| Yamagata dialect | |
| Nativename: | Murayama dialect |
| States: | Japan |
| Region: | Yamagata |
| Speakers: | ? |
| Familycolor: | Altaic |
| Fam1: | Japonic |
| Fam2: | Japanese |
| Fam3: | Eastern Japanese |
| Fam4: | Tōhoku |
| Fam5: | Southern |
| Isoexception: | dialect |
| Glotto: | yama1262 |
| Glottorefname: | Yamagata |
| Ietf: | ja-u-sd-jp06 |
The is the local dialect spoken in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.[1] [2] It is a form of Tōhoku-ben, and can be broken down into sub-regional branches that vary from area to area within Yamagata. Dialects in Yamagata Prefecture are roughly divided into two types: Inland and Shonai (coastal).
Yamagata-ben was used for comic effect in the Japanese film Swing Girls, 2004, to suggest that the film was set in a rural, 'backward' location. However, some Yamagata residents feel that the film used the dialect in an unnatural and patronising way. The dialect has also had Japan-wide exposure through Daniel Kahl, an American who has made a TV career as the gaijin talent who can speak fluent Yamagata-ben.