Okinawan language
Encyclopedia
Central Okinawan, or simply Okinawan (沖縄口 Uchinaaguchi ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi), 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 distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language
. Both languages have been designated as endangered
by the UNESCO
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger since its launch in February 2009.
Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects, the Shuri-Naha
variant is generally recognized as the de facto standard, as it had been used as the official language of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
since the reign of King Shō Shin
(1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard, which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era.
The Okinawan language has five vowels, all of which may be long or short, though the short vowels /e/ and /o/ are considerably rare. The close back vowels /u/ and /uː/ are more rounded than in standard Japanese. A sixth vowel /ɨ/ is sometimes posited in order to explain why sequences containing a historically raised /e/ fail to trigger palatalization as with /i/: */te/ → /tɨː/ tii "hand", */ti/ → /t͡ɕiː/ chii "blood". Acoustically, however, /ɨ/ is pronounced no differently from /i/, and this distinction can simply be attributed to the fact that palatalization took place prior to this vowel shift.
The consonant system of the Okinawan language is fairly similar to that of standard Japanese, but it does present a few differences on the phonemic
and allophonic
level. Namely, Okinawan retains the labialized consonants /kʷ/ and /ɡʷ/ which were lost in Late Middle Japanese, possesses a glottal stop /ʔ/, features a voiceless bilabial fricative /ɸ/ distinct from the aspirate /h/, and has two distinctive affricates
which arose from a number of different sound processes
. Additionally, Okinawan lacks the major allophones [t͡s] and [d͡z] found in Japanese, having historically fronted the vowel /u/ to /i/ after the alveolars /t d s z/, consequently merging [t͡su] tsu into [t͡ɕi] chi, [su] su into [ɕi] shi, and both [d͡zu] and [zu] into [d͡ʑi]. It also lacks /z/ as a distinctive phoneme, having merged it into /d͡ʑ/.
Bilabial and glottal fricatives
The bilabial fricative /ɸ/ has sometimes been transcribed as the cluster /hw/, since, like Japanese, /h/ allophonically labializes into [ɸ] before the high vowel /u/, and /ɸ/ does not occur before the rounded vowel /o/. This suggests that an overlap between /ɸ/ and /h/ exists, and so the contrast in front of other vowels can be denoted through labialization. However, this analysis fails to take account of the fact that Okinawan has not fully undergone the diachronic change */p/ → /ɸ/ → */h/ as in Japanese, and that the suggested clusterization and labialization into */hw/ is unmotivated. Consequently, the existence of /ɸ/ must be regarded as independent of /h/, even though the two overlap. Barring a few words that resulted from the former change, the aspirate /h/ also arose from the odd lenition of /k/ and /s/, as well as words loaned from other dialects. Before the glide /j/ and the high vowel /i/, it is pronounced closer to [ç], as in Japanese.
Palatalization
The plosive consonants /t/ and /k/ historically palatalized and affricated into /t͡ɕ/ before and occasionally following the glide /j/ and the high vowel /i/: */kiri/ → /t͡ɕiɾi/ chiri "fog", and */k(i)jora/ → /t͡ɕuɾa/ chura- "beautiful". This change preceded vowel raising, so that instances where /i/ arose from */e/ did not trigger palatalization: */ke/ → /kiː/ kii "hair". Their voiced counterparts /d/ and /ɡ/ underwent the same effect, becoming /d͡ʑ/ under such conditions: */unagi/ → /ʔɴnad͡ʑi/ qnnaji "eel", and */nokogiri/ → /nukud͡ʑiɾi/ nukujiri "saw"; but */kageɴ/ → /kagiɴ/ kagin "seasoning".
Both /t/ and /d/ may or may not also allophonically affricate before the mid vowel /e/, though this pronunciation is increasingly rare. Similarly, the fricative consonant /s/ palatalizes into [ɕ] before the glide /j/ and the vowel /i/, including when /i/ historically derives from /e/: */sekai/ → [ɕikeː] shikee "world". It may also palatalize before the vowel /e/, especially so in the context of topicalization
: [duɕi] dushi → [duɕeː] dusee or dushee "(topic) friend".
