Amami Japanese (トン普通語, ) is a variety of the
Japanese language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ma ...
spoken on the island of
Amami Ōshima
, also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands.
The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is d ...
.
Its native term means "potato standard". Much like
Okinawan Japanese
is the Japanese language as spoken by the people of Okinawa Islands. Okinawan Japanese's accents and words are influenced by the traditional Okinawan and Kunigami languages. Okinawan Japanese has some loanwords from American English due to t ...
, it's a descendant of Standard Japanese but with influences from the traditional
Ryukyuan languages
The , also Lewchewan or Luchuan (), are the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Along with the Japanese language and the Hachijō language, they make up the Japonic language family.
Al ...
(in this case, Amami Japanese is influenced by the
Amami Ōshima language
The Amami language or languages (, , ), also known as Amami Ōshima or simply Ōshima ('Big Island'), is a Ryukyuan language spoken in the Amami Islands south of Kyūshū. The southern variety of Setouchi township may be a distinct language mo ...
).
History
In the past, the locals of Amami Ōshima spoke the Amami Ōshima language, which belongs to the northern group of the larger
Ryukyuan language family. However, as a result of Japanese assimilation policies, a language shift towards Japanese began. The same occurrence happened in the other parts of the
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
.
Despite Japanese becoming widespread in Amami Ōshima, a substrate from the Amami language was present.
This caused the creation of Amami Japanese, known locally as . Amami Japanese was looked down upon for much of its existence. However, in modern times, the variety is viewed positively by its speakers.
Features
The last two English examples are not words on their own. They instead list the situations in which the Amami Japanese words are used. indicates a quote, and the word marks a question when placed at the end of a phrase.
See also
*
Japanese language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ma ...
*
Okinawan Japanese
is the Japanese language as spoken by the people of Okinawa Islands. Okinawan Japanese's accents and words are influenced by the traditional Okinawan and Kunigami languages. Okinawan Japanese has some loanwords from American English due to t ...
, the equivalent of Amami Japanese spoken on the
Okinawa Islands
The Okinawa Islands ( or ) are an island group in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and are the principal island group of the prefecture. The Okinawa Islands are part of the larger Ryukyu Islands group and are located between the Amami Islands of Kagoshi ...
*
Amami Ōshima language
The Amami language or languages (, , ), also known as Amami Ōshima or simply Ōshima ('Big Island'), is a Ryukyuan language spoken in the Amami Islands south of Kyūshū. The southern variety of Setouchi township may be a distinct language mo ...
, the language that influenced this variety of Japanese
*
Amami Ōshima
, also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands.
The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is d ...
, the island where is spoken
References
{{Japonic-lang-stub
Amami Islands
Japanese dialects