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 is 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).

History[edit]

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[edit]

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 indicates a quote, and the word かい marks a question when placed at the end of a phrase.

See also[edit]

• Kagoshima dialect
• Okinawan Japanese, the equivalent of Amami Japanese spoken on the Okinawa Islands
• Amami Ōshima language, the language that influenced this variety of Japanese
• Amami Ōshima, the island where Ton-futsūgo is spoken

References[edit]

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