In general, sequences containing the palatal consonant /j/ are relatively rare and tend to exhibit depalatalization. For example, /mj/ tends to merge with /n/ ([mjaːku] myaaku → [naːku] naaku "Miyako
"); */rj/ has merged into /ɾ/ and /d/ (*/rjuː/ → /ɾuː/ ruu ~ /duː/ duu "dragon"); and /sj/ has mostly become /s/ (/sjui/ shui → /sui/ sui "Shuri
").
Flapping and fortition
The voiced plosive /d/ and the flap /ɾ/ tend to merge, with the first becoming a flap in word-medial position, and the second sometimes becoming a plosive in word-initial position. For example, /ɾuː/ ruu "dragon" may be strengthened into /duː/ duu, and /hasidu/ hashidu "door" conversely flaps into /hasiɾu/ hashiru. The two sounds do, however, still remain distinct in a number of words and verbal constructions.
Glottal stop
Okinawan also features a distinctive glottal stop /ʔ/ that historically arose from a process of glottalization of word-initial vowels. Hence, all vowels in Okinawan are predictably glottalized at the beginning of words (*/ame/ → /ʔami/ ami "rain"), save for a few exceptions. High vowel loss or assimilation following this process created a contrast with glottalized approximants and nasal consonants. Compare */uwa/ → /ʔwa/ qwa "pig" to /wa/ wa "I", or */ine/ → /ʔɴni/ qnni "rice plant" to */mune/ → /ɴni/ nni "chest".
Moraic nasal
The moraic nasal /N/ has been posited in most descriptions of Okinawan phonology. Like Japanese, /N/ (transcribed using the small capital /ɴ/) occupies a full mora
and its precise place of articulation will vary depending on the following consonant. Before other labial consonants, it will be pronounced closer to a syllabic
bilabial nasal
[m̩], as in /ʔɴma/ [ʔm̩ma] qmma "horse". Before velar and labiovelar consonants, it will be pronounced as a syllabic velar nasal
[ŋ̍], as in /biɴgata/ [biŋ̍gata] bingata
, a method of dying clothes. And before alveolar and alveolo-palatal consonants, it becomes a syllabic alveolar nasal
/n̩/, as in /kaɴda/ [kan̩da] kanda "vine". Elsewhere, its exact realization remains unspecified, and it may vary depending on the first sound of the next word or morpheme. In isolation and at the end of utterances, it is realized as a velar nasal [ŋ̍].
and Hiragana
. The Hiragana syllabary is believed to have first been introduced from mainland Japan to the Ryukyu Kingdom some time during the reign of king Shunten
in the early thirteenth century. It is likely that Okinawans were already in contact with Chinese character
s due to extensive trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and China, Japan and Korea. However, Hiragana gained more widespread acceptance throughout the Ryukyu Islands, and most documents and letters were uniquely transcribed using this script. The Omoro Saushi
(おもろさうし), a sixteenth-century compilation of songs and poetry, and a few preserved writs of appointments dating from the same century were written solely in Hiragana. Kanji
were gradually adopted due to the growing influence of mainland Japan and to the linguistic affinity between the Okinawan and Japanese languages. However, it was mainly limited to affairs of high importance and to documents sent towards the mainland. The oldest inscription of Okinawan exemplifying its use along with Hiragana can be found on a stone stele
at the Tamaudun
mausoleum, dating back to 1501.
After the invasion of Okinawa by the Satsuma clan in 1609, Okinawan ceased to be used in official affairs. It was instead replaced by standard Japanese writing and a form of Classical Chinese writing known as Kanbun
. Despite this change, Okinawan still continued to prosper in local literature up until the nineteenth century. Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government abolished the domain system
and formally annexed the Ryukyu Islands to Japan as the Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. In order to promote national unity, the government then introduced standard education and opened Japanese-language schools based on the Tokyo dialect. Students were discouraged and chastised for speaking or even writing in the local "dialect". As a result, Okinawan gradually ceased to be written entirely until the American takeover in 1945.
