Editing Okinawan language (section)

===Japanese annexation to end of World War II===
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 {{nihongo|National Language Research Council|国語調査委員会}} 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" />

[[Dialect card|Okinawan dialect card]]s, 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==== American occupation ====
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.