Okinawan language
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| Okinawan | ||
|---|---|---|
| 沖縄口 | ||
| Spoken in | Japan | |
| Region | Okinawa Island | |
| Total speakers | 984,285 | |
| Language family | Japonic | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | mis | |
| ISO 639-3 | ryu – [[]] | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Okinawan (沖縄口 [ʔutɕinaːɡuti]; Okinawan: uchinaa-guchi, Japanese: okinawa-guchi) is a Ryukyuan language spoken in Japan on the southern island of Okinawa[1], as well as the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kume-jima, Tonaki, Aguni, and a number of smaller islands located to the east of the main island of Okinawa.
It is divided into two main dialects: Central (Standard, Shuri-Naha) and Southern. The Shuri dialect was standardized during the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom, during the reign of King Shō Shin (1477-1526). It was the official language used by royalty and aristocracy. All of the songs and poems in the language from that era are written in the Shuri dialect.
The speech of Northern Okinawa is usually considered a separate language; see Kunigami language.
Contents |
[edit] Phonology
[edit] Vowels
Okinawan has three short vowels, /a i u/, and five long vowels, /aː eː iː oː uː/. Note that /u/ is rounded, unlike in Japanese.
[edit] Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Alveolo-palatal | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɴ | |||||
| Plosive | p b | t | d/ɾ | t͡ɕ d͡ʑ | k ɡ | ʔ | ||
| Tap or flap | ||||||||
| Fricative | (ɸ) | s | (ɕ) | (ç) | h | |||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||||
| Laryngeal approximant | ʔj | ʔw | ||||||
Bracketed phones are phonemic only before some vowels. See below for details.
[edit] Syllabary
(Technically, these are morae, not syllables.)
| 'i | 'e | 'a | 'o | 'u | 'ya | 'yo | 'yu | ― | 'wa | 'n |
| [ʔi] | [ʔe] | [ʔa] | [ʔo] | [ʔu] | [ʔja] | [ʔjo] | [ʔju] | [ʔwa] | [ʔn] [ʔm] |
|
| i | e | a | o | u | ya | yo | yu | we | wa | n |
| [i] [ji] |
[e] [je] |
[a] | [o] [wo] |
[u] [wu] |
[ja] | [jo] | [ju] | [we] | [wa] | [n] [m] [ŋ] [ɴ] |
| hi | he | ha | ho | fu | hya | hyo | hyu | ― | fa | |
| [çi] | [çe] | [ha] | [ho] | [ɸu] | [ça] | [ço] | [çu] | ― | [ɸa] | |
| gi | ge | ga | go | gu | gya | ― | ― | gwe | gwa | |
| [ɡi] | [ɡe] | [ɡa] | [ɡo] | [ɡu] | [ɡja] | ― | ― | [ɡʷe] | [ɡʷa] | |
| ki | ke | ka | ko | ku | kya | ― | ― | kwe | kwa | |
| [ki] | [ke] | [ka] | [ko] | [ku] | [kja] | ― | ― | [kʷe] | [kʷa] | |
| chi | che | cha | cho | chu | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [t͡ɕi] | [t͡ɕe] | [t͡ɕa] | [t͡ɕo] | [t͡ɕu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| ji | je | ja | jo | ju | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [d͡ʑi] | [d͡ʑe] | [d͡ʑa] | [d͡ʑo] | [d͡ʑu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| shi | she | sa | so | su | sha | ― | shu | ― | ― | |
| [ɕi] | [ɕe] | [sa] | [so] | [su] | [ɕa] | ― | [ɕu] | ― | ― | |
| di | de | da | do | du | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| ri | re | ra | ro | ru | ||||||
| [di] | [de] | [da] | [do] | [du] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [ɾi] | [ɾe] | [ɾa] | [ɾo] | [ɾu] | ||||||
| ti | te | ta | to | tu | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| [ti] | [te] | [ta] | [to] | [tu] | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
| mi | me | ma | mo | mu | mya | myo | ― | ― | ― | |
| [mi] | [me] | [ma] | [mo] | [mu] | [mja] | [mjo] | ― | ― | ― | |
| bi | be | ba | bo | bu | bya | byo | byu | ― | ― | |
| [bi] | [be] | [ba] | [bo] | [bu] | [bja] | [bjo] | [bju] | ― | ― | |
| pi | pe | pa | po | pu | pya | ― | pyu | ― | ― | |
| [pi] | [pe] | [pa] | [po] | [pu] | [pja] | ― | [pju] | ― | ― |
In accordance to the now widely popular Hepburn romanization, the preceding syllabary is a modification of the original romanization system used in the Okinawago jiten (Okinawan language Dictionary) originally published in 1963. For comparison, see the table below:
| IPA | Okinawago jiten | Hepburn | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| [j] | j | y | |
| [ɸu] | hu | fu | |
| [ɸa] | hwa | fa | |
| [ʔ] | ʔ | As Standard Japanese does not possess true glottal stops, there is no standard for romanizing them. Many authors will choose to completely omit them, while others might use an apostrophe ('). | |
| [d͡ʑ~ʑ] | z | j | |
| [t͡ɕ] | c | ch | |
| [ɕ] | s, sj | sh | |
| Moraic /ɴ/ | ɴ | n | |
| [ː] | e | ¯ | Some authors may choose to double the vowel rather than use a macron over the vowel. Compare mii, mī, and mie. |
| Gemination | q | Double the consonant |
[edit] 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/ | /hwa/ | /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 |
[edit] Grammar
Okinawan dialects retain a number of grammatical features of classical Japanese, such as a distinction between the terminal form (終止形) and the attributive form (連体形), the genitive function of が ga (lost in the Shuri dialect), the nominative function of ぬ nu (Japanese: の no), as well as honorific/plain distribution of ga and nu in nominative use.