Since then, Japanese and American scholars have variously transcribed the regional language using a number of ad hoc romanization schemes or the Katakana
syllabary to demarcate its foreign nature with standard Japanese. Proponents of Okinawan tend to be more traditionalist and continue to write the language using Hiragana with Kanji. In any case, no standard or consensus concerning spelling issues has ever been formalized, and so discrepancies between literary works are not uncommon.
, not syllables.)
One etymology given for the -un and -uru endings is the continuative form suffixed with uri (Classical Japanese: wori, to be; to exist): -un developed from the terminal form uri; -uru developed from the attributive form uru, i.e.:
A similar etymology is given for the terminal -san and attributive -saru endings for adjectives: the stem suffixed with sa (nominalises adjectives, i.e. high → height, hot → heat), suffixed with ari (Classical Japanese: ari, to exist; to have), i.e.:
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 primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...
, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima
Kumejima, Okinawa
is a town located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan. The town is on the islands of Kumejima, Ōjima, Ōhajima, Torishima, and Iōtorishima. Among the islands, only Kumejima and Ōjima are populated....
, Tonaki
Tonaki, Okinawa
is a village located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 502 and the density of 134.2 persons per km². The total area is 3.74 km².-External links:* *...
, Aguni
Aguni, Okinawa
is a village located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 995 and the density of 130.41 persons per km². The total area is 7.63 km².Aguni Airport serves the island.-External links:*...
, and a number of smaller peripheral islands. Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language
Kunigami language
The 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...
. Both languages have been designated as endangered
Endangered language
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
by the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger since its launch in February 2009.
Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects, the Shuri-Naha
Naha, Okinawa
is the capital city of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa.Naha is a coastal city located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands...
variant is generally recognized as the de facto standard, as it had been used as the official language of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
Ryukyu Kingdom
The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...
since the reign of King Shō Shin
Sho Shin
' was a king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, the third of the line of the Second Shō Dynasty. Shō Shin's long reign has been described as "the Great Days of Chūzan", a period of great peace and relative prosperity. He was the son of Shō En, the founder of the dynasty, by Yosoidon, Shō En's second wife,...
(1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard, which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era.
Vowels
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i iː | (ɨ) | u uː |
| Close-Mid Close-mid vowel A close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from a close vowel to a mid vowel... |
e eː | o oː | |
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a aː |
The Okinawan language has five vowels, all of which may be long or short, though the short vowels /e/ and /o/ are considerably rare. The close back vowels /u/ and /uː/ are more rounded than in standard Japanese. A sixth vowel /ɨ/ is sometimes posited in order to explain why sequences containing a historically raised /e/ fail to trigger palatalization as with /i/: */te/ → /tɨː/ tii "hand", */ti/ → /t͡ɕiː/ chii "blood". Acoustically, however, /ɨ/ is pronounced no differently from /i/, and this distinction can simply be attributed to the fact that palatalization took place prior to this vowel shift.
Consonants
The Okinawan language counts approximately 20 distinctive segments shown in the chart below, with major allophones presented in parentheses.| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Alveolo- palatal Alveolo-palatal consonant In phonetics, alveolo-palatal consonants are palatalized postalveolar sounds, usually fricatives and affricates, articulated with the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, and the body of the tongue raised toward the palate... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Labio- velar |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | ɴ (ŋ̍) | ||||
| Plosive Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
p b | t d | t͡ɕ d͡ʑ | kʷ ɡʷ | k ɡ | ʔ | |
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
ɸ | s (z) | (ɕ) | (ç) | h | ||
| Flap Flap consonant In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another.-Contrast with stops and trills:... |
ɾ | ||||||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
j | w |
The consonant system of the Okinawan language is fairly similar to that of standard Japanese, but it does present a few differences on the phonemic
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
and allophonic
Allophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
level. Namely, Okinawan retains the labialized consonants /kʷ/ and /ɡʷ/ which were lost in Late Middle Japanese, possesses a glottal stop /ʔ/, features a voiceless bilabial fricative /ɸ/ distinct from the aspirate /h/, and has two distinctive affricates
Affricate consonant
Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :...
which arose from a number of different sound processes
Sound change
Sound change includes any processes of language change that affect pronunciation or sound system structures...
