Amami Ōshima language
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check |unknown=Template:Main other |preview=Page using Template:Infobox language with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| acceptance | agency | aiatsis | aiatsis2 | aiatsis3 | aiatsis4 | aiatsis5 | aiatsis6 | aiatsisname | aiatsisname2 | aiatsisname3 | aiatsisname4 | aiatsisname5 | aiatsisname6 | altname | ancestor | ancestor2 | ancestor3 | ancestor4 | ancestor5 | ancestor6 | ancestor7 | ancestor8 | ancestor9 | ancestor10 | ancestor11 | ancestor12 | ancestor13 | ancestor14 | ancestor15 | boxsize | coordinates | coords | created | creator | date | dateprefix | development_body | dia1 | dia2 | dia3 | dia4 | dia5 | dia6 | dia7 | dia8 | dia9 | dia10 | dia11 | dia12 | dia13 | dia14 | dia15 | dia16 | dia17 | dia18 | dia19 | dia20 | dia21 | dia22 | dia23 | dia24 | dia25 | dia26 | dia27 | dia28 | dia29 | dia30 | dia31 | dia32 | dia33 | dia34 | dia35 | dia36 | dia37 | dia38 | dia39 | dia40 | dialect_label | dialects | ELP | ELP2 | ELP3 | ELP4 | ELP5 | ELP6 | ELPname | ELPname2 | ELPname3 | ELPname4 | ELPname5 | ELPname6 | era | ethnicity | extinct | fam1 | fam2 | fam3 | fam4 | fam5 | fam6 | fam7 | fam8 | fam9 | fam10 | fam11 | fam12 | fam13 | fam14 | fam15 | family | familycolor | fontcolor | glotto | glotto2 | glotto3 | glotto4 | glotto5 | glottoname | glottoname2 | glottoname3 | glottoname4 | glottoname5 | glottopedia | glottorefname | glottorefname2 | glottorefname3 | glottorefname4 | glottorefname5 | guthrie | ietf | image | imagealt | imagecaption | imagescale | iso1 | iso1comment | iso2 | iso2b | iso2comment | iso2t | iso3 | iso3comment | iso6 | isoexception | lc1 | lc2 | lc3 | lc4 | lc5 | lc6 | lc7 | lc8 | lc9 | lc10 | lc11 | lc12 | lc13 | lc14 | lc15 | lc16 | lc17 | lc18 | lc19 | lc20 | lc21 | lc22 | lc23 | lc24 | lc25 | lc26 | lc27 | lc28 | lc29 | lc30 | lc31 | lc32 | lc33 | lc34 | lc35 | lc36 | lc37 | lc38 | lc39 | lc40 | ld1 | ld2 | ld3 | ld4 | ld5 | ld6 | ld7 | ld8 | ld9 | ld10 | ld11 | ld12 | ld13 | ld14 | ld15 | ld16 | ld17 | ld18 | ld19 | ld20 | ld21 | ld22 | ld23 | ld24 | ld25 | ld26 | ld27 | ld28 | ld29 | ld30 | ld31 | ld32 | ld33 | ld34 | ld35 | ld36 | ld37 | ld38 | ld39 | ld40 | linglist | linglist2 | linglist3 | linglist4 | linglist5 | linglist6 | lingname | lingname2 | lingname3 | lingname4 | lingname5 | lingname6 | lingua | lingua2 | lingua3 | lingua4 | lingua5 | lingua6 | lingua7 | lingua8 | lingua9 | lingua10 | linguaname | linguaname2 | linguaname3 | linguaname4 | linguaname5 | linguaname6 | linguaname7 | linguaname8 | linguaname9 | linguaname10 | listclass | liststyle | map | map2 | mapalt | mapalt2 | mapcaption | mapcaption2 | mapscale | minority | module | name | nation | nativename | notice | notice2 | official | posteriori | pronunciation | protoname | pushpin_image | pushpin_label | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_alt | pushpin_map_caption | pushpin_mapsize | qid | ref | refname | region | revived | revived-cat | revived-category | script | setting | sign | signers | speakers | speakers_label | speakers2 | stand1 | stand2 | stand3 | stand4 | stand5 | stand6 | standards | state | states }}<templatestyles src="Template:Infobox/styles-images.css" />
The Amami language or languages (Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Transliteration), 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 the Setouchi township may be a distinct language more closely related to Okinawan than it is to northern Ōshima.
As Amami does not have recognition within Japan as a language, it is officially known as the Template:Nihongo.
