Tosa Dialect

The Tosa dialect (Japanese: 土佐弁 ''tosa-ben'') is a Japanese Shikoku dialect spoken in central and eastern Kochi Prefecture (former Tosa Province), including Kochi City. The dialect of the Western region of Kochi Prefecture is called the Hata dialect (Japanese: 幡多弁 ''hata-ben'') and is drastically different from the Central and Eastern dialect.

Classification

Shikoku dialects are divided into Western (Tokushima, Kagawa and Ehime), Southern (Kochi), and also occasionally Southwest (western Kochi and southern Ehime). The Tosa dialect exists in a somewhat unique position due to being historically isolated from other prefectures because of the Shikoku Mountains.

Kochi Prefecture dialects are broadly divided into Western and Eastern-Central.

* Western dialect - Shimanto (city), Tosashimizu, Sukumo, Otsuki, Mihara, Kuroshio (excluding the former town of Saga), Shimanto (town) (excluding the former town of Kubokawa), Yusuhara. Possesses a Tokyo standard pitch accent. Known as the 'Hata dialect’.
* Eastern-Central dialect - All other areas in Kochi. Possesses a Keihan standard, or Tarui standard pitch accent. Known as the 'Tosa dialect’, and will be described in this article.

The coastal region from Muroto to Toyo has been influenced by the Tokushima Awa dialect and the Kinki dialects.

Phonology

The most notable phonetic traits of the Tosa dialect are as follows:

* Virtually no silent vowels.
* The diphthong ''ei'' is distinctly retained. For example: pronunciation of ''keisan'' (計算 ''calculation'') in the Tosa dialect is ''keisan'' (ケイサン), as opposed to ''keesan'' (ケーサン) in standard Japanese and Kansai dialects.

* Among older speakers, a nasalised sound (''n'') is inserted before ''g'' and ''d''. Example: ''kagami'' (鏡 ''mirror'') → ''kangami''.
* Older speakers also differentiate between  ''ji'' (じ) and ''di'' (ぢ) and ''zu'' (ず) and ''du'' (づ) (so-called ''yotsugana''). ''Ji'' is pronounced �iwhilst ''di'' is pronounced ʒi ''zu'' is pronounced uwhilst ''dzu'' is pronounced zu In addition, ''tsu'' is sometimes pronounced ''tu''.

* ''Shi'' (し) sometimes becomes ''i'' (い) (''i''-euphony). For example: ''doshita'' (どうした) → ''doita'' (どういた), ''soshite'' (そして) → ''soite'' (そいて) and ''ashita'' (あした) → ''aita'' (あいた).

* In other Shikoku dialects and in the Kinki dialects, single-mora words tend to become lengthened like in ''te'' (手) → ''tee'' (てー) or ''chi'' (血) → ''chii'' (ちー), but this tendency is weaker in the Tosa dialect. Only third-class nouns such as ''ki'' (木) and ''te'' (手) are sometimes lengthened. However, mainly among the younger generation, increased interaction with other Shikoku dialects and the Kinki dialects through media has resulted in a continuing trend of lengthening all single-mora words.

* Aside from northern Kochi, which has a Tarui standard pitch accent, a traditional Kyoto standard pitch accent is retained, much like in coastal Tokushima, in the city of Tanabe in Wakayama and in the central Kinki Region.

Grammar and Expressions

Grammatical Aspects

The Tosa dialect, like English, differentiates between perfect and progressive tenses. Perfect tense uses the '' Renyōkei'' (''連用形'' conjunctive) form + ''chuu'', ''choru'', and ''chou'', (ちゅー・ちょる・ちょう) and progressive tense uses the '' Renyōkei'' (''連用形'' conjunctive) form + ''yuu'', ''yoru'', and ''you'' (ゆー・よる・よう).

For example, the question 「宿題やった?」(''shukudai yatta?'' Did you do your homework?) can be answered in the following ways without the use of adverbs.

* Present progressive aspect:

(Tosa Dialect)  「やりゆうき」(''yariyūki'')

(Standard Japanese) 「（今）やっているよ」( ''(ima) yatteiruyo'')

(I’m doing it now!)

