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41-469: The name Yaeyama literally means "multilayered mountains", and is related to the native name Yaima in Yaeyama , which possibly comes from a reconstructed Proto-Ryukyuan form *jajama (pronounced *yayama with tone class A). The Yaeyama Islands are home to numerous species of subtropical and tropical plants and mangrove forests. The islands produce sugarcane and pineapples . Coral reefs around

82-570: A Macro-Yaeyama branch of the Southern Ryukyuan languages. Innovations in Southern Ryukyuan languages, splitting Macro-Yaeyama and Miyako language families, include an "irregular shift from tone class B to A in 'how many' and a special form for 'garden'". Macro-Yaeyama innovations, grouping together Yaeyama languages and Dunan contain the "grammaticalization of 'know' as a potential auxiliary", similarities between multiple special forms such as "bud", "happy", "fresh", and "dirt", as well as

123-547: A separate language . The Taketomi dialect may instead be a Northern Ryukyuan language common to Okinawan dialects that later converged with the other Yaeyama dialects. The Ryukyuan language split from Proto-Japonic when its speakers migrated to the Ryukyu Islands. The Ryukyuan languages split from Proto-Japonic in the last 2,000 years, though estimates offer different potential time periods ranging from 2 BCE to 800 CE. The Yaeyaman languages are classified under

164-510: A sequence becoming a long o with u in a light syllable and uwa(a) in a heavy syllable. The Miyara subdialect of Ishigaki has 21 consonants and 6 vowels in its inventory. It is noted that e and o are always long, as in many varieties of Ryukyuan . Long vowels are often shortened before the moraic nasal . Following /s/ , /z/ , and /t͡s/ , underlying /u/ neutralizes to [ɨ] . After nasals ( /m/ , /n/ ), glides ( /j/ , /w/ ) alveolar stops ( /t/ , /d/ ) or /h/ , /ɸ/ , and /ʃ/ ,

205-481: A "b" word initially compared to Japanese "w". This is perhaps believed to be an innovation from earlier "w". This also includes Japanese cognates that once had an initial "w" but was dropped later in the history of the language, such as "wodori" > "odori". Many of these features have been lost in the history of the Okinawan language or were innovated compared to all other Japonic languages. One explanation for this

246-438: A case system with nine case markings and particles . There are eleven auxiliary verbs to denote forms of mood and aspect . The Ishigaki dialect is noted for having a peculiar expression of cardinal directions . It is found that when speaking to other native speakers, Ishigaki-speakers use an "intrinsic" and "relative" frame of reference system in which "north" and "south" are expressed in an intrinsic frame of reference as

287-625: A consequence of Japanese language policy which refers to the language as the Yaeyama dialect ( 八重山方言 , Yaeyama hōgen ) , reflected in the education system, people below the age of 60 tend to not use the language except in songs and rituals, and the younger generation exclusively uses Japanese as their first language. As compared to the Japanese kokugo, or Japanese national language , other Ryukyuan languages such as Okinawan and Amami have also been referred to as dialects of Japanese . Yaeyama

328-426: A low pitch but end with a low pitch. "Peripheral tone classes" are also noted in certain nouns and adverb. Hatoma is noted for having the simplest verb conjugation and morphophonology of the Yaeyama dialects. One phonological process is a sequence of i , followed by e , becoming e in the case of i being in a light syllable and ja(a) in a heavy syllable. There is also a process of a sequence u , followed by

369-410: A phonemic distinction between long and short vowels and in some dialects oral and nasal vowels. /ɨ/ and /ɘ/ are generally transcribed "ï" and "ë" in the literature. /ɨ/ derives from *e and merges with /i/ after alveolar consonants . /ɘ/ mostly derives from a merger of *ae and *ai, and so is usually long. In several northern dialects, the nasal vowels /ã õ ɨ̃ ɘ̃/ developed from the loss of

410-427: A semantic conflation of "nephew" to mean either "nephew" or "niece". Yaeyaman dialects are differentiated from Dunan by innovations regarding a replacement of the verb "sell" with a causative form of "buy", a special form of "get wet", as well as an irregular shift of "*g>n" in 'beard'. Some of the pronunciations that disappeared from Japanese around the 8th century, during Japan's Nara period, can still be found in

