| Okinawan | |
| Nativename: |
|
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /ryu/ |
| States: | Japan |
| Region: | Southern Okinawa Islands |
| Speakers: | Shifting |
| Date: | 2000 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | altaic |
| Fam1: | Japonic |
| Fam2: | Ryukyuan |
| Fam3: | Northern Ryukyuan |
| Iso3: | ryu |
| Glotto: | cent2126 |
| Glottorefname: | Central Okinawan |
| Script: | |
| Map: | Boundaries of the Okinawan Languages.svg |
| Map2: | Lang Status 40-SE.svg |
| Mapcaption2: | [1] |
The Okinawan language (沖縄口, ウチナーグチ,, pronounced as /ryu/) or Central Okinawan is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands. Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as endangered.
Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects, the Shuri–Naha variant is generally recognized as the de facto standard, as it had been used as the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom since the reign of King Shō Shin (1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard, which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era.
Today, most Okinawans speak Okinawan Japanese, although a number of people still speak the Okinawan language, most often the elderly. Within Japan, Okinawan is often not seen as a language unto itself but is referred to as the or more specifically the . Okinawan speakers are undergoing language shift as they switch to Japanese, since language use in Okinawa today is far from stable. Okinawans are assimilating and accenting standard Japanese due to the similarity of the two languages, the standardized and centralized education system, the media, business and social contact with mainlanders and previous attempts from Japan to suppress the native languages. Okinawan is still kept alive in popular music, tourist shows and in theaters featuring a local drama called, which depict local customs and manners.
Okinawan is a Japonic language, derived from Proto-Japonic and is therefore related to Japanese. The split between Old Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages has been estimated to have occurred as early as the 1st century AD to as late as the 12th century AD. Chinese and Japanese characters were first introduced by a Japanese missionary in 1265.[2]
was a much more popular writing system than kanji; thus, Okinawan poems were commonly written solely in or with little kanji. Okinawan became the official language under King Shō Shin. The Omoro Sōshi, a compilation of ancient Ryukyuan poems, was written in an early form of Okinawan, known as Old Okinawan.
After Ryukyu became a vassal of Satsuma Domain, kanji gained more prominence in poetry; however, official Ryukyuan documents were written in Classical Chinese. During this time, the language gradually evolved into Modern Okinawan.
In 1609, the Ryukyu Kingdom was colonized by the Satsuma Domain in the south of Japan. However, Satsuma did not fully invade the Ryukyu in fear of colliding with China, which had a stronger trading relationship with the Ryukyu at the time.
When Ryukyu was annexed by Japan in 1879, the majority of people on Okinawa Island spoke Okinawan. Within 10 years, the Japanese government began an assimilation policy of Japanization, where Ryukyuan languages were gradually suppressed. The education system was the heart of Japanization, where Okinawan children were taught Japanese and punished for speaking their native language, being told that their language was just a "dialect". By 1945, many Okinawans spoke Japanese, and many were bilingual. During the Battle of Okinawa, some Okinawans were killed by Japanese soldiers for speaking Okinawan.
Language shift to Japanese in Ryukyu/Okinawa began in 1879 when the Japanese government annexed Ryukyu and established Okinawa Prefecture. The prefectural office mainly consisted of people from Kagoshima Prefecture where the Satsuma Domain used to be. This caused the modernization of Okinawa as well as language shift to Japanese. As a result, Japanese became the standard language for administration, education, media, and literature.
In 1902, the began the linguistic unification of Japan to Standard Japanese. This caused the linguistic stigmatization of many local varieties in Japan including Okinawan. As the discrimination accelerated, Okinawans themselves started to abandon their languages and shifted to Standard Japanese.
Okinawan dialect card, similar to Welsh Not in Wales, were adopted in Okinawa, Japan.
Under American administration, there was an attempt to revive and standardize Okinawan, but this proved difficult and was shelved in favor of Japanese. General Douglas MacArthur attempted to promote Okinawan languages and culture through education.[3] Multiple English words were introduced.
After Okinawa's reversion to Japanese sovereignty, Japanese continued to be the dominant language used, and the majority of the youngest generations only speak Okinawan Japanese. There have been attempts to revive Okinawan by notable people such as Byron Fija and Seijin Noborikawa, but few native Okinawans know the language.[4]
The Okinawan language is still spoken by communities of Okinawan immigrants in Brazil. The first immigrants from the island of Okinawa to Brazil landed in the Port of Santos in 1908 drawn by the hint of work and farmable land. Once in a new country and far from their homeland, they found themselves in a place where there was no prohibition of their language, allowing them to willingly speak, celebrate and preserve their speech and culture, up to the present day. Currently the Okinawan-Japanese centers and communities in the State of São Paulo are a world reference to this language helping it to stay alive.[5]
Okinawan is sometimes grouped with Kunigami as the Okinawan languages; however, not all linguists accept this grouping, some claiming that Kunigami is a dialect of Okinawan.[6] Okinawan is also grouped with Amami (or the Amami languages) as the Northern Ryukyuan languages.
