Revisiting some more Koreo-Japonic comparisons with Ryukyuan

Vovin (2010) rejects Koreo-Japonic comparisons by Whitman (1985), although a closer look shows Ryukyuan cognates exist, most of them amply attested.

(114) kasa 2.4 'sunshade; hat (alias 'conical hat')'. While Vovin claims that kasa is not attested in Southern Ryukyuan, it is important to know that the meanings might have been mixed: Northern Ryukyuan cognates such as Yamatohama kʰasa, Aden, Yoron hàsá, Asama kʰàɕǎː, Kametsu kàsâ, Wadomari, China hàsǎː, Iheya hásǎː, Nakijin, Iejima hàsǎː, and Shuri kàsà mostly have a meaning of both 'conical hat' and 'umbrella' (otherwise, only the former meaning). Meanwhile Sakishima forms such as Hirara , Uruka sana, Ikema, Minna sana C, Tarama ɕana C, Ishigaki sáná, Taketomi sənə, Hatoma sànà, Hateruma sḁ́ná, and Yonaguni sànâ, only have the meaning 'umbrella', which is probably a loan from Chinese 傘 (c.f. MC sanX, Mandarin san3), although we need to explain the epenthetic vowel *-a, and some dialects are including the meaning 'conical hat'. Compare also the Late Middle Okinawan term mi-saanaa (みさあなあ) 'HON-umbrella', which must be related. Meanwhile, we can find ample cognates of J kasa 2.3 in Sakishima, meaning only 'conical hat': Hirara kasa, Tarama kaɕa B, Minna kasa B, Ishigaki kásá, Taketomi kə̀sə̂, Hatoma kḁ̀sà, Hateruma kḁ́tsá, Yonaguni kʰàsà. This allows the reconstruction of Proto-Ryukyuan *kasa B and Proto-Japonic *kasa 2.4b 'conical hat'. Note that kasa meaning 'umbrella' was not attested until at least the 10th century CE, and the meaning 'umbrella' has been due to influence from Japanese, since kasa in Modern Japanese refers both to 'conical hat' and 'umbrella'.

(141) kusi 2.3 'stake (alias 'skewer'). It is unclear why Igarashi assigned an uncertain accent 2.Xx (a paper will be made dealing with (more of) these issues in the future), as the modern accent Tokyo LH-L, Kyoto HL-L, and Kagoshima LH-L points to tone class 2.3, and even Martin (1987, 466) reconstructs tone class 2.3 on the basis of such data and other extra data. The irregular accent in dialects can be safely ignored. It is also unclear why he also glossed the word with 'whip', as my survey of Ryukyuan cognates do not have this meaning. It is possible to find various Ryukyuan varieties that are a cognate of J kusi 2.3 'skewer': Ashikebu gúɕì 'thin skewer', Yamatohama gui 'skewer', Asama gùːsɨ́ 'skewer', Kunigami, Wa, Taniyama, China, Ōtsukan, Sumiyoshi gùɕí 'skewer', Ōjiro gùɕî 'skewer', Shinjō déːgúɕí 'bamboo skewer', Yoron gúɕí 'skewer', Nakijin gúɕì 'skewer', Iejima gúɕî 'skewer', Kowan guːɕi 'skewer', Shuri gùːɕì 'skewer', Tarama, Minna gusɨ C 'skewer', Taketomi təi-guɕi 'bamboo skewer', Hatoma gúí 'marks in a water channel'. The voicing process is similar to that of pR *garasu C 'crow' < pJ *karasu 3.6a 'id,' so words starting with initial k- are considered loanwords, and thus have been ignored (e.g. Yonaguni kùtɕí 'skewer (uncommon word)' (c.f. also Yonaguni ìgûɴ 'harpoon'); we expect *gùtɕî). See also Martin (1987, 29-30). We can reconstruct pR *gusi C 'skewer' and pJ *kus(U)i 2.3a 'id.' Note that this word belongs to a limited set of nouns where Ryukyuan tone class C corresponds to the 2.3 accent class in Japanese. Martin also compares kusu-nuk- I-N 'to skewer', despite accent incongruency that was also noticed by him. Compare also kusumoᵑgi (JDB, 259), which some assume to be a mispelling of kusu-nuk- above. If this is a loan from Korean(ic), it must be a rather old one.

(249) mara 2.3 'phallus'. This word is attested plentiful in Ryukyuan, sometimes in compounds only; e.g. Yamatohama, Aden, Uruka maɾa 'penis', Asama màɾǎː 'penis', Kametsu màɾâ 'penis', Wadomari, China màɾá 'penis', Nakijin màɾàːdáí 'penis with erectile dysfunction', Shuri màɾà 'penis', Ikema, Tarama maɾa B 'penis', Nakachi maɾa 'penis; sprout poured into a teapot; a protruding object, a sharp tool' Ishigaki máɾá 'penis', Taketomi məɾə 'penis', Hatoma màɾà 'penis', Hateruma màɾá 'penis', Yonaguni màɾà 'penis'. Dictionaries which do not include this word use pR *tane B 'seed' or pR *puguri A 'testicles'. It is unclear whether this can be reconstructed at the Proto-Japonic level, as there is a theory that it was derived as a transcription of a Sanskrit word (possibly through the introduction of Buddhism by Paekche). If this is the case, then it must have been an earlier loan, considering how pR *potoke B 'Buddha' and *tera A 'temple; shrine' can be reconstructed, and J potoke 3.4 and tera 2.x (irregular accent; Tokyo and Kyoto go to 2.3, but Kagoshima goes back to 2.1/2.2, and pR shows 2.1/2.2) are likely loanwords from an ancient Koreanic language.