| Kaga dialect | |
| Familycolor: | Altaic |
| Nativename: | 加賀弁・加賀方言 |
| States: | Japan |
| Region: | Kaga, Ishikawa |
| Fam1: | Japonic |
| Fam2: | Japanese |
| Fam3: | Western |
| Fam4: | Hokuriku |
| Dia1: | ◇ Komatsu (Central) |
| Dia2: | ◇ Daishōji (South) |
| Dia3: | ◇ Kanazawa (North)* |
The Kaga dialect (Japanese: 加賀弁 kaga ben) is a Japanese Hokuriku dialect spoken south of Kahoku in the Kaga region (formerly Kaga Province) of Ishikawa Prefecture.
The Kaga dialect is broadly divided into three regional dialects, which include:
According to Haruhiko Kindaichi, the pitch accent of Kaga dialects is considered to be intermediate between the Kyoto and Tokyo standards. Two-mora nouns like ka-ze (風 wind) are pronounced flat in both the Tokyo and Kyoto standards, but have a characteristic so-called kakō (下降) standard tone in Shiramine. When independent of any particles, the first mora is pronounced somewhat higher and the second mora falls slightly (indicated by 〇〇 in the table below). When a particle is attached, the second mora is higher and gently falls from the third mora onwards. Second- and third-class two-mora nouns like ya-ma (山 mountain) are front-mora stressed and fourth- and fifth-class two-mora nouns like ka-sa (笠 conical hat) are unaccented.[1] [2] In plain area, however, pitch accent changes depending on the type of vowel used. For example, in Daishoji, Kaga City, among first-, second- and third-class two-mora nouns, those with a close vowel (i, u) as their second mora are front-mora stressed and those with an open vowel (a, e, o) are final-mora stressed.[3] Conversely, among those born in Showa Era Kanazawa, first-, second- and third-class two-mora nouns with a voiced consonant and close vowel (e.g. i-nu 犬 dog) as their second mora are front-mora stressed and those with a consonant and open vowel (e.g. i-ke 池 pond) as their second mora are final-mora stressed. Among the generation born between (mainly) the Meiji Era and the mid-Taisho era, however, first-class nouns are all final-mora stressed, differentiating them from second- and third-class nouns.[4] [5] In Kanazawa, fourth- and fifth-class nouns are unaccented. This pitch accent system is also found in the former town of Imajō in Fukui Prefecture.
| First class nouns | mizu (水 water) | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| taki (滝 waterfall) | 〇〇 | |||||
| kaze (風 wind) | 〇〇 | |||||
| Second and third class nouns | inu (犬 dog) | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | |
| yuki (雪 snow) | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | ||||
| yama (山 mountain) | 〇〇 | |||||
| Fourth and fifth class nouns | ame (雨 rain) | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | 〇〇 | 〇〇 |
The soft imperative -masshi (〜まっし) can be used in place of -nasai (〜なさい do ~). This is considered an iconic Kanazawa dialect expression. It is a euphonically-changed form of the respect particle -masaru (まさる)'s imperative form, -masare (まされ). Although -masaru is now only heard among the older generation, -masshi continues to be comparatively well used even among the younger generation due to possessing a specific degree of 'softness' not found in other imperative forms in standard Japanese. Save for to the attributive form, -masshi formerly connected directly onto the dictionary form of Godan verbs (Example: ganbaru-masshi (頑張るまっし do your best)). After World War II, however, this was influenced by the way -nasai connected to the -masu stem in standard Japanese, so that -masshi also came to connect to Godan verbs in the style of [''-masu'' stem + ''masshi''] (Example: ganbari-masshi (頑張りまっし)). Due to this generational change, some older speakers consider expressions like ganbari-masshi to be improper. The ending of -masshi can sometime change like in -masshi (i) ne (しまっし（い）ね) or -masshima (しまっしま), with the latter having a stronger nuance.
