Okinawan language
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox language Okinawan (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Transliteration, Template:IPA), or more precisely Central Okinawan, is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands.Template:Sfn Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as endangered.Template:Sfn
Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects,Template:Sfn the Shuri–Naha variant is generally recognized as the de facto standard,Template:Sfn as it had been used as the official language of the Ryukyu KingdomTemplate:Sfn since the reign of King Shō Shin (1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era.
Today, most Okinawans speak Okinawan Japanese, although a number of people still speak the Okinawan language, most often the elderly. Within Japan, Okinawan is often not seen as a language unto itself but is referred to as the Template:Nihongo, or more specifically the Template:Nihongo. Okinawan speakers are undergoing language shift as they switch to Japanese, since language use in Okinawa today is far from stable. Okinawans are assimilating and accenting standard Japanese due to the similarity of the two languages, the standardized and centralized education system, the media, business and social contact with mainlanders and previous attempts from Japan to suppress the native languages.Template:Sfn Okinawan is still kept alive in popular music, tourist shows and in theaters featuring a local drama called Template:Transliteration, which depict local customs and manners.Template:Sfn
History
[edit]Pre-Ryukyu Kingdom
[edit]Okinawan is a Japonic language, derived from Proto-Japonic and is therefore related to Japanese. The split between Old Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages has been estimated to have occurred as early as the 1st century AD to as late as the 12th century AD. Chinese and Japanese characters were first introduced by a Japanese missionary in 1265.<ref>Hung, Eva and Judy Wakabayashi. Asian Translation Traditions. 2014. Routledge. Pg 18.</ref>
Ryukyu Kingdom era
[edit]Pre-Satsuma
[edit]Template:Transliteration was a much more popular writing system than kanji; thus, Okinawan poems were commonly written solely in Template:Transliteration or with little kanji. Okinawan became the official language under King Shō Shin. The Omoro Sōshi, a compilation of ancient Ryukyuan poems, was written in an early form of Okinawan, known as Old Okinawan.
Post-Satsuma to annexation
[edit]After Ryukyu became a vassal of Satsuma Domain, kanji gained more prominence in poetry; however, official Ryukyuan documents were written in Classical Chinese. During this time, the language gradually evolved into Modern Okinawan.
In 1609, the Ryukyu Kingdom was colonized by the Satsuma Domain in the south of Japan. However, Satsuma did not fully invade the Ryukyu in fear of colliding with China, which had a stronger trading relationship with the Ryukyu at the time.<ref name=":0" />
Japanese annexation to end of World War II
[edit]When Ryukyu was annexed by Japan in 1879, the majority of people on Okinawa Island spoke Okinawan. Within 10 years, the Japanese government began an assimilation policy of Japanization, where Ryukyuan languages were gradually suppressed. The education system was the heart of Japanization, where Okinawan children were taught Japanese and punished for speaking their native language, being told that their language was just a "dialect".
Language shift to Japanese in Ryukyu/Okinawa began in 1879 when the Japanese government annexed Ryukyu and established Okinawa Prefecture. The prefectural office mainly consisted of people from Kagoshima Prefecture where the Satsuma Domain used to be. This caused the modernization of Okinawa as well as language shift to Japanese. As a result, Japanese became the standard language for administration, education, media, and literature.<ref name=":0" />
In 1902, the Template:Nihongo began the linguistic unification of Japan to Standard Japanese. This caused the linguistic stigmatization of many local varieties in Japan including Okinawan. As the discrimination accelerated, Okinawans themselves started to abandon their languages and shifted to Standard Japanese.<ref name=":0" />
Okinawan dialect cards, similar to Welsh Not in Wales, were adopted in Okinawa, Japan.
By 1945, many Okinawans spoke Japanese, and many were bilingual. During the Battle of Okinawa, some Okinawans were killed by Japanese soldiers for speaking Okinawan.Template:Citation needed
American occupation
[edit]Under American administration, there was an attempt to revive and standardize Okinawan, but this proved difficult and was shelved in favor of Japanese. General Douglas MacArthur attempted to promote Okinawan languages and culture through education.<ref>Heinrich, P. (2004). "Language Planning and Language Ideology in the Ryūkyū Islands". Language Policy, 3(2)</ref> Multiple English words were introduced.