. Additionally, Okinawan lacks the major allophones [t͡s] and [d͡z] found in Japanese, having historically fronted the vowel /u/ to /i/ after the alveolars /t d s z/, consequently merging [t͡su] tsu into [t͡ɕi] chi, [su] su into [ɕi] shi, and both [d͡zu] and [zu] into [d͡ʑi]. It also lacks /z/ as a distinctive phoneme, having merged it into /d͡ʑ/.
Bilabial and glottal fricatives
The bilabial fricative /ɸ/ has sometimes been transcribed as the cluster /hw/, since, like Japanese, /h/ allophonically labializes into [ɸ] before the high vowel /u/, and /ɸ/ does not occur before the rounded vowel /o/. This suggests that an overlap between /ɸ/ and /h/ exists, and so the contrast in front of other vowels can be denoted through labialization. However, this analysis fails to take account of the fact that Okinawan has not fully undergone the diachronic change */p/ → /ɸ/ → */h/ as in Japanese, and that the suggested clusterization and labialization into */hw/ is unmotivated. Consequently, the existence of /ɸ/ must be regarded as independent of /h/, even though the two overlap. Barring a few words that resulted from the former change, the aspirate /h/ also arose from the odd lenition of /k/ and /s/, as well as words loaned from other dialects. Before the glide /j/ and the high vowel /i/, it is pronounced closer to [ç], as in Japanese.
Palatalization
The plosive consonants /t/ and /k/ historically palatalized and affricated into /t͡ɕ/ before and occasionally following the glide /j/ and the high vowel /i/: */kiri/ → /t͡ɕiɾi/ chiri "fog", and */k(i)jora/ → /t͡ɕuɾa/ chura- "beautiful". This change preceded vowel raising, so that instances where /i/ arose from */e/ did not trigger palatalization: */ke/ → /kiː/ kii "hair". Their voiced counterparts /d/ and /ɡ/ underwent the same effect, becoming /d͡ʑ/ under such conditions: */unagi/ → /ʔɴnad͡ʑi/ qnnaji "eel", and */nokogiri/ → /nukud͡ʑiɾi/ nukujiri "saw"; but */kageɴ/ → /kagiɴ/ kagin "seasoning".
Both /t/ and /d/ may or may not also allophonically affricate before the mid vowel /e/, though this pronunciation is increasingly rare. Similarly, the fricative consonant /s/ palatalizes into [ɕ] before the glide /j/ and the vowel /i/, including when /i/ historically derives from /e/: */sekai/ → [ɕikeː] shikee "world". It may also palatalize before the vowel /e/, especially so in the context of topicalization
Topic marker
A topic marker is a grammatical particle found in the Japanese, Korean, and, to a limited extent, Classic Chinese languages used to mark the topic of a sentence. This often overlaps with the subject of the sentence, causing confusion with learners, as most other languages lack it...
: [duɕi] dushi → [duɕeː] dusee or dushee "(topic) friend".
In general, sequences containing the palatal consonant /j/ are relatively rare and tend to exhibit depalatalization. For example, /mj/ tends to merge with /n/ ([mjaːku] myaaku → [naːku] naaku "Miyako
Miyako
-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...
"); */rj/ has merged into /ɾ/ and /d/ (*/rjuː/ → /ɾuː/ ruu ~ /duː/ duu "dragon"); and /sj/ has mostly become /s/ (/sjui/ shui → /sui/ sui "Shuri
Shuri
Shuri may refer to:* Shuri, Bhutan* Shuri, Okinawa - former capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom.* Shuri Kondo...
").
Flapping and fortition
The voiced plosive /d/ and the flap /ɾ/ tend to merge, with the first becoming a flap in word-medial position, and the second sometimes becoming a plosive in word-initial position. For example, /ɾuː/ ruu "dragon" may be strengthened into /duː/ duu, and /hasidu/ hashidu "door" conversely flaps into /hasiɾu/ hashiru. The two sounds do, however, still remain distinct in a number of words and verbal constructions.
