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{{About|a language group also covering Southern Amami languages|its subgroup|Northern Okinawan language|a dialect on Okinoerabu Island|Okinoerabu language}}
{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
|name=Kunigami
|name=Kunigami
|nativename={{lang|ja|山原言葉}}/{{lang|ja|ヤンバルクトゥーバ}} ''Yanbaru Kutuuba''
|states=[[Japan]]
|states=[[Japan]]
|region=Northern portion of [[Okinawa Island]] and some surrounding islands plus [[Okinoerabujima|Okinoerabu Island]] and [[Yoronjima|Yoron Island]], and [[Kikaijima|Kikai Island]] (disputed), of the Southern [[Amami Islands]]
|region=Northern [[Okinawa Island]]
|speakers=5,000
|date=2004
|ref=e17
|familycolor=Altaic
|familycolor=Altaic
|fam1=[[Japonic languages|Japonic]]
|fam1=[[Japonic languages|Japonic]]
|fam2=[[Ryukyuan languages|Ryukyuan]]
|fam2=[[Ryukyuan languages|Ryukyuan]]
|fam3=[[Amami–Okinawan languages|Amami–Okinawan]]
⚫
|fam3=Northern Ryukyuan
|lc1=kzg |ld1=Kikai (membership disputed)
⚫
|fam4=[[Okinawan languages|Okinawan]]
|lc1=xug |ld1=Kunigami
|lc2=okn |ld2=Oki-No-Erabu
|lc2=okn |ld2=Oki-No-Erabu
|lc3=yox |ld3=Yoron
|lc3=yox |ld3=Yoron
|map=Boundaries of the Okinawan Languages.svg
|lc4=xug |ld4=Kunigami (Northern Okinawan only)
|mapcaption=
⚫
{{legend|#0000FF|Northern Okinawan (Kunigami)}}
|notice=IPA
|notice=IPA
}}
}}
The '''Kunigami language''' is a hypothetical [[dialect cluster]] spoken in southwestern [[Japan]]. It is part of the [[Ryukyuan languages]], which are in turn part of the [[Japonic languages]]. The subdivisions of Amami–Okinawan are a matter of scholarly debate. The so-called Kunigami language, together with [[Okinawan language|(Southern) Okinawan]] and [[Amami language|(Northern) Amami]], represents the three-subdivision hypothesis, which is phylogenetically-oriented rather than aimed at clustering modern languages.


==Classification==
The {{nihongo|'''Kunigami language'''|山原言葉/ヤンバルクトゥーバ|Yanbaru Kutuuba}} is a [[Ryukyuan languages|Ryukyuan language]] spoken on [[Okinawa Island]] in the northern [[Kunigami District, Okinawa|Kunigami]] or [[Yanbaru]] region, historically the territory of the [[Hokuzan]] kingdom. The Kunigami language includes the [[Okinoerabujima]] dialect ({{lang|ja|島ムニ}} ''Shimamuni'') and the [[Yoronjima]] dialect ({{lang|ja|ユンヌフトゥバ}} ''Yunnu futuba'') in the [[Amami Islands]] of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]].
{{main|Amami–Okinawan languages#Subgroups}}
The basic unit of language or language variety in Ryukyuan is a traditionally isolated village community called ''shima'', where people used to live their entire life. Each ''shima'' has developed its own form of speech. People are well aware of differences in speeches between neighboring ''shima''. Clustering languages of some 800 ''shima'' requires non-trivial scholarly work.<ref name="nishioka2011">{{cite book |author=Nishioka Satoshi 西岡敏 |chapter=''Ryūkyūgo: shima goto ni kotonaru hōgen'' 琉球語: 「シマ」ごとに異なる方言 |editor=Kurebito Megumi 呉人恵 |title=''Nihon no kiki gengo'' 日本の危機言語 |year=2011 |language=Japanese }}</ref> Understanding how they have evolved from a common ancestor is an even more challenging task.


At high level, linguists mostly agree to make the north–south division. In this framework, Amami–Okinawan (Northern Ryukyuan) covers the [[Amami Islands]], [[Kagoshima Prefecture]] and the [[Okinawa Islands]], [[Okinawa Prefecture]]. The subdivisions of Amami–Okinawan, however, remain a matter of scholarly debate.<ref name="karimata2000">{{cite journal|author=Karimata Shigehisa 狩俣繁久 |title=''Amami Okinawa hōgengun ni okeru Okinoerabu hōgen no ichizuke"'' 奄美沖縄方言群における沖永良部方言の位置づけ (Position of Okierabu Dialect in Northern Ryukyu Dialects) |journal=''Nihon Tōyō bunka ronshū'' 日本東洋文化論集 |number=6 |year=2000 |pages=43–69 |language=Japanese |url=http://ir.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/handle/123456789/2379 }}</ref> There are at least two competing hypotheses and names given to hypothetical clusters are far from standardized.
Like the [[Okinawan language]], Kunigami is one of the [[Okinawan languages]]. The [[Nakijin, Okinawa|Nakijin]] dialect is often referred to as representative of Kunigami, in comparison with the [[Shuri, Okinawa|Shuri]]/[[Naha, Okinawa|Naha]] dialect in the central Okinawan. The number of fluent native speakers of Kunigami is not known. As a result of Japanese language policy, the younger generation mostly speaks Japanese as their first language.