Return to Japan to present day
[edit]After Okinawa's reversion to Japanese sovereignty, Japanese continued to be the dominant language used, and the majority of the youngest generations only speak Okinawan Japanese. There have been attempts to revive Okinawan by notable people such as Byron Fija and Seijin Noborikawa, but few native Okinawans know the language.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Outside of Japan
[edit]
The Okinawan language is still spoken by communities of Okinawan immigrants in Brazil. The first immigrants from the island of Okinawa to Brazil landed in the Port of Santos in 1908 drawn by the hint of work and farmable land. Once in a new country and far from their homeland, they found themselves in a place where there was no prohibition of their language, allowing them to willingly speak, celebrate and preserve their speech and culture, up to the present day. Currently the Okinawan-Japanese centers and communities in the State of São Paulo are a world reference to this language helping it to stay alive.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Courses in Okinawan language and literature are offered at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and books in Uchinaaguchi have been published in Hawaii.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Classification
[edit]Okinawan is sometimes grouped with Kunigami as the Okinawan languages; however, not all linguists accept this grouping, some claiming that Kunigami is a dialect of Okinawan.<ref name=":0">Heinrich, P., Miyara, S., & Shimoji, M. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. Pp 598.</ref> Okinawan is also grouped with Amami (or the Amami languages) as the Northern Ryukyuan languages.
Dialect of the Japanese language
[edit]Since the creation of Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawan has been labeled a dialect of Japanese as part of a policy of assimilation. Later, Japanese linguists, such as Tōjō Misao, who studied the Ryukyuan languages argued that they are indeed dialects. This is due to the misconception that Japan is a homogeneous state (one people, one language, one nation), and classifying the Ryukyuan languages as such would discredit this assumption.<ref>Heinrich, Patrick. The Making of Monolingual Japan. 2012. Pp 85–87.</ref> The present-day official stance of the Japanese government remains that Okinawan is a dialect, and it is common within the Japanese population for it to be called Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo, which means "Okinawa dialect (of Japanese)". The policy of assimilation, coupled with increased interaction between Japan and Okinawa through media and economics, has led to the development of Okinawan Japanese, which is a dialect of Japanese influenced by the Okinawan and Kunigami languages. Japanese and Okinawan only share 60% of the same vocabulary, despite both being Japonic languages.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Dialects of the Ryukyuan language
[edit]Okinawan linguist Seizen Nakasone states that the Ryukyuan languages are in fact groupings of similar dialects. As each community has its own distinct dialect, there is no "one language". Nakasone attributes this diversity to the isolation caused by immobility, citing the story of his mother who wanted to visit the town of Nago but never made the 25 km trip before she died of old age.<ref>Nakasone, Seizen. Festschrift. 1962. Pp. 619.</ref>
The contemporary dialects in Ryukyuan language are divided into three large groups: Amami-Okinawa dialects, Miyako-Yaeyama dialects, and the Yonaguni dialect. All of them are mutually unintelligible. Amami is located in the Kagoshima prefecture but it belongs to the Ryukyuan group linguistically. The Yonaguni dialect is very different in phonetics from the other groups but it comes closest to the Yaeyama dialect lexically.<ref>Shibatani, Mayoshi (2008): The Languages of Japan. Cambridge University Press. Template:ISBN. p. 194.</ref>
Its own distinct language
[edit]Outside Japan, Okinawan is considered a separate language from Japanese. This was first proposed by Basil Hall Chamberlain, who compared the relationship between Okinawan and Japanese to that of the Romance languages. UNESCO has marked it as an endangered language.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sociolinguistics
[edit]UNESCO listed six Okinawan language varieties as endangered languages in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The endangerment of Okinawan is largely due to the shift to Standard Japanese. Throughout history, Okinawan languages have been treated as dialects of Standard Japanese. For instance, in the 20th century, many schools used "dialect tags" to punish the students who spoke in Okinawan.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Consequently, many of the remaining speakers today are choosing not to transmit their languages to younger generations due to the stigmatization of the languages in the past.<ref name=":0" />
There have been several revitalization efforts made to reverse this language shift. However, Okinawan is still poorly taught in formal institutions due to the lack of support from the Okinawan Education Council: education in Okinawa is conducted exclusively in Japanese, and children do not study Okinawan as their second language at school. As a result, at least two generations of Okinawans have grown up without any proficiency in their local languages both at home and school.<ref name=":0" />
Okinawan vocabulary is about 39% lexically similar with Japanese <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and The Okinawan language is only 71% lexically similar to, or cognate with, standard Japanese. Even the southernmost Japanese dialect (Kagoshima dialect) is only 72% cognate with the northernmost Ryukyuan language (Amami). The Kagoshima dialect of Japanese, however, is 80% lexically similar to Standard Japanese.<ref>沖縄語辞典 (Okinawan dictionary). "前書き" (Preface). 国立国語研究所 1998.</ref>
Phonology
[edit]Vowels
[edit]The Okinawan language has five vowels, all of which may be long or short, though the short vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA are quite rare,Template:Sfn as they occur only in a few native Okinawan words with heavy syllables with the pattern Template:IPA or Template:IPA, such as Template:IPA mensōrē "welcome" or Template:IPA tonfā. The close back vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA are truly rounded, rather than the compressed vowels of standard Japanese.
