{{Short description|Ryukyuan language spoken in Japan}} {{Distinguish|Amami languages|Amami Oshima Sign Language|Amami Japanese}} {{Infobox language |name=Amami Ōshima |altname=Amami |nativename={{lang|ryn-Hani|島口}}/{{lang|ryn-Kana|シマユムタ}} {{Transliteration|ryn|Shimayumuta}} |states=Japan |region=Amami Ōshima and neighboring islands, Kagoshima Prefecture |speakers= ca. {{sigfig|11,800|2}} |date=2004 |ref=e18 |familycolor=Altaic |fam1=Japonic |fam2=Ryukyuan |fam3=Northern Ryukyuan |fam4=Amami |lc1=ryn |ld1=Northern |lc2=ams |ld2=Southern (Setouchi) |glotto2=oshi1235 |glottorefname2=Oshima |map=Northern_Amami_Oshima_linguistic_sameness.svg |mapcaption=Tan in south: ''Southern Amami.'' <br/>Green, pink, and tan in north: ''Northern Amami.'' Each orange area indicates where people characterize the local dialect as being the same language as they speak. |notice=IPA |script=Japanese }}
The '''Amami language''' or languages ({{lang|ryn-Hani|島口}}, {{lang|ryn-Kana|シマユムタ}}, {{Transliteration|ryn|Shimayumuta}}), 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 {{nihongo|Amami dialect|奄美方言|Amami Hōgen}}.
==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>{{Cite web |title=消滅の危機にある言語・方言 {{!}} 文化庁 |url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/kokugo_nihongo/kokugo_shisaku/kikigengo/index.html |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.bunka.go.jp}}</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">{{cite journal |author=Karimata Shigehisa 狩俣繁久 |title=''Amami Okinawa hōgengun ni okeru Okinoerabu hōgen no ichizuke"'' 奄美沖縄方言群における沖永良部方言の位置づけ (Position of Okierabu Dialect in Northern Ryukyu Dialects) |journal=Nihon Tōyō bunka ronshū 日本東洋文化論集 |number=6 |year=2000 |pages=43–69 |language=Japanese |url=http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2379 |access-date=2014-10-24 |archive-date=2022-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202214532/http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2379 |url-status=dead }}</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 {{IPA|/k/}} is changed to {{IPA|/h/}} or even dropped when it is surrounded by {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/e/}} or {{IPA|/o/}}. This can rarely be observed in Okinawan. Japanese {{IPA|/-awa/}} becomes {{IPA|/-oː/}} in Amami and {{IPA|/-aː/}} in Okinawan.<ref name="karimata2000" />
The three-subdivision hypothesis is more phylogenetically-oriented. A marked isogloss is the vowel systems. Japanese language {{IPA|/e/}} corresponds to {{IPA|/ɨ/}} in Northern Amami Ōshima while it was merged into {{IPA|/i/}} 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">{{cite book |author=Wayne Lawrence |chapter=''Kikai-jima hōgen no keitōteki ichi ni tsuite'' 喜界島方言の系統的位置について |editor=Kibe Nobuko |title=''Shōmetsu kiki hōgen no chōsa hozon no tame no sōgōteki kenkyū: Kikai-jima hōgen chōsa hōkokusho'' 消滅危機方言の調査・保存のための総合的研究: 喜界島方言調査報告書 (General Study for Research and Conservation of Endangered Dialects in Japan: Research Report on the Kikaijima Dialects ) |pages=115–122 |year=2011 |language=Japanese |url=http://www.ninjal.ac.jp/endangered/common/pdf/report_11-01.pdf#118 |display-editors=etal |access-date=2014-10-24 |archive-date=2014-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502104917/http://www.ninjal.ac.jp/endangered/common/pdf/report_11-01.pdf#118 |url-status=dead }}</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">{{cite book |author =Shibata Takeshi 柴田武 |chapter=''Amami Ōshima no hōgen kukaku'' 奄美大島の方言区画 |editor=Kyū gakkai rengō Amami chōsa iinkai 九学会連合奄美調査委員会 |title=''Amami'' 奄美 |pages=150–156 |year=1982 |language=Japanese }}</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">{{cite book |author1=Shibata Takeshi 柴田武 |author2=Sanada Shinji 真田信治 |author3=Shimono Masaaki 下野雅昭 |author4=Sawaki Motoei 沢木幹栄 | title=''Amami Ōshima no kotoba'' 奄美大島のことば |year=1984 |language=Japanese }}</ref> *East China Sea side **Akatana{{clarify|date=August 2015}} **Yamato Village **Uken Village *Pacific Ocean side **Komi (Kominato){{clarify|date=August 2015}} **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 {{IPA|[ʔip]}} in Ōshama{{clarify|date=August 2015}} (Southern) and {{IPA|[ʔibi]}} in Tatsugō (Northern); "blade" is {{IPA|[katna]}} in Ōshama and {{IPA|[katana]}} in Tatsugō.<ref name="nakamoto1976">{{cite book |author =Nakamoto Masachie 中本正智 |title=''Ryūkyū hōgen on'in no kenkyū'' 琉球方言音韻の研究 |year=1976 |language=Japanese }}</ref>
