ユラ〜ユル派生語の意味変化について －認知意味論的観点からの考察－

Abstract

This paper deals with semantic changes of the derivative words with the alternation of yura and yuru from the perspective of cognitive semantics. This paper suggests a new interpretation of the derivatives of an adjectival base of yura, in the Ancient Japanese, which has been interpreted as expressive of ‘the sound of shaking’ in prior studies, but thus meaning not only ‘shaking’ but also ‘relaxing sound’. This can be inferred from the fact that yuru, which shows vowel alternation of yura, means ‘relaxing’. However, the auditory meaning of yura, an adjectival base, disappears in the Early middle Japanese literature. Afterwards, yura not only evoked the visual image of ‘shaking’, but also included the meaning of ‘relaxation’ stemming from that in the Ancient Japanese literature. Especially during the Late middle era, yurari strongly conveyed the meaning of ‘relaxation’ but not ‘shaking’, but during the Early modern era, the image of ‘shaking’ has been restored, and while the meaning of ‘relaxation’ did not disappear, it has become less common. That is, yura has connotations of ‘relaxation’ beside its main meaning of ‘shaking’. Meanwhile, the objective base yuru has always conveyed ‘relaxation’ and its meaning has not changed much from this image. In the literature of the Late middle era to the Edo Era, it is possible to observe the onomatopoeia yuru-yuru, which expresses ‘shaking’. As this is also derived from the verb yuru (=shaking) derived from yura, it has no direct relationship with the yuru attested in Ancient Japanese literature. It is possible to observe yoro-yoro, a vowel gradation of yuru-yuru in medieval literature, whose principal meaning is ‘shaking’ from yura.