The cluster of the Kunigami language bases its existence on the three-subdivision hypothesis:
In Japan, the Ryukyuan language family does not have national recognition as a language but are considered dialects despite the lack of [[mutual intelligibility]] with Japanese. As a result, the Kunigami language is referred to as the {{nihongo|Okinoerabu-Yoron-Northern Okinawa dialects|沖永良部与論沖縄北部諸方言|Okinoerabu Yoron Okinawa Hokubu Shohōgen}}.
⚫
*Amami–Okinawan / Northern Ryukyuan
**[[Amami language|Ōshima–Tokunoshima / Amami–Tokunoshima / Amami]]
**'''Okinoerabu–Northern Okinawan / Okinoerabu–Yoron-Northern Okinawan / Kunigami'''
**[[Okinawan language|Southern Okinawan / South–Central Okinawan / Central Okinawan / Okinawan]]
The other hypothesis assigns two primary branches to Amami–Okinawan:
*Amami–Okinawan / Northern Ryukyuan
**[[Amami languages|Amami]]
***[[Amami language|Northern Amami]]
***'''Southern Amami'''
⚫
**[[Okinawan languages|Okinawan]]
***'''Northern Okinawan'''
***[[Okinawan language|Southern Okinawan]]
In this framework, the dialect cluster in question is disassembled into Southern Amami and Northern Okinawan.


==Phonology==
==Subgroups==
The dialect cluster consists of the following subgroups:
The Kunigami language presents some unique phonological characteristics that set it apart from other [[Japonic languages]]. One of the most notable characteristics of Kunigami phonology is the existence of a full series of "tensed" or "glottalized" consonants, including stops, nasals, and glides. Kunigami is also notable for the presence of an {{IPA|/h/}} phoneme separate from {{IPA|/p/}}, which is believed to be the historical source of {{IPA|/h/}} in modern dialects of the [[Japanese language]]. Thus, for example, the [[Nakijin, Okinawa|Nakijin]] dialect of Kunigami has {{IPA|/haʔkáí/}} (“a light, a lamp, lamplight; a shōji, a translucent paper screen, a translucent paper sliding door”; accented vowels indicate [[mora (linguistics)|morae]] pronounced with a high tone), which is cognate with Japanese {{IPA|/akárí/}} (“light, bright light, a ray of light, a beam of light; a light, a lamp, lamplight”); the Kunigami form is distinguished from its Japanese cognate by the initial {{IPA|/h/}}, glottalized {{IPA|/ʔk/}}, and elision of Proto-Japonic *r before *i. The Kunigami language also makes distinctions in certain word pairs, such as Nakijin dialect {{IPA|/ʔkumuú/}} (cloud) and {{IPA|/húbu/}} (spider), which both appear as {{IPA|/kúmo/}} in Japanese.
*[[Okinoerabu language|Okinoerabu]]
**Eastern Okinoerabu
**Western Okinoerabu
*[[Yoron language|Yoron]]
⚫
*[[Northern Okinawan language|Northern Okinawan]] (Kunigami)
In addition, Southern [[Kikai language|Kikai]] might be included in the dialect cluster.


==Morphology==
==Names==
The large language group of Kunigami is a product of comparative linguistics and is not recognized by its speakers. Furthermore, the existence of the Kunigami language depends on the three-subdivision hypothesis. Those who do not support the hypothesis do not gave a name to the supposed group. Interestingly, [[Uemura Yukio]], a proponent of the three-subdivision hypothesis, only recognized two (Northern and Southern Ryukyuan) or five (Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni) ''languages''. He did not identify Kunigami as a language but called the cluster as the <u>Okinoerabu–Northern Okinawan group</u>. Karimata (2000) used the label <u>Okinoerabu–Yoron–Northern Okinawan dialects</u>.<ref name="karimata2000" /> The name of the <u>Kunigami language</u> is used by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.<ref name="unesco_kunigami">{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-1974.html |title=Kunigami |publisher=UNESCO |accessdate=1 February 2014}}</ref>
One notable difference in the use of certain morphological markers between Kunigami language and Standard Japanese is the use of the {{IPA|/-sa/}} form as an adverb in Kunigami: e.g. Nakijin dialect {{IPA|/tuusá panaaɽíʔtun/}}, which is equivalent to Standard Japanese ''toókú hanárete irú'' ("It is far away"). In Standard Japanese, the {{IPA|/-ku/}} form is used adverbially, while the {{IPA|/-sa/}} form is used exclusively to derive abstract nouns of quality ("-ness" forms) from adjectival stems.