Since the creation of Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawan has been labeled a dialect of Japanese as part of a policy of assimilation. Later, Japanese linguists, such as Tōjō Misao, who studied the Ryukyuan languages argued that they are indeed dialects. This is due to the misconception that Japan is a homogeneous state (one people, one language, one nation), and classifying the Ryukyuan languages as such would discredit this assumption.[7] The present-day official stance of the Japanese government remains that Okinawan is a dialect, and it is common within the Japanese population for it to be called or, which means "Okinawa dialect (of Japanese)". The policy of assimilation, coupled with increased interaction between Japan and Okinawa through media and economics, has led to the development of Okinawan Japanese, which is a dialect of Japanese influenced by the Okinawan and Kunigami languages. Japanese and Okinawan only share 60% of the same vocabulary, despite both being Japonic languages.[8]
Okinawan linguist Seizen Nakasone states that the Ryukyuan languages are in fact groupings of similar dialects. As each community has its own distinct dialect, there is no "one language". Nakasone attributes this diversity to the isolation caused by immobility, citing the story of his mother who wanted to visit the town of Nago but never made the 25 km trip before she died of old age.[9]
The contemporary dialects in Ryukyuan language are divided into three large groups: Amami-Okinawa dialects, Miyako-Yaeyama dialects, and the Yonaguni dialect. All of them are mutually unintelligible. Amami is located in the Kagoshima prefecture but it belongs to the Ryukyuan group linguistically. The Yonaguni dialect is very different in phonetics from the other groups but it comes closest to the Yaeyama dialect lexically.[10]
Outside Japan, Okinawan is considered a separate language from Japanese. This was first proposed by Basil Hall Chamberlain, who compared the relationship between Okinawan and Japanese to that of the Romance languages. UNESCO has marked it as an endangered language.[11]
UNESCO listed six Okinawan language varieties as endangered languages in 2009.[12] The endangerment of Okinawan is largely due to the shift to Standard Japanese. Throughout history, Okinawan languages have been treated as dialects of Standard Japanese. For instance, in the 20th century, many schools used "dialect tags" to punish the students who spoke in Okinawan.[13] Consequently, many of the remaining speakers today are choosing not to transmit their languages to younger generations due to the stigmatization of the languages in the past.
There have been several revitalization efforts made to reverse this language shift. However, Okinawan is still poorly taught in formal institutions due to the lack of support from the Okinawan Education Council: education in Okinawa is conducted exclusively in Japanese, and children do not study Okinawan as their second language at school. As a result, at least two generations of Okinawans have grown up without any proficiency in their local languages both at home and school.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Close-Mid | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ |
The Okinawan language has five vowels, all of which may be long or short, though the short vowels pronounced as //e// and pronounced as //o// are quite rare, as they occur only in a few native Okinawan words with heavy syllables with the pattern pronounced as //Ceɴ// or pronounced as //Coɴ//, such as pronounced as //meɴsoːɾeː// mensōrē "welcome" or pronounced as //toɴɸaː// tonfā. The close back vowels pronounced as //u// and pronounced as //uː// are truly rounded, rather than the compressed vowels of standard Japanese.
The Okinawan language counts some 20 distinctive segments shown in the chart below, with major allophones presented in parentheses.
| Labial | Alveolar | Alveolo- palatal | Palatal | Labio- velar | Velar | Uvular/ Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | (pronounced as /ŋ/) | align=center class=nounderline | (pronounced as /ɴ/) | |||||
| Plosive | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Fricative | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ (pronounced as /link/) | align=center class=nounderline | (pronounced as /link/) | align=center class=nounderline | (pronounced as /link/) | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Flap | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||||||
| Approximant | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ | align=center class=nounderline | pronounced as /link/ |
The consonant system of the Okinawan language is fairly similar to that of standard Japanese, but it does present a few differences on the phonemic and allophonic level. Namely, Okinawan retains the labialized consonants pronounced as //kʷ// and pronounced as //ɡʷ// which were lost in Late Middle Japanese, possesses a glottal stop pronounced as //ʔ//, features a voiceless bilabial fricative pronounced as //ɸ// distinct from the aspirate pronounced as //h//, and has two distinctive affricates which arose from a number of different sound processes. Additionally, Okinawan lacks the major allophones pronounced as /[t͡s]/ and pronounced as /[d͡z]/ found in Japanese, having historically fronted the vowel pronounced as //u// to pronounced as //i// after the alveolars pronounced as //t d s z//, consequently merging pronounced as /[t͡su]/ tsu into pronounced as /[t͡ɕi]/ chi, pronounced as /[su]/ su into pronounced as /[ɕi]/ shi, and both pronounced as /[d͡zu]/ dzu and pronounced as /[zu]/ zu into pronounced as /[d͡ʑi]/ ji. It also lacks pronounced as //z// as a distinctive phoneme, having merged it into pronounced as //d͡ʑ//.