* Present perfect aspect:

(Tosa Dialect) 「やっちゅうき」(''yacchūki'')

(Standard Japanese) 「（もう）済ませているよ」( ''(mou) sumaseteiruyo'')

(I’ve already finished it!)

In the case of 「（し）よった」( ''(shi) yotta'' I was (doing) it) it is the past progressive aspect and for 「（し）ちょった」( ''(shi) chotta'' I had (done) it) the past perfect aspect. The specification of perfect aspects is one of the characteristics of the dialects of western Japan.

With verbs such as 「死ぬ」(''shinu'' to die) or 「消える」(''kieru'' to disappear/ go out) where the change is instantaneous, the progressive aspect like 「死にゆう」(''shiniyū'') and 「消えゆう」(''kieyū'') is used to express the sense of “...is about to...”. In the progressive aspect, the existential verb「ある」(aru to be) expresses a specific duration of time.

Orders, Requests, and Prohibitives

Orders can be given using the '' Renyōkei'' (''連用形'' conjunctive) form of verbs, which makes for a gentler expression than using the '' Meireikei'' (''命令形'' imperative) form. 「や」(''ya'') is often used,  such as in 「行きや」(''ikiya'' go) and 「見（ー）や」(''mi(i)ya'' look). 「-ておーせ・とーせ・とーぜ」(''-teōse'', ''tōse'', and ''tōze'') are used with subsidiary verbs like the formal「…してください」(''shitekudasai'' please do).  

In cases such as「行かれん」（''ikaren'') which in standard Japanese is（行くな）(''ikuna'' don’t go) and 「見られん」(''miraren'') which means the same as（見るな）(''miruna'' don’t look) in standard Japanese, the '' Mizenkei'' (''未然形'' nai stem) form of a verb plus 「れん・られん」(''ren'' or ''raren'') is used to indicate prohibition.  This expression is also present in the Awa dialect and the Iyo dialect.

(Tosa dialect) 「いかんちや、せられん」(ikanchiya, seraren)

(Standard Japanese) 「ダメだよ、やっちゃダメ」(damedayo, yacchadame)

(stop, don’t do that)

Additionally, the '' Renyōkei'' (''連用形'' conjunctive) form of a verb can be used to express prohibition, such as in「行きな」(''ikina'' don’t go) and 「見な」(''mina'' don’t look). This is also present in the Kansai dialect.

Conjecture

Expressions like「はれるろー」(''harerurō'')（晴れるだろう）(''harerudarou'' it will be sunny) and 「たかいろー」(''takairō'')（高いだろう）(''takaidarou'' it will be expensive) are composed of the ''Shūshikei'' (''終止形'' dictionary) form of a conjugated word + 「ろー」(''rō'') and are used to express conjecture. 「ろー」(''rō'') originated as 「らむ」(''ramu''). Additionally, expressions like 「あっつろー」(''atsurō'') or（あっただろう）(''attadarō'' would have had) in Standard Japanese and「たかかっつろー」(''takakattsurō'') or（高かっただろう）(''takattadarō'' would have been expensive) in Standard Japanese use the ''Renyōkei'' (''連用形'' conjunctive) form of a conjugated word + 「つろー」(''tsurō'') and express conjecture in the perfect tense.

「-にかーらん」(''-nikāran'') correlates to 「-らしい」(''-rashii'' it seems...). It can also be used to express the comparison phrase “it’s like…” (「''まるで…のようだ」marude…noyōda'').

(Tosa Dialect)「あの店はラーメン屋に変わったにかあらん」(''ano mise wa ramenya ni kawattanikāran'')

(Standard Japanese) 「あの店はラーメン屋に変わったらしい」(''ano mise wa ramenya ni kawattarashii'')

(I heard that restaurant got converted into a ramen shop)
※This also includes the nuance of “no mistaking it” (''-に違いない -ni chigainai'').

See also

* Yotsugana

References

{{Japanese language

Japanese dialects
Kōchi Prefecture