Consonants
[edit]The Okinawan language counts some 20 distinctive segments shown in the chart below, with major allophones presented in parentheses.
The only consonant that can occur as a syllable coda is the archiphoneme Template:IPA. Many analyses treat it as an additional phoneme Template:IPA, the moraic nasal, though it never contrasts with Template:IPA or Template:IPA.
The consonant system of the Okinawan language is fairly similar to that of standard Japanese, but it does present a few differences on the phonemic and allophonic level. Namely, Okinawan retains the labialized consonants Template:IPA and Template:IPA which were lost in Late Middle Japanese (though they are retained in a handful of Modern Japanese dialects), possesses a glottal stop Template:IPA, features a voiceless bilabial fricative Template:IPA distinct from the aspirate Template:IPA, and has two distinctive affricates which arose from a number of different sound processes. Additionally, Okinawan lacks the major allophones Template:IPA and Template:IPA found in Japanese, having historically fronted the vowel Template:IPA to Template:IPA after the alveolars Template:IPA, consequently merging Template:IPA tsu into Template:IPA chi, Template:IPA su into Template:IPA shi, and both Template:IPA dzu and Template:IPA zu into Template:IPA ji. It also lacks Template:IPA as a distinctive phoneme, having merged it into Template:IPA.
Bilabial and glottal fricatives
[edit]The bilabial fricative Template:IPA has sometimes been transcribed as the cluster Template:IPA, since, like Japanese, Template:IPA allophonically labializes into Template:IPA before the high vowel Template:IPA, and Template:IPA does not occur before the rounded vowel Template:IPA. This suggests that an overlap between Template:IPA and Template:IPA exists, and so the contrast in front of other vowels can be denoted through labialization. However, this analysis fails to take account of the fact that Okinawan has not fully undergone the diachronic change Template:IPA → Template:IPA → Template:IPA as in Japanese, and that the suggested clusterization and labialization into Template:IPA is unmotivated.Template:Sfn Consequently, the existence of Template:IPA must be regarded as independent of Template:IPA, even though the two overlap. Barring a few words that resulted from the former change, the aspirate Template:IPA also arose from the odd lenition of Template:IPA and Template:IPA, as well as words loaned from other dialects. Before the glide Template:IPA and the high vowel Template:IPA, it is pronounced closer to Template:IPA, as in Japanese.
Palatalization
[edit]The plosive consonants Template:IPA and Template:IPA historically palatalized and affricated into Template:IPA before and occasionally following the glide Template:IPA and the high vowel Template:IPA: Template:IPA → Template:IPA chiri "fog", and Template:IPA → Template:IPA chura- "beautiful". This change preceded vowel raising, so that instances where Template:IPA arose from Template:IPA did not trigger palatalization: Template:IPA → Template:IPA kī "hair". Their voiced counterparts Template:IPA and Template:IPA underwent the same effect, becoming Template:IPA under such conditions: Template:IPA → Template:IPA Template:Scnnaji "eel", and Template:IPA → Template:IPA nukujiri "saw"; but Template:IPA → Template:IPA kagin "seasoning".
Both Template:IPA and Template:IPA may or may not also allophonically affricate before the mid vowel Template:IPA, though this pronunciation is increasingly rare. Similarly, the fricative consonant Template:IPA palatalizes into Template:IPA before the glide Template:IPA and the vowel Template:IPA, including when Template:IPA historically derives from Template:IPA: Template:IPA → Template:IPA shikē "world". It may also palatalize before the vowel Template:IPA, especially so in the context of topicalization: Template:IPA dushi → Template:IPA dusē or dushē "(topic) friend".
In general, sequences containing the palatal consonant Template:IPA are relatively rare and tend to exhibit depalatalization. For example, Template:IPA tends to merge with Template:IPA (Template:IPA myāku → Template:IPA nāku "Miyako"); Template:IPA has merged into Template:IPA and Template:IPA (Template:IPA → Template:IPA rū ~ Template:IPA dū "dragon"); and Template:IPA has mostly become Template:IPA (Template:IPA shui → Template:IPA sui "Shuri").