| 書く kaku to write |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | Shuri | |||
| Irrealis | 未然形 | 書か | kaka- | kaka- |
| Continuative | 連用形 | 書き | kaki- | kachi- |
| Terminal | 終止形 | 書く | kaku | kachun |
| Attributive | 連体形 | 書く | kaku | kachuru |
| Realis | 已然形 | 書け | kake- | kaki- |
| Imperative | 命令形 | 書け | kake | kaki |
One etymology given for the -un and -uru endings is the continuative form suffixed with uri (Classical Japanese: 居り 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: 読む 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 さ sa (nominalises adjectives, i.e. high → height, hot → heat), suffixed with ari (Classical Japanese: 有り ari, to exist; to have), i.e:
- takasan (Japanese: 高い takai, high; tall) derives from taka-sa-ari;
- achisan (Japanese: 暑い atsui, hot; warm) derives from atsu-sa-ari; and
- yutasaru (good; pleasant) derives from yuta-sa-aru.
[edit] Particles
[edit] bikee/biken
| びけーん | Translates to: "only"; limit. For verbs "uppi" is used |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns | rōmaji dake nu shumuchi
ローマ字びけーんぬ書物。 |
a rōmaji-only book |
| Verbs (volitional) | Ninjibusharu uppi nindin sumabiin.
寝んじ欲しゃるうっぴ寝んでぃん済まびいん。 |
You can sleep as much as you want [to sleep]. |
[edit] wutooti/wuti
| をぅてぃ・をぅとーてぃ | This particle indicates location similar to Japanese で |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns: language | Kuma wutooti yukwibushan.
くまをぅとーてぃ憩ぃ欲しゃん。 |
I want to rest here. |
[edit] nkai
| んかい | Translates to: "to, in"; direction |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns: direction | Uchinaa nkai mensooree!
沖縄んかいめんそーれー! |
Welcome to Okinawa! |
[edit] atai
| あたい | Translates to: "as much as"; upper limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns: For nouns yaka is used | Ari yaka nihongo nu jouuji ya aran.
彼やかぬ上手やあらん。 |
My Japanese isn't as good as his |
| Adjectives* | Hayai hodo ii.
早いほどいい。 |
The sooner, the better. |
| Verbs | Unu tatimunoo umuyuru atai takakooneeyabiran
うぬ建物ー思ゆるあたい高こーねーやびらん。 |
That building is not as tall as you imagine it to be |
[edit] saani/saai/sshi
| さーに・さーい・っし | Used to indicate means by which something is achieved. Similar to Japanese で; The three are interchangeable |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns | basusshi ichabira.
バスっし行ちゃびら。 |
Let's go by bus |
| Nouns: language | Uchinaaguchisaani tigami kachan.
うちなあぐち手紙書ちゃん。 |
I wrote the letter in Okinawan. |
[edit] kuru/guru
| くる・ぐる (頃) | Translates to: "around, about, approximately" Kuru functions as a noun and may be followed by nu. |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns | San-ji guru nkai ichabira.
三時ぐるんかい行ち会びら。 |
Let's meet around 3 o'clock. |
[edit] kuree/guree
| くれー・ぐれー (位) | Translates to: "about, approximately" Kuree functions as a noun and may be followed by ぬ. |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns | Juppun kuree kakayun
十分くれーかかゆん。 |
It takes about 10 minutes. |
[edit] yatin
| やてぃん | Translates to: "even; or; but, however; also in" |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns, particles: "even" | Uchuu kara yatin manri-no-Choojoo nu miiyun.
宇宙からやてぃん万里ぬ長城ぬ見ーゆん。 |
Even from space you can see the Great Wall of China. |
| Nouns: "also in" | Nihon yatin inchirii-n guchi binchoosun
日本やてぃんいんちりーん口を勉強すん。 |
In Japan also, we study English. |
| Beginning of phrase: "but, however, even so". In this case, "yashiga" is commonly used | yashiga, wannee an umuran
やしが、我んねーあん思らん。 |
But I don't think so. |
[edit] madi
| までぃ (迄) | Translates to: "up to, until, as far as" Indicates a time or place as a limit. |
|
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Example sentence | Translation |
| Nouns (specifically places or times) | Kunu densha-a, Shu-i madi ichabiin.
くぬ電車あ、首里までぃ行ちゃびーん。 |
This train goes as far as Shuri. |
| Verbs | Keeru madi machooibiin.
帰るまでぃ待ちょーいびーん。 |
I'll wait until you come home. |