Tokunoshima language

Okamura (2007) posits two divisions of Tokunoshima: Kametsu–Amagi in the north and Isen in the south.{{cite book |author=Okamura Takahiro 岡村隆博 | title=Amami hōgen: kana moji de no kakikata 奄美方言—カナ文字での書き方 |year=2007 |language=Japanese }} Kametsu is the traditional politico-cultural center of the island. It has been a center of distributions of new lexical traits, some of which were not confined in Tokunoshima Town but spread to Amagi Town in the northeast and, less frequently, to Isen. The dialects of Isen are considered more conservative by the speakers.{{cite book |author=Shibata Takeshi 柴田武| title=Amami Tokunoshima no kotoba 奄美徳之島のことば |pages=42–43 |year=1977 |language=Japanese |display-authors=etal}}

According to Okamura Takahiro (b. 1936 in Asama, Amagi Town), the speakers of Tokunoshima call their tongues sïmagucï, which consists of two morphemes. The first part sïma (Standard Japanese shima) refers to an island both in Standard Japanese and Tokunoshima but it also means (one's own) local community in Tokunoshima and other Amami dialects. The second part kucï (Standard Japanese kuchi) means a mouth, and by extension, speech. Hence, sïmagucï refers to the speech of one's own community and of the island as a whole. Note that sïmagucï is more strongly associated with the former because the speakers of Tokunoshima are fully aware that each shima has a distinct language.

The following is the phonology of the Kametsu dialect, which is based on Hirayama et al. (1986).{{cite book |editor=Hirayama Teruo 平山輝男 | title=Amami hōgen kiso goi no kenkyū 奄美方言基礎語彙の研究 |year=1986 |language=Japanese }}

As with most Ryukyuan languages to the north of Central Okinawan, stops are described as "plain" C’ and "glottalized" C‘. Phonetically, the two series are lightly aspirated {{IPA|[Cʰ]}} and tenuis {{IPA|[C˭]}}, respectively.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.

Notes

• The zero onset /'/ may be added. It is contrasted with glottal {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/ʔ/}}.
• {{IPA|/h/}} is {{IPA|[ç]}} before {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}, and {{IPA|[ɸ]}} before {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}.
• {{IPA|/pʰ/}} is new and infrequent.
• {{IPA|/si/}}, {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰɨ/}} and {{IPA|/t͡ʃ˭ɨ/}} are realized as {{IPA|[ʃɪ]}}, {{IPA|[t͡sʰɨ]}} and {{IPA|[t͡sɨ]}}, respectively.
• {{IPA|/dz/}} is {{IPA|[d͡z]}} before {{IPA|/ɨ/}} and {{IPA|/ɘ/}}, and {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}} elsewhere.
• {{IPA|[ʃa]}}, {{IPA|[ʃe]}}, {{IPA|[ʃu]}} and {{IPA|[ʃo]}} are phonemically analyzed as {{IPA|/sja/}}, {{IPA|/sje/}}, {{IPA|/sju/}} and {{IPA|/sjo/}}, respectively.
• {{IPA|[t͡ʃʰa]}}, {{IPA|[t͡ʃʰe]}}, {{IPA|[t͡ʃʰu]}} and {{IPA|[t͡ʃʰo]}} are phonemically analyzed as {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰja/}}, {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰje/}}, {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰju/}} and {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰjo/}}, respectively.
• {{IPA|[t͡ʃa]}}, {{IPA|[t͡ʃu]}} and {{IPA|[t͡ʃo]}} are phonemically analyzed as {{IPA|/t͡ʃ˭ja/}}, {{IPA|/t͡ʃ˭ju/}} and {{IPA|/t͡ʃ˭jo/}}, respectively.

Notes

• The exact quality of /ə/ is debated, with some analyzing it as a front-mid /ɛ/.{{cite book |editor=Shimoji, Michinori| title=An Introduction to the Japonic Languages |date=2022 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-04-51910-7 |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/86438 |access-date=12 April 2025 |chapter=Tokunoshima (Kagoshima, Northern Ryukyuan) | author=Kato, Kanji |pages=25–57}}

Only major sound correspondences are listed.

• Standard Japanese {{IPA|/e/}} mostly corresponds to {{IPA|/ɨ/}}.
• Standard Japanese {{IPA|/o/}} is merged into {{IPA|/u/}}.
• Tokunoshima {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/ɘ/}} and {{IPA|/o/}} are of secondary origin and mostly correspond to Standard Japanese diphthongs.
• Standard Japanese {{IPA|/hi/}} and {{IPA|/he/}} corresponds to Tokunoshima {{IPA|/sɨ/}} and {{IPA|/hwɨ/}}, respectively.
• Standard Japanese {{IPA|/si/}} and {{IPA|/zu/}}, {{IPA|/zi/}} and {{IPA|/zu/}}, and {{IPA|/t͡ʃi/}} and {{IPA|/t͡ʃu/}} are merged into {{IPA|/sɨ/}}, {{IPA|/zɨ/}}, and {{IPA|/t͡ʃɨ/}}, respectively.
• The fusion of two consecutive morae resulted in glottalized consonants in Tokunoshima.

The forms given below are from the southern Isen dialect containing the villages of Higashihama, Kenbuku, and Uemonawa.

Personal pronouns in Tokunoshima are only used for the 1st and 2nd person referents; demonstrative pronouns are used for 3rd person referents. Non-fusional forms of pronouns are followed by case-marking suffixes, while fusional forms are not suffixed and stand as independent topical subjects of clauses. The 'bare' form of the 1st person non-fusional singular, {{lang|tkn-Latn|wa}}, is used before the nominative particle {{lang|tkn-Latn|-ga}}.

Forms in parentheses in the table above are Japanese or Sino-Japanese in origin. Cardinal forms are used in counting non-human entities, iterative for frequencies of events. Personal for counting people. Prefix forms are applied to some non-human nouns, e.g. {{lang|tkn-Latn|t˭yu-uban}} for 'one night.' When referring to numbers as abstract mathematical concepts, Sino-Japanese words are used.

{{Reflist}}

• Tokunoshima hōgen jiten (2014) by Okamura Takahiro, Sawaki Motoei, Nakajima Yumi, Fukushima Chitsuko and Kikuchi Satoru. Based on Okamura's Asama dialect.

{{incubator|tkn}}

• [http://www.unii.ac.jp/~chitsuko/inet/lg7B.html Literature on the Tokunoshima dialect by Fukushima Chitsuko] (in Japanese)

{{Japonic languages}}

{{Japanese language |collapsed}}

{{Languages of Japan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokunoshima Language}}

Category:Kagoshima Prefecture

Category:Ryukyuan languages