Flapping and fortition
[edit]The voiced plosive Template:IPA and the flap Template:IPA tend to merge, with the first becoming a flap in word-medial position, and the second sometimes becoming a plosive in word-initial position. For example, Template:IPA rū "dragon" may be strengthened into Template:IPA dū, and Template:IPA hashidu "door" conversely flaps into Template:IPA hashiru. The two sounds do, however, still remain distinct in a number of words and verbal constructions.Template:Citation needed
Glottal stop
[edit]Okinawan also features a distinctive glottal stop Template:IPA that historically arose from a process of glottalization of word-initial vowels.Template:Sfn Hence, all vowels in Okinawan are predictably glottalized at the beginning of words (Template:IPA → Template:IPA ami "rain"), save for a few exceptions. High vowel loss or assimilation following this process created a contrast with glottalized approximants and nasal consonants.Template:Sfn Compare Template:IPA → Template:IPA Template:Scwa "pig" to Template:IPA wa "I", or Template:IPA → Template:IPA Template:Scnni "rice plant" to Template:IPA → Template:IPA nni "chest".Template:Sfn
Moraic nasalTemplate:Anchor
[edit]The moraic nasal Template:IPA has been posited in most descriptions of Okinawan phonology. Like Japanese, Template:IPA (transcribed using the small capital Template:IPA) occupies a full mora and its precise place of articulation will vary depending on the following consonant. Before other labial consonants, it will be pronounced closer to a syllabic bilabial nasal Template:IPA, as in Template:IPA Template:IPA Template:Scnma "horse". Before velar and labiovelar consonants, it will be pronounced as a syllabic velar nasal Template:IPA, as in Template:IPA Template:IPA bingata, a method of dying clothes. And before alveolar and alveolo-palatal consonants, it becomes a syllabic alveolar nasal Template:IPA, as in Template:IPA Template:IPA kanda "vine". In some varieties, it instead becomes a syllabic uvular nasal Template:IPA. Elsewhere, its exact realization remains unspecified, and it may vary depending on the first sound of the next word or morpheme. In isolation and at the end of utterances, it is realized as a velar nasal Template:IPA.
Correspondences with Japanese
[edit]Orthography
[edit]
The Okinawan language was historically written using an admixture of kanji and hiragana. The hiragana syllabary is believed to have first been introduced from mainland Japan to the Ryukyu Kingdom some time during the reign of king Shunten in the early thirteenth century.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It is likely that Okinawans were already in contact with hanzi (Chinese characters) due to extensive trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and China, Japan and Korea. However, hiragana gained more widespread acceptance throughout the Ryukyu Islands, and most documents and letters were exclusively transcribed using this script, in contrast to in Japan where writing solely in hiragana was considered "women's script". The Omoro Sōshi (Template:Lang), a sixteenth-century compilation of songs and poetry,Template:Sfn and a few preserved writs of appointments dating from the same century were written solely in Hiragana.Template:Sfn Kanji were gradually adopted due to the growing influence of mainland Japan and to the linguistic affinity between the Okinawan and Japanese languages.Template:Sfn However, it was mainly limited to affairs of high importance and to documents sent towards the mainland. The oldest inscription of Okinawan exemplifying its use along with Hiragana can be found on a stone stele at the Tamaudun mausoleum, dating back to 1501.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
After the invasion of Okinawa by the Shimazu clan of Satsuma in 1609, Okinawan ceased to be used in official affairs.Template:Sfn It was replaced by standard Japanese writing and a form of Classical Chinese writing known as kanbun.Template:Sfn Despite this change, Okinawan still continued to prosper in local literature up until the nineteenth century. Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government abolished the domain system and formally annexed the Ryukyu Islands to Japan as the Okinawa Prefecture in 1879.Template:Sfn To promote national unity, the government then introduced standard education and opened Japanese-language schools based on the Tokyo dialect.Template:Sfn Students were discouraged and chastised for speaking or even writing in the local "dialect", notably through the use of "dialect cards" (Template:Lang). As a result, Okinawan gradually ceased to be written entirely until the American takeover in 1945.
Since then, Japanese and American scholars have variously transcribed the regional language using a number of ad hoc romanization schemes or the katakana syllabary to demarcate its foreign nature with standard Japanese. Proponents of Okinawan tend to be more traditionalist and continue to write the language using hiragana with kanji. In any case, no standard or consensus concerning spelling issues has ever been formalized, so discrepancies between modern literary works are common.
Syllabary
[edit]Technically, they are not syllables, but rather morae. Each mora in Okinawan will consist of one or two kana characters. If two, then a smaller version of kana follows the normal sized kana. In each cell of the table below, the top row is the kana (hiragana to the left, katakana to the right of the dot), the middle row in rōmaji (Hepburn romanization), and the bottom row in IPA.
