Japonic languages

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The Japonic languages or Japanese-Ryukyuan languages constitute a language family that is agreed to have descended from a common ancestral language known as Proto-Japonic or Proto-Japanese-Ryukyuan.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Members

The Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) languages are:

• Japanese languages (日本語)
  • Eastern Japanese (now represented only partially by the speech of Aogashima, Tokyo; Hachijojima, Tokyo; Minamidaito, Okinawa; Kitadaito, Okinawa; and a few other small islands)
  • Western Japanese (represented by all Mainland Japanese dialects)
    • Eastern Western Japanese dialects, including most dialects east of the Kanto region
      See also: Japanese dialects#Eastern Japanese
    • Western Western Japanese dialects, including most dialects west of the Kansai region
      See also: Japanese dialects#Western Japanese

• Ryukyuan languages (琉球語)
  • Amami (奄美語)
    • Northern dialect
      • Tanegashima dialect
      • Yakushima dialect
      • Northern Oshima dialect
    • Southern Amami dialect
      • Southern Oshima dialect
      • Yoron dialect
  • Okinawan (沖縄語)
    • Kunigami dialect (or Northern Okinawan)
    • Ie dialect
    • South-Central dialect (or Standard Okinawan)
      • Mainland dialect
      • Shimajiri dialect (the linguistic affiliations of the Shimajiri dialects are uncertain, but are often included in the Southern dialect because the Shimajiri region is often considered to be part of that region)
  • Miyako (宮古語)
    • Miyako dialect
    • Irabu dialect
  • Yaeyama (八重山語)
    • Ishigaki dialect
    • Iriomote dialect
    • Taketomi dialect
  • Yonaguni (与那国語)

[edit] Classification

Main article: Japanese language classification

The relationship of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) languages to other languages and language families is controversial. There are numerous theories, none of which are generally accepted.

[edit] External links

• Ethnologue report for the Japanese language family