The bilabial fricative pronounced as //ɸ// has sometimes been transcribed as the cluster pronounced as //hw//, since, like Japanese, pronounced as //h// allophonically labializes into pronounced as /[ɸ]/ before the high vowel pronounced as //u//, and pronounced as //ɸ// does not occur before the rounded vowel pronounced as //o//. This suggests that an overlap between pronounced as //ɸ// and pronounced as //h// exists, and so the contrast in front of other vowels can be denoted through labialization. However, this analysis fails to take account of the fact that Okinawan has not fully undergone the diachronic change pronounced as /
The plosive consonants pronounced as //t// and pronounced as //k// historically palatalized and affricated into pronounced as //t͡ɕ// before and occasionally following the glide pronounced as //j// and the high vowel pronounced as //i//: pronounced as /
Both pronounced as //t// and pronounced as //d// may or may not also allophonically affricate before the mid vowel pronounced as //e//, though this pronunciation is increasingly rare. Similarly, the fricative consonant pronounced as //s// palatalizes into pronounced as /[ɕ]/ before the glide pronounced as //j// and the vowel pronounced as //i//, including when pronounced as //i// historically derives from pronounced as //e//: pronounced as /
In general, sequences containing the palatal consonant pronounced as //j// are relatively rare and tend to exhibit depalatalization. For example, pronounced as //mj// tends to merge with pronounced as //n// (pronounced as /[mjaːku]/ myāku → pronounced as /[naːku]/ nāku "Miyako"); pronounced as /
The voiced plosive pronounced as //d// and the flap pronounced as //ɾ// tend to merge, with the first becoming a flap in word-medial position, and the second sometimes becoming a plosive in word-initial position. For example, pronounced as //ɾuː// rū "dragon" may be strengthened into pronounced as //duː// dū, and pronounced as //hasidu// hashidu "door" conversely flaps into pronounced as //hasiɾu// hashiru. The two sounds do, however, still remain distinct in a number of words and verbal constructions.
Okinawan also features a distinctive glottal stop pronounced as //ʔ// that historically arose from a process of glottalization of word-initial vowels. Hence, all vowels in Okinawan are predictably glottalized at the beginning of words (pronounced as /
The moraic nasal pronounced as //N// has been posited in most descriptions of Okinawan phonology. Like Japanese, pronounced as //N// (transcribed using the small capital pronounced as //ɴ//) occupies a full mora and its precise place of articulation will vary depending on the following consonant. Before other labial consonants, it will be pronounced closer to a syllabic bilabial nasal pronounced as /[m̩]/, as in pronounced as //ʔɴma// pronounced as /[ʔm̩ma]/ nma "horse". Before velar and labiovelar consonants, it will be pronounced as a syllabic velar nasal pronounced as /[ŋ̍]/, as in pronounced as //biɴɡata// pronounced as /[biŋ̍ɡata]/ bingata, a method of dying clothes. And before alveolar and alveolo-palatal consonants, it becomes a syllabic alveolar nasal pronounced as //n̩//, as in pronounced as //kaɴda// pronounced as /[kan̩da]/ kanda "vine". In some varieties, it instead becomes a syllabic uvular nasal pronounced as /[ɴ̩]/. Elsewhere, its exact realization remains unspecified, and it may vary depending on the first sound of the next word or morpheme. In isolation and at the end of utterances, it is realized as a velar nasal pronounced as /[ŋ̍]/.
| pronounced as //e// | pronounced as //iː// | ||
| pronounced as //i// | |||
| pronounced as //a// | pronounced as //a// | ||
| pronounced as //o// | pronounced as //u// | ||
| pronounced as //u// | |||
| pronounced as //ai// | pronounced as //eː// | ||
| pronounced as //ae// | |||
| pronounced as //au// | pronounced as //oː// | ||
| pronounced as //ao// | |||
| pronounced as //aja// | |||
| pronounced as //k// | pronounced as //k// | pronounced as //ɡ// also occurs | |
| pronounced as //ka// | pronounced as //ka// | pronounced as //ha// also occurs | |
| pronounced as //ki// | pronounced as //t͡ɕi// | pronounced as /[t͡ɕi]/ | |
| pronounced as //ku// | pronounced as //ku// | pronounced as //hu//, pronounced as /[ɸu]/ also occurs | |
| pronounced as //si// | pronounced as //si// | pronounced as //hi//, pronounced as /[çi]/ also occurs | |
| pronounced as //su// | pronounced as //si// | pronounced as /[ɕi]/
| |
| pronounced as //tu// | pronounced as //t͡ɕi// | pronounced as /[t͡ɕi]/
| |
| pronounced as //da// | pronounced as //ra// | pronounced as /[d]/ and pronounced as /[ɾ]/ have merged | |
| pronounced as //de// | pronounced as //ri// | ||
| pronounced as //do// | pronounced as //ru// | ||
| pronounced as //ni// | pronounced as //ni// | Moraic pronounced as //ɴ// also occurs | |
| pronounced as //nu// | pronounced as //nu// | ||
| pronounced as //ha// | pronounced as //ɸa// ~ pronounced as //ha// | pronounced as //pa// also occurs, but rarely | |
| pronounced as //hi// | pronounced as //pi// ~ pronounced as //hi// | ||
| pronounced as //he// | |||
| pronounced as //mi// | pronounced as //mi// | Moraic pronounced as //ɴ// also occurs | |
| pronounced as //mu// | pronounced as //mu// | ||
| pronounced as //ri// | pronounced as //i// | pronounced as //iri// is unaffected | |
| pronounced as //wa// | pronounced as //wa// | Tends to become pronounced as //a// medially |
The Okinawan language was historically written using an admixture of kanji and hiragana. The hiragana syllabary is believed to have first been introduced from mainland Japan to the Ryukyu Kingdom some time during the reign of king Shunten in the early thirteenth century. It is likely that Okinawans were already in contact with hanzi (Chinese characters) due to extensive trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and China, Japan and Korea. However, hiragana gained more widespread acceptance throughout the Ryukyu Islands, and most documents and letters were exclusively transcribed using this script, in contrast to in Japan where writing solely in hiragana was considered "women's script". The Omoro Sōshi (Japanese: おもろさうし), a sixteenth-century compilation of songs and poetry, and a few preserved writs of appointments dating from the same century were written solely in Hiragana. Kanji were gradually adopted due to the growing influence of mainland Japan and to the linguistic affinity between the Okinawan and Japanese languages. However, it was mainly limited to affairs of high importance and to documents sent towards the mainland. The oldest inscription of Okinawan exemplifying its use along with Hiragana can be found on a stone stele at the Tamaudun mausoleum, dating back to 1501.