451-489: A wh-phrase is considered incorrect grammar. Yet, du marking is optional for adverbial or adjunct wh-phrases. In questions with multiple wh-words, only one can be marked with du . Further research is needed to learn more about Wh-questions in Yaeyama. The endangerment of Ryukyuan languages is attributed to historical and governmental factors. Originating in the 1872 annexation of the Okinawan Islands to Japan and

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492-666: Is a Southern Ryukyuan language spoken in the Yaeyama Islands , the southernmost inhabited island group in Japan , with a combined population of about 53,000. The Yaeyama Islands are situated in the Southern Ryukyu Islands , southwest of the Miyako Islands and to the east of Taiwan . Yaeyama ( Yaimamunii ) is most closely related to Miyako . The number of competent native speakers is not known; as

533-633: Is evidence that phonological conditioning, namely an epenthetic -r marking between present stative -i and present tense marker -u (in order to avoid subsequent vowel sequences) , accounts for non-overt attributive markings. In Yaeyama, wh-phrases are marked with du , in contrast to Standard Japanese ka . taa -du who- Q suba-ba soba- PRT fai ate taa -du suba-ba fai who-Q soba-PRT ate Who ate soba? kurisu-ja Chris- TOP noo-ba -du what- PRT - Q fai ate kurisu-ja noo-ba -du fai Chris-TOP what-PRT-Q ate What did Chris eat? Omitting du from

574-533: Is more phylogenetically-oriented. A marked isogloss is the vowel systems. Standard Japanese /e/ corresponds to /ɨ/ in Northern Amami Ōshima while it was merged into /i/ in Southern Amami Ōshima through Okinawan. The vowel system-based classification is not without complication. The northern three communities of Kikai Island share the seven-vowel system with Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima to

615-532: Is noted as having a comparatively lower "language vitality" among neighboring Ryukyuan languages. Yaeyama is spoken in Ishigaki , Taketomi , Kohama , Kuroshima , Hatoma , Aragusuku , Iriomote and Hateruma , with complications of mutual intelligibility between dialects as a result of the Yaeyama Islands' large geographic span. The speech of Yonaguni Island , while related, is usually considered

656-511: Is noted for having more vowels than any other dialect. A pharyngeal e is believed to be a result of "the coalescence of Proto-Yaeyama diphthongs '*ai and *aɨ.'" There are three accent pitches present in Hateruma: falling, level, and rising accents. To correlate pitches, there are three classes of words under an "A, B, C" system; class A words correlate with the falling pitch, and class B and C are shown to have "an uneven correspondence with

697-423: Is said that anyone without permission will be driven out by force. The islands have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support populations of resident black wood pigeons and Ryukyu green pigeons , wintering ruddy turnstones , migrating grey-tailed tattlers , and breeding colonies of bridled , roseate and black-naped terns . Satakentia liukiuensis ,

738-608: Is that it is possible to travel by sea from mainland Japan to the main island of Okinawa while keeping one island or another in sight at nearly all times; but there is a larger gap between the main island of Okinawa and the Yaeyamas, which would have required several nights on the open sea. For this reason, there was less traffic between mainland Japan and the Yaeyama islands, allowing further linguistic divergence. The Hateruma dialect contains seven vowels, with no distinction between long-short vowel length, and sixteen consonants. Hateruma

779-586: Is the Society for Spreading Okinawan ( Uchinaguchi fukyu kyogikai) , whose constitution is dedicated to initiating dialect classes and Okinawan teacher training programs, as well as advancing towards a singular Okinawan orthography . There are also notable submovements in Ryukyuan language survival present in Okinawan radio broadcasts, as well as "presentation circles and plays" and language classes integrated in

820-571: Is to northern Ōshima. As Amami does not have recognition within Japan as a language, it is officially known as the Amami dialect ( 奄美方言 , Amami Hōgen ) . The number of competent native speakers is not known, but native speakers are found mostly among old people—as a result of Japan's language policy which suppresses proliferation of minority languages, the younger generations speak mostly Japanese as their first language. Estimates run around 10,000 for

861-629: The Edo period . While Uke Island belonged to the Nishi Magiri district, its dialect is closer to that of Higashi Magiri. Southern Amami Ōshima contrasts with Northern Amami Ōshima in its final unreleased consonants. For example, "shrimp" is [ʔip] in Ōshama (Southern) and [ʔibi] in Tatsugō (Northern); "blade" is [katna] in Ōshama and [katana] in Tatsugō. According to Osada Suma (1902–1998),

