Kikai language
Kikai | |
---|---|
Native to | Japan |
Region | Kikai Island of the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture |
Native speakers | 13,000 (2000)[1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 |
kzg |
Glottolog |
kika1239 [2] |
The Kikai language (ã—ã¾ã‚†ã¿ãŸ Shimayumita) is spoken on Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture of southwestern Japan. It is debated whether it is a single dialect cluster. Regardless, all Kikai dialects are members of the Amami–Okinawan languages, which are part of the Japonic languages.
Classification
The classification of Kikai is disputed. Some even dispute the existence of the Kikai cluster.
The languages of the Amami Islands can be divided into the conservative northern group (Northern Amami ÅŒshima, Southern Amami ÅŒshima and Tokunoshima) and the innovative southern group (Okinoerabu and Yoron). The problem here is which Kikai belongs to.
It has been noted that northern communities of Kikai are phonologically more conservative and show some similarity to Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima while the rest of the island is closer to Southern Amami. For example, Northern Kikai retains seven vowels, /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, /ɨ/ and /ɘ/ while South–Central Kikai only has five vowels. /k/ is palatalized into /t͡ɕ/ before /i/ in South–Central Kikai but not in Northern Kikai.
For this reason, Nakamoto (1976)[3] disassembled Kikai into two:
- Amami dialect
- Northern Amami dialect
- Northern Amami ÅŒshima, Southern Amami ÅŒshima and Northern Kikai
- Southern Amami dialect
- Southern Kikai, Okinoerabu and Yoron.
- Northern Amami dialect
By contrast, Karimata (2000) tentatively supported the Kikai cluster in consideration of other shared phonological features.[4] Lawrence (2011) argued that lexical evidence supported the Kikai cluster although he refrained from determining its phylogenetic relationship with other Amami dialects.[5]
Dialects
There are 33 local communities on Kikai Island. Despite being a small, flat island, Kikai shows considerable variations in lexicon, phonology and morphology. The dialects on the island are mutually intelligible. Northern communities of Onotsu, Shitooke (and Sateku) are phonologically more conservative than the rest of the island.[6]
Name
Iwakura IchirŠ(1904–1943), a folklorist from Aden, stated that the language of Kikai Island was called /simajumita/ in the dialect of Aden.[7]
Phonology
The following is the phonology of the Onotsu dialect, which is based on Shirata (2013b).[6]
As with most Ryukyuan languages to the north of Central Okinawan, stops are described as "plain" C’ and "glottolized" C‘. Phonetically, the two series are aspirated [CÊ°] and tenuis [CË], respectively.[8]
Northern Kikai
Consonants
Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | Å‹ | |||||||||||||
Stop | pÊ° | (pË) | b | tÊ° | tË | d | kÊ° | kË | É¡ | |||||||
Affricate | t͡sʰ | |||||||||||||||
Fricative | s | z | h | |||||||||||||
Approximant | j | w | ||||||||||||||
Flap | ɾ |
Vowels
According to Shirata (2013b), Onotsu dialect has /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. In more conventional interpretations, two more vowels /ɨ/ and /ɘ/ are added.[9] Shirata analyzes conventional /Ci/ and /Cɨ/ as /Cji/ and /Ci/, respectively. Similarly, /Ce/ and /Cɘ/ are interpreted as /Cje/ and /Ce/.[10]
South–Central Kikai
The following is the phonology of the Kamikatetsu dialect, which is based on Shirata (2013a).[11]
Consonants
Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | Å‹ | |||||||||||||
Stop | (pË) | b | tÊ° | tË | d | kÊ° | kË | É¡ | ||||||||
Affricate | (t͡sʰ) | t͡ɕʰ | (ʑ) | |||||||||||||
Fricative | s | z | h | |||||||||||||
Approximant | j | w | ||||||||||||||
Flap | ɾ |
Vowels
Kamikatetsu has /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/.
Resources
- Kikaijima hÅgen-shÅ« (1977[1941]) by Iwakura IchirÅ. A dictionary for the author's home community, Aden, and a couple of other southern communities on Kikai Island of the Amami Islands.
- Research Data on the Kikaijima Dialects Written in Kana (2012) edited by Ogawa Shinji. Contains basic vocabulary and sentences collected in nine communities of Kikai.