Speakers
The number of native speakers is uncertain, but they are predominantly elderly. It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 speakers of the Northern dialect and approximately 2,000 speakers of the Southern (Setouchi) dialect. The Japanese government, via the Ministry of Education, is implementing measures to protect these endangered languages.<ref name=e18/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Classification
Linguists mostly agree on the validity of the Amami–Okinawan languages as a family. The subdivisions of Amami–Okinawan, however, remain a matter of scholarly debate, with two major hypotheses:
- In a two-branch hypothesis, posited by Nakasone (1961), Hirayama (1964) and Nakamoto (1990), among others, Amami–Okinawan divides into Amami and Okinawan, with the northern and southern varieties of Amami Ōshima both falling within the Amami branch.
- In a three-subdivision hypothesis, proposed by Uemura (1972) as one of several possible classifications and supported by Karimata (2000),<ref name="karimata2000">Template:Cite journal</ref> Northern Amami Ōshima (perhaps together with Kikai) and Central/Southern Okinawa form two branches, while the intervening varieties – Southern Amami Ōshima (Setouchi), Kunigami, and the dialects/languages of the islands between – form a third branch. In this proposal, Amami Ōshima does not constitute a single language, and the northern and southern varieties are not even more closely related to each other than they are to other Ryukyuan languages.
The two-subdivision hypothesis is convenient for discussing the modern languages since the posited linguistic boundary corresponds to the centuries-old administrative boundary that today separates Kagoshima and Okinawa Prefectures. In addition, several isoglosses do group Northern and Southern Amami together. In Amami, word-medial Template:IPA is changed to Template:IPA or even dropped when it is surrounded by Template:IPA, Template:IPA or Template:IPA. This can rarely be observed in Okinawan. Japanese Template:IPA becomes Template:IPA in Amami and Template:IPA in Okinawan.<ref name="karimata2000" />
The three-subdivision hypothesis is more phylogenetically-oriented. A marked isogloss is the vowel systems. Japanese language Template:IPA corresponds to Template:IPA in Northern Amami Ōshima while it was merged into Template:IPA in Southern Amami Ōshima through Okinawan.<ref name="karimata2000" />
The vowel system-based classification is not without complication. The northern three communities of Kikai Island share the seven-vowel system with Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima to the south, while the rest of Kikai falls in with Okinoerabu and Yoron even further south. Based on other evidence, however, Karimata (2000)<ref name="karimata2000" /> and Lawrence (2011)<ref name="lawrence2011">Template:Cite book</ref> tentatively group Kikai dialects together.
Dialects
Amami Ōshima can be divided into Northern Amami Ōshima and Southern Amami Ōshima despite conflicting patterns of isoglosses.<ref name="shibata1982">Template:Cite book</ref> The distribution of Southern Amami Ōshima roughly corresponds to Setouchi Town, including offshore islands. The rest of the main island speaks Northern Amami Ōshima.<ref name="shibata1982"/>
Shibata et al. (1984) takes a lexicostatistic approach to subgrouping Northern Amami Ōshima dialects:<ref name="shibata1984">Template:Cite book</ref>
- East China Sea side
- Pacific Ocean side
- Komi (Kominato)Template:Clarify
- Northern Sumiyō
- Southern Sumiyō
In addition, Sani, a small community on a peninsula at the northern tip of the island, is known to have distinct phonology.
Based on phonetic and lexical evidence, Shibata et al. (1984) subdivide Southern Amami Ōshima into
- Higashi (Eastern) Magiri
- Nishi (Western) Magiri
reflecting the administrative divisions during the Edo period. While Uke Island belonged to the Nishi Magiri district, its dialect is closer to that of Higashi Magiri.<ref name="shibata1984"/>
Southern Amami Ōshima contrasts with Northern Amami Ōshima in its final unreleased consonants. For example, "shrimp" is Template:IPA in ŌshamaTemplate:Clarify (Southern) and Template:IPA in Tatsugō (Northern); "blade" is Template:IPA in Ōshama and Template:IPA in Tatsugō.<ref name="nakamoto1976">Template:Cite book</ref>
Names
According to Osada Suma (1902–1998), the dialect of Yamatohama, Yamato Village of Amami Ōshima had Template:Transliteration Template:IPA for 'language', Template:Transliteration Template:IPA for 'island language' (i.e. Amami Ōshima) and Template:Transliteration Template:IPATemplate:Clarify for the language of mainland Japan (i.e. Japanese).<ref name="osada1980_387">Template:Cite book</ref> Another term, shimaguchi Template:IPA, is absent from Osada's dictionary. According to Kurai Norio (b. 1923), a local historian from Amami Ōshima, shimaguchi contrasted with Yamatoguchi, while shimayumuta was associated with accentual and intonational differences among various shima (villages).<ref name="kuraishi2004">Template:Cite book</ref> Ebara Yoshimori (1905–1988), a folklorist from Naze, Amami Ōshima, conjectured that shimaguchi was of relatively recent origin, possibly made through analogy with Yamatoguchi. He thought that the dialect of one's home community was better referred to as Template:Transliteration.<ref name="ebara1987">Template:Cite book</ref>
