Northern Ryukyuan language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Okinawan language (沖縄口, Uchināguchi) is a Ryukyuan language that is spoken in the Okinawa Islands of Japan.
Okinawan | |
---|---|
沖縄口/ウチナーグチ Uchinaaguchi | |
Pronunciation | [ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi] |
Native to | Japan |
Region | Okinawa Islands |
Native speakers | 980,000 (2000)[1] |
Okinawan, Japanese, Rōmaji | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | ryu |
Glottolog | cent2126 |
ELP | South-Central Okinawan |
Linguasphere | 45-CAC-ai |
![]() (South–Central) Okinawan, AKA Shuri–Naha | |
Most linguists say that it branched off from Proto-Japonic, which is the ancestor of Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages. The Japanese government says Okinawan is a dialect of Japanese because of politics.
When a group of people called the Yayoi came into the Ryukyu Islands, they brought over a language called Proto-Japonic. This language over time turned into the modern Ryukyuan languages. Proto-Japonic was also spoken in mainland Japan, which turned into Japanese, meaning Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages are related/have the same origin.
Okinawan and other Ryukyuan languages were discriminated by Japan during the Meiji period, making the number of speakers go down. Before that, Okinawan was the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Okinawan belongs to the Ryukyuan languages. It is in the northern group with both Kunigami and Amami. Sometimes, Kunigami is listed as a dialect of Okinawan but that view is rare.
Most older Okinawans speak Okinawan while younger Okinawans speak Japanese. This is why UNESCO lists Okinawan and the other Ryukyuan languages as “endangered”, meaning it’s possible for the language to die out in the future.
There are many sound changes between Japanese (Standard) and Okinawan (Shuri-Naha variety):
Japanese “o” - Okinawan “u” (Okinawa = Uchinaa)
Japanese “k” - Okinawan “ch” (Okinawa = Uchinaa)
Japanese “mi” - Okinawan “nn” (minato = nnatu)
Similar sound changes are in other Ryukyuan languages. Kunigami also uses “u” instead of Japanese “o”.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.