-ne (〜ね), -nema (〜ねま), -(stem form), -ima (〜いま) and -iya (〜 いや) are used in informal imperative expressions. For example:
In the case of ~shine, this means that the second portion of the dialectal equivalent of hayaku shinasai (早くしなさいね hurry up and do it), hayo shine (はよしね), becomes a homophone with the second part of the vulgar hayaku shine (早く死ね literally:
Equivalent to da yo (だよ) and no da (のだ), respectively. Among those middle-aged and younger, the informal ganya (がんや), gan (がん) and gē (げー) are also spoken, with a further derivative of gē, gen (げん), being widely used among predominantly the younger generation. Gen is also widely used outside of Kanazawa in areas such as Komatsu. Gan and gen sometimes merge with the sound preceding them. For example:
Kanazawa-unique sentence-ending particles that express emphasis. Jii expresses feelings of unexpectedness or surprise, whilst wē expresses feelings of pride. Although jii is still used among young people, wē is slightly negative nuance has led to its decline. Jii is considered to be a modified form of ze (ぜ) whilst wē is thought to be a corruption of wai (わい) or e (え). For example:
Interrogative sentence-ending particle equivalent to kai (かい) in standard Japanese. Compared to ka (か), it displays greater intimacy and kindness, and is widely used by both sexes. Ke often experiences sokuon like in shitokke (しとっけ) (= -shite iru kai? (~しているかい？ are you doing ~ ?) and shite kurekke? (してくれっけ？) (= ~shite kureru kai? (〜してくれるかい？ can you help me do ~?). In parts of the Kinki Region such as Kyoto and Osaka, ke is regarded as a rude, masculine expression, which can lead to misunderstandings between people from Kanazawa and these areas during conversation.
When interacting with customers in hanamachi districts, so-called ‘asobase language
First-person pronoun (I) used by men in Shiramine. When written in Kanji it becomes 儀等. Recently it has experienced euphony and is often pronounced as gyā (ぎゃー). As with the Fukui dialect, in Kuwajima District, it is said as ura (うら). Its plural forms are girara (ぎらら we) and urara (うらら also we), respectively.
Second person pronoun (you) used by men in Shiramine. Its e (え) is actually an intermediate sound between i and e. Its plural form is warra (わっら you (guys)).
Equivalent to ohayo gozaimasu (おはようございます good morning). The asai (あさい) is a corruption of asameshi (朝飯 breakfast). The expression literally translates to asa-gohan wo o-tabe ni narimashita ka? (朝ごはんをお食べになりましたか? have you eaten breakfast?).
Equivalent to konbanwa (こんばんは good evening). It literally means ban-gohan (no jikan) de-gozaimasu (晩御飯（の時間）でございます it’s time for dinner).
Arigatō (ありがとう thank you). Corruption of yoku shita ne (良くしたね you did well, didn’t you?). Other variants include yoshitai yo (よしたいよ) and yōsasshatta (ようさっしゃった).
Equivalent to so shiyō (しよう). Is typically said repeatedly (Hanja hanja (はんじゃはんじゃ)).
Equivalent to sono toori da (その通りだ that's right) . Sō da kedo (そうだけど yes, but...) is shanja keto (しゃんじゃけっと) and sō da kara (そうだから that’s why...) is shanja-sakai (しゃんじゃさかい).
Equivalent to ~ne (～ね sentence-ending particle used to denote agreement and/or add a softer, friendly tone). For example, ano nya- (あのにゃぁ～ hey, so...). It is a distinctive Shiramine dialect feature and it has led to it sometimes being called the ‘nyā-nyā dialect' in Japanese.
-Shite iru (-している is doing -). Natte iru (なっている is / has become) becomes nacchoru (なっちょる) in Shiramine.
Attaches to animal names. Is not used in Kumajima District. Inu (いぬ dog) = iri-me (いりめ), neko (ねこ cat) = nyoko-me (にょこめ), hebi (へび snake) = hen-me (へんめ), kaeru (かえる frog) = betto-me (べっとめ), etc.
| English | Standard Japanese | Shiramine dialect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodbye | sayōnara (さようなら) | noino (のいの) | |
| Let's do that | sō shiyō (そうしよう) | hanja (はんじゃ)* | |
| Could you do ~ for me? | ~kurenai ka (~くれないか) | ~kurenko (～くれんこ) | |
| Icicle | tsurara (つらら) | gamadare (がまだれ) | |
| Potato | jagaimo (ジァガイモ) | kattsuki (かっつき) | |
| Your family | anata no kazoku (あなたの家族) | angya no shū (あんぎゃの衆) | |
| Cold (to the touch) | tsumetai (冷たい) | petai (ぺたい) | |
| Beautiful | kirei-na (きれいな) | kekkō-na (けっこうな) / utskushii (うつくしい) |