著者

安部 清哉

雑誌

人文 (ISSN:18817920)

巻号頁・発行日

no.9, pp.7-33, 2011-03-28

---

This paper will examine features related to the geographical distribution of Japanese adjectives used to express sense of taste, including Amai, Karai, Suppai, Nigai, and others, that are problematic in a historical linguistics context pertaining to the roots of Japanese language. In particular, it has been proven that the etymology of“ *sukwa-shi( <suppa-i, <sukka-i)” in the East-Japanese dialect, Chinese “酢”, and “*sem” of Proto-Austronesian (PAN) language have the identical root and origin, and that the etymology of“ su-shi( < su-i)” in the West-Japanese dialect is Chinese“ 酸”. It has also been demonstrated that the roots of these adjectives have the same origin in Asian Language. In addition, by examining the etymology of these adjectives, this paper will describe that a cross structure composed of four words is the prototype lexical structure of Japanese basic adjectives. Keywords: geographical distribution, Japanese adjectives, sense of taste, Amai, Karai, Suppai, Nigai, etymology,“ *Sukwa-shi( <suppa-i, <sukka-i)” as for sour,“ Su-shi( <su-i)” as for sour,“ 酢”,“ 酸”, prototype structure, basic adjectives.