==Names== According to Osada Suma (1902–1998), the dialect of Yamatohama, Yamato Village of Amami Ōshima had {{Transliteration|ryn|yumuta}} {{IPA|/ˈjumuθa/}} for 'language', {{Transliteration|ryn|shimayumuta}} {{IPA|/simaˈjumuθa/}} for 'island language' (i.e. Amami Ōshima) and {{Transliteration|ryn|Yamatoguchi}} {{IPA|/ˈjamaθoɡuci/}}{{clarify|date=August 2015}} for the language of mainland Japan (i.e. Japanese).<ref name="osada1980_387">{{cite book |editor1=Osada Suma 長田須磨 |editor2=Suyama Nahoko 須山名保子 |editor3=Fujii Misako 藤井美佐子 | title=''Amami hōgen bunrui jiten gekan'' 奄美方言分類辞典 下巻 |pages=387–388 |year=1980 |language=Japanese }}</ref> Another term, ''shimaguchi'' {{IPA|/simaɡuci/}}, 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">{{cite book |author =Kurai Norio 倉井則雄 |chapter=''Shimayumuta imamukashi'' シマユムタいまむかし |editor1=Matsumoto Hirotake 松本泰丈 |editor2=Tabata Chiaki 田畑千秋 |title=''Amami fukki 50 nen'' 奄美復帰50年 |year=2004 |language=Japanese }}</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 {{Transliteration|ryn|shimayumuta}}.<ref name="ebara1987">{{cite book |author =Ebara Yoshimori 恵原義盛 | title=''Amami no hōgen sanpo II'' 奄美の方言さんぽII |pages=10–11 |year=1987 |language=Japanese }}</ref>
==Phonology==
===Consonants=== Historically, vowel-initial words acquired an epenthetic glottal stop. When *wo and *we later became {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} 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 {{IPA|[C˭]}}, contrasting with the default aspirated stops {{IPA|[Cʰ]}}.<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>
: {{Background color|#ffffc7|Northern}} (Naze dialect<ref name="nakamoto1976c3_5">{{cite book |author =Nakamoto Masachie 中本正智 | chapter=''Amami hōgen no on'in'' 奄美方言の音韻 | title=''Ryūkyū hōgen on'in no kenkyū'' 琉球方言音韻の研究 |pages=312–370 |year=1976 |language=Japanese }}</ref>) : {{Background color|#9aff99|Southern}} (Koniya dialect<ref name="hirayama1966">{{cite book |editor=Hirayama Teruo 平山輝男 | title=''Ryūkyū hōgen no sōgōteki kenkyū'' 琉球方言の総合的研究 |year=1966 |language=Japanese |display-editors=etal}}</ref>)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+Consonant phonemes |- ! colspan="2" | ! Bilabial ! Alveolar ! Post-<br />alveolar ! Palatal ! Velar ! Glottal |- ! rowspan="2" | Nasal ! {{small|plain}} | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | | | |- ! {{small|glottalized}} | style="background-color:#ffffc7;" | {{IPA link|mˀ}} | style="background-color:#ffffc7;" | {{IPA link|nˀ}} | | | | |- ! rowspan="3" | Plosive/<br>Affricate ! {{small|aspirated}} | style="background-color:#9aff99;" | {{IPA link|p|pʰ}}{{efn|In the southern Shodon dialect (just off Kakeroma Island), {{IPA|*pʰ}} has become {{IPA|/ɸ/}}.}} | {{IPA link|t|tʰ}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ|t͡ʃʰ}} | | {{IPA link|k|kʰ}} | |- ! {{small|tenuis}} | style="background-color:#ffffc7;" | {{IPA link|p|p˭}} | {{IPA link|t|t˭}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ|t͡ʃ˭}} | | {{IPA link|k|k˭}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- ! {{small|voiced}} | {{IPA link|b}} | {{IPA link|d}} | | | {{IPA link|ɡ}} | |- ! rowspan="2" | Fricative ! {{small|voiceless}} | | {{IPA link|s}} | | | | {{IPA link|h}} |- ! {{small|voiced}} | | ({{IPA link|z}}){{efn|{{IPA|/z/}} is only found in recent loans from Japanese.}} | | | | |- ! colspan="2" | Approximant | | | | {{IPA link|j}} | {{IPA link|w}} | |- ! colspan="2" | Flap | | | {{IPA link|ɾ}} | | | |} {{notelist}}
====Closed syllables==== In the southern Shodon dialect, the consonants {{IPA|/p t tɕ k ɕ ɾ m n/}} occur at the end of a word or syllable, as in {{IPA|/k˭upʰ/}} 'neck', {{IPA|/sakʰɾa/}} 'cherry blossom' and {{IPA|/t˭ɨɾɡjo/}} '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 2.2{{clarify|date=August 2015}} are realized as {{IPA|[mɨtʰ]}}{{clarify|date=August 2015}} (water, 2.1) and {{IPA|[ʔiʃ]}}{{clarify|date=August 2015}} (stone, 2.2) while 2.3-5 nouns retain final vowels, e.g. {{IPA|[mimiː]}}{{clarify|date=August 2015}} (ear, 2.3), {{IPA|[haɾiː]}}{{clarify|date=August 2015}} (needle, 2.4) and {{IPA|[haɾuː]}}{{clarify|date=August 2015}} (spring, 2.5).<ref name="karimata1996">{{cite journal |author=Karimata Shigehisa かりまたしげひさ |title=''Kagoshima-ken Ōshima-gun Setouchi-chō Shodon hōgen no fonēmu (ge)'' 鹿児島県大島郡瀬戸内町諸鈍方言のフォネーム (下) |journal=Nihon Tōyō bunka ronshū 日本東洋文化論集 |number=2 |year=1996 |pages=1–57 |language=Japanese |url=http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2292 |access-date=2012-02-16 |archive-date=2016-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131142709/http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2292 |url-status=dead }}</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>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+Ōshima vowel qualities ! ! Front ! Central ! Back |- ! High | {{IPA link|i}} | {{IPA link|ɨ}} | {{IPA link|u}} |- ! Mid | {{IPA link|e}} | {{IPA link|ɘ}} | {{IPA link|o}} |- ! Low | | {{IPA link|a}} | |}
{{IPA|/ɨ/}} and {{IPA|/ɘ/}} are generally transcribed "ï" and "ë" in the literature.
{{IPA|/ɨ/}} derives from *e and merges with {{IPA|/i/}} after alveolar consonants. {{IPA|/ɘ/}} mostly derives from a merger of *ae and *ai, and so is usually long. In several northern dialects, the nasal vowels {{IPA|/ã õ ɨ̃ ɘ̃/}} developed from the loss of a word-medial {{IPA|/m/}}: : *pama > {{IPA|pʰaã}} 'shore', *jome > {{IPA|juw̃ɨ̃}} 'bride', *kimo > {{IPA|k˭joõ}} 'liver', *ɕima > {{IPA|ɕoõ}} 'island', *mimidzu > {{IPA|mɘɘ̃dza}} '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'' [http://133.13.160.25/rlang/amm/index.html]{{dead link|date=April 2024}}. *''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 [https://doi.org/10.11501/1852965 here]. *Samuel E. Martin, 1970. ''[https://www.jstor.org/pss/598434 Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus]'' *Shigehisa Karimata, 1995–1996. ''The Phonemes of the Shodon dialect in Amami-Oshima''[http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2290] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410023038/http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2290 |date=2015-04-10 }}[http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2292] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131142709/http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2292 |date=2016-01-31 }}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *Samuel E. Martin, 1970. ''[https://www.jstor.org/pss/598434 Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus]'' *Yuto Niinaga, 2009. ''[http://lingdy.aacore.jp/doc/sympo2009/ws_niinaga.pdf How Do We Describe Demonstratives in Yuwan Ryukyuan?]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}'' ;In Japanese *Shigehisa Karimata, 1995–1996. ''The Phonemes of the Shodon dialect in Amami-Oshima''[http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2290] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410023038/http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2290 |date=2015-04-10 }}[http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2292] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131142709/http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2292 |date=2016-01-31 }} *Masao Ono, 2003. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074846/http://ir.iwate-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10140/1799/1/erar-v63p51-70.pdf Phonological characteristics of Northern Amami dialects]'' *Nobuko Kibe, 2011. ''[http://researchmap.jp/?action=cv_download_main&upload_id=20294 Phonological characteristics of Kikaijima]''
== External links == {{incubator|ams|language=Southern Amami Ōshima}} {{incubator|ryn|language=Northern Amami Ōshima}} *[http://www.ninjal.ac.jp/endangered/report/kikaijima.html Research Report on the Kikaijima Dialects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214213445/http://www.ninjal.ac.jp/endangered/report/kikaijima.html |date=2012-12-14 }} published by the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (in Japanese)
{{Japonic languages}} {{Japanese language |collapsed}} {{Languages of Japan}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amami Language}} Category:Kagoshima Prefecture Category:Ryukyuan languages Category:Amami Islands