References
- ↑ Kikai at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kikai". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
- ↑ Nakamoto Masachie ä¸æœ¬æ£æ™º (1976). RyÅ«kyÅ« hÅgen on'in no kenkyÅ« ç‰çƒæ–¹è¨€éŸ³éŸ»ã®ç ”究 (in Japanese).
- ↑ Karimata Shigehisa ç‹©ä¿£ç¹ä¹… (2000). "Amami Okinawa hÅgengun ni okeru Okinoerabu hÅgen no ichizuke" 奄美沖縄方言群ã«ãŠã‘る沖永良部方言ã®ä½ç½®ã¥ã‘ (Position of Okierabu Dialect in Northern Ryukyu Dialects)". Nihon TÅyÅ bunka ronshÅ« 日本æ±æ´‹æ–‡åŒ–論集 (in Japanese) (6): 43–69.
- ↑ Wayne Lawrence (2011). "Kikai-jima hÅgen no keitÅteki ichi ni tsuite 喜界島方言ã®ç³»çµ±çš„ä½ç½®ã«ã¤ã„ã¦". In Kibe Nobuko; et al. ShÅmetsu kiki hÅgen no chÅsa hozon no tame no sÅgÅteki kenkyÅ«: Kikai-jima hÅgen chÅsa hÅkokusho 消滅å±æ©Ÿæ–¹è¨€ã®èª¿æŸ»ãƒ»ä¿å˜ã®ãŸã‚ã®ç·åˆçš„ç ”ç©¶: å–œç•Œå³¶æ–¹è¨€èª¿æŸ»å ±å‘Šæ›¸ (General Study for Research and Conservation of Endangered Dialects in Japan: Research Report on the Kikaijima Dialects ) (PDF) (in Japanese). pp. 115–122.
- 1 2 白田ç†äºº Shirata Rihito (2013). "Amami-go Kikai-jima Onotsu hÅgen no danwa shiryŠ奄美語喜界島å°é‡Žæ´¥æ–¹è¨€ã®è«‡è©±è³‡æ–™". In Takubo Yukinori 田窪行則. RyÅ«kyÅ« rettÅ no gengo to bunka ç‰çƒåˆ—島ã®è¨€èªžã¨æ–‡åŒ– (in Japanese). pp. 259–290.
- ↑ Iwakura IchirŠ岩倉市郎 (1977) [1941]. Kikai-jima hÅgen-shÅ« 喜界島方言集 (in Japanese). p. 119.
- ↑ Samuel E. Martin (1970) "Shodon: A Dialect of the Northern Ryukyus", in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 90, no. 1 (Jan–Mar), pp. 97–139.
- ↑ Kibe Nobuko 木部暢å (2011). "Kikai-jima hÅgen no on'in 喜界島方言ã®éŸ³éŸ»". In Kibe Nobuko; et al. ShÅmetsu kiki hÅgen no chÅsa hozon no tame no sÅgÅteki kenkyÅ«: Kikai-jima hÅgen chÅsa hÅkokusho 消滅å±æ©Ÿæ–¹è¨€ã®èª¿æŸ»ãƒ»ä¿å˜ã®ãŸã‚ã®ç·åˆçš„ç ”ç©¶: å–œç•Œå³¶æ–¹è¨€èª¿æŸ»å ±å‘Šæ›¸ (General Study for Research and Conservation of Endangered Dialects in Japan: Research Report on the Kikaijima Dialects ) (PDF) (in Japanese). pp. 12–50.
- ↑ Hattori ShirÅ æœéƒ¨å››éƒŽ (1999) [1958]. "Amami guntÅ no sho hÅgen ni tsuite 奄美群島ã®è«¸æ–¹è¨€ã«ã¤ã„ã¦". Nihongo no keitŠ日本語ã®ç³»çµ± (in Japanese). pp. 395–422.
- ↑ 白田ç†äºº Shirata Rihito (2013). "Amami-go Kikai-jima Kamikatetsu hÅgen no danwa shiryŠ奄美語喜界島上嘉鉄方言ã®è«‡è©±è³‡æ–™". In Takubo Yukinori 田窪行則. RyÅ«kyÅ« rettÅ no gengo to bunka ç‰çƒåˆ—島ã®è¨€èªžã¨æ–‡åŒ– (in Japanese). pp. 245–257.
Link
- Research Report on the Kikaijima Dialects published by the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (in Japanese)
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