Amami Japanese

Amami Japanese (トン普通語, Ton-futsūgo) is a variety of the Japanese language spoken on the island of Amami Ōshima.[1][2] Its native term Ton-futsūgo means "potato standard". Much like Okinawan Japanese, it's a descendant of Standard Japanese but with influences from the traditional Ryukyuan languages (in this case, Amami Japanese is influenced by the Amami Ōshima language).

Not to be confused with Amami Ōshima language.
Amami Japanese
トン普通語
Native toJapan
RegionKagoshima Prefecture (Amami Ōshima)
EthnicityRyukyuan
Japonic
Language codes
ISO 639-3–

History

In the past, the locals of Amami Ōshima spoke the Amami Ōshima language, which belongs to the northern group of the larger Ryukyuan language family. However, as a result of Japanese assimilation policies, a language shift towards Japanese began. The same occurrence happened in the other parts of the Ryukyu Islands.[3]

Despite Japanese becoming widespread in Amami Ōshima, a substrate from the Amami language was present.[2] This caused the creation of Amami Japanese, known locally as Ton-futsūgo. Amami Japanese was looked down upon for much of its existence. However, in modern times, the variety is viewed positively by its speakers.[2]

Features
Amami Japanese Words[1]
English Amami Japanese Standard Japanese
I, me, myself ワン (wan) 私 (watashi)
you ヤー (yaa) お前 (omae)
quotations 〜ちば (chiba) 〜って (tte)
question marker かい (kai) か (ka)

The last two English examples are not words on their own. They instead list the situations in which the Amami Japanese words are used. "〜ちば" is indicates a quote, and the word "かい" marks a question when placed at the end of a phrase.

See also

    References
    1. "シマクチ（奄美の方言）". 奄美な生活 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-09-14.
    2. Anderson, Mark. "Studies of Ryukyu-substrate Japanese". Routledge Handbook of Japanese Sociolinguistics.
    3. "Assimilation Practices in Okinawa". www.uchinanchu.org. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
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