But although the Japanese words advanced by Mr. Parker may be from the same language-stock as Chinese, yet no proof has been forthcoming to show that those ancient Japanese words, words which are now quite obsolete so far as the Japanese tongue is concerned, and which are from the same roots as Ainu, are of Chinese origin. Therefore although Chinese and that large and ever increasing proportion of Japanese which has been and is being confessedly borrowed from China may belong to the Turanian branch of language classification, this in no way proves Ainu to be so. Proofs of this must, it would seem, come from elsewhere if they are to come at all.
But to compare ancient Japanese and Ainu. It would indeed be very extraordinary were we not to find “sporadic coincidences” of resemblance between these two tongues seeing that one race has now almost displaced the other. For just as it is known that present day English is made up of fragments of ancient British, so it is only natural to expect to find Japanese, whatever its origin may be, containing fragments of Ainu,—the undoubted aboriginal language of this land. I will preface my list by reminding the Reader that all works whether Japanese or Foreign, and dating from A.D. 1730[1] down to the time of writing—which have any Ainu words and phrases in them clearly show that the Ainu tongue has suffered—or rather had suffered till within the last 30 or 40 years—little or no radical change since those books were published. It should also be remembered that many old Japanese place-names in various parts of Japan prove to be, when stripped of the misleading Chinese characters in which they are written, living, present day, matter of fact, Ainu words. A list of place-names with their derivations and meanings will be found in a Brochure given later.
The following is a short list of old Japanese[2] and Ainu words carrying the same radical elements in them.
- ↑ Der Word-und Destliche Theil von Europa und Asia by Philipp Johanu von Strachlenberg, Stockholm.
- ↑ The authorities for the ancient and obsolete Japanese words are “List of Ancient Japanese words” by Chamberlain and Ueda; Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. Vol. XVI. Part. III. Also Hepburn’s and other Japanese–English Dictionaries.
