View source for Ryukyuan languages

{{short description|Indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan}}
{{Infobox language family
| name          = Ryukyuan
| altname       = Lewchewan, Luchuan
| region        = [[Ryukyu Islands]] ([[Okinawa Prefecture]], [[Amami Islands]] of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]])
| ethnicity     = [[Ryukyuan people|Ryukyuan]]
| familycolor   = Altaic
| fam1          = [[Japonic languages|Japonic]]
| fam2          = [[Insular Japonic languages|Insular]]
| protoname     = [[Proto-Ryukyuan]]
| child1        = [[Northern Ryukyuan languages|Northern Ryukyuan]]
| child2        = [[Southern Ryukyuan languages|Southern Ryukyuan]]
| glotto        = ryuk1243
| glottorefname = Ryukyuan
| map           = Ryukyuan languages map.png
| mapcaption    = Map of Ryukyuan languages
| glottoname    = 
| notes         = 
}}

[[File:Billboards in Okinawan.jpg|thumb|Traffic safety slogan signs in [[Kin, Okinawa]], written in Japanese (center) and Okinawan (left and right)]]

The {{Nihongo|'''Ryukyuan languages'''|琉球語派|Ryūkyū-goha|also {{Nihongo2|琉球諸語}}, ''Ryūkyū-shogo'' or {{Nihongo2|島言葉}} in Ryukyuan, ''Shima kotoba'', [[Literal translation|literally]] "Island Speech"}}, also '''Lewchewan''' or '''Luchuan''' ({{IPAc-en|l|u:|'|tS|u:|@|n}}), are the indigenous languages of the [[Ryukyu Islands]], the southernmost part of the [[Japanese archipelago]]. Along with the [[Japanese language]] and the [[Hachijō language]], they make up the [[Japonic language family]].<ref>[https://lingdy.aa-ken.jp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2015-papers-and-presentations-An_introduction_to_Ryukyuan_languages.pdf An Introduction to Ryukyuan Languages]</ref>

Just as among Japanese dialects it is hard to understand each other, the Ryukyu and mainland Japanese languages are not [[mutually intelligible]]. It is not known how many speakers of these languages remain, but [[language shift]] toward the use of [[Standard Japanese]] and dialects like [[Okinawan Japanese]] has resulted in these languages becoming [[endangered language|endangered]]; [[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|UNESCO]] labels four of the languages "definitely endangered" and two others "severely endangered".<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-1975.html |access-date=2014-03-16 |publisher=Unesco.org}}</ref>

==Overview==
{{unsourced section|date=June 2025}}
Phonologically, the Ryukyuan languages have some cross-linguistically unusual features. Southern Ryukyuan languages have a number of [[syllabic consonant]]s, including unvoiced syllabic fricatives (e.g. Ōgami [[Miyako language|Miyako]] {{IPA|/kss/}} {{IPA|[ksː]}} 'breast'). [[Glottalic consonant|Glottalized consonants]] are common (e.g. Yuwan [[Amami language|Amami]] {{IPA|/ʔma/}} {{IPA|[ˀma]}} "horse"). Some Ryukyuan languages have a central close vowel rather than the more common front and back close vowels [i] and [u], e.g. Yuwan Amami {{IPA|/kɨɨ/}} "tree". Ikema Miyako has a [[voiceless nasal]] phoneme {{IPA|/n̥/}}. Many Ryukyuan languages, like Standard Japanese and most Japanese dialects, have contrastive [[pitch accent]].

Ryukyuan languages are generally [[subject–object–verb]] (SOV) order, [[dependent-marking]], modifier-head, [[nominative-accusative]] languages, like Japanese. Adjectives are generally [[bound morphemes]], occurring either with noun compounding or using verbalization. Many Ryukyuan languages mark both [[Nominative case|nominatives]] and [[Genitive case|genitives]] with the same marker. This marker has the unusual feature of changing form depending on an [[Animacy|animacy hierarchy]]. The Ryukyuan languages have [[topic (linguistics)|topic]] and [[focus (linguistics)|focus]] markers, which may take different forms depending on the sentential context. Ryukyuan also preserves a special verbal inflection for clauses with focus markers—this unusual feature was also found in [[Old Japanese]], but lost in Modern Japanese.

