2015年11月8日日曜日

琉球語派(りゅうきゅうごは)

こんしゅう、わたしはりゅうきゅうごはをまなびました。レポートをかきます。でも、げんごのにほんのレポートじゃありません。りゅうきゅうごはは、いいレポートのtopicじゃありません。

おおいげんごがにほんであります。にほんごは、ひとりげんごじゃありません。そして、アイヌごがあります。アイヌごは、とてもいしつなげんごです。にほんごのげんごじゃありません。

りゅうきゅうごはは、とてもおもしろいですよ。いつか、わたしは、このげんごをならたいます。

Japan isn't actually the linguistic monolith that some people take it to be. The Ryukyuan languages are historically related to what has become Standard Japanese, and they differ more than in just a couple facets of pronunciation. These language aren't, for the most part, mutually intelligible with Standard Japanese. That isn't to say that the speakers of these languages don't also know Standard Japanese. Most speakers are aging, however, and these languages are transmitted less and less to younger generations. As a result, the robust cultural ties rooted in language are being rapidly lost on these islands.

Standard Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages make up the Japonic family of languages, but these aren't the only languages of Japan. Ainu is a language isolate spoken in Hokkaido, but it's essentially moribund today. Nonetheless, the language has been recorded fairly well, and there are some aging speaking left.