Glottal stop
Okinawan also features a distinctive glottal stop /ʔ/ that historically arose from a process of glottalization of word-initial vowels. Hence, all vowels in Okinawan are predictably glottalized at the beginning of words (*/ame/ → /ʔami/ ami "rain"), save for a few exceptions. High vowel loss or assimilation following this process created a contrast with glottalized approximants and nasal consonants. Compare */uwa/ → /ʔwa/ qwa "pig" to /wa/ wa "I", or */ine/ → /ʔɴni/ qnni "rice plant" to */mune/ → /ɴni/ nni "chest".
Moraic nasal
The moraic nasal /N/ has been posited in most descriptions of Okinawan phonology. Like Japanese, /N/ (transcribed using the small capital /ɴ/) occupies a full mora
Mora (linguistics)
Mora is a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. As with many technical linguistic terms, the definition of a mora varies. Perhaps the most succinct working definition was provided by the American linguist James D...
and its precise place of articulation will vary depending on the following consonant. Before other labial consonants, it will be pronounced closer to a syllabic
Syllabic consonant
A syllabic consonant is a consonant which either forms a syllable on its own, or is the nucleus of a syllable. The diacritic for this in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the under-stroke, ⟨⟩...
bilabial nasal
Bilabial nasal
The bilabial nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is m...
[m̩], as in /ʔɴma/ [ʔm̩ma] qmma "horse". Before velar and labiovelar consonants, it will be pronounced as a syllabic velar nasal
Velar nasal
The velar nasal is the sound of ng in English sing. It is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is N....
[ŋ̍], as in /biɴgata/ [biŋ̍gata] bingata
Bingata
Bingata is an Okinawan traditional resist dyed cloth, made using stencils and other methods. It is generally bright-colored and features various patterns, usually depicting natural subjects such as fish, water, and flowers...
, a method of dying clothes. And before alveolar and alveolo-palatal consonants, it becomes a syllabic alveolar nasal
Alveolar nasal
The alveolar nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in numerous spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar nasals is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is n....
/n̩/, as in /kaɴda/ [kan̩da] kanda "vine". Elsewhere, its exact realization remains unspecified, and it may vary depending on the first sound of the next word or morpheme. In isolation and at the end of utterances, it is realized as a velar nasal [ŋ̍].
Correspondences with Japanese
| Japanese | Okinawan | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| /e/ | /i/ | [ti] not [t͡ɕi] |
| /o/ | /u/ | [tu] not [tsu], [du] not [dzu] |
| /ai/ | /eː/ | |
| /ae/ | ||
| /au/ | /oː/ | |
| /ao/ | ||
| /aja/ | ||
| /k/ | /k/ | /ɡ/ also occurs |
| /ka/ | /ka/ | /ha/ also occurs |
| /ki/ | /t͡ɕi/ | [t͡ɕi] |
| /ku/ | /ku/ | /hu/, [ɸu] also occurs |
| /si/ | /si/ | /hi/, [çi] also occurs |
| /su/ | /si/ | [ɕi]; formerly distinguished as [si] /hi/ [çi] also occurs |
| /tu/ | /t͡ɕi/ | [t͡ɕi]; formerly distinguished as [tsi] |
| /da/ | /ra/ | [d] and [ɾ] have merged |
| /de/ | /ri/ | |
| /do/ | /ru/ | |
| /ni/ | /ni/ | Moraic /ɴ/ also occurs |
| /nu/ | /nu/ | |
| /ha/ | /ɸa/ | /pa/ also occurs, but rarely |
| /hi/ | /pi/ ~ /hi/ | |
| /he/ | ||
| /mi/ | /mi/ | Moraic /ɴ/ also occurs |
| /mu/ | /mu/ | |
| /ri/ | /i/ | /iri/ unaffected |
| /wa/ | /wa/ | Tends to become /a/ medially |
Orthography
The Okinawan language was historically written using an admixture of KanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
and Hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
. The Hiragana syllabary is believed to have first been introduced from mainland Japan to the Ryukyu Kingdom some time during the reign of king Shunten
Shunten
' was a king of the Ryūkyū Islands.Shunten is the earliest king in Okinawa for whom a name is known. He is said to have taken power after defeating a usurper to the throne by the name of Riyū who had overthrown the 25th king of the Tenson Dynasty....
in the early thirteenth century. It is likely that Okinawans were already in contact with Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s due to extensive trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and China, Japan and Korea. However, Hiragana gained more widespread acceptance throughout the Ryukyu Islands, and most documents and letters were uniquely transcribed using this script. The Omoro Saushi
Omoro Soshi
The Omoro Sōshi is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from Okinawa and the Amami Islands, collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in hiragana with some simple kanji...