After the invasion of Okinawa by the Shimazu clan of Satsuma in 1609, Okinawan ceased to be used in official affairs. It was replaced by standard Japanese writing and a form of Classical Chinese writing known as kanbun. Despite this change, Okinawan still continued to prosper in local literature up until the nineteenth century. Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government abolished the domain system and formally annexed the Ryukyu Islands to Japan as the Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. To promote national unity, the government then introduced standard education and opened Japanese-language schools based on the Tokyo dialect. Students were discouraged and chastised for speaking or even writing in the local "dialect", notably through the use of "dialect cards" (Japanese: 方言札). As a result, Okinawan gradually ceased to be written entirely until the American takeover in 1945.
Since then, Japanese and American scholars have variously transcribed the regional language using a number of ad hoc romanization schemes or the katakana syllabary to demarcate its foreign nature with standard Japanese. Proponents of Okinawan tend to be more traditionalist and continue to write the language using hiragana with kanji. In any case, no standard or consensus concerning spelling issues has ever been formalized, so discrepancies between modern literary works are common.
Technically, they are not syllables, but rather morae. Each mora in Okinawan will consist of one or two kana characters. If two, then a smaller version of kana follows the normal sized kana. In each cell of the table below, the top row is the kana (hiragana to the left, katakana to the right of the dot), the middle row in rōmaji (Hepburn romanization), and the bottom row in IPA.
| Vowel | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | i | u | e | o | ya | yi | yu | ye | yo | wa | wi | wu | we | wo | n | |
| (none) | あ・ア a pronounced as /[a]/ | い・イ i pronounced as /[i]/ | う・ウ u pronounced as /[u]/ | え・エ e pronounced as /[e]/ | お・オ o pronounced as /[o]/ | や・ヤ ya pronounced as /[ja]/ | いぃ・イィ yi pronounced as /[ji]/ | ゆ・ユ yu pronounced as /[ju]/ | えぇ・エェ ye pronounced as /[je]/ | よ・ヨ yo pronounced as /[jo]/ | わ・ワ wa pronounced as /[wa]/ | ゐ・ヰ wi pronounced as /[wi]/ | をぅ・ヲゥ wu pronounced as /[wu]/ | ゑ・ヱ we pronounced as /[we]/ | を・ヲ wo pronounced as /[wo]/ | ん・ン n pronounced as /[ɴ]/ (pronounced as /[n̩]/, pronounced as /[ŋ̣]/, pronounced as /[ṃ]/) |
(glottal stop) | あ・ア a pronounced as /[ʔa]/ | い・イ i pronounced as /[ʔi]/ | う・ウ u pronounced as /[ʔu]/ | え・エ e pronounced as /[ʔe]/ | お・オ o pronounced as /[ʔo]/ | っや・ッヤ ya pronounced as /[ʔʲa]/ | っゆ・ッユ yu pronounced as /[ʔʲu]/ | っよ・ッヨ yo pronounced as /[ʔʲo]/ | っわ・ッワ wa pronounced as /[ʔʷa]/ | っゐ・ッヰ wi pronounced as /[ʔʷi]/ | っゑ・ッヱ we pronounced as /[ʔʷe]/ | っを・ッヲ wo pronounced as /[ʔʷo]/ | っん・ッン n pronounced as /[ʔɴ]/ (pronounced as /[ʔn̩]/, pronounced as /[ʔṃ]/) | |||
| k | か・カ ka pronounced as /[ka]/ | き・キ ki pronounced as /[ki]/ | く・ク ku pronounced as /[ku]/ | け・ケ ke pronounced as /[ke]/ | こ・コ ko pronounced as /[ko]/ | きゃ・キャ kya pronounced as /[kʲa]/ | きゅ・キュ kyu pronounced as /[kʲu]/ | きょ・キョ kyo pronounced as /[kʲo]/ | くゎ・クヮ kwa pronounced as /[kʷa]/ | くぃ・クィ kwi pronounced as /[kʷi]/ | くぇ・クェ kwe pronounced as /[kʷe]/ | くぉ・クォ kwo pronounced as /[kʷo]/ | ||||
| g | が・ガ ga pronounced as /[ɡa]/ | ぎ・ギ gi pronounced as /[ɡi]/ | ぐ・グ gu pronounced as /[ɡu]/ | げ・ゲ ge pronounced as /[ɡe]/ | ご・ゴ go pronounced as /[ɡo]/ | ぎゃ・ギャ gya pronounced as /[ɡʲa]/ | ぎゅ・ギュ gyu pronounced as /[ɡʲu]/ | ぎょ・ギョ gyo pronounced as /[ɡʲo]/ | ぐゎ・グヮ gwa pronounced as /[ɡʷa]/ | ぐぃ・グィ gwi pronounced as /[ɡʷi]/ | ぐぇ・グェ gwe pronounced as /[ɡʷe]/ | ぐぉ・グォ gwo pronounced as /[ɡʷo]/ | ||||