Grammar
[edit]Okinawan follows a subject–object–verb word order and makes large use of particles as in Japanese. Okinawan retains a number of Japonic grammatical features also found in Old Japanese but lost (or highly restricted) in Modern Japanese, such as a distinction between the terminal form (Template:Lang) and the attributive form (Template:Lang), the genitive function of Template:Lang ga (lost in the Shuri dialect), the nominative function of Template:Lang nu (cf. Japanese: Template:Lang no), as well as honorific/plain distribution of ga and nu in nominative use.
| 書ちゅん "to write"
Classical Japanese: Template:Lang kaku | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shuri | Classical Japanese | ||||
| Irrealis | Template:Lang | 書か | kaka- | Template:Lang | kaka- |
| Continuative | Template:Lang | 書ち | kachi- | Template:Lang | kaki- |
| Terminal | Template:Lang | 書ちゅん | kachun | Template:Lang | kaku |
| Attributive | Template:Lang | 書ちゅる | kachuru | Template:Lang | kaku |
| Realis | Template:Lang | 書き | kaki- | Template:Lang | kake- |
| Imperative | Template:Lang | 書き | kaki | Template:Lang | kake |
One etymology given for the -un and -uru endings is the continuative form suffixed with uri ("to be; to exist", cf. Classical Japanese: Template:Lang wori): -un developed from the terminal form uri; -uru developed from the attributive form uru, i.e.:
- kachuru derives from kachi-uru;
- kachun derives from kachi-uri; and
- yumun ("to read", cf. Japanese: Template:Lang yomu) derives from yumi + uri.
A similar etymology is given for the terminal -san and attributive -saru endings for adjectives: the stem suffixed with Template:Lang sa (nominalises adjectives, i.e. high → height, hot → heat), suffixed with ari ("to be; to exist; to have", cf. Classical Japanese: Template:Lang ari), i.e.:
- takasan ("high; tall", cf. Japanese: Template:Lang takai) derives from taka-sa-ari;
- achisan ("hot; warm", cf. Japanese: Template:Lang atsui) derives from atsu-sa-ari; and
- yutasaru ("good; pleasant", cf. Japanese: 豊かな yutakana "abundant; plentiful") derives from yuta-sa-aru.
Parts of speech
[edit]| Nature of the part of speech in a sentence | Part of speech | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | No conjugation | Can become a subject | Noun (名詞) | ||||
| Pronoun (代名詞) | |||||||
| Cannot become a subject | Other words come after | Modifies | Modifies a declinable word | Adverb (副詞) | |||
| Modifies a substantive | Prenominal adjective (連体詞) | ||||||
| Connects | Conjunction (接続詞) | ||||||
| Other words may not come after | Interjection / exclamation (感動詞) | ||||||
| Conjugates | Declinable word | Shows movements | Conclusive form ends in "Template:Nihongo" | Verb (動詞) | |||
| Shows the property or state | Conclusive form ends in "Template:Nihongo" | Adjective (形容詞) | |||||
| Shows existence or decision of a certain thing | "Template:Nihongo" attaches to a substantive such as a noun | Existential-identificative verb (存在動詞) | |||||
| Shows state of existence of events | "Template:Nihongo" attaches to the word that shows state | Adjectival verb (形容動詞) | |||||
| Dependent | Conjugates | Makes up for the meanings of conjugated words | Conclusive form ends in "Template:Nihongo" | Auxiliary Verb (助動詞) | |||
| No conjugation | Attaches to other words and shows the relationship between words | Particle (助詞) | |||||
| Attaches to the head of a word and adds meaning or makes a new word | Prefix (接頭語) | ||||||
| Attaches to the end of a word and adds meaning or makes a new word | Suffix (接尾語) | ||||||
Nouns (名詞)
[edit]Nouns are classified as independent, non-conjugating part of speech that can become a subject of a sentence
Pronouns (代名詞)
[edit]Pronouns are classified the same as nouns, except that pronouns are more broad.
| Singular | Plural | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Demonstrative | Personal | Demonstrative | ||||||
| Thing | Place | Direction | Thing | Place | Direction | ||||
| 1st person | |||||||||
| 2nd person | |||||||||
| 3rd person | Proximal | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Medial | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | |||
| Distal | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | |||
| Indefinite | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | ||||
Adverbs (副詞)
[edit]Adverbs are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech that cannot become a subject of a sentence and modifies a declinable word (用言; verbs, adverbs, adjectives) that comes after the adverb. There are two main categories to adverbs and several subcategories within each category, as shown in the table below.
| Adverbs that shows state or condition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Example | |
| rowspan=10 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | Always | Template:Fs interlinear |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Occasionally | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Already | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo2 | Shortly | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Yet | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Always | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | A little | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Suddenly | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Normally | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | A little while | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| rowspan=10 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | A little | Template:Fs interlinear |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Many, a lot of | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | A lot | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Abundant | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Nihongo | A lot | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | A lot | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Extremely, a lot of | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Full, a lot | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | More | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | A little | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| rowspan=12 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Very | Template:Fs interlinear
Template:Fs interlinear |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Fairly, quite | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Not too much | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Often |
Kunu umi nji e īruku, uijundō.
