Japonic languages

The Japonic languages or Japanese-Ryukyuan languages are terms used by linguists who hypothesize a language family that descended from a common ancestral language known as Proto-Japonic or Proto-Japanese-Ryukyuan. The essential feature of this hypothesis is that the first split in the family resulted in the separation of all dialects of Japanese proper from all dialects of Ryukyuan. Some linguists reserve judgment on this point because much is still unknown about the history of the settlement of the Ryukyu Islands by the ancestors of their current inhabitants (when each island was settled, and where each group came from). In their view, the term Proto-Japanese is preferable until clearer evidence on these questions emerges.

Members

The Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) languages are:

• Japanese languages (日本語)
  • Eastern Japanese (now represented only partially by the speech of Aogashima, Tokyo; Hachijojima, Tokyo; Minamidaito, Okinawa; Kitadaito, Okinawa; and a few other small islands)
  • Western Japanese (represented by all modern Mainland Japanese dialects)
    • Eastern Western Japanese dialects, including most dialects east of the Kantō region
      See also: Japanese dialects#Eastern Japanese
    • Western Western Japanese dialects, including most dialects west of the Kansai region
      See also: Japanese dialects#Western Japanese
• Ryukyuan languages (琉球語)
  • Amami (奄美語)
    • Northern dialect
      • Tanegashima dialect
      • Yakushima dialect
      • Northern Oshima dialect
    • Southern dialect
      • Southern Oshima dialect
      • Yoron dialect
  • Okinawan (沖縄語)
    • Kunigami dialect (or Northern Okinawan)
    • Ie dialect
    • South-Central dialect (or Standard Okinawan)
      • Mainland dialect
      • Shimajiri dialect (the linguistic affiliations of the Shimajiri dialects are uncertain, but are often included in the Southern dialect because the Shimajiri region is often considered to be part of that region)
  • Miyako (宮古語)
    • Miyako dialect
    • Irabu dialect
  • Yaeyama (八重山語)
    • Ishigaki dialect
    • Iriomote dialect
    • Taketomi dialect
  • Yonaguni (与那国語)

Classification

Main article: Japanese language classification

The relationship of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) languages to other languages and language families is controversial. There are numerous theories, none of which is generally accepted.

External links

• Ethnologue report for the Japanese language family