Ryukyuan languages The Ryukyuan languages are spoken in the Ryukyu islands and make up a subfamily of the Japonic family. Some disagree as to how these languages should be divided; there is however a general consensus among Ryukyuanists that there are 6 different languages. Amami Spoken: islands of the Amami district, Standard: Naze, Speakers: 130000 Miyako (Miyako: myaaku hutsi) Spoken: islands of the Miyako district, Standard: Hirara, Speakers: 55783 Okinawan (Okinawan: ucinaaguci) Spoken: southern and central districts of the Okinawan mainland and the surrounding minor islands, Standard: traditionally Shuri, modern Naha, Speakers: 900000 Kunigami Spoken: the Yanbaru district of the Okinawan mainland as well as the surrounding minor islands, Standard: Kunigami, Speakers: ??? Yaeyama (Yaeyama: yaima munii) Spoken: islands of the Yaeyama district, Standard: Ishigaki, Speakers: 44650 Yonaguni Spoken: Yonaguni island in the Yaeyama district, Standard: Yonaguni, Speakers: 1800 In many cases, speakers of the Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama, or Yonaguni languages will also know Okinawan. Many Yonaguni speakers also know Yaeyama. Since Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama, and Yonaguni are less urbanised than the Okinawan mainland, their languages are not declining as quickly as that of Okinawa proper, and children continue to be brought up in these languages. The proportion of adults to children in speakers of Okinawan is much more uneven than with the other languages: it is quickly losing ground as a native language, while the other Ryukyuan languages, although they are losing ground, are slipping only gradually. Since the beginning of WWII, most Mainland Japanese and even many Ryukyuans have regarded the Ryukyuan languages as a dialect/a group of dialects of Japanese. However, it should be noted that during WWII, Korean, Palauan, and a couple of other languages were considered dialects of Japanese, which they are most certainly not by any measurement. (today only some elderly Japanese and radical nationalists believe Korean to be a Japanese dialect.) With Ryukyuan languages, the distinction is not quite as clear as it is for former "dialects" such as Korean and Palauan. Before the annexation of the Ryukyuan Kingdom to Japan in the late 1800s, nobody would question the status of Ryukyuan languages as independent from Japanese. They differ more in vocabulary and grammar than do English and German. The Okinawa language is only 71% similar to Tokyo Japanese. Even the southernmost Japanese dialect (Kagoshima dialect) is only 72% similar to the northernmost Ryukyuan language (Amami). The Kagoshima dialect of Japanese, however, is 80% similar to Tokyo Japanese. Other Ryukyuan languages such as Miyako, Yaeyama, and Yonaguni are even further from Tokyo Japanese. Nowadays, there are a little over 1 million native speakers of Ryukyuan languages left, but many of them are elderly (some of them extremely so, due to the Ryukyuan tendency to live past 90). There are still some children learning Ryukyuan languages natively, but this is rare on mainland Okinawa and usually only happens when children live with grandparents. Native speakers of Okinawan under 20 are rare. Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyuan_languages