| s | さ・サ sa pronounced as /[sa]/ | すぃ・スィ si pronounced as /[si]/ | す・ス su pronounced as /[su]/ | せ・セ se pronounced as /[se]/ | そ・ソ so pronounced as /[so]/ | |||||||||||
| sh | しゃ・シャ sha pronounced as /[ɕa]/ | し・シ shi pronounced as /[ɕi]/ | しゅ・シュ shu pronounced as /[ɕu]/ | しぇ・シェ she pronounced as /[ɕe]/ | しょ・ショ sho pronounced as /[ɕo]/ | |||||||||||
| z | ざ・ザ za pronounced as /[za]/ | ずぃ・ズィ zi pronounced as /[zi]/ | ず・ズ zu pronounced as /[zu]/ | ぜ・ゼ ze pronounced as /[ze]/ | ぞ・ゾ zo pronounced as /[zo]/ | |||||||||||
| j | じゃ・ジャ<br />(ぢゃ・ヂャ) ja pronounced as /[dʑa]/ | じ・ジ<br />(ぢ・ヂ) ji pronounced as /[dʑi]/ | じゅ・ヂュ<br />(ぢゅ・ヂュ) ju pronounced as /[dʑu]/ | じぇ・ジェ<br />(ぢぇ・ヂェ) je pronounced as /[dʑe]/ | じょ・ジョ<br />(ぢょ・ヂョ) jo pronounced as /[dʑo]/ | |||||||||||
| t | た・タ ta pronounced as /[ta]/ | てぃ・ティ ti pronounced as /[ti]/ | とぅ・トゥ tu pronounced as /[tu]/ | て・テ te pronounced as /[te]/ | と・ト to pronounced as /[to]/ | |||||||||||
| d | だ・ダ da pronounced as /[da]/ | でぃ・ディ di pronounced as /[di]/ | どぅ・ドゥ du pronounced as /[du]/ | で・デ de pronounced as /[de]/ | ど・ド do pronounced as /[do]/ | |||||||||||
| ts | つぁ・ツァ tsa pronounced as /[t͡sa]/ | つぃ・ツィ tsi pronounced as /[t͡si]/ | つ・ツ tsu pronounced as /[t͡su]/ | つぇ・ツェ tse pronounced as /[t͡se]/ | つぉ・ツォ tso pronounced as /[t͡so]/ | |||||||||||
| ch | ちゃ・チャ cha pronounced as /[t͡ɕa]/ | ち・チ chi pronounced as /[t͡ɕi]/ | ちゅ・チュ chu pronounced as /[t͡ɕu]/ | ちぇ・チェ che pronounced as /[t͡ɕe]/ | ちょ・チョ cho pronounced as /[t͡ɕo]/ | ya | yu | yo | ||||||||
| n | な・ナ na pronounced as /[na]/ | に・ニ ni pronounced as /[ni]/ | ぬ・ヌ nu pronounced as /[nu]/ | ね・ネ ne pronounced as /[ne]/ | の・ノ no pronounced as /[no]/ | にゃ・ニャ nya pronounced as /[ɲa]/ | にゅ・ニュ nyu pronounced as /[ɲu]/ | にょ・ニョ nyo pronounced as /[ɲo]/ | ||||||||
| h | は・ハ ha pronounced as /[ha]/ | ひ・ヒ hi pronounced as /[çi]/ | へ・ヘ he pronounced as /[he]/ | ほ・ホ ho pronounced as /[ho]/ | ひゃ・ヒャ hya pronounced as /[ça]/ | ひゅ・ヒュ hyu pronounced as /[çu]/ | ひょ・ヒョ hyo pronounced as /[ço]/ | |||||||||
| f | ふぁ・ファ fa pronounced as /[ɸa]/ | ふぃ・フィ fi pronounced as /[ɸi]/ | ふ・フ fu/hu pronounced as /[ɸu]/ | ふぇ・フェ fe pronounced as /[ɸe]/ | ふぉ・フォ fo pronounced as /[ɸo]/ | |||||||||||
| b | ば・バ ba pronounced as /[ba]/ | び・ビ bi pronounced as /[bi]/ | ぶ・ブ bu pronounced as /[bu]/ | べ・ベ be pronounced as /[be]/ | ぼ・ボ bo pronounced as /[bo]/ | |||||||||||
| p | ぱ・パ pa pronounced as /[pa]/ | ぴ・ピ pi pronounced as /[pi]/ | ぷ・プ pu pronounced as /[pu]/ | ぺ・ペ pe pronounced as /[pe]/ | ぽ・ポ po pronounced as /[po]/ | |||||||||||
| m | ま・マ ma pronounced as /[ma]/ | み・ミ mi pronounced as /[mi]/ | む・ム mu pronounced as /[mu]/ | め・メ me pronounced as /[me]/ | も・モ mo pronounced as /[mo]/ | みゃ・ミャ mya pronounced as /[mʲa]/ | みゅ・ミュ myu pronounced as /[mʲu]/ | みょ・ミョ myo pronounced as /[mʲo]/ | ||||||||
| r | ら・ラ ra pronounced as /[ɾa]/ | り・リ ri pronounced as /[ɾi]/ | る・ル ru pronounced as /[ɾu]/ | れ・レ re pronounced as /[ɾe]/ | ろ・ロ ro pronounced as /[ɾo]/ | りゃ・リャ rya pronounced as /[ɾʲa]/ | りゅ・リュ ryu pronounced as /[ɾʲu]/ | りょ・リョ ryo pronounced as /[ɾʲo]/ | ||||||||
Okinawan follows a subject–object–verb word order and makes large use of particles as in Japanese. Okinawan retains a number of Japonic grammatical features also found in Old Japanese but lost (or highly restricted) in Modern Japanese, such as a distinction between the terminal form (Japanese: 終止形) and the attributive form (Japanese: 連体形), the genitive function of Japanese: が ga (lost in the Shuri dialect), the nominative function of Japanese: ぬ nu (cf. Japanese: Japanese: の no), as well as honorific/plain distribution of ga and nu in nominative use.
