Lexical Negative Verbs in Ainu Language
Yan Kit KWONG

Abstract
Ainu language is spoken by the Ainu – the indigenous people of Northern Japan, who now mainly live in Hokkaido of Japan. In Ainu language, negative clauses are formed by using adverbial particle somo before a verb or copula or by adding restrictive particle ka with somo (negator) ki (auxiliary verb, to do) after a verb. At the same time, lexical negative verbs, which will be the focus of this paper, are also used by Ainu speakers to express negation. In this paper, the author will examine the grammatical characteristics and functions of lexical negatives in the Ainu language.

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