals (§ 8.1). An adnominal clause precedes its head. Adnominal clauses can be relative clauses (182a), where the head noun corresponds to an argument or adjunct position inside the clause, or as a non-relative clause (182b), in which the head noun is not interpreted as an argument or adjunct. The head noun can correspond to the subject (182a) or object in the relative clause.

(182)

a.

boorago	nguta	pitu
boora⸗go	ng-u-ta	pitu
Mt.Hoora⸗dat	go-thm-pst	person

‘A person who went to Mt. Hoora’

b.

tamunu	bareru	utu	sikarirusaa.
tamunu	bar-er-u	utu	sik-arir-u⸗saa
fire.wood	split-prog-npst	sound	hear-cap-npst⸗sfp

‘I hear the sound of chopping firewood.’

9.3 Case and Other Role Marking

9.4 Other Marking

Shiraho employs a topic marker, a focus marker, and limiters. These attach to NP or NPs with a case marker. The topic marker and the focus marker will be discussed in § 11.7. The limiter markers indicate addition (183a–183b), limitation (183c–183d), and approximation (183e). The addition markers ⸗yun and ⸗n are differentiated in terms of their distribution. ⸗yun attaches only to subjects and objects (183a), while ⸗n attaches to arguments including subjects and objects (187b), to adjuncts, and to non-nominal phrases (214).

(183) a. Addition (⸗yun)

enpicuyun	arun?
enpicu⸗yun	ar-u-n
pencil⸗add	exist-npst-ind

‘Are there pencils too?’

b. Addition (⸗n)

urigon	hiriba.
uri⸗go⸗n	hir-i⸗ba
this⸗dat⸗add	give-imp⸗sfp

‘Please give (it) to him/her too.’

c. Limitation (⸗obi)

yuruobee	meenu	ii.
yuru⸗obi⸗ya	mee⸗nu	ii
night⸗only⸗top	rice⸗gen	meal

‘(We ate) rice only at night.’

d. Limitation (⸗kaasi)

naciya	amikaasi	ffi.
naci⸗ya	ami⸗kaasi	ff-i
summer⸗top	rain⸗only	fall-inf

‘It rained all summer.’

e. Approximation (⸗bagara)

teegee	icizikanbagara	kakaren.
teegee	icizikan⸗bagara	kakar-er-∅-n
usually	one.hour⸗about	cost-prf-npst-ind

‘It usually takes about one hour.’

10.1 Verbal Predication

The verbal predicate consists of one lexical verb and optionally an auxiliary verb. The minimal verbal predicate consists of only one lexical verb carrying the inflection by itself as in (184a). When the predicate is a compound comprising verb stems, the last constituent carries the inflection as in (184b). In the case of the auxiliary construction, the auxiliary verb carries the inflection as in (184c).

(184)

a.

kurumayu	usiba.
kuruma⸗yu	us-i⸗ba
car⸗acc	push-imp⸗sfp

‘Push the car!’

b.

kiiyu	usitoosi.
kii⸗yu	us-i+toos-i
tree⸗acc	push-inf+knock.down-imp

‘Push down the tree!’

c.

kagonda	amidu	oru.
kago-nda	am-i⸗du	or-u
basket-pl	knit-inf⸗foc	prog.hon-npst

‘(A superior) is knitting baskets.’

Table 6.10 shows the list of auxiliary verbs in Shiraho. Examples of aspectual auxiliaries will be given in § 11.6.

The honorific auxiliary verb or- must be used when the subject should be shown respect. Basically, the honorific verb is mandatory when the subject is older than the speaker.

(185)

daa	okanda	ici	nii	san	sii	wakaroorunteni …
daa	okan-nda	ici	nii	san	sii	wakar-i+or-u-n⸗teni
2sg	mother-pl	one	two	three	four	know-inf+hon-npst-ind⸗quot

‘Mothers, do you know (numeric characters like) one, two, three and four?’

The benefactive auxiliary hi-/hir- indicates that the subject of the clause provides benefit to others by the subject’s action as in (186).

(186)

ututugo	yumi	hiyan.
ututu⸗go	yum-i	hi-ar-∅-n
younger.brother⸗dat	read-inf	ben-prf-npst

‘(I’ve) read (a book) to (my) younger brother.’

