Old Japanese Post-Nasal Non-Back Close Vowels in a Comparative Perspective

In this paper I will be comparing Old Japanese non-back close vowels /i/ (i1 or kō-rui) and /ɨ/ (i2 or otsu-rui) in a post-nasal position with their North and South Ryukyuan cognates in order to propose Proto-Japonic reconstructions of Old Japanese [+ nasal] [+ high, -back] sequences. The paper establishes and analyzes six correspondence sets, each representing a different Proto-Japonic sequence: *mi, *muj, *me, *ni, *noj, *nuj, and briefly discusses a couple of yet different relevant Proto-Japonic reconstructions. The study is concluded with a proposal of relative chronology of the discussed changes from Proto-Japonic to Proto-Ryukyuan. A reconstruction of Proto-Ryukyuan *ɨ, a sixth segment added to Thorpe’s 1983 classical five-vowel set, is argued for as a necessary development of post-nasal *oj and *uj. This is interpreted within the context of chain-shifting processes dating to Proto-Japonic as an important catalyst of mid-vowel raising in Proto-Ryukyuan.