==Classification and varieties==
The Ryukyuan languages belong to the [[Japonic languages|Japonic]] language family, related to the [[Japanese language]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=1}}{{sfnp|Pellard|2015}} The Ryukyuan languages are not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] with Japanese—indeed, Ryukyuan languages are largely not mutually intelligible with each other—and thus are usually considered separate languages.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=1}} However, for socio-political and ideological reasons, they have often been classified within Japan as dialects of Japanese.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=1}} Since the beginning of [[World War II]], most mainland Japanese have regarded the Ryukyuan languages as a dialect or group of dialects of Japanese.

The Okinawan language is only 71% lexically similar to, or cognate with, standard Japanese. Even the southernmost Japanese dialect ([[Kagoshima dialect]]) is only 72% cognate with the northernmost Ryukyuan language (Amami). The Kagoshima dialect of Japanese, however, is 80% lexically similar to Standard Japanese.<ref>沖縄語辞典 (''Okinawan dictionary''). "前書き" (''Preface''). 国立国語研究所 1998</ref> There is general agreement among linguistics experts that Ryukyuan varieties can be divided into six languages, conservatively,<ref>言語学大辞典セレクション：日本列島の言語 (''Selection from the Encyclopædia of Linguistics: The Languages of the Japanese Archipelago''). "琉球列島の言語" (''The Languages of the Ryukyu Islands''). 三省堂 1997</ref> with dialects unique to islands within each group also sometimes considered languages.

A widely accepted hypothesis among linguists categorizes the Ryukyuan languages into two groups, Northern Ryukyuan (Amami–Okinawa) and Southern Ryukyuan (Miyako–Yaeyama).{{sfnp|Pellard|2015}}{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=2}} Many speakers of the Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni languages may also be familiar with Okinawan since Okinawan has the most speakers and once acted as the regional standard. Speakers of Yonaguni are also likely to know the Yaeyama language due to its proximity. Since Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama, and Yonaguni are less urbanized than the Okinawan mainland, their languages are not declining as quickly as that of Okinawa proper, and some children continue to be brought up in these languages.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

{{tree list}}
* '''Ryukyuan'''
** [[Northern Ryukyuan languages]]
*** [[Amami languages|Amami]]
**** [[Kikai language|Kikai]]
**** [[Amami Ōshima language|Amami Ōshima]]
***** Northern
***** [[Southern Amami Ōshima language|Southern]]
**** [[Tokunoshima language|Tokunoshima]]
*** Kunigami
**** [[Okinoerabu dialect cluster|Okinoerabu]]
**** [[Yoron language|Yoron]]
**** [[Kunigami language|Kunigami]]
*** [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]]
** [[Southern Ryukyuan languages]]
*** Miyakoan
**** [[Miyakoan language|Central Miyako]]
**** [[Irabu language|Irabu]]
**** [[Tarama language|Tarama]]
*** [[Yaeyama language|Yaeyama]]
*** [[Yonaguni language|Yonaguni]]
{{tree list/end}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Language
!Local name
!Geographic distribution
!Speakers
!Standard dialect
![[ISO 639-3]]
|-
|[[Kikai language|Kikai]]
|{{lang|ja|しまゆみた}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Shimayumita}}
|[[Kikaijima]]
|13,000
|Onotsu
|[[ISO 639:kzg|kzg]]
|-
|[[Amami Ōshima language|Amami]]
|{{lang|ja|島口}}/{{lang|ja|シマユムタ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Shimayumuta}}
|[[Amami Ōshima]] and surrounding minor islands
|12,000
|[[Setouchi, Kagoshima|Setouchi]] (Southern), [[Naze, Kagoshima|Naze]] (Northern)
|[[ISO 639:ams|ams]], [[ISO 639:ryn|ryn]]
|-
|[[Tokunoshima language|Tokunoshima]]
|{{lang|ja|シマユミィタ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Shimayumiita}}
|[[Tokunoshima]]
|5,100
|Kametsu, [[Tokunoshima, Kagoshima|Tokunoshima]]
|[[ISO 639:tkn|tkn]]
|-
|[[Okinoerabu dialect cluster|Okinoerabu]]
|{{lang|ja|島ムニ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Shimamuni}}
|[[Okinoerabujima]]
|3,200
|Kunigami
|[[ISO 639:okn|okn]]
|-
|[[Yoron language|Yoron]]
|{{lang|ja|ユンヌフトゥバ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Yunnu Futuba}}
|[[Yoronjima]]
|950
|Higashi Mugiya-ku, [[Yoron, Kagoshima|Yoron]]
|[[ISO 639:yox|yox]]
|-
|[[Kunigami language|Kunigami]]
|{{nowrap|{{lang|ja|山原言葉}}/{{lang|ja|ヤンバルクトゥーバ}}}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Yanbaru Kutūba}}<ref>{{cite web|author=沖縄言語研究センター |url=http://ryukyu-lang.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/nkjn/details.php?ID=NK58405 |title=今帰仁方言音声データベース ヤンバルクトゥーバ |access-date=2014-02-16}}</ref>
|Northern [[Okinawa Island]] ([[Yanbaru]] region), and surrounding minor islands
|5,000
|Nakijin, but the largest community is [[Nago, Okinawa|Nago]]
|[[ISO 639:xug|xug]]
|-
|[[Okinawan language|Okinawan]]
|{{lang|ja|沖縄口}}/{{lang|ja|ウチナーグチ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Uchināguchi}}
|Central and southern [[Okinawa Island]] and surrounding minor islands
|~228,000 native, ~1,143,000 total speakers <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/1349557 | title=沖縄の言葉「しまくとぅば」、生活に必要だと思う県民は90％ 2023年度 県調査 「あいさつ程度」以上に使う人の割合は？ | date=26 April 2024 }}</ref>
|Traditionally [[Shuri, Okinawa|Shuri]], modern [[Naha, Okinawa|Naha]]
|[[ISO 639:ryu|ryu]]
|-
|[[Miyakoan language|Miyako]]
|{{nowrap|{{lang|ja|宮古口}}/{{lang|ja|ミャークフツ}}}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Myākufutsu}}<ref>{{cite web|author=沖縄言語研究センター |url=http://133.13.160.25/rlang/myk/details.php?ID=MY14472 |title=宮古方言音声データベース ミャークフツ |access-date=2014-02-16}}</ref><br />{{lang|mvi|島口}}/{{lang|mvi|スマフツ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Sumafutsu}}
|[[Miyako Islands]]
|50,000
|[[Hirara, Okinawa|Hirara]]
|[[ISO 639:mvi|mvi]]
|-
|[[Yaeyama language|Yaeyama]]
|{{lang|ja|八重山物言}}/{{lang|ja|ヤイマムニ}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Yaimamuni}}
|[[Yaeyama Islands]] (except Yonaguni)
|47,600
|[[Ishigaki, Okinawa|Ishigaki]]
|[[ISO 639:rys|rys]]
|-
|[[Yonaguni language|Yonaguni]]
|{{nowrap|{{lang|ja|与那国物言}}/{{lang|ja|ドゥナンムヌイ}}}}<br />{{Transliteration|ja|Dunan Munui}}
|[[Yonaguni Island]]
|400
|[[Yonaguni, Okinawa|Yonaguni]]
|[[ISO 639:yoi|yoi]]
|}

Each Ryukyuan language is generally unintelligible to others in the same family. There is wide diversity among them. For example, Yonaguni has only three vowels, whereas varieties of Amami may have up to seven, excluding length distinctions. The table below illustrates the different phrases used in each language for "thank you" and "welcome", with standard Japanese provided for comparison.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Language !! Thank you !! Welcome
|-
| Standard Japanese || Arigatō || Yōkoso
|-
| Amami || Arigatesama ryōta<br />Arigassama ryōta || Imōre
|-
| Kunigami (Okinoerabu) || Mihediro || Ugamiyabura<br />Menshōri
|-
| Okinawan || Nifēdēbiru || Mensōrē
|-
| Miyako || Tandigātandi<br />Maifuka || Nmyāchi
|-
| Yaeyama || Mīfaiyū<br/ > Fukōrasān || Ōritōri
|-
| Yonaguni || Fugarasa || Wāri
|}

{{Gallery
|title="Welcome" signs in each language
|align=center
|File:Welcome sign in Kunigami.jpg|''Menshōri'' (めんしょーり), Kunigami (Okinoerabu)
|File:Welcome sign in Okinawan.jpg|''Mensōre'' (めんそーれ), Okinawan
|File:Welcome sign in Miyako.jpg|''Nmyāchi'' (んみゃーち), Miyako
|File:Welcome sign in Yaeyama.jpg|''Ōritōri'' (おーりとーり), Yaeyama
|File:Welcome sign in Yonaguni.jpg|''Wāri'' (ワーリ), Yonaguni
}}

==Status==
[[File:Makishi First Public Market.JPG|thumb|A market sign in Naha, written in Okinawan (red) and Japanese (blue)]]

