Reconstruction:Okinawan/あー

This Okinawan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

This Okinawan entry contains original research. The reconstruction in this entry is based on published research, but the specific form presented here is not found in prior works.

Okinawan

Etymology 1

Unclear. Compare Japanese 屋 (ya).

Alternative forms

あ, やー

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/

Suffix

あー (-ā)

A suffix or ending used to indicate the subject of an adjective, noun or nominalized verb, akin to "-man", "-er" or "person" in English.
‎っくゎ (kkwa, “child”) + ‎むい (mui, “babysitting”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎っくゎむやー (kkwamuyā, “babysitter”)

‎たんち (tanchi, “short temper”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎たんちゃー (tanchā, “a person who has short temper”)
(derogatory) Used to indicate the provenance of a person
‎あぐに (“Aguni”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎あぐなー (Agunā, “people from Aguni (derogatory)”)

‎アミリカ (Amirika, “America”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎アミリカー (Amirikā, “American, Americunt”)
A suffix attached to warabi-naa (Okinawan traditional given name) of samuree (Ryukyuan aristocracy) to indicate the name of hyakushoo (Ryukyuan commoner). (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
‎たるー (Tarū, “masculine given name (lit, "first son")”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎たらー (Tarā)

‎ちるー (Chirū, “feminine given name (lit, "crane")”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎ちらー (Chirā)

‎うしー (Ushī, “unisex given name (lit, "cattle")”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎うさー (Usā)
A suffix attached to words for animals. Sometimes, the original, non-suffixed form is not used.
‎あふぃる (afiru, “domestic duck”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎あふぃらー (afirā, “domestic duck”)

‎あたびち (atabichi, “frog”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎あたびちゃー (atabichā, “frog”)

‎がらし (garashi, “crow”) + ‎あー (-ā) → ‎がらさー (garasā, “crow”)

Usage notes

Note that this suffix may coalesce or replace the vowel of the preceding term.

Derived terms

Okinawan terms suffixed with *あー

References

“あー・あ・やー” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.