(おもろさうし), a sixteenth-century compilation of songs and poetry, and a few preserved writs of appointments dating from the same century were written solely in Hiragana. Kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
were gradually adopted due to the growing influence of mainland Japan and to the linguistic affinity between the Okinawan and Japanese languages. However, it was mainly limited to affairs of high importance and to documents sent towards the mainland. The oldest inscription of Okinawan exemplifying its use along with Hiragana can be found on a stone stele
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
at the Tamaudun
Tamaudun
is a mausoleum in Shuri, Okinawa, built for Ryūkyūan royalty in 1501 by King Shō Shin, the third king of the second Shō dynasty a short distance from Shuri Castle....
mausoleum, dating back to 1501.
After the invasion of Okinawa by the Satsuma clan in 1609, Okinawan ceased to be used in official affairs. It was instead replaced by standard Japanese writing and a form of Classical Chinese writing known as Kanbun
Kanbun
The Japanese word originally meant "Classical Chinese writings, Chinese classic texts, Classical Chinese literature". This evolved into a Japanese method of reading annotated Classical Chinese in translation . Much Japanese literature was written in literary Chinese using this annotated style...
. Despite this change, Okinawan still continued to prosper in local literature up until the nineteenth century. Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government abolished the domain system
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...
and formally annexed the Ryukyu Islands to Japan as the Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. In order to promote national unity, the government then introduced standard education and opened Japanese-language schools based on the Tokyo dialect. Students were discouraged and chastised for speaking or even writing in the local "dialect". As a result, Okinawan gradually ceased to be written entirely until the American takeover in 1945.
Since then, Japanese and American scholars have variously transcribed the regional language using a number of ad hoc romanization schemes or the Katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
syllabary to demarcate its foreign nature with standard Japanese. Proponents of Okinawan tend to be more traditionalist and continue to write the language using Hiragana with Kanji. In any case, no standard or consensus concerning spelling issues has ever been formalized, and so discrepancies between literary works are not uncommon.
Syllabary
(Technically, these are moraeMora (linguistics)
Mora is a unit in phonology that determines syllable weight, which in some languages determines stress or timing. As with many technical linguistic terms, the definition of a mora varies. Perhaps the most succinct working definition was provided by the American linguist James D...
, not syllables.)
| イ | エ | ア | オ | ウ | ヤ | ヨ | ユ | !! ワ !! ン | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ʔi | ʔe | ʔa | ʔo | ʔu | ʔja | ʔjo | ʔju | ʔwa | ʔɴ | |
| [ʔi] | [ʔe] | [ʔa] | [ʔo] | [ʔu] | [ʔja] | [ʔjo] | [ʔju] | [ʔɰa] | [ʔn] [ʔm] |
|
| イ/ユィ | エ/イェ | ア | オ/ヲ | ウ/ヲゥ | ヤ | ヨ | ユ | ヱ | ワ | ン |
| i | e | a | o | u | ja | jo | ju | we | wa | ɴ |
| [i] [ji] |
[e] [je] |
[a] | [o] [wo] |
[u] [wu] |
[ja] | [jo] | [ju] | [ɰe] | [ɰa] | [n] [m] [ŋ] [ɴ] |
| ヒ | ヘ | ハ | ホ | フ | ヒャ | ヒョ | ヒュ | - | フヮ | |
| hi | he | ha | ho | hu | hja | hjo | hju | ― | hwa | |
| [çi] | [çe] | [ha] | [ho] | [ɸu] | [ça] | [ço] | [çu] | ― | [ɸa] | |
