Miyako language
Encyclopedia
Miyako is a language spoken in the Miyako Islands
, located southwest of Okinawa
. The combined population of the islands is about 52,000 (as of 2011). Miyako is a Ryukyuan language
, most closely related to Yaeyama
. The number of competent native speakers is not known - as a consequence of Japanese language policy, 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 mostly uses Japanese as their first language.
Miyako is notable among the Japonic languages in that it allows non-nasal syllable-final consonants, something not found in most Japonic varieties.
Miyako Islands
The are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, east of the Yaeyama Islands.-Islands grouping:*Japanese Archipelago**Nansei Islands***Ryūkyū Shotō****Sakishima Islands*****Miyako Islands-Inhabited islands:*Miyako Islands...
, located southwest of Okinawa
Okinawa Island
Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and is home to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. The island has an area of...
. The combined population of the islands is about 52,000 (as of 2011). Miyako is a Ryukyuan language
Ryukyuan languages
The Ryukyuan languages are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands, and make up a subgroup of the Japonic, itself controversially a subgroup of Altaic....
, most closely related to Yaeyama
Yaeyama language
Yaeyama is a Ryukyuan language that is spoken in the Yaeyama Islands, the southernmost inhabited island group in Japan, with a combined population of about 50,000 . The Yaeyama Islands are situated to the southwest of the Miyako area of the Ryukyus and to the east of Taiwan. Yaeyama is most...
. The number of competent native speakers is not known - as a consequence of Japanese language policy, 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 mostly uses Japanese as their first language.
Miyako is notable among the Japonic languages in that it allows non-nasal syllable-final consonants, something not found in most Japonic varieties.
External links
- Miyako dialect dictionary, Okinawa Center of Language Study
- Videos of Isamu Shimoji, a Miyako musician
- Pellard, Thomas 2009. Ōgami — Éléments de description d’un parler du Sud des Ryūkyū. Thèse de doctorat. École des hautes études en sciences sociales.