| Shuri | Classical Japanese | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrealis | Japanese: 未然形 | 書か | kaka- | Japanese: 書か | kaka- | |
| Continuative | Japanese: 連用形 | 書ち | kachi- | Japanese: 書き | kaki- | |
| Terminal | Japanese: 終止形 | 書ちゅん | kachun | Japanese: 書く | kaku | |
| Attributive | Japanese: 連体形 | 書ちゅる | kachuru | Japanese: 書く | kaku | |
| Realis | Japanese: 已然形 | 書き | kaki- | Japanese: 書け | kake- | |
| Imperative | Japanese: 命令形 | 書き | kaki | Japanese: 書け | kake | |
A similar etymology is given for the terminal -san and attributive -saru endings for adjectives: the stem suffixed with Japanese: さ sa (nominalises adjectives, i.e. high → height, hot → heat), suffixed with ari ("to be; to exist; to have", cf. Classical Japanese: Japanese: 有り ari), i.e.:
| Nature of the part of speech in a sentence | Part of speech | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | No conjugation | Can become a subject | Noun (名詞) | ||||
| Pronoun (代名詞) | |||||||
| Cannot become a subject | Other words come after | Modifies | Modifies a declinable word | Adverb (副詞) | |||
| Modifies a substantive | Prenominal adjective (連体詞) | ||||||
| Connects | Conjunction (接続詞) | ||||||
| Other words may not come after | Interjection / exclamation (感動詞) | ||||||
| Conjugates | Declinable word | Shows movements | Conclusive form ends in "" | Verb (動詞) | |||
| Shows the property or state | Conclusive form ends in "" | Adjective (形容詞) | |||||
| Shows existence or decision of a certain thing | "" attaches to a substantive such as a noun | Existential-identificative verb (存在動詞) | |||||
| Shows state of existence of events | "" attaches to the word that shows state | Adjectival verb (形容動詞) | |||||
| Dependent | Conjugates | Makes up for the meanings of conjugated words | Conclusive form ends in "" | Auxiliary Verb (助動詞) | |||
| No conjugation | Attaches to other words and shows the relationship between words | Particle (助詞) | |||||
| Attaches to the head of a word and adds meaning or makes a new word | Prefix (接頭語) | ||||||
| Attaches to the end of a word and adds meaning or makes a new word | Suffix (接尾語) | ||||||
Nouns are classified as independent, non-conjugating part of speech that can become a subject of a sentence
Pronouns are classified the same as nouns, except that pronouns are more broad.
| Singular | Plural | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Demonstrative | Personal | Demonstrative | |||||||
| Thing | Place | Direction | Thing | Place | Direction | |||||
| 1st person | ||||||||||
| 2nd person | ||||||||||
| 3rd person | Proximal | |||||||||
| Medial | ||||||||||
| Distal | ||||||||||
| Indefinite | ||||||||||
Adverbs are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech that cannot become a subject of a sentence and modifies a declinable word (用言; verbs, adverbs, adjectives) that comes after the adverb. There are two main categories to adverbs and several subcategories within each category, as shown in the table below.
| Adverbs that shows state or condition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Example | |
| Always | ||||
| Occasionally | ||||
| Already | ||||
| Shortly | ||||
| Yet | ||||
| Always | ||||
| A little | ||||
| Suddenly | ||||
| Normally | ||||
| A little while | ||||
| A little | ||||
| Many, a lot of | ||||
| A lot | ||||
| Abundant | ||||
| A lot | ||||
| A lot | ||||
| Extremely, a lot of | ||||
| Full, a lot | ||||
| More | ||||
| A little | ||||
| Very | ||||
| Fairly, quite | ||||
| Not too much | ||||
| Often |
Kunu umi nji e īruku, uijundō.
Kono umi de wa, yoku, oyoguyo.
| |||
| To a sickening degree |
Chinū ya niriruka, nī, kayāchan.
Kinō wa, unzarisuruhodo, ni wo hokonda.
| |||
| To the extent someone gets irritated |
Jirā ga chukutaru shorui ya kachō ga wajiruka, bappētōtan.
