🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
っくゎ・っくぁ【子・小】 : kkwa | define meaning
kkwa
Pronunciation: [ˀkʷa~kkʷa]
Definition
Noun
- Child; children
Etymology
Cognate to Kikai っか kka; Okinoerabu (っ)くゎー (k)kwaa; Tokunoshima, Yoron and Kunigami (Nakijin, Motobu, Ogimi) くゎー kwaa; Kikai, Amami (Yuwan), Tokunoshima and Okinawan (Shuri, Itoman, Maejima, Kudaka) っくゎ kkwa; Okinawan (Tsuken) くゎ kwa; Tarama and Yaeyama (Taketomi) っふぁ ffa; Miyako (Ogami) and Yaeyama (Miyara) ふぁー faa. Most sources reconstruct proto-Ryukyuan *kVra or *kVwa.
Likely also cognate to Chiba, Toyama, Shizuoka and Yamanashi ころ koro; Niigata が ga; Kagawa くろ kuro; and old or middle Japanese こら【子ら・子等】 kora meaning "child, children" and also used as a diminutive.
Reconstructions for proto-Ryukyuan include:
- Leon A. Serafim and Rumiko Shinzato (2021) reconstruct Northern Okinawan *Qkwá < Old Okinawan *Qk°wa < Pre-Old Okinawan *k°ura "child".
- Tetsuo Nitta (2016) compares a number of different Japonic varieties and demonstrates that *kur-, *kor- and *kow- can all result in geminates.
- Yukiko Kushibiki (2014) reconstructs *kora.
- Zachary Read (2013) reconstructs *kora.
- John R. Bentley (2008) reconstructs *kura.
- Martine Irma Robbeets (2005) tentatively reconstructs *kora, from an earlier *kwo-ra.
- Stewart A. Curry (2004) reconstructs proto-Ryukyuan *kuwa, although also notes the Japanese word kora.
- Moriyo Shimabukuro (2003) reconstructs *kura or *kuːra.
- Junnosuke Urakami (1989) reconstructs *kkw- for proto-Amami.
- Maner L. Thorpe (1983) reconstructs *ko-wa, with *-wa being a diminutive.
Historical attestations:
- おもろさうし Omoro Saushi (1531-1623) records the spelling くわ kuwa.
- Sprachproben von Lieu-Kieu (1810), by Julius Klaproth, records "son, kuwa" and "king's son (prince), onu zunn boschinkua".
- Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo island in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Children, qua".
Discussion:
- See this old thread for a discussion on phonological and morphological considerations.
- Read On the Geminate Consonants of the Antoh Dialect in Fukui Prefecture (2016), by Tetsuo Nitta, for a broader analysis of different Japonic varieties.
Notes
Becomes ぐゎー gwaa or んぐゎー ngwaa when used as a diminutive suffix at the end of a word.
Spelling
Orthography | Form |
---|---|
Kanji | 子 小 |
Kana | っくゎ っくぁ |
New Okinawa Moji | っ彩 |
Romanization | kkwa |
Pronunciation (IPA) | [ˀkʷa~kkʷa] |
意味:こ【子・小】、こども【子供・子ども】