There is no census data for the Ryukyuan languages, and the number of speakers is unknown.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=2}} As of 2005, the total population of the Ryukyu region was 1,452,288, but fluent speakers are restricted to the older generation, generally in their 50s or older, and thus the true number of Ryukyuan speakers is likely much lower.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=2}}

The six Ryukyuan languages are listed in the UNESCO [[Red Book of Endangered Languages|Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]. UNESCO said all Ryukyuan languages are on course for extinction by 2050.<ref>{{cite web |author=Patrick Heinrich |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/08/25/voices/use-lose-theres-stake-language-reviving-ryukyuan-tongues/ |title=Use them or lose them: There's more at stake than language in reviving Ryukyuan tongues |date=25 August 2014 |publisher=The Japan Times |access-date=2019-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107141707/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/08/25/voices/use-lose-theres-stake-language-reviving-ryukyuan-tongues/ |archive-date=2019-01-07}}</ref>

Starting in the 1890s, the Japanese government began to suppress the Ryukyuan languages as part of their policy of forced assimilation in the islands.

Children being raised in the Ryukyuan languages are becoming increasingly rare throughout the islands, and usually occurs only when the children are living with their grandparents. The Ryukyuan languages are still used in traditional cultural activities, such as [[Ryukyuan music|folk music]], [[Kumi Odori|folk dance]], [[Ryuka (poetry)|poem]] and folk plays. There has also been a radio news program in the Naha dialect since 1960.<ref>{{cite web|author=沖縄映像センター|url=http://www.okinawabbtv.com/news/h_news.htm|title=おきなわBBtv★沖縄の方言ニュース★沖縄の「今」を沖縄の「言葉」で！ラジオ沖縄で好評放送中の「方言ニュース」をブロードバンドでお届けします。|publisher=Okinawabbtv.com|access-date=2014-01-01|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192753/http://www.okinawabbtv.com/news/h_news.htm|archive-date=2014-01-02}}</ref>

Circa 2007, in [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], people under the age of 40 have little proficiency in the native [[Okinawan language]].{{sfnp|Sugita|2007|p=244}} A new [[mixed language]], based on Japanese and Okinawan, has developed, known as "[[Okinawan Japanese]]". Although it has been largely ignored by linguists and language activists, this is the language of choice among the younger generation.{{sfnp|Sugita|2007|p=245}}

Similarly, the common language now used in everyday conversations in [[Amami Ōshima]] is not the traditional [[Amami language]], but rather a regional variation of Amami-accented Japanese, known as [[Amami Japanese]]. It is locally known as {{nihongo2|トン普通語}} ({{Lang|ja-Latn|Ton Futsūgo}}, literally meaning "potato [i.e. rustic] common language").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.synapse.ne.jp/hellokids/sinnantoutuusin/sinnantoutuusin_3.htm |title=島口（奄美の方言）入門その１－あなたもシマンチュに |publisher=Synapse.ne.jp |access-date=2014-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anderson|first=Mark|title=Studies of Ryukyu-substrate Japanese|url=https://www.academia.edu/41138518|journal=Routledge Handbook of Japanese Sociolinguistics|date=January 2019|language=en|pages=441–457|location=New York, NY |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315213378-28|isbn=9781315213378|s2cid=196922667}}</ref>

