Kunigami language

The Kunigami language is a colloquial variant of the Okinawan language that is spoken largely in the Kunigami district of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Like other variants of Okinawan, Kunigami is part of the Ryukyuan languages family.

Phonology

The Kunigami language presents some unique phonological characteristics that set it apart from other Japonic languages. One of the most notable characteristics of Kunigami phonology is the existence of a full series of "tensed" or "glottalized" consonants, including stops, nasals, and glides. Kunigami is also notable for the presence of an /h/ phoneme separate from /p/, which is believed to be the historical source of /h/ in modern dialects of the Japanese language. Thus, for example, the Nakijin dialect of Kunigami has /haʔkai/ (a light, a lamp, lamplight; a shōji, a translucent paper screen, a translucent paper sliding door), which is cognate with Japanese /akari/ (light, bright light, a ray of light, a beam of light; a light, a lamp, lamplight); the Kunigami form is distinguished from its Japanese cognate by the initial /h/, glottalized /ʔk/, and elision of Proto-Japonic */r/ before */i/. The Kunigami language also makes distinctions in certain word pairs, such as Nakijin dialect /ʔkumuu/ (cloud) and /hubu/ (spider), which both appear as /kumo/ in Japanese (boldface text indicates morae pronounced with a high tone).

External links

• Ethnologue report for Kunigami