Phonology
Consonants
Historically, vowel-initial words acquired an epenthetic glottal stop. When *wo and *we later became Template:IPA and Template:IPA without an initial glottal stop, the glottal stop elsewhere became phonemic. When still later initial vowels were elided, an initial glottal stop merged with the following consonant, establishing a series of "glottalized" consonants. While the nasals are truly glottalized, the "glottalized" stops are merely tenuis Template:IPA, contrasting with the default aspirated stops Template:IPA.<ref>Samuel E. Martin (1970) "Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus", in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 90, no. 1 (Jan–Mar), pp. 97–139.</ref>
- Template:Background color (Naze dialect<ref name="nakamoto1976c3_5">Template:Cite book</ref>)
- Template:Background color (Koniya dialect<ref name="hirayama1966">Template:Cite book</ref>
Closed syllables
In the southern Shodon dialect, the consonants Template:IPA occur at the end of a word or syllable, as in Template:IPA 'neck', Template:IPA 'cherry blossom' and Template:IPA 'well'.<ref name=Karimata/> Other dialects are similar. Final consonants are usually the result of eliding high front vowels. Elision is partly conditioned by pitch accent. In Shodon dialect, for example, the noun with accent classes 2.1 and 2.2Template:Clarify are realized as Template:IPATemplate:Clarify (water, 2.1) and Template:IPATemplate:Clarify (stone, 2.2) while 2.3-5 nouns retain final vowels, e.g. Template:IPATemplate:Clarify (ear, 2.3), Template:IPATemplate:Clarify (needle, 2.4) and Template:IPATemplate:Clarify (spring, 2.5).<ref name="karimata1996">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Vowels
There are seven distinct vowel qualities in Amami Ōshima, in addition to a phonemic distinction between long and short vowels and in some dialects oral and nasal vowels.<ref name=Karimata>Shigehisa Karimata (2015) "Ryukyuan languages: a grammar overview", in Heinrich, Miyara, & Shimoji (eds) Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages: History, Structure, and Use</ref>
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link |
| Mid | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link |
| Low | Template:IPA link |
Template:IPA and Template:IPA are generally transcribed "ï" and "ë" in the literature.
Template:IPA derives from *e and merges with Template:IPA after alveolar consonants. Template:IPA mostly derives from a merger of *ae and *ai, and so is usually long. In several northern dialects, the nasal vowels Template:IPA developed from the loss of a word-medial Template:IPA:
- *pama > Template:IPA 'shore', *jome > Template:IPA 'bride', *kimo > Template:IPA 'liver', *ɕima > Template:IPA 'island', *mimidzu > Template:IPA 'earthworm'
Kasarisani dialect has 11 oral and nasal vowels, while Sani dialect adds long vowels for a total of 18, the largest inventory of any Ryukyuan languages.
Resources
- Amami hōgen bunrui jiten (1977–1980) by Osada Suma, Suyama Nahoko and Fujii Misako. A dictionary for the dialect of Osada's home community, Yamatohama, Yamato Village of Amami Ōshima (part of Northern Amami Ōshima). Its phonemic romanization was designed by Hattori Shirō. He also supervised the early compilation process. This dictionary is partially available online as the Amami Dialect Dictionary [1]Template:Dead link.
- The Phonetics and Vocabulary of the Sani Dialect (Amami Oshima Island, Ryukyuan language group)' (2003) by Karimata Shigehisa. Sani is known as a language island.
- Kikaijima hōgen-shū (1977 [1941]) by Iwakura Ichirō. A dictionary for the author's home community, Aden, and a couple of other southern communities on Kikai Island of the Amami Islands (its membership disputed). Can also be accessed at the NDL Digital Collections here.
- Samuel E. Martin, 1970. Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus
- Shigehisa Karimata, 1995–1996. The Phonemes of the Shodon dialect in Amami-Oshima[2] Template:Webarchive[3] Template:Webarchive
References
Further reading
- Samuel E. Martin, 1970. Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus
- Yuto Niinaga, 2009. How Do We Describe Demonstratives in Yuwan Ryukyuan?Template:Dead link
- In Japanese
- Shigehisa Karimata, 1995–1996. The Phonemes of the Shodon dialect in Amami-Oshima[4] Template:Webarchive[5] Template:Webarchive
- Masao Ono, 2003. Phonological characteristics of Northern Amami dialects
- Nobuko Kibe, 2011. Phonological characteristics of Kikaijima
External links
Template:Incubator Template:Incubator
- Research Report on the Kikaijima Dialects Template:Webarchive published by the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (in Japanese)
Template:Japonic languages Template:Japanese language Template:Languages of Japan