Reconstruction:Proto-Japonic/e-ka
Proto-Japonic[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Vovin (2020:302) apparently reconstructs initial *e- on the speculative basis that "the Northern Amami dialects point to initial proto-Ryukyuan *e-, not *i-", and claims the lack of palatalization in Benoki Okinawan 如何し (kāshi) demonstrates that the initial *e- is segmentable. However, it appears that no Ryukyuan dialect faithfully preserves the distinction of intial Proto-Japonic *e ~ *i, except *i- would trigger palatalization in a velar, alveolar , whether it is part of the phoneme or precedes the following syllable (c.f. Okinawan 池 (ichi, “pond of a garden”) < Proto-Ryukyuan *ike or Northern Amami-Oshima 急がるり (ishogaruri, “to rush”) < Proto-Ryukyuan *isogi).[1]
If the reconstruction is correct, the initial *e- may be cognate with Middle Korean 엇〯더〮 (Yale: ěsté, “how”).
Pronoun[edit]
*e-ka
Descendants[edit]
- Old Japanese: 如何 (ika)
- Japanese: 如何 (ika, ikaga) (< ika, ika-ni-ka)
- Proto-Ryukyuan: *e-ka
- Northern Ryukyuan:
- Southern Ryukyuan: