Amami languages | |
---|---|
Geographic distribution | Amami Islands, Japan |
Ethnicity | Ryukyuan |
Linguistic classification | Japonic |
Subdivisions | |
Language codes | |
Glottolog | amam1245 |
ELP | Amami |
The Amami languages are a collection of dialect clusters spoken across the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. All dialects are members of the Ryukyuan languages, specifically its northern branch.
There are many distinct clusters of the Amami languages, most of which have their own ISO 639-3 codes: [1] [2]
Scholars[ according to whom? ] are divided on the specific subgrouping of these dialects. The Okinoerabu and Yoron clusters may be grouped within the Kunigami language. [3]
Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,564,175 and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2. Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto Prefecture to the north and Miyazaki Prefecture to the northeast.
Yoron is a town located on Yoronjima, in Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
Japonic or Japanese–Ryukyuan, sometimes also Japanic, is a language family comprising Japanese, spoken in the main islands of Japan, and the Ryukyuan languages, spoken in the Ryukyu Islands. The family is universally accepted by linguists, and significant progress has been made in reconstructing the proto-language, Proto-Japonic. The reconstruction implies a split between all dialects of Japanese and all Ryukyuan varieties, probably before the 7th century. The Hachijō language, spoken on the Izu Islands, is also included, but its position within the family is unclear.
The Ryukyuan languages, also Lewchewan or Luchuan, are the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Along with the Japanese language and the Hachijō language, they make up the Japonic language family.
Amami Ōshima, also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands.
The Amami language or languages, also known as Amami Ōshima or simply Ōshima, 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.
The Amami Islands is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of Kyushu. Administratively, the group belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan and the Japan Coast Guard agreed on February 15, 2010, to use the name of Amami-guntō (奄美群島) for the Amami Islands. Prior to that, Amami-shotō (奄美諸島) was also used. The name of Amami is probably cognate with Amamikyu (阿摩美久), the goddess of creation in the Ryukyuan creation myth.
Tokunoshima, also known in English as Tokuno Island, is an island in the Amami archipelago of the southern Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
The Kunigami or Northern Okinawan language, is a Ryukyuan language of Northern Okinawa Island in Kunigami District and city of Nago, otherwise known as the Yanbaru region, historically the territory of the kingdom of Hokuzan.
Yoronjima, also known as Yoron, is one of the Amami Islands.
Ōshima Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The subprefectural office is located in Amami.
As Japanese citizens, people of the Amami Islands presently only have family names (surnames) and given names. They are known for many unique one-character surnames that date back to the Edo period. A survey on telephone directories of 2002 shows that 21.5% of the residents of the Amami Islands have one-character surnames. Famous people with one-character surnames include Atari (中) Kōsuke, Hajime (元) Chitose and Nobori (昇) Shomu.
The Kikai language is spoken on Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture of southwestern Japan. It is debated whether it is a single dialect cluster. Regardless, all Kikai dialects are members of the Amami–Okinawan languages, which are part of the Japonic languages.
The Yoron language is a dialect continuum spoken on Yoronjima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. It is one of the Northern Ryukyuan languages, which are a sub-branch within the Japonic language family. The language is one of the most endangered languages in all of Japan.
The Northern Ryukyuan languages are a group of languages spoken in the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture and the Okinawa Islands, Okinawa Prefecture of southwestern Japan. It is one of two primary branches of the Ryukyuan languages, which are then part of the Japonic languages. The subdivisions of Northern Ryukyuan are a matter of scholarly debate.
The Okinoerabu dialect cluster, also Oki-no-Erabu, is a dialect cluster spoken on Okinoerabu Island, Kagoshima Prefecture of southwestern Japan. It is part of the Amami–Okinawan languages, which are part of the Japonic languages.
The Southern Amami Ōshima language is a Ryukyuan language spoken in Setouchi, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is generally considered to be the southern variety of the Amami Ōshima language, whereas a separate northern variety exists.
Amami Japanese is a variety of the Japanese language spoken on the island of Amami Ōshima. Its native term Ton-futsūgo means "potato standard". Much like Okinawan Japanese, it is a descendant of Standard Japanese but with influences from the traditional Ryukyuan languages.
Ryukyuan culture are the cultural elements of the indigenous Ryukyuan people, an ethnic group native to Okinawa Prefecture and parts of Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan.
The Insular Japonic languages or Japonic-Ryukyu languages are a subdivision of the Japonic languages, as opposed to the hypothetical Peninsular Japonic languages formerly spoken in central and southern Korea. This grouping, originally proposed by Vovin, has been taken up several times subsequently.