10.2 Non-verbal Predication

The nominal predicate consists of NP and the copular verb ya-. The copular verb does not appear when the predicate is non-past, affirmative, non-focused, and in the main clause (187a). (187b) is an example where the copular verb appears in order to encode past tense.

(187)

a.

uree	baa	utamadoo.
uri⸗ya	baa	utama⸗doo
this⸗top	1sg	child⸗sfp

‘S/he is my child.’

b.

urin	hoo	munu	yattaro.
uri⸗n	ha-u	munu	yar-tar-o
that⸗add	eat-npst	thing	cop-pst-ind

‘That was also food.’

11.1 Sentence Types (Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative)

There are three main sentence types in Shiraho: declarative, interrogative, and imperative. Interrogative sentences are divided into content questions that include an interrogative word and polar questions that are marked by rising intonation. Imperative sentences take the imperative form of verbs as the predicate.

(188) a. Declarative sentence

sunu	ssitadu	gakkugo	haruta.
sunu	ss-ita⸗du	gakku⸗go	har-u-ta
kimono	wear-seq⸗foc	school⸗dat	go-thm-pst

‘I wore a kimono and went to the school.’

b. Interrogative sentence (polar question)

isasukacidu	nguu?
isasu⸗kaci⸗du	ng-u
Ishigaki⸗all⸗foc	go-npst

‘Will you go to Ishigaki city?’

c. Interrogative sentence (content question)

ure	nuudu	wakaru?
uri⸗ya	nuu⸗du	wakar-u
that⸗top	what⸗foc	understand-npst

‘Do you know what that is?’

d. Imperative sentence

pii	huki!
pii	huk-i
pii	blow-imp

‘Blow the whistle!’

11.2 Alignment

Shiraho has a nominative-accusative alignment system. The agent of a transitive verb and the subject of an intransitive verb are marked with the same marker ⸗nu (nom), but the patient of the transitive verb appears as a bare noun, or with ⸗yu or ⸗ba.

(189)

bainu	okkannu	meenu	ii	kee	takitayoo …
bai⸗nu	okkan⸗nu	mee⸗nu	ii	kee	tak-ita⸗yoo
1pl.excl⸗gen	mother⸗nom	rice⸗gen	meal	gruel	boil-seq⸗sfp

‘Our mother cooked rice.’

(190)

turunu	tupero.
turu⸗nu	tup-er-∅-o
bird⸗nom	fly-prog-npst-ind

‘A bird is flying.’

As is reported in the literature on other Yaeyaman dialects, ⸗yu is occasionally attached to the subject of an intransitive verbs. What factor determines this behavior of ⸗yu is unclear.

(191)

panyu	nda	kii …
pan⸗yu	nd-a	k-ii
bread⸗acc	appear-inf	come-inf

‘Bread appeared (in the market), and …’

11.3 Possession

The possessive relation is basically expressed by the genitive marker ⸗nu regardless of alienability (e.g., taroo⸗nu huci ‘Taroo’s mouth’ (inalienable) vs. taroo⸗nu nii ‘Taroo’s baggage’ (alienable)). Shiraho has predicative possession as in (192) in which the possessor NP and the possessed NP function respectively as the subject and the direct object of the verb muc- ‘have’.

(192)

utamaya	butu	mucidaru.
utama⸗ya	butu	muc-i⸗du+ar-u
child⸗top	husband	have-inf⸗foc+exist-npst

‘My child has a husband.’

11.4 Valency Changing

Shiraho has two types of valency-changing operations. One is the causative construction, in which the causer functions as the subject. The marking of the causee varies depending on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive. In the case of a transitive verb (193a), the causee is marked with the dative case marker ⸗go. In the case of an intransitive verb (193b), the causee is marked with the accusative case marker ⸗yu.

(193)

a.

utamago	asayu	turahaa/	turasimira.
utama⸗go	asa⸗yu	{tur-ah-a/	tur-asimir-a}
child⸗dat	sea.lettuce⸗acc	{catch-caus-vol/	catch-caus-vol}

‘Let’s make my child gather sea lettuce.’

b.

unu	urigara	mmayu	tupahiyooteni …
unu	uri⸗gara	mma⸗yu	tup-ah-i⸗yoo⸗teni
fl	that⸗abl	horse⸗acc	jump-caus-imp⸗sfp⸗quot

‘Then, let (your) horse jump.’