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902-481: The Japanese school system. There is estimated to be a remaining 7,000-10,000 Yaeyama speakers, mostly being spoken in the home. There have been many revival societies and movements erected to preserve Ryukyuan languages and culture. The earliest language revival movement is regarded as being part of the Koza Society of Culture, instituted in 1955. A large benefactor to preserving and reviving Ryukyuan languages

943-453: The Level and Rising patterns." The Hateruma dialect is regarded as an innovative variety of Yaeyama Ryukyuan. It is the only dialect of the Yaeyama group to feature the pharyngeal eˤ, sonorant devoicing, noun-final consonant epenthesis and spirantization of voiceless velar stop before the vowel *i. It is also considered to have the strongest aspiration among of the Yaeyama dialects, and is also

984-535: The Okinawan school curriculum on the local level. Amami %C5%8Cshima language The Amami language or languages ( 島口 , シマユムタ , Shimayumuta ), also known as Amami Ōshima or simply Ōshima ('Big Island'), is a Ryukyuan language spoken in the Amami Islands south of Kyūshū . The southern variety of the Setouchi township may be a distinct language more closely related to Okinawan than it

1025-459: The Yaeyama cognate will have an "i" (this is seen in "funi" above); and where modern Japanese has an "o", the Yaeyama cognate will have a "u" (as seen in "patu" above). However, in the cases where Proto-Japonic has an *e , *əy , or *o that is not word final, Japanese is no more conservative than Yaeyama in this regard, as both underwent the same vowel raising at different stages, as shown below: Like all Southern Ryukyuan languages, Yaeyama shows

1066-653: The Yaeyama languages. One example is the initial "p" sound, which in Japanese became an "h", while remaining a "p" in Yaeyama, except for "pu", which became "fu" in Yaeyama. While the Yaeyama language was more "conservative" in some aspects, in the sense of preserving certain pronunciations, in other aspects it was more innovative. One example is the vowel system. Old Japanese had eight vowels (some perhaps diphthongs); this has been reduced to five in modern Japanese, but in Yaeyaman, vowel reduction has progressed further, to three vowels. Generally, when modern Japanese has an "e",

1107-417: The Yaeyama palm, is only species in the genus Satakentia , is endemic to the two islands of Ishigaki and Iriomote in the Yaeyama Islands. The islands form the southern part of the volcanic Ryukyu Islands . The administrative division of Yaeyama District covers all of the Yaeyama Islands, except Ishigaki and the disputed Senkaku Islands . The Yonaguni language is the indigenous language of

1148-453: The centuries-old administrative boundary that today separates Kagoshima and Okinawa Prefectures. In addition, several isoglosses do group Northern and Southern Amami together. In Amami, word-medial /k/ is changed to /h/ or even dropped when it is surrounded by /a/ , /e/ or /o/ . This can rarely be observed in Okinawan dialects. Standard Japanese /-awa/ becomes /-oː/ in Amami and /-aː/ in Okinawan. The three-subdivision hypothesis

1189-558: The creation of Okinawa Prefecture in 1879, there has since been a movement referred to as the "Japanization of the Luchuan Islands". A national language movement known as kokugo has developed in result of this. The kokugo movement includes the 1907 implementation of the Ordinance of Dialect Regulation, demoting diverse Ryukyuan languages to the status of "dialects" ( hogen ) and discouraging of speaking these dialects in

1230-492: The dialect of Yamatohama, Yamato Village of Amami Ōshima had yumuta /ˈjumuθa/ for 'language', shimayumuta /simaˈjumuθa/ for 'island language' (i.e. Amami Ōshima) and Yamatoguchi /ˈjamaθoɡuci/ for the language of mainland Japan (i.e. Standard Japanese). Another term, shimaguchi /simaɡuci/ , is absent from Osada's dictionary. According to Kurai Norio (b. 1923), a local historian from Amami Ōshima, shimaguchi contrasted with Yamatoguchi , while shimayumuta

1271-597: The end of a word or syllable, as in /k˭upʰ/ 'neck', /sakʰɾa/ 'cherry blossom' and /t˭ɨɾɡjo/ 'well'. Other dialects are similar. Final consonants are usually the result of eliding high front vowels. Elision is partly conditioned by pitch accent . In Shodon dialect, for example, the noun with accent classes 2.1 and 2.2 are realized as [⎞mɨtʰ] (water, 2.1) and [⎞ʔiʃ] (stone, 2.2) while 2.3-5 nouns retain final vowels, e.g. [mi⎛miː] (ear, 2.3), [ha⎛ɾiː] (needle, 2.4) and [ha⎛ɾuː] (spring, 2.5). There are seven distinct vowel qualities in Amami Ōshima, in addition to