To try to preserve the language, the Okinawan Prefectural government proclaimed on March 31, 2006, that September 18 would be commemorated as {{nihongo3|"Island Languages Day"|[[:ja:しまくとぅばの日|しまくとぅばの日]]|Shimakutuba no Hi}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/reiki/41890101003500000000/41890101003500000000/41890101003500000000.html |title=○しまくとぅばの日に関する条例 |language=ja |publisher=Pref.okinawa.jp |archive-date=2015-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029184759/http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/reiki/41890101003500000000/41890101003500000000/41890101003500000000.html}}</ref> as the day's numerals in ''[[goroawase]]'' spell out ''ku'' (9), ''tu'' (10), ''ba'' (8); ''kutuba'' is one of the few words common throughout the Ryukyuan languages meaning "word" or "language" (a cognate of the Japanese word {{nihongo3|"word"|言葉|kotoba}}). A similar commemoration is held in the Amami region on February 18 beginning in 2007, proclaimed as {{nihongo3|"Dialect Day"|方言の日|Hōgen no Hi}} by [[Ōshima Subprefecture (Kagoshima)|Ōshima Subprefecture]] in [[Kagoshima Prefecture]]. Each island has its own name for the event:
*[[Amami Ōshima]]: {{nihongo3||シマユムタの日|Shimayumuta no Hi}} or {{nihongo3||シマクトゥバの日|Shimakutuba no Hi}} (also written {{nihongo2|島口の日}})
*[[Kikaijima]]: {{nihongo3||シマユミタの日|Shimayumita no Hi}}
*[[Tokunoshima]]: {{nihongo3||シマグチ（島口）の日|Shimaguchi no Hi}} or {{nihongo3||シマユミィタの日|Shimayumiita no Hi}}
*[[Okinoerabujima]]: {{nihongo3||島ムニの日|Shimamuni no Hi}}
*[[Yoronjima]]: {{nihongo||ユンヌフトゥバの日|Yunnufutuba no Hi}}.
Yoronjima's ''fu'' (2) ''tu'' (10) ''ba'' (8) is the ''goroawase'' source of the February 18 date, much like with Okinawa Prefecture's use of ''kutuba''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/aq01/chiiki/oshima/kyoiku/oosimatikuhougennnohi.html |title=鹿児島県／大島地区「方言の日」 |publisher=Pref.kagoshima.jp |access-date=2014-02-17}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|History of the Ryukyu Islands}}
It is generally accepted that the Ryukyu Islands were populated by [[Proto-Japonic]] speakers in the first millennium, and since then relative isolation allowed the Ryukyuan languages to diverge significantly from the varieties of Proto-Japonic spoken in Mainland Japan, which would later be known as [[Old Japanese]]. However, the discoveries of the [[Pinza-Abu Cave Man]], the [[Minatogawa Man]], and the [[Yamashita Cave Man]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=Early modern human remains from eastern Asia: the Yamashita-cho 1 immature postcrania  |date=1996-04-30 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1996.0025 |volume=30 |issue=4 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |pages=299–314|last1=Trinkaus |first1=Erik |last2=Ruff |first2=Christopher B. |doi-access=free |bibcode=1996JHumE..30..299T }}</ref> as well as the [[Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave Ruins]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=Pleistocene human remains from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, and their radiocarbon dating |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=118 |issue=3 |pages=173–183 |doi=10.1537/ase.091214 |publisher=Jstage.jst.go.jp |year=2010 |last1=Nakagawa |first1=Ryohei |last2=Doi |first2=Naomi |last3=Nishioka |first3=Yuichiro |last4=Nunami |first4=Shin |last5=Yamauchi |first5=Heizaburo |last6=Fujita |first6=Masaki |last7=Yamazaki |first7=Shinji |last8=Yamamoto |first8=Masaaki |last9=Katagiri |first9=Chiaki |last10=Mukai |first10=Hitoshi |last11=Matsuzaki |first11=Hiroyuki |last12=Gakuhari |first12=Takashi |last13=Takigami |first13=MAI |last14=Yoneda |first14=Minoru |doi-access=free }}</ref> suggest an earlier arrival to the island by modern humans. Some researchers suggest that the Ryukyuan languages are most likely to have evolved from a "pre-Proto-Japonic language" from the Korean peninsula.{{sfnp|Heinrich|Miyara|Shimoji|2015}} However, Ryukyuan may have already begun to diverge from Proto-Japonic before this migration, while its speakers still dwelt in [[Mainland Japan|the main islands of Japan]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=2}} After this initial settlement, there was little contact between the main islands and the Ryukyu Islands for centuries, allowing Ryukyuan and Japanese to diverge as separate linguistic entities from each other.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=4}} This situation lasted until the [[Kyushu]]-based [[Satsuma Domain]] conquered the Ryukyu Islands in the 17th century.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=4}}

In 1846–1849 first Protestant missionary in Ryukyu [[Bernard Jean Bettelheim]] studied local languages, partially translated the Bible into them and published first grammar of Shuri Ryukyuan.<ref>{{Citation |last=Griesenhofer |first=Christopher |title=Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages |chapter=4. B. J. Bettelheim 1849: The first grammar of Ryukyuan |date=2015-02-17 |pages=81–110 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781614511151.81/html |access-date=2024-01-27 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |language=en |doi=10.1515/9781614511151.81 |isbn=978-1-61451-115-1}}</ref>