Jirā ga tsukutta shorui wa kachō ga okoruhodo, machigetteita.
| |||
| Very |
Wannē aiyuka, wata nu yadi, hirakitōtan.
Watashi wa totemo, onaka ga itakute, shagandeita.
| |||
| Even more |
Ittā yatchī ya yukun, chijiduyaru.
Kimitachi no ani wa yokei, dame da.
| |||
| Even more |
Jikan nu tachīnē, ari ga yanmē ya tatta, wassanayundō.
Jikan ga tateba, kare no byōki wa yokei, warukunaruyo.
| |||
| Full, enough |
Munō nā, chufāra, kadan.
Shokuji wa mō, ippai, tabeta.
| |||
| Not so... |
Sū ya sanshin ya ansukā, jōji earan.
Otō-san wa shamisen sorehodowa jōzu dewanai.
| |||
| Dispersed, scattered |
Kuma nu mangurā chinchintu du, yā yātaru.
Kono atari wa chirijirini ie ga natta.
| |||
| Quickly |
Chū ya hēku, sutiturashiyō.
Kyō wa hayaku, atsumattekureyo.
| |||
| Slowly |
Munō awatiran'youi, younnā, kamē.
Shokuji wa awatezu, yukkuri, tabeyo.
| |||
| Naturally |
Tōnainē, nankuru, jinbunmen njitichūsani.
Iza to nareba, onozuto, chie mo detekuru darō.
| |||
| Adverb for something heavy floating down on water |
Kā nu ui nu hata kara magi mumu nu yuttaikwattai, rūritichan.
Kawa no ue no hō kara ōkina momo ga donburakoto, nagaretekita.
| |||
| Reluctantly, Nostalgically |
Nagurinaguritu, wakari nu ēsachi sun.
Nagorinagorito, wakare no aisatsu wo suru.
| |||
| Nostalgically |
Shinjintu, fushiuta yatin, utatinda.
Shimijimito, fushiuta demo, utattemiyō.
| |||
| Gradually |
Tidā irī nkai shidēshidē, utitīchun.
Taiyō wa nishi he shidaini, shizundeiku.
| |||
| Completely |
Garasā nu chiribukuru, churāsa, kizāchinēran.
Karasu ga gomibukuro, nokorazu, asatteshimatta.
| |||
| Too much, excessively |
Duku, yukushi bikē, shīnē, bachi, kanjun.
Amarinimo, uso bakari tsuitara, batsu ga ataru.
| |||
| Gradually |
Nā fansō nu utu o dandandandan, mashinatōn.
Anata no fue no oto wa dandan, yokunatteiru.
| |||
| Gradually |
Igaroun, shidēni, tushi, tutan'yā.
Wareware mo shidaini toshi wo totta ne.
| |||
| Badly |
Dukudara, himichi shīnē, isa nkai mishirandē.
Hidoku, seki kondara, isha ni misenaito.
| |||
| Straight |
Kuma kara ama nkai massugu, ichīnē, umi nkai njiyun.
Koko kara asoko he, massugu, ikuto, umi ni deru.
| |||
| Correctly |
Nā ya uchināguchē mattouba, chikariyō.
Kimi wa okinawago wo tadashiku tsukatteyo.
| |||
| Properly |
Yā ya dattidu, chukuyundō.
Ie wa chanto, tsukurundayo.
| |||
| Neatly |
Anmā ya chū ya daten, sugatōn.
Haha wa kyō wa kichinto, minari wo totonoeteiru.
| |||
| Freshly |
Danpachi sāni, sappattu, sōn.
Sanbatsu wo shite, sappari shiteiru.
| |||
| Carefully |
Uya nu yushi, shikattu, chichoukiyō.
Oya no iukoto wo shikkari, kiiteokeyo.
| |||
| Thoughtlessly, carelessly |
Anshin, shikennō, ukattuo, ukiraran.
Soredemo, shiken wa ukatsuniwa ukerarenai.
| |||
| Even more |
Unu yanmē ya nijīnē, tatta, wassanayundō.
Sono byōki wa gaman suru to, yokei, warukunaruyo.
| |||
| Adverbs that shows judgement | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Example | |
| If | ||||
| Even if | ||||
| For example, if you compare | ||||
| Indeed, surely | ||||
| No way, no idea, unlikely, it is impossible that... | ||||
| By chance |
| |||
| Perhaps |
| |||
| No way, no idea, unlikely, it is impossible that... |
Masaka chūya umachī ndē umāntan
| |||
| Really (intensifier) |
| |||
| Please |
| |||
| Please |
| |||
| Always, have to |
| |||
| Have to, at any cost |
| |||
| How |
| |||
| Really |
| |||
| So much, really |
| |||
| Why |
| |||
| Completely, at all |
| |||
| Definitely |
| |||
| Go too far |
| |||
| At all |
| |||
| Cannot do anything |
| |||
| Really, truly |
| |||
| Definitely |
| |||
| Such a thing |
| |||
| Recklessly |
| |||
| On purpose |
| |||
| Already |
| |||
| Prenominal adjectives are classified the same as adverbs, except instead of modifying a declinable word, it modifies a substantive (体言; nouns and pronouns). | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| good | |||
| Conjunctions are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech that connects words coming after to words coming before. | |||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "For that reason" | |||
| "And then" | |||
| "So" | |||
| "But" | |||
| Interjections are classified as an independent, non-conjugating part of speech, where it does not modify or connect anything, and other words may not come after it. | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oh / wow | 驚きの気持ちを表すExpression of surprise | |||
| Oh dear | Expression of dismay, concern, or worry | |||
| Oh dear | 失敗した時や驚いた時などに発するExpression of dismay, concern, or worry | |||
| Yes | Honorific "yes" | |||
| No | 目上の人に対して用いるHonorific "no" | |||
| Hey | ||||
| All right | Expression of pleasure, joy, or permission | |||
| Oh dear | 呆れ返った時などに発する語 | |||
| Sure enough, As I expected | ||||
Verbs are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows movements. The conclusive form ends in .
