Grammar
Ainu verb stems expand through valency-increasing operations (applicatives, causatives, lexical transitivizers) and valency-decreasing or valency-rearranging operations (antipassive, reflexive, autocausative, anticausative, middle/resultative, reciprocal). This table is deliberately construction-sensitive: the same surface si- is AUTOC/ANTIC on verbs but REFL.POSS on nouns, and homophonous -ke is split into ANTIC/INTR.SG and TR/CAUS.LEX entries.
The finite verb word can be modelled as an ordered set of position classes: personal prefixes, valency prefixes, the stem, stem-internal suffixes, the right-edge person suffixes =as/=an, and an outer plural element. Within the valency zone the order of affixes tracks the order of derivation — each affix scopes over the stem already built — and the valency computation on this site applies affixes in the same inside-out order.
| zone (left → right) | material | position and status |
|---|---|---|
| Personal prefixes 人称接頭辞 | ku=, ci=, a=/an=, e=, eci=, en=, un=, i= | Outermost prefix layer. A verb hosts at most one subject index and one object index, and the A prefix precedes the O prefix. |
| Valency prefixes 結合価接頭辞 | e-, ko-, o-, i-, yay-, si-, u- | Attach closer to the root than any personal index; add, fill, or identify argument positions. Incorporated nominals occupy the same inner zone. |
| Stem 語幹 | nukar, ek / arki, tuye / tuypa | Lexical head; fixes the base valence frame. Suppletive singular/plural stems and derived or incorporated stems fill this zone. |
| Stem-internal suffixes 語幹内接尾辞 | -pa, -re / -e / -te, -ka, -yar | Follow the root and precede any right-edge person suffix; change stem number or valence. |
| Right personal layer 右側人称層 | =as, =an | The 1PL.EXCL and 4th-person subject indexes are suffixed to intransitive stems; the same person rows surface as the prefixes ci= and a= on transitive stems. |
| Outer plural 外側複数辞 | pa, ci | Follows the fully person-inflected verb (western pa; eastern ci); its clitic status is debated. |
=as・=an の自他による位置交替
The 1PL.EXCL and 4th-person subject indexes attach as suffixes to intransitive stems and as prefixes (ci=, a=/an=) to transitive stems. The pair inkar 'look' (vi) and nukar 'see' (vt) shows both positions inside one sentence.
inkar=an akus e=an ruwe a=nukar hi kusu
look=4.S then 2SG.S=exist evidence 4.A=see NMLZ because
'When I looked, I saw that you were there, so ...'
中川2024アイヌ語広文典 p. 131
人称標識は結合価形態の外側に立つ
Applicatives, the antipassive, reflexives, the reciprocal, and incorporated nominals derive a new base from the root; the personal indexes attach outside that derived base and index its arguments. In the derivation of a=pone-ko-kuykuy 'I bit the fish bones and all', ko- first promotes the oblique, the promoted noun then incorporates outside ko-, and the person prefix a= closes the word: morpheme order mirrors the order of derivation.
nea cep pone tura a=kuykuy
that fish bone with 4.A=bite
'I bit the fish together with its bones. (oblique stage)'
Shibatani1990LanguagesOfJapan p. 67
nea cep pone a=ko-kuykuy
that fish bone 4.A=APPL-bite
'I bit the fish together with its bones. (applicative stage)'
Shibatani1990LanguagesOfJapan p. 67
nea cep a=pone-ko-kuykuy
that fish 4.A=bone-APPL-bite
'I bone-bit the fish. (incorporation stage)'
Shibatani1990LanguagesOfJapan p. 67
語幹複数辞 -pa は内側，外側複数辞 pa は外側
Hokkaido Ainu has a root-attaching plural suffix -pa and, in the western dialects, an outer plural element pa that follows the person-inflected verb. The pair with iki 'do' contrasts the two positions directly: iki-pa=an places the suffix before =an, iki=an pa places the outer element after it.
irwak sinne sorekusu iki-pa=an
sibling one.like in.that.way do-PL=4.S
'We lived like siblings.'
中川2024アイヌ語広文典 p. 159
nenpoka iki=an pa wa siknu=an wa
somehow do=4.S PL and live=4.S and
'Somehow we managed to do it, and went on living.'
中川2024アイヌ語広文典 p. 159
2標識上限
A verb hosts at most one subject index and one object index, whatever its argument count. With three-place kore 'give', both third-person objects stay bare: topenpe hekattar ku=kore 'I gave the children sweets'. A reflexive or reciprocal prefix occupies the object position itself, so a coreferential object index never co-occurs with it.
topenpe hekattar ku=kore
sweets children 1SG.A=give
'I gave the children sweets.'
中川2024アイヌ語広文典 p. 127
接辞の重畳は派生の作用域に従う
Valency affixes stack in derivational order, raising and lowering the argument count step by step: ruska 'be angry at' (vt) → ko-ruska (three-place) → yay-ko-ruska (reflexive fills the ko-object) → i-ruska 'be angry' (antipassive, vi). Up to two applicatives co-occur on one verb; for the productive e-/ko- pairing both orders e-ko- and ko-e- are attested with no reported semantic difference. The Chiri-attested form below carries two applicatives, two reflexives, and an incorporated noun on a single root.
usa-oruspe a=e-yay-ko-tuyma-si-ram-suy-pa
various-rumor 4.A=APPL-REFL-APPL-far-REFL.POSS-heart-sway-PL
'We keep wondering about various rumours.'