The other valency-changing operation is the passive construction, in which the agent is marked with the dative and the patient functions as the subject. Passivization in Shiraho, and most of Yaeyaman dialects except for the Hatoma dialect (Lawrence 2011), applies only to transitive verbs, not also to intransitive verbs as in Standard Japanese.

(194)

banciruyu	tandarago	turaran.
banciru⸗yu	tandara⸗go	tur-ar-a-∅-n
guava⸗acc	someone⸗dat	take-pass-prf-npst-ind

‘My guava has been stolen by someone.’

11.5 Polarity

Negative polarity is marked overtly, but the affirmative is not. In order to express negation, verbs take the negative suffix -an/-un (195a). In the case of the non-animate existential verb, the suppletive verb neen- is used to encode negation (see (222)). neen- is used to express negation when the adjectival predicate (195b). In the case of nominal predicates, the copular verb takes the negative suffix (195c).

(195)

a.

moonu	mmaya	pitu	keranoo.
moo⸗nu	mma⸗ya	pitu	ker-an-∅-o
here⸗gen	horse⸗top	people	kick-neg-npst-ind

‘The horse belonging to this house does not kick people.’

b.

uriya	maaha	neenu.
uri⸗ya	maa-ha	neen-u
that⸗top	tasty-adj	neg.sta-npst

‘That is not tasty.’

c.

baa	sinsiiya	aranattan.
baa	sinsii⸗ya	ar-an-a-tta-n
1sg	teacher⸗top	cop-neg-thm-pst-ind

‘I was not a teacher.’

11.6 TAM

11.7 Information Structure and Its Formal Encodings

Topic and focus are marked by ⸗ya and ⸗du respectively. The topic marker ⸗ya is in a paradigmatic relationship with the nominative and accusative markers. It follows other case markers when they co-occur (e.g., yama⸗go⸗ya (mountain⸗dat⸗top) ‘to (a/the) mountain’). The focus marker ⸗du follows all case markers, and attaches to the leftmost constituent of the focus domain (Davis 2013). It denotes contrastive and information focus (Shimoji 2018). These markers are attached not only to NPs, but also non-nominal phrases (e.g., (206a) and (229)). Shiraho does not have a cleft construction which functions as a focus construction in Japanese, Northern Ryukyuan, and some Yaeyaman dialects (e.g., Lawrence (2011)).

(205)

baa	sikeru	munuya	bandu	katazikiru.
baa	sik-er-u	munu⸗ya	ban⸗du	katazikir-u
1sg	use-prf-adn	thing⸗top	1sg⸗foc	put.away-npst

‘It’s me that puts away what I used.’

12.1 Clause-Combining Strategies

There are two clause-combining strategies: coordination and subordination. Subordinate clauses are divided into three types: relative clauses (§ 9.2), adverbial clauses (§ 12.1.2), and complement clauses (§ 12.1.3).

12.2 Clause-Chaining Structure

Clause-chaining is marked by narrative converbs formed with the infinitive suffix -i/-a or sequential converbs formed with the sequential suffix -ta.

(215)

ngomadi

higara

kuruma

sikita

ngo

kuruma

uratta

mata

arag-i

mata

kuruman

tukumadi

aragii

kii …

n⸗go⸗madi

hii⸗gara

kuruma

sik-ita

n⸗go

kuruma

ur-atta

mata

arag-i

mata

kuruma⸗nu

tuku⸗madi

arag-i

k-i

there⸗lim

house⸗abl

car

park-seq

there⸗dat

car

get.off-seq

and

walk-inf

and

car⸗gen

place⸗lim

walk-inf

come-inf

‘And then, I went there from my house, parked my car, got out of my car, and started walking. And I went back to the car, and …’

12.3 Insubordination

In Shiraho, coordinate clauses, causal converb clauses, and narrative converb clauses appear as independent clauses. Coordinate clauses with ⸗gara and causal converb clauses are used to explain reasons. Narrative converbs can behave as predicates of the main clause and encode past tense, as is found in other Ryukyuan languages (Pellard 2012). Narrative converbs are used in interrogative sentences or in argument/sentence focus sentences as in (216).

(216)

a.

daadu	kaki?
daa⸗du	kak-i
2sg⸗foc	write-inf

‘Did you write (this)?’

b.

bandu	kaki.
ban⸗du	kak-i
1sg⸗foc	write-inf

‘It’s me who wrote this.’