Why Linguists Obsess about Rendaku
October 27, 3:00pm - 4:30pmMānoa Campus, Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room), 1890 East-West Rd.

The term rendaku é€£æ¿ (sometimes translated as “sequential voicingâ€) denotes a phenomenon that is familiar to anyone who speaks Japanese. A typical example occurs in the compound word me-dama目玉 (“eyeballâ€). The second element of this compound is pronounced tama as a word on its own, but the initial consonant is d rather than t in me-dama. There is no all-encompassing rule that predicts when rendaku occurs and when it does not, although there are various tendencies. On the other hand, rendaku cannot simply be a matter of memorizing which compound words have it and which do not, because it is productive, that is, it often applies to newly created compounds. It is precisely because of this complexity that linguists ï¬nd rendaku intriguing.
During Dr. Vance's seven years on the research staff at NINJAL, he headed a collaborative project with the stated goal of publishing an encyclopedia-like work on rendaku. Alas, the project fell short of its goal, but it did produce two wide-ranging collections of articles, one in English (published by John Benjamins in 2016) and one in Japanese (to be published by Kaitakusha later this year). This presentation will use familiar examples from everyday life to introduce some of the mysteries of rendaku. It does not presuppose any background in linguistics, and it should appeal both to native speakers of Japanese and to non-native learners at all levels of proï¬ciency.
Event Sponsor
Center for Japanese Studies, Mānoa Campus
More Information
(808) 956-2665, cjs@hawaii.edu, http://www.hawaii.edu/cjs/10272017rendaku/
Friday, October 27 |
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11:00am |
What’s Next at Manoa Mānoa Campus, Campus Center Courtyard
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11:30am |
Forgot Lunch? Aloha Friday Lunch for Student Parents Mānoa Campus, Queen Liliuokalani Center for Student Services Rm. 412
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12:00pm |
Learn about MÄnoa's ILOs for Undergraduate & Graduate Education Mānoa Campus, Kuykendall 106 Events Room
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3:00pm |
Why Linguists Obsess about Rendaku Mānoa Campus, Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room), 1890 East-West Rd.
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3:00pm |
The Indian Ocean in the Age of Nationalism Mānoa Campus, Sakamaki A201
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Geology and Geophysics Seminar Mānoa Campus, POST 723
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Perkins Colloquium Mānoa Campus, Sakamaki Hall C-308
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5:00pm |
Info Session and Stories from the Field Mānoa Campus, QLC 208
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