Kono umi de wa, yoku, oyoguyo.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | To a sickening degree |
Chinū ya niriruka, nī, kayāchan.
Kinō wa, unzarisuruhodo, ni wo hokonda.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | To the extent someone gets irritated |
Jirā ga chukutaru shorui ya kachō ga wajiruka, bappētōtan.
Jirā ga tsukutta shorui wa kachō ga okoruhodo, machigetteita.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Very |
Wannē aiyuka, wata nu yadi, hirakitōtan.
Watashi wa totemo, onaka ga itakute, shagandeita.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Even more |
Ittā yatchī ya yukun, chijiduyaru.
Kimitachi no ani wa yokei, dame da.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Even more |
Jikan nu tachīnē, ari ga yanmē ya tatta, wassanayundō.
Jikan ga tateba, kare no byōki wa yokei, warukunaruyo.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Full, enough |
Munō nā, chufāra, kadan.
Shokuji wa mō, ippai, tabeta.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Not so... |
Sū ya sanshin ya ansukā, jōji earan.
Otō-san wa shamisen sorehodowa jōzu dewanai.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Dispersed, scattered |
Kuma nu mangurā chinchintu du, yā yātaru.
Kono atari wa chirijirini ie ga natta.
| |
| rowspan=20 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Quickly |
Chū ya hēku, sutiturashiyō.
Kyō wa hayaku, atsumattekureyo.
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Slowly |
Munō awatiran'youi, younnā, kamē.
Shokuji wa awatezu, yukkuri, tabeyo.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Naturally |
Tōnainē, nankuru, jinbunmen njitichūsani.
Iza to nareba, onozuto, chie mo detekuru darō.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Adverb for something heavy floating down on water |
Kā nu ui nu hata kara magi mumu nu yuttaikwattai, rūritichan.
Kawa no ue no hō kara ōkina momo ga donburakoto, nagaretekita.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Reluctantly, Nostalgically |
Nagurinaguritu, wakari nu ēsachi sun.
Nagorinagorito, wakare no aisatsu wo suru.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Nostalgically |
Shinjintu, fushiuta yatin, utatinda.
Shimijimito, fushiuta demo, utattemiyō.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Gradually |
Tidā irī nkai shidēshidē, utitīchun.
Taiyō wa nishi he shidaini, shizundeiku.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Completely |
Garasā nu chiribukuru, churāsa, kizāchinēran.
Karasu ga gomibukuro, nokorazu, asatteshimatta.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Too much, excessively |
Duku, yukushi bikē, shīnē, bachi, kanjun.
Amarinimo, uso bakari tsuitara, batsu ga ataru.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Gradually |
Nā fansō nu utu o dandandandan, mashinatōn.
Anata no fue no oto wa dandan, yokunatteiru.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Gradually |
Igaroun, shidēni, tushi, tutan'yā.
Wareware mo shidaini toshi wo totta ne.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Badly |
Dukudara, himichi shīnē, isa nkai mishirandē.
Hidoku, seki kondara, isha ni misenaito.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Straight |
Kuma kara ama nkai massugu, ichīnē, umi nkai njiyun.
Koko kara asoko he, massugu, ikuto, umi ni deru.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Correctly |
Nā ya uchināguchē mattouba, chikariyō.
Kimi wa okinawago wo tadashiku tsukatteyo.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Properly |
Yā ya dattidu, chukuyundō.
Ie wa chanto, tsukurundayo.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Neatly |
Anmā ya chū ya daten, sugatōn.
Haha wa kyō wa kichinto, minari wo totonoeteiru.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Freshly |
Danpachi sāni, sappattu, sōn.
Sanbatsu wo shite, sappari shiteiru.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Carefully |
Uya nu yushi, shikattu, chichoukiyō.
Oya no iukoto wo shikkari, kiiteokeyo.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Thoughtlessly, carelessly |
Anshin, shikennō, ukattuo, ukiraran.
Soredemo, shiken wa ukatsuniwa ukerarenai.
