Tokunoshima language

Okamura (2007) posits two divisions of Tokunoshima: Kametsu–Amagi in the north and Isen in the south. Kametsu is the traditional politico-cultural center of the island. It has been a center of distributions of new lexical traits, some of which were not confined in Tokunoshima Town but spread to Amagi Town in the northeast and, less frequently, to Isen. The dialects of Isen are considered more conservative by the speakers. ==Folk terminology==

According to Okamura Takahiro (b. 1936 in Asama, Amagi Town), the speakers of Tokunoshima call their tongues sïmagucï, which consists of two morphemes. The first part sïma (Standard Japanese shima) refers to an island both in Standard Japanese and Tokunoshima but it also means (one's own) local community in Tokunoshima and other Amami dialects. The second part kucï (Standard Japanese kuchi) means a mouth, and by extension, speech. Hence, sïmagucï refers to the speech of one's own community and of the island as a whole. Note that sïmagucï is more strongly associated with the former because the speakers of Tokunoshima are fully aware that each shima has a distinct language. ==Phonology==

The following is the phonology of the Kametsu dialect, which is based on Hirayama et al. (1986). Consonants As with most Ryukyuan languages to the north of Central Okinawan, stops are described as "plain" C’ and "glottalized" C‘. Phonetically, the two series are lightly aspirated and tenuis , respectively. Notes • The zero onset /'/ may be added. It is contrasted with glottal and . • is before and , and before and . • is new and infrequent. • , and are realized as , and , respectively. • is before and , and elsewhere. • , , and are phonemically analyzed as , , and , respectively. • , , and are phonemically analyzed as , , and , respectively. • , and are phonemically analyzed as , and , respectively. Vowels Notes • The exact quality of /ə/ is debated, with some analyzing it as a front-mid /ɛ/. Correspondences to Standard Japanese Only major sound correspondences are listed. • Standard Japanese mostly corresponds to . • Standard Japanese is merged into . • Tokunoshima , and are of secondary origin and mostly correspond to Standard Japanese diphthongs. • Standard Japanese and corresponds to Tokunoshima and , respectively. • Standard Japanese and , and , and and are merged into , , and , respectively. • The fusion of two consecutive morae resulted in glottalized consonants in Tokunoshima. ==Vocabulary==

The forms given below are from the southern Isen dialect containing the villages of Higashihama, Kenbuku, and Uemonawa. Pronouns Personal pronouns in Tokunoshima are only used for the 1st and 2nd person referents; demonstrative pronouns are used for 3rd person referents. Non-fusional forms of pronouns are followed by case-marking suffixes, while fusional forms are not suffixed and stand as independent topical subjects of clauses. The 'bare' form of the 1st person non-fusional singular, , is used before the nominative particle . Numerals Forms in parentheses in the table above are Japanese or Sino-Japanese in origin. Cardinal forms are used in counting non-human entities, iterative for frequencies of events. Personal for counting people. Prefix forms are applied to some non-human nouns, e.g. for 'one night.' When referring to numbers as abstract mathematical concepts, Sino-Japanese words are used. ==References==