Ethnologue, which does not support the three-subdivision hypothesis, reserves the name of Kunigami for Northern Okinawan. Okinoerabu (Oki-No-Erabu) and Yoron are treated as separate languages.<ref name="sil_ao">{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/subgroups/amami-okinawan |title=Amami-Okinawan |publisher=SIL International |accessdate=1 February 2014}}</ref>

==Geographic distribution==
The languages of Okinoerabu, Yoron and Kikai (disputed) are spoken on the corresponding islands of Kagoshima Prefecture. The shared characteristics of these languages with Northern Okinawan are likely to be rooted in contacts prior to 1609, when [[Satsuma Domain]] of southern Kyūshū put the Amami Islands under direct control.<ref name="karimata2000" />

===Status===
None of the languages has an official status. Ethnologue identifies the statuses of Kunigami (Northern Okinawan), Oki-No-Erabu (Okinoerabu) and Yoron as 7 (Shifting).<ref name="sil_ao" /> The younger generation mostly speaks Japanese as their first language.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 13:23, 15 October 2014

This article is about a language group also covering Southern Amami languages. For its subgroup, see Northern Okinawan language. For a dialect on Okinoerabu Island, see Okinoerabu language.
Kunigami
Native toJapan
RegionNorthern portion of Okinawa Island and some surrounding islands plus Okinoerabu Island and Yoron Island, and Kikai Island (disputed), of the Southern Amami Islands
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
kzg – Kikai (membership disputed)
okn – Oki-No-Erabu
yox – Yoron
xug – Kunigami (Northern Okinawan only)
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

The Kunigami language is a hypothetical dialect cluster spoken in southwestern Japan. It is part of the Ryukyuan languages, which are in turn part of the Japonic languages. The subdivisions of Amami–Okinawan are a matter of scholarly debate. The so-called Kunigami language, together with (Southern) Okinawan and (Northern) Amami, represents the three-subdivision hypothesis, which is phylogenetically-oriented rather than aimed at clustering modern languages.

Classification

Main article: Amami–Okinawan languages § Subgroups

The basic unit of language or language variety in Ryukyuan is a traditionally isolated village community called shima, where people used to live their entire life. Each shima has developed its own form of speech. People are well aware of differences in speeches between neighboring shima. Clustering languages of some 800 shima requires non-trivial scholarly work.[1] Understanding how they have evolved from a common ancestor is an even more challenging task.

At high level, linguists mostly agree to make the north–south division. In this framework, Amami–Okinawan (Northern Ryukyuan) covers the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture and the Okinawa Islands, Okinawa Prefecture. The subdivisions of Amami–Okinawan, however, remain a matter of scholarly debate.[2] There are at least two competing hypotheses and names given to hypothetical clusters are far from standardized.

The cluster of the Kunigami language bases its existence on the three-subdivision hypothesis:

The other hypothesis assigns two primary branches to Amami–Okinawan:

In this framework, the dialect cluster in question is disassembled into Southern Amami and Northern Okinawan.

Subgroups

The dialect cluster consists of the following subgroups:

In addition, Southern Kikai might be included in the dialect cluster.

Names

The large language group of Kunigami is a product of comparative linguistics and is not recognized by its speakers. Furthermore, the existence of the Kunigami language depends on the three-subdivision hypothesis. Those who do not support the hypothesis do not gave a name to the supposed group. Interestingly, Uemura Yukio, a proponent of the three-subdivision hypothesis, only recognized two (Northern and Southern Ryukyuan) or five (Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni) languages. He did not identify Kunigami as a language but called the cluster as the Okinoerabu–Northern Okinawan group. Karimata (2000) used the label Okinoerabu–Yoron–Northern Okinawan dialects.[2] The name of the Kunigami language is used by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[3]

Ethnologue, which does not support the three-subdivision hypothesis, reserves the name of Kunigami for Northern Okinawan. Okinoerabu (Oki-No-Erabu) and Yoron are treated as separate languages.[4]

Geographic distribution

The languages of Okinoerabu, Yoron and Kikai (disputed) are spoken on the corresponding islands of Kagoshima Prefecture. The shared characteristics of these languages with Northern Okinawan are likely to be rooted in contacts prior to 1609, when Satsuma Domain of southern Kyūshū put the Amami Islands under direct control.[2]

Status

None of the languages has an official status. Ethnologue identifies the statuses of Kunigami (Northern Okinawan), Oki-No-Erabu (Okinoerabu) and Yoron as 7 (Shifting).[4] The younger generation mostly speaks Japanese as their first language.

References

  1. ^ Nishioka Satoshi 西岡敏 (2011). "Ryūkyūgo: shima goto ni kotonaru hōgen 琉球語: 「シマ」ごとに異なる方言". In Kurebito Megumi 呉人恵 (ed.). Nihon no kiki gengo 日本の危機言語 (in Japanese).
  2. ^ a b c Karimata Shigehisa 狩俣繁久 (2000). "Amami Okinawa hōgengun ni okeru Okinoerabu hōgen no ichizuke" 奄美沖縄方言群における沖永良部方言の位置づけ (Position of Okierabu Dialect in Northern Ryukyu Dialects)". Nihon Tōyō bunka ronshū 日本東洋文化論集 (in Japanese) (6): 43–69. {{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |journal= (help)
  3. ^ "Kunigami". UNESCO. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Amami-Okinawan". SIL International. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
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