| ギ | ゲ | ガ | ゴ | グ | ギャ | - | - | グヱ | グヮ | |
| gi | ge | ga | go | gu | gja | ― | ― | gwe | gwa | |
| [ɡi] | [ɡe] | [ɡa] | [ɡo] | [ɡu] | [ɡja] | ― | ― | [ɡʷe] | [ɡʷa] | |
| キ | ケ | カ | コ | ク | キャ | - | - | クヱ | クヮ | |
| ki | ke | ka | ko | ku | kja | ― | ― | kwe | kwa | |
| [ki] | [ke] | [ka] | [ko] | [ku] | [kja] | ― | ― | [kʷe] | [kʷa] | |
| チ | チェ | チャ | チョ | チュ | - | - | - | - | - | |
| ci | ce | ca | co | cu | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [ʨi] | [ʨe] | [ʨa] | [ʨo] | [ʨu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| ジ | ジェ | ジャ | ジョ | ジュ | - | - | - | - | - | |
| zi | ze | za | zo | zu | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [ʥi] | [ʥe] | [ʥa] | [ʥo] | [ʥu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| シ | シェ | サ | ソ | ス | シャ | - | シュ | - | - | |
| si | se | sa | so | su | sja | ― | sju | ― | ― | |
| [ɕi] | [ɕe] | [sa] | [so] | [su] | [ɕa] | ― | [ɕu] | ― | ― | |
| ディ | デ | ダ | ド | ドゥ | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| di | de | da | do | du | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [di] | [de] | [da] | [do] | [du] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| リ | レ | ラ | ロ | ル | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| ri | re | ra | ro | ru | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [ɾi] | [ɾe] | [ɾa] | [ɾo] | [ɾu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| ティ | テ | タ | ト | トゥ | - | - | - | - | - | |
| ti | te | ta | to | tu | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [ti] | [te] | [ta] | [to] | [tu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| ミ | メ | マ | モ | ム | ミャ | ミョ | - | - | - | |
| mi | me | ma | mo | mu | mja | mjo | ― | ― | ― | |
| [mi] | [me] | [ma] | [mo] | [mu] | [mja] | [mjo] | ― | ― | ― | |
| ビ | ベ | バ | ボ | ブ | ビャ | ビョ | ビュ | - | - | |
| bi | be | ba | bo | bu | bja | bjo | bju | ― | ― | |
| [bi] | [be] | [ba] | [bo] | [bu] | [bja] | [bjo] | [bju] | ― | ― | |
| ピ | ペ | パ | ポ | プ | ピャ | - | ピュ | - | - | |
| pi | pe | pa | po | pu | pja | ― | pju | ― | ― | |
| [pi] | [pe] | [pa] | [po] | [pu] | [pja] | ― | [pju] | ― | ― | |
| ッ | ||||||||||
| q | ||||||||||
| [h] [j] [s] [t] [p] |
||||||||||
| ー | ||||||||||
| ᴇ | ||||||||||
| [ː] |
Grammar
Okinawan dialects retain a number of grammatical features of classical Japanese, such as a distinction between the terminal form and the attributive form , the genitive function of ga (lost in the Shuri dialect), the nominative function of nu (Japanese: no), as well as honorific/plain distribution of ga and nu in nominative use.| kaku to write |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | Shuri | |||
| Irrealis | kaka- | kaka- | ||
| Continuative | kaki- | kachi- | ||
| Terminal | kaku | kachun | ||
| Attributive | kaku | kachuru | ||
| Realis | kake- | kaki- | ||
| Imperative | kake | kaki | ||
One etymology given for the -un and -uru endings is the continuative form suffixed with uri (Classical Japanese: wori, to be; to exist): -un developed from the terminal form uri; -uru developed from the attributive form uru, i.e.:
- kachuru derives from kachi-uru;
- kachun derives from kachi-uri; and
- yumun (Japanese: yomu, to read) derives from yumi + uri.
A similar etymology is given for the terminal -san and attributive -saru endings for adjectives: the stem suffixed with sa (nominalises adjectives, i.e. high → height, hot → heat), suffixed with ari (Classical Japanese: ari, to exist; to have), i.e.:
- takasan (Japanese: takai, high; tall) derives from taka-sa-ari;
- achisan (Japanese: atsui, hot; warm) derives from atsu-sa-ari; and
- yutasaru (good; pleasant) derives from yuta-sa-aru.