Japonic languages
Encyclopedia
Japonic languages is a term which identifies and characterises the Japanese
which is spoken on the main islands of Japan and the Ryukyuan languages
spoken in the Ryukyu Islands
. This widely accepted linguistics term was coined by Leon Serafim
.
"Japonic" or "Japanese-Ryukyuan" is a language family
composed of the Japanese and Ryukyuan languages. A common ancestral language is known as "Proto-Japonic". The essential feature of this classification is that the first split in the family resulted in the separation of all dialects of Japanese from all varieties of Ryukyuan. According to Shiro Hattori
, this separation occurred during the Yamato period
(250–710).
Scholarly discussions about the origin of Japonic languages present an unresolved set of related issues. The clearest connections seem to be with toponyms in southern Korea
which may be in Gaya
(Kara) or other scarcely attested languages.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
which is spoken on the main islands of Japan and the Ryukyuan languages
Ryukyuan languages
The Ryukyuan languages are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands, and make up a subgroup of the Japonic, itself controversially a subgroup of Altaic....
spoken in the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
. This widely accepted linguistics term was coined by Leon Serafim
Leon Serafim
Leon Angelo Serafim is an American academic. He is a Japanologist, linguistic historian and professor at the University of Hawaii....
.
"Japonic" or "Japanese-Ryukyuan" is a language family
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
composed of the Japanese and Ryukyuan languages. A common ancestral language is known as "Proto-Japonic". The essential feature of this classification is that the first split in the family resulted in the separation of all dialects of Japanese from all varieties of Ryukyuan. According to Shiro Hattori
Shiro Hattori
was a Japanese academic and author. He was a linguistics expert, a specialist in early Japanese and Japonic languages and a professor at the University of Tokyo.-Selected works:...
, this separation occurred during the Yamato period
Yamato period
The is the period of Japanese history when the Japanese Imperial court ruled from modern-day Nara Prefecture, then known as Yamato Province.While conventionally assigned to the period 250–710 , the actual start of Yamato rule is disputed...
(250–710).
Scholarly discussions about the origin of Japonic languages present an unresolved set of related issues. The clearest connections seem to be with toponyms in southern Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
which may be in Gaya
Gaya language
Gaya , also transliterated Kara, is the presumed language of the Gaya confederacy in southern Korea. It is supposedly attested from thirteen toponyms, but it cannot be certain that these reflect the Gaya language itself rather than an earlier language...
(Kara) or other scarcely attested languages.
Members
The Japonic (or Japanese–Ryukyuan) languages are:- JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
- Hachijō (conservative dialects of the HachijōjimaHachijojimais a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea, administered by Tōkyō and located approximately south of the Special Wards of Tōkyō. It is the southernmost and most isolated of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago...
and Daitō IslandsDaito IslandsDaitō Islands are three islands that lie about east of Okinawa. From north to south, the islands are:* Data from 2004 Nov 20, 08:55 version of Japanese Wikipedia...
, including Aogashima) - Mainland Japanese
- Eastern Japanese, most dialects from Nagoya east
- Western Japanese, most dialects west of Nagoya
- Kyūshū, Kyūshū
- Satsugū, southern Kyūshū, around SatsumaSatsuma Provincewas an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Its abbreviation is Sasshū .During the Sengoku Period, Satsuma was a fief of the Shimazu daimyo, who ruled much of southern Kyūshū from their castle at Kagoshima city.In 1871, with the...
, sometimes separated from Kyushu dialect
- Satsugū, southern Kyūshū, around Satsuma
- Hachijō (conservative dialects of the Hachijōjima
- RyukyuanRyukyuan languagesThe Ryukyuan languages are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands, and make up a subgroup of the Japonic, itself controversially a subgroup of Altaic....
- Amami–Okinawan
- AmamiAmami languageThe Amami language Shimayumuta) is spoken in the Amami Islands south of Kyūshū. The number of competent native speakers is not known, but native speakers can be found mostly among old people—as a result of Japanese language policy, the younger generations speaks mostly Japanese as their first...
- Northern Amami Oshima dialect
- Southern Amami Oshima dialect
- KikaiKikai, Kagoshimais a town located in Ōshima District, Kagoshima, Japan.As of 2008, the town had an estimated population of 8,207 and the density of 144 persons per km². The total area is 56.94 km².Kikai Airport is located in the town....
dialect - TokunoshimaTokunoshimais an island in the Amami Islands of southwestern Japan. Administatively it belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture. Three towns are located on the island: Tokunoshima, Isen, and Amagi...
dialect
- Okinawan
- OkinoerabuOkinoerabujimais an island in the political boundaries of Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan and in the Amami Islands.Two towns, Wadomari and China, govern portions of the island.Okinoerabu Airport, in Wadomari, is located on the island.-References:...
dialect - YoronYoronjimais one of the Amami Islands of Japan. Yoron lies 22 km north of Hedo Point, the northernmost point on Okinawa Island. Situated along the line between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, it is the southernmost island in Kagoshima Prefecture. It is also informally known as...
dialect - KunigamiKunigami languageThe Kunigami language is an Okinawan language spoken largely in the north of Okinawa Island. Like other Okinawan languages, Kunigami is part of the Ryukyuan family...
(Northern Okinawan) - ShuriOkinawan languageCentral Okinawan, or simply 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...
(Central Okinawan)
- Okinoerabu
- Amami
- MiyakoMiyako languageMiyako is a language spoken in the Miyako Islands, located southwest of Okinawa. The combined population of the islands is about 52,000 . Miyako is a Ryukyuan language, most closely related to Yaeyama...
- MiyakoMiyako-Places in Japan:*Miyako, Iwate, a city in Iwate Prefecture*The Miyako Islands, including Miyako Island itself**Miyakojima, Okinawa, a city of the Miyako Islands**Miyako language, the Ryukyuan dialect spoken on Miyako Island and other nearby islands...
dialect - IrabuIrabu, OkinawaIrabu was a town located in Miyako District, Okinawa, Japan.On October 1, 2005 Irabu was merged with the towns of Gusukube and Shimoji, and the village of Ueno, all from Miyako District, and the old city of Hirara, to form the new city of Miyakojima, Okinawa.As of 2003, the town had an estimated...
dialect
- Miyako
- YaeyamaYaeyama languageYaeyama is a Ryukyuan language that is spoken in the Yaeyama Islands, the southernmost inhabited island group in Japan, with a combined population of about 50,000 . The Yaeyama Islands are situated to the southwest of the Miyako area of the Ryukyus and to the east of Taiwan. Yaeyama is most...
- IshigakiIshigaki*Ishigaki Island*Ishigaki, Okinawa*Ishigaki Airport*Japanese escort Ishigaki*Ai Ishigaki , guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets*Ishigaki Rin...
dialect - IriomoteIriomoteIriomote is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself....
dialect - TaketomiTaketomiTaketomi is an island in the Yaeyama District of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Located a ten-minute boat ride away from Ishigaki island, this island has a village in the center, also named Taketomi. Taketomi has a population of approximately 361 and an area of 6.32 km²...
dialect
- Ishigaki
- YonaguniYonaguni languageYonaguni is a Ryukyuan language spoken by around 800 people on the island of Yonaguni, in the Ryukyu Islands, just east of Taiwan. It is most closely related to Yaeyama..-Phonology:...
- Amami–Okinawan