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1312-429: The glottal stop elsewhere became phonemic. When still later initial vowels were elided, an initial glottal stop merged with the following consonant, establishing a series of "glottalized" consonants. While the nasals are truly glottalized , the "glottalized" stops are merely tenuis [C˭] , contrasting with the default aspirated stops [Cʰ] . In the southern Shodon dialect, the consonants /p t tɕ k ɕ ɾ m n/ occur at

1353-497: The high central vowel /ɨ/ does not appear. Hateruma uses morphology and suffixation in its verbs and adjectives. Derivational morphology expresses causative and passive forms in verbs; potential forms are equal to the passive form. Verbal inflection expresses two types of indicatives , an imperative form, as well as a cohortative and prohibitive ending. Adjectives, nouns and verbs also compound and reduplicate, especially in producing adverbs from adjectives. Hateruma has

1394-580: The island of Yonaguni . The Yaeyama language is the indigenous language of the rest of the islands. Japanese is now the native language of most of the population. The Yaeyama Islands are home to the production of traditional Okinawan textiles. 14 July: Mushaama Festival. On Hateruma Island, this harvest festival is celebrated during Obon . It features a parade of the local fertility god Miruku and his children (the local children), shishi ("lion") dances, and staff dances. Yaeyama language The Yaeyama language ( 八重山物言/ヤイマムニ , Yaimamuni )

1435-499: The islands are ideal habitats for dolphins , sea turtles , and larger fish such as manta rays and whale sharks . Before being wiped out by humans, whales and dugongs were common as well, and Yaeyama once had the largest population of dugongs in the Ryukyu Islands. On Aragusuku Island, there is an utaki or sacred place that specially enshrines hunted dugongs with their skulls, but non-residents are not permitted to enter unless they receive special permission from inhabitants, and it

1476-427: The main island speaks Northern Amami Ōshima. Shibata et al. (1984) takes a lexicostatistic approach to subgrouping Northern Amami Ōshima dialects: In addition, Sani, a small community on a peninsula at the northern tip of the island, is known to have distinct phonology. Based on phonetic and lexical evidence, Shibata et al. (1984) subdivide Southern Amami Ōshima into reflecting the administrative divisions during

1517-459: The northern variety and 2,000 for the southern ( Setouchi ) variety. Linguists mostly agree on the validity of the Amami–Okinawan languages as a family. The subdivisions of Amami–Okinawan, however, remain a matter of scholarly debate, with two major hypotheses: The two-subdivision hypothesis is convenient for discussing the modern languages since the posited linguistic boundary corresponds to

1558-440: The only variety to display nasal and liquid devoicing. The pharyngeal eˤ may be regionally expressed as /ɛ/ , especially among those over the age of 90. Additionally, Hateruma has the following sixteen consonants: The Hatoma dialect contains two "tonal categories", denoted as marked and unmarked. Words of the marked class are analyzed as being "high from the syllable containing the second mora " and unmarked words begin from

1599-459: The south, while the rest of Kikai falls in with Okinoerabu and Yoron even further south. Based on other evidence, however, Karimata (2000) and Lawrence (2011) tentatively group Kikai dialects together. Amami Ōshima can be divided into Northern Amami Ōshima and Southern Amami Ōshima despite conflicting patterns of isoglosses. The distribution of Southern Amami Ōshima roughly corresponds to Setouchi Town , including offshore islands. The rest of

1640-416: The verbs agaru ("go up, climb") and oriru (" go down, descend"), instead of Standard Japanese kita (" north") and minami ("south"). It is found that most speakers express "east" and "west" as Standard Japanese hidari (" left") and migi (" right") in a relative frame of reference. Miyaran Yaeyama has been argued to have no marked attributive form, unlike Okinawan and Old Japanese . However, there

1681-527: Was associated with accentual and intonational differences among various shima (villages). Ebara Yoshimori (1905–1988), a folklorist from Naze, Amami Ōshima, conjectured that shimaguchi was of relatively recent origin, possibly made through analogy with Yamatoguchi . He thought that the dialect of one's home community was better referred to as shimayumuta . Historically, vowel-initial words acquired an epenthetic glottal stop. When *wo and *we later became /u/ and /i/ without an initial glottal stop,

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