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Even more |
Unu yanmē ya nijīnē, tatta, wassanayundō.
Sono byōki wa gaman suru to, yokei, warukunaruyo.
| |
| Adverbs that shows judgement | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Example | |
| rowspan=3 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | If | Template:Fs interlinear |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Even if | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | For example, if you compare | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| rowspan=6 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Indeed, surely | Template:Fs interlinear |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | No way, no idea, unlikely, it is impossible that... | Template:Fs interlinear | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | By chance |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Perhaps |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | No way, no idea, unlikely, it is impossible that... |
Masaka chūya umachī ndē umāntan
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Really (intensifier) |
| |
| rowspan=4 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Please |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Please |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Always, have to |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Have to, at any cost |
| |
| rowspan=4 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | How |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Really |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | So much, really |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Why |
| |
| rowspan=5 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Completely, at all |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Definitely |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Go too far |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | At all |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Cannot do anything |
| |
| rowspan=3 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Really, truly |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Definitely |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Such a thing |
| |
| rowspan=3 Template:Vert header | Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Recklessly |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | On purpose |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Already |
| |
Prenominal adjectives (連体詞)
[edit]| Prenominal adjectives are classified the same as adverbs, except instead of modifying a declinable word, it modifies a substantive (体言; nouns and pronouns). | ||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | good |
Conjunctions (接続詞)
[edit]| Conjunctions are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech that connects words coming after to words coming before. | ||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "For that reason" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Plainlist | "And then" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "So" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Plainlist | "But" |
Interjections and exclamations (感動詞)
[edit]| Interjections are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech, where it does not modify or connect anything, and other words may not come after it. | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Oh / wow | 驚きの気持ちを表す
Expression of surprise |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Oh dear | Expression of dismay, concern, or worry |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Oh dear | 失敗した時や驚いた時などに発する
Expression of dismay, concern, or worry |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Yes | Honorific "yes" |
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Nihongo | No | 目上の人に対して用いる
Honorific "no" |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | Hey | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | All right | Expression of pleasure, joy, or permission |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Oh dear | 呆れ返った時などに発する語 |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | Sure enough, As I expected | |
Verbs (動詞)
[edit]Verbs are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows movements. The conclusive form ends in Template:Nihongo.
Adjectives (形容詞)
[edit]Adjectives are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows property or state. The conclusive form ends in Template:Nihongo.
(存在動詞)
[edit]存在動詞 are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows existence or decision of a certain thing. Template:Nihongo attaches to a substantive.
Adjectival verbs (形容動詞)
[edit]Adjectival verbs are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows the state of existence of events. Template:Nihongo attaches to words that shows state.
Auxiliary verbs (助動詞)
[edit]| Auxiliary verbs are classified as a dependent, conjugating part of speech that makes up the meanings of conjugated words. The conclusive form ends in Template:Nihongo. | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | want to | |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | ||
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | be able to | |
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Plainlist | ||
Particles (助詞)
[edit]| Case markers (格助詞) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Attaches to a substantive and marks the relationship between other words. | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example |
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Nihongo | Nominative case. Normally Template:Nihongo, but Template:Nihongo is used for pronouns and names. |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Genitive case; possessor. |
|
| Ø (Archaic: Template:Nihongo3) | Template:Nihongo | Accusative case. Modern Okinawan does not use a direct object particle, like casual Japanese speech. "yu" exists mainly in old literary composition. |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Instrumental case; the means by which something is achieved. |
|
| Template:Nihongo |
| ||
| Template:Nihongo・Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo・Template:Nihongo3 | Dative case; indirect object, benefactor, goal of motion. 手段・方法 |
|
| Template:Nihongo・Template:Nihongo | Locative case; marks the location where an action takes place, usually pertaining to an animate subject. Derives from the participle form of the verb をぅん wun "to be, to exist". |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | "as much as"; upper limit |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Ablative case; source, cause. 起点 | |
| Template:Nihongo | 場所・位置 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | 場所 | |
| Template:Nihongo | 所属等 | ||
| ぬ→「〜している」「〜である」「〜い・しい」pp459. | |||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | 相手 | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Quotative. | |
| Template:Nihongo | 時・場所等 | ||
| Adverbial Particles (副助詞) | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | "only; limit" |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | "up to, until, as far as" |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | "around, about, approximately" |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 | as much as; upper limit. |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 |
| |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo、Template:Nihongo | ||
| Binding particles (係助詞) | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Topic particle for long vowels, proper nouns, or names.
