File:Boundaries_of_the_Okinawan_Languages.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Okinawan
Sign in to saveAlso known as Central Okinawan, Uchināguchi, ʔucināguci, ryu, Okinawan language, Uchinaaguchi
Northern Ryukyuan language
Okinawan is a language spoken primarily in Okinawa, Japan, and belongs to the Northern Ryukyuan language group. It matters because it represents a distinct linguistic and cultural heritage, though it faces challenges from declining numbers of speakers as younger generations increasingly use standard Japanese.
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Wikidata facts
- Image
- Billboards in Okinawan.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- number of speakers, writers, or signers
- 984000
- Wikimedia language code
- ryu
- Wikimedia Incubator URL
- incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/ryu
- native label
- うちなーぐち
- Commons category
- Okinawan language
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Article
Okinawan (沖縄口, ウチナーグチ, Uchinaaguchi, [ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi]), or more precisely Central Okinawan, is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands. Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as endangered.
Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects, the Shuri–Naha variant is generally recognized as the de facto standard, as it had been used as the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom since the reign of King Shō Shin (1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard, which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era.