Adjectives are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows property or state. The conclusive form ends in .
存在動詞 are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows existence or decision of a certain thing. attaches to a substantive.
Adjectival verbs are classified as an independent, conjugating part of speech that shows the state of existence of events. attaches to words that shows state.
| Auxiliary verbs are classified as a dependent, conjugating part of speech that makes up the meanings of conjugated words. The conclusive form ends in . | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| want to | ||||
| be able to | ||||
| Case markers (格助詞) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attaches to a substantive and marks the relationship between other words. | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example | |
| Nominative case. Normally, but is used for pronouns and names. |
| |||
| Genitive case; possessor. |
| |||
| Ø (Archaic:) | Accusative case. Modern Okinawan does not use a direct object particle, like casual Japanese speech. "yu" exists mainly in old literary composition. | |||
| Instrumental case; the means by which something is achieved. |
| |||
| ||||
| ・ | ・ | Dative case; indirect object, benefactor, goal of motion. 手段・方法 |
| |
| ・ | Locative case; marks the location where an action takes place, usually pertaining to an animate subject. Derives from the participle form of the verb をぅん wun "to be, to exist". |
| ||
| "as much as"; upper limit |
| |||
| Ablative case; source, cause. 起点 | ||||
| 場所・位置 | ||||
| 場所 | ||||
| 所属等 | ||||
| ぬ→「〜している」「〜である」「〜い・しい」pp459. | ||||
| 相手 | ||||
| Quotative. | ||||
| 時・場所等 | ||||
| Adverbial Particles (副助詞) | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example | |
| "only; limit" |
| |||
| "up to, until, as far as" |
| |||
| "around, about, approximately" |
| |||
| 等 | as much as; upper limit. |
| ||
| 等 | ||||
| 等 |
| |||
| 等 | ||||
| 、 | ||||
| Binding particles (係助詞) | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example | |
| Topic particle for long vowels, proper nouns, or names.For other nouns, the particle fuses with short vowels. a → ā, i → ē, u → ō, e → ē, o → ō, n → nō.Pronoun 我ん (wan?) (I) becomes topicalized as 我んねー (wannē?) instead of 我んのー (wannō?) or 我んや (wan'ya?), although the latter does appear in some musical or literary works. | ||||
| "Also" | ||||
| "even, also in" |
| |||
| Sentence-ending particles (終助詞) | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example | |
| Final interrogatory particle | ||||
| Final interrogatory particle | ||||
| 可否疑問 | ||||
| 強調疑問 | ||||
| Final particle expressing 問いかけ・念押し | ||||
| 軽い疑問 | ||||
| 軽く言う | ||||
| Prohibitive | ||||
| 命令 | ||||
| 断定 | ||||
| 断定 | ||||
| Interjectory Particles (間投助詞) | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | Notes/English | Example | |
| 等 | ||||
| 等 | ||||
| 等 | ||||
| 意外、軽蔑 | ||||
| Conjunctive particles (接続助詞) | ||||
| Okinawan | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "How much" | |||
| "When" | |||
| "Which" | |||
| "Who" | |||
| "Who" (plural) | |||
| "How" (in what way) | |||
| "How much" | |||
| "How" | |||
| "What kind" | |||
| "What" | |||
| "Why" | |||
| "Where" |
The basic word order is subject–object–verb.
Okinawan is a marked nominative language (with the accusative being unmarked) that also shows minor active–stative variation in intransitive verbs relating to existence or emergence. In existence or emergence verbs, the subject may be optionally unmarked (except for pronouns and proper names, which must be marked with ga), and marked human subjects cannot use ga anymore, but rather always with the often-inanimate marker nu.[14]
人間ー誰ん生まりやぎーなー自由やい、また、胴大切に思ゆる肝とぅ胴守らんでぃる肝ー、誰やてぃんゆぬ如授かとーるむんやん。人間ー元からいー矩ぬ備わとーくとぅ、互ーに兄弟やんでぃる考ーさーに事に当たらんだれーならん。(without ruby)
ーんまりやぎーなーやい、また、にゆるとぅらんでぃるー、やてぃんゆぬかとーるむんやん。ーからいーぬわとーくとぅ、ーにやんでぃるーさーににたらんだれーならん。(with ruby)
Ninjinō tā n 'nmariyagīnā jiyu yai, mata, dū tēshichi ni umuyuru chimu tu dū mamurandiru chimō, tā yatin yunugutu sajakatōru mun yan. Ninjinō mūtu kara īka ni nu sunawatōkutu, tagē ni chōdēyandiru kangēsā ni kutu ni atarandarē naran.(UDHR Article 1)