Reconstruction:Proto-Ryukyuan/iwo

This Proto-Ryukyuan 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.

Proto-Ryukyuan

Alternative forms

• *iyO (Thorpe (1983), p. 286)

Etymology

From Proto-Japonic *iwo (“fish”), apophonic form of *uwo.

The *u ~ *i alteration is common in various words, but no explanation is given for why this phenomenon exists.

Noun

*iwo

1. fish

Descendants

• Northern Ryukyuan: 亦窩 (io) (Liúqiú guăn yìyŭ, 1469–1470)
  • Kikai: 魚 (iyu)
  • Kunigami: 魚 ('yū)
  • Northern Amami-Oshima: 魚 ('yu)
  • Okinawan: 魚 (iyu, iu)
  • Oki-No-Erabu: 魚 ('yū)
  • Southern Amami-Oshima: 魚 ('yū)
  • Toku-No-Shima: 魚 ('yu)
  • Yoron: 魚 ('yū)
• Southern Ryukyuan:
  • Miyako: 魚 (zzu)
  • Yaeyama: 魚 (izu)
  • Yonaguni: 魚 (iyu)

References

• Jarosz (2015) p. 687
• Lin (2015)
• Thorpe, Maner Lawton (1983) Ryūkyūan Language History‎^[1], Doctoral dissertation. University of Southern California, page 286