open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/110533

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/92087

Revisiting the Concept of Dialectal Boundary : An Exercise on the Ainu Dialects

日本語

射影追跡法

2024-03-20

Japan Association of Northern Language Studies

Northern Language Studies

14

155-176

The main objective of this paper is to reconsider what dialectal boundaries are in hogen kukaku ron (dialectal segmentation theory) and geolinguistics, and how dialects located at the boundaries (boundary dialects) should be analyzed from methodological viewpoints. Dialectal segmentation theory applies statistical analyses to quantify dialectal groups where a dialectal boundary is indicated on maps by classifications, while geolinguistics illustrates a bundle of isoglosses based on dialectal features by superimposing geographic distribution on maps. When classifying dialects into groups, it is necessary to consider which group the boundary dialects belong to in dialectal segmentation theory. However, the primary objective of geolinguistics is not to classify boundary dialects but to understand their nature as a boundary. Therefore, we have developed a framework for capturing the multidimensional structures of boundary dialects. Concerning dialects, the framework combining basic concepts of projection pursuit and correspondence analysis enabled researchers to evaluate the degree of divergence between dialects and the extent to which each dialect retains its features. In this paper, our proposed method was applied to the Sōya dialect at the boundary between the Sakhalin and Hokkaido Ainu dialects, and to the Asahikawa dialect at the boundary between the northeastern and southwestern Hokkaido Ainu dialects, and resulted in not only capturing differences between these two boundary dialects but also visualizing in their multidimensional dispositions that have been hidden in previous analyses classifying dialects into groups.

紀要論文

Version of Record

2185-7121

AA12516968