Shibatani1990LanguagesOfJapan p. 73
自動詞化ののちの再他動詞化
The chain can reverse direction. Antipassive i- absorbs the object of a transitive stem (kasuy 'help' → i-kasuy 'do helping'), and a fresh applicative re-transitivizes the result (e-i-kasuy 'help with something'). Each step is licensed by the template positions and bounded by the two-index cap.
tokaci wa ek pewre kur monrayke e-i-kasuy
Tokachi from come young person work APPL-ANTIP-help
'A young man from Tokachi helped with the work.'
BugaevaKobayashi2022VerbalValency §4.2.3
One stem can feed multiple derivational paths. The tags below are construction-sensitive: si- receives separate verb and noun labels, and anticausative -ke has its own row beside transitive -ke.
| operation | tag | morphemes | Δ | input → output | examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| applicative Adds a non-agent object (theme/content, addressee/goal, place/source). | APPL | e-, ko-, o- | +1 | vi/vt → vt/vd | e-nu 'hear about'; ko-itak 'speak to'; o-arpa 'go to a place' |
| productive causative Productive external causer suffix; allomorphy is phonological/lexical. | CAUS | -re, -e, -te | +1 | vi/vt → vt/vd | mi-re 'dress someone'; nukar-e 'show'; as-te 'stand something up' |
| direct/lexical causative Lexically restricted direct manipulation suffix, contrasted with productive -re/-e/-te. | CAUS.DIR | -ka | +1 (lexical) | vi/stative → vt | pirka-ka 'make good'; sesek-ka 'heat' |
| lexical transitive -ke Homophonous with anticausative -ke but belongs to the transitive/causative branch. | TR/CAUS.LEX | -ke-tr | +1 or verb-forming | vi/n/root → vt/vi | ray-ke 'kill'; san-ke 'bring down/put out'; sat-ke 'dry something' |
| transitivizer -V Bugaeva's tr.sg transitivizing final vowel, the equipollent counterpart of anticausative -ke (intr.sg); the vowel is lexically fixed. | TR/TR.SG | -V-tr | +1 (equipollent pair) | change-of-state root / ideophone → vt | rew-e 'bend something'; piras-a 'spread something'; noy-e 'twist something' |
| antipassive Internalizes an indefinite/non-specific patient; Bugaeva explicitly analyzes this as antipassive. | ANTIP | i- | −1 | vt → vi | i-nukar > inkar 'look'; i-kar 'do/make generally' |
| reflexive proper Bugaeva's retained reflexive proper; older direct-reflexive label maps here. | REFL | yay- | −1 | vt → vi | yay-nukar 'look at oneself'; yay-kar 'transform oneself'; yay-pusu 'pop up by swimming' |
| autocausative si- Bugaeva (2025): the primary synchronic verbal function of si- is autocausative, i.e. self-induced motion/change. | AUTOC | si- | −1 / rearranged | vt/derived vt → vi | si-kir-u 'turn oneself/face forward'; si-rew-e 'turn/bend oneself' |
| anticausative -ke Bugaeva's primary anticausative marker in Ainu, comparable to intransitive-transitive pair formation in Japanese. | ANTIC/INTR.SG | -ke-antic | causer suppressed | bound root / change-of-state base → vi | rew-ke 'be bent'; piras-ke 'spread/widen'; moy-moy-ke 'move/tremble' |
| emerging si- anticausative Bugaeva treats this as an extension from AUTOC; many forms are lexicalized, so do not collapse all si- into ANTIC. | ANTIC | si- | spontaneous/lexicalized | vt/change-of-state → vi | si-pusu 'float up of itself'; si-piras-a 'spread (of a village)' |
| middle/resultative Suppresses the agent and profiles the affected result. Distinct from both si- and -ke. | MID/RES | ci- | agent absorbed | vt → vi (3rd-person restricted) | ci-cari 'be scattered'; ci-sina 'be tied'; ci-koyki-p 'prey/game animal' |
| reflexive possession Nominal si-/yay- are not AUTOC/ANTIC; they mark subject-coreferent possession. | REFL.POSS | si-, yay- | nominal possessor filling | noun/incorporated nominal → possessed nominal constituent | si-ram 'one's own heart'; si-etu 'one's own nose'; yay-kotan 'one's own village' |
| reciprocal Internalizes patient as reciprocal participant(s). | REC | u-, uko- | −1 | vt → vi | u-nukar 'see each other'; uko-kor 'have mutually' |
These Ainu pairs can be read beside Japanese intransitive–transitive pairs. Bugaeva separates primary anticausative -ke from the mostly autocausative si- path.
Bugaeva ex. 2: road bends vs bend a crossbeam.
Movement/trembling forms; si-moy-moy-ke is lexicalized in Bugaeva's table.
-ke anticausative vs -V/transitive pair; si-piras-a is a lexicalized/emerging si- anticausative.
Lexical transitive -ke branch: die vs kill.
descend/go out vs put out/serve.
twist: -ke intransitive vs -V transitive, a classic equipollent pair.