For other nouns, the particle fuses with short vowels. a → ā, i → ē, u → ō, e → ē, o → ō, n → nō. Pronoun 我ん (wan?) (I) becomes topicalized as 我んねー (wannē?) instead of 我んのー (wannō?) or 我んや (wan'ya?), although the latter does appear in some musical or literary works. |
|
| Template:Nihongo | |||
| Template:Nihongo | |||
| Template:Nihongo | |||
| Template:Nihongo | |||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | "Also" | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | "even, also in" |
|
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Sentence-ending particles (終助詞) | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Final interrogatory particle | |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Final interrogatory particle | |
| Template:Nihongo | 可否疑問 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | 強調疑問 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Final particle expressing 問いかけ・念押し | |
| Template:Nihongo | 軽い疑問 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | 軽く言う | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | Prohibitive | |
| Template:Nihongo | 命令 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo | ||
| Template:Nihongo | 断定 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | 断定 | ||
| Interjectory Particles (間投助詞) | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example |
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 | ||
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Plainlist | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | Template:Nihongo等 | ||
| Template:Nihongo | 意外、軽蔑 | ||
| Conjunctive particles (接続助詞) | |||
Prefixes (接頭語)
[edit]Suffixes (接尾語)
[edit]Others
[edit]Copula
[edit]| Okinawan | Past tense | Japanese | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Clarify span | Template:Nihongo3 | −2 | Template:Nihongo3 | −3 | Template:Nihongo3 | −4 | Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Clarify span | −5 | Template:Nihongo3 |
Question words (疑問詞)
[edit]| Okinawan | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "How much" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "When" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "Which" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "Who" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "Who" (plural) |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "How" (in what way) |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Plainlist | "How much" |
| Template:Plainlist | Template:Nihongo3 | "How" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Plainlist | "What kind" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "What" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "Why" |
| Template:Nihongo3 | Template:Nihongo3 | "Where" |
Syntax
[edit]The basic word order is subject–object–verb.
Okinawan is a marked nominative language (with the accusative being unmarked) that also shows minor active–stative variation in intransitive verbs relating to existence or emergence. In existence or emergence verbs, the subject may be optionally unmarked (except for pronouns and proper names, which must be marked with ga), and marked human subjects cannot use ga anymore, but rather always with the often-inanimate marker nu.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Example
[edit]Sample text in Standard Okinawan (Shuri-Naha dialect)
[edit]In Kanji
[edit]人間ー誰ん生まりやぎーなー自由やい、また、胴大切に思ゆる肝とぅ胴守らんでぃる肝ー、誰やてぃんゆぬ如授かとーるむんやん。人間ー元からいー矩ぬ備わとーくとぅ、互ーに兄弟やんでぃる考ーさーに事に当たらんだれーならん。(without ruby characters)
Template:Ruby-jaーTemplate:Ruby-jaんTemplate:Ruby-jaまりやぎーなーTemplate:Ruby-jaやい、また、Template:Ruby-jaTemplate:Ruby-jaにTemplate:Ruby-jaゆるTemplate:Ruby-jaとぅTemplate:Ruby-jaTemplate:Ruby-jaらんでぃるTemplate:Ruby-jaー、Template:Ruby-jaやてぃんゆぬTemplate:Ruby-jaTemplate:Ruby-jaかとーるむんやん。Template:Ruby-jaーTemplate:Ruby-jaからいーTemplate:Ruby-jaぬTemplate:Ruby-jaわとーくとぅ、Template:Ruby-jaーにTemplate:Ruby-jaやんでぃるTemplate:Ruby-jaーさーにTemplate:Ruby-jaにTemplate:Ruby-jaたらんだれーならん。(with ruby characters)
Transliteration
[edit]Ninjinō tā n 'nmariyagīnā jiyu yai, mata, dū tēshichi ni umuyuru chimu tu dū mamurandiru chimō, tā yatin yunugutu sajakatōru mun yan. Ninjinō mūtu kara īka ni nu sunawatōkutu, tagē ni chōdēyandiru kangēsā ni kutu ni atarandarē naran. (UDHR Article 1)
See also
[edit]- Okinawan Japanese, the language most commonly spoken in Okinawa today
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Citation
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journalTemplate:Unreliable source?
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite bookTemplate:Unreliable source?
- Template:Cite web
External links
[edit]Template:Incubator Template:Incubator Template:WikisourceWiki
- 首里・那覇方言概説（首里・那覇方言音声データベース）
- うちなあぐち by Kiyoshi Fiza, an Okinawan language writer.
- JLect – Okinawa Language-Dialect Dictionary (definitions and meanings)
Template:Japonic languages Template:Japanese language Template:Languages of Japan Template:Authority control