JapaneseLesson 2 of 2 in the course Japanese phonology and history

Japanese Dialects: Regional Patterns, Standardization, and Historical Classification

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Japanese speech varies across regions, but not every language spoken in Japan is a Japanese dialect. This lesson introduces the main geographic patterns of variation and traces how ideas about a standard language changed over time.

Japanese dialects are often grouped into Eastern and Western clades. Eastern Japanese includes the speech of modern Tokyo, while Western Japanese includes dialects associated with the old capital, Kyoto. Kyushu and Hachijō Island are often treated as additional branches. Japan's many islands and mountain ranges have helped communities remain distinct and encouraged regional variation.

All flashcards

What evidence of regional speech variation appears in the Man'yōshū?
Its eastern songs, or azuma uta, show that eastern speech differed from the speech of the capital.
Hyōjun-go
The standard language promoted in the Meiji period, modeled on Tokyo middle-class speech.
Isogloss
A geographic boundary marking where a linguistic feature is distributed.
Hachijō Japanese
A highly divergent variety that preserves inherited features associated with ancient Eastern Japanese.
Dialect levelling
The process by which regional speech distinctions become less pronounced, often through increased contact.

Quiz questions

  1. Which three groups are commonly used to classify Kyushu dialects?Answer: Hichiku, Hōnichi, and Satsugu
  2. Which negative endings are broadly associated with Western Japanese?Answer: -nu or -n
  3. What inherited linguistic feature makes Hachijō Japanese especially useful for studying Japanese history?Answer: It preserves many traits associated with ancient Eastern Japanese.
  4. Which form in Standard Japanese reflects Kyoto-associated influence on polite speech?Answer: The polite negative ending -masen
  5. Why do Japanese dialect classification systems differ from one another?Answer: Researchers select different linguistic features and grouping principles.

Based on the Wikipedia article Japanese dialects, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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