The dialect spoken in Utsunomiya city and its surrounding area in Tochigi prefecture, Japan, has a form which denotes so-called ‘ spon-taneity’. In many languages ‘ spontaneous forms ’ tend to change to passive forms or potential expressions. In this sense ‘ spontaneous form ’ offers very interesting issues in terms of general linguistics.
The purpose of this paper is to classify the usages of the verb suffix -(r) asar-, which is said to denote ‘ spontaneity ’, into three, namely guuhatsukooi yoohoo (accidental action usage), shizenhassei yoohoo (spontaneous occurrence usage) and kanoo yoohoo (potentiality usage),and to describe the semantic and morph syntactic characteristics of these usages.
The three usages show various semantic and morphosyntactic differences. For instance, the past form of kanoo yoohoo, which denotes potentiality, does not always imply the occurrence of an event, but that of the other usages always does; in kanoo yoohoo, subject nouns can be marked with -ni (so-called dative case particle), but in the other usages they can never be so marked; when a transitive verb is used in shizenhassei yoohoo, which denotes spontaneous events, it can be considered to change to an intransitive verb taking its undergoer argu-ment as its subject, but no such phenomenon is found in the other usages.
With such semantic and morphosyntactic differences, it is clear that these usages cannot be treated uniformly. The same might be true of the ‘ spontaneous forms’ of other dialects, so researchers treating similar phenomena should not neglect this point.

Key Words: spontaneous form, potentiality, voice, Tochigi dialect, Utsunomiya dialect

In this paper I discuss variation in trepang or holothurian resource utilization in the Philippines generally, and on Mangsee Island, in the southern part of Palawan Province.Many scholars working in Southeast Asian maritime societies have noted the dynamic human net-works involved in pursulng dried sea products like trepang or shark fins. However, few scholars have dealt with the actual materials of the trade. This paper establishes that 20 species of trepang are traded in the Philippines at present, and that the price of the most expensive is some 30 times greater than that of the cheapest. Moreover, in recent years, lower quality trepang has been acquiring more commercial value. Trepang today is not just an exclusive expensive foodstuff as mentioned in historical records-it is also an ordinary material used in the present. The cheaper trepang species are consumed more than ever before in the Philippines and elsewhere. One of the most important aspects of the Philippine trade is that the country exports a huge volume of trepang of lower commercial value. Here, I interpret fishing activities on Mangsee, where mostly lower value species are harvested today, in relation to the island&rsquo s 30 year history as a location for modern frontier settlement.

Key Words: trepang, Maritime Southeast Asia, frontier society, ethno-networks, dried

In comparing the outstanding differences and contrasts between Ainu-descended Japanese citizens in regions of Hokkaido ’ s two largest cities, it should be noted that Sapporo City was the administrative and economic center, while Asahikawa City was the army headquarters several decades ago, so that we come across variations to consider. For instance, those currently living in the Sapporo City Region are either a11, or nearly all, people from outside the region, including the household members of such families ; whereas, among people in the Asahikawa City Region, the majority consist of those native to the vicinity. Most were either born in the former Chikabumi Area, or succeeding generation members continuing to live there. After World War II, the reasons for people to live in the Sapporo City Region were mainly social and economic. As for the Asahikawa City Region, in the earlier half of the 20th year of the Meiji Era people were gathered from neighboring sites according to the settlers ’ land selection and division plan. Most residents represent succeeding generations of Ainu households which received such allotments, and came to reside on them.
From another point of view, especially after 1970, a social trend came about demanding certain rights. Up till 1997, when “ The Law Concerning the Progress of Ainu Culture / the Promotion and Enlighten-ment of Knowledge of Ainu Tradition, etc. ” was enacted, demanding quite a number of Sapporo Ainu-descended residents were strongly demanding their rights as ‘ Ethnic Ainu ’ . In contrast, quite a number of Asahikawa regional residents showed a critical attitude toward this.
It could be said that among cases of Ainu-descended citizens, differences and contrasts have arisen between these two regions because of disparity in historical and social conditions. I concentrate here on distinguishing such trends.
In conclusion, it is possible to state that almost 100% of Ainu-descended citizens residing in the Sapporo City Region since World War II consist of those from other regions, so that they can be regarded as ‘ Newcomers ’ . On the other hand, Ainu-descended citizens in the Asahikawa City Region consist of those from nearby areas who gathered to live in the Asahikawa City Region with their households, so that it is appropriate to call them‘ Locals ’ in general. In addition, it is reasonable to assume that the ‘ Newcomers’ show a stronger tendency toward con-vergence as well as divergence, for some ‘ Locals ’ claim both tendencies are weak. Today, especially in the Sapporo City Region, both indica-tions have become more distinct.
Furthermore among Ainu-descended Japanese citizens there are the ‘ New Ainu ’ people who are deeply attached to being called ‘ Ethnic Ainu ’ . Such people are active in movements in leading cities such as Sapporo and Asahikawa, demonstrating strong convergence. In con-trast, the ‘ Post-Ainu ’ people who do not stress ‘ Ainu ’ or ‘ Ethnic Ainu ’ show a tendency of divergence as ordinary people disregarding the de-tails.
To date, there seem to have been no cultural anthropological studies in Japan on the convergence and divergence existing among ethnic groups residing in cities. At least, none have appeared yet concerning Ainu-descended Japanese. Thus the author presents this paper.

Key Words: Ainu-descended Japanese, convergence, divergence, Locals, Newcomers