The [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] retained its autonomy until 1879, when it was annexed by Japan.{{sfnp|Takara|2007|p=14}} The Japanese government adopted a policy of forced assimilation, appointing mainland Japanese to political posts and suppressing native culture and language.{{sfnp|Takara|2007|p=14}} Students caught speaking the Ryukyuan languages were made to wear a ''[[dialect card]]'' ([[:ja:方言札|方言札]] ''hōgen fuda''), a method of [[public humiliation]].{{sfnp|Takara|2007|p=15}}{{notetag|This punishment was taken from the 19th [[Language policy in France|French language policy]] of [[Vergonha]], especially by [[Jules Ferry]], where the regional languages such as [[Occitan language|Occitan (Provençal)]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], or [[Breton language|Breton]] were suppressed in favor of [[French language|French]]; see also [[Welsh Not]], for a similar system in [[Wales]]. The same system was also used in other parts of Japan, such as the [[Tōhoku region]].{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}}} Students who regularly wore the card would receive [[corporal punishment]].{{sfnp|Takara|2007|p=15}} In 1940, there was a political debate amongst Japanese leaders about whether or not to continue the oppression of the Ryukyuan languages, although the argument for assimilation prevailed.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Heinrich |first=Patrick |title=Hōgen ronsō: the great Ryukyuan languages debate of 1940 |journal=Contemporary Japan |year=2013 |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=167–187 |doi=10.1515/cj-2013-0008 |s2cid=142189448 }}</ref> In the [[World War II]] era, speaking the Ryukyuan languages was officially illegal, although in practice the older generation was still monolingual.{{sfnp|Takara|2007|p=15}} During the [[Battle of Okinawa]], many Okinawans were labeled as spies and executed for speaking the Okinawan language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/03/30/issues/battle-okinawa-americas-good-war-gone-bad/|title=The Battle of Okinawa: America's good war gone bad|last=Mitchell|first=Jon|date=2015-03-30|website=The Japan Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-13}}</ref> This policy of [[Language death|linguicide]] lasted into the [[History of the Ryukyu Islands#Post-war occupation|post-war occupation]] of the Ryukyu Islands by the [[United States]].{{sfnp|Takara|2007|p=15}} As the American occupation forces generally promoted the reforming of a separate Ryukyuan culture, many Okinawan officials continued to strive for Japanification as a form of defiance.

Nowadays, in favor of [[multiculturalism]], preserving Ryukyuan languages has become the policy of [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa Prefectural government]], as well as the government of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]]'s [[Ōshima Subprefecture (Kagoshima)|Ōshima Subprefecture]]. However, the situation is not very optimistic, since the vast majority of Okinawan children are now monolingual in Japanese.

==Geographic distribution==
The Ryukyuan languages are spoken on the [[Ryukyu Islands]], which comprise the southernmost part of the [[Japanese archipelago]]. There are four major island groups which make up the Ryukyu Islands: the [[Amami Islands]], the [[Okinawa Islands]], the [[Miyako Islands]], and the [[Yaeyama Islands]]. The former is in the [[Kagoshima Prefecture]], while the latter three are in the [[Okinawa Prefecture]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=1}}

==Orthography==
[[File:Letter of Kanamaru.jpg|thumb|A letter from King [[Shō En]] to [[Shimazu clan|Shimazu]] ''[[Glossary of sumo terms#oyakata|oyakata]]'' (1471); an example of written Ryukyuan]]
{{see also|Okinawan scripts}}
Older Ryukyuan texts are often found on stone inscriptions. ''Tamaudun-no-Hinomon'' ([[:ja:玉陵の碑文|玉陵の碑文]] "Inscription of [[Tamaudun]] tomb") (1501), for example. Within the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]], official texts were written in [[kanji]] and [[hiragana]], derived from Japan. However, this was a sharp contrast from Japan at the time, where [[classical Chinese]] writing was mostly used for official texts, only using hiragana for informal ones. Classical Chinese writing was sometimes used in Ryukyu as well, read in ''[[Kanbun|kundoku]]'' (Ryukyuan) or in Chinese. In Ryukyu, [[katakana]] was hardly used.

Historically, official documents in Ryukyuan were primarily written in a form of classical Chinese writing known as [[Kanbun]], while poetry and songs were often written in the Shuri dialect of [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]].
[[File:スクリーンショット_2025-02-19_113245.png|thumb|Chinese translation of Okinawan Script (Japanese Hiragana and Katakana）[https://shimuchi.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/collection/iha/ih01806/39]]]
Commoners did not learn kanji. ''[[Omoro Sōshi]]'' (1531–1623), a noted Ryukyuan song collection, was mainly written in hiragana. Other than hiragana, they also used [[Suzhou numerals]] (''sūchūma'' すうちゅうま in Okinawan), derived from China. In [[Yonaguni]] in particular, there was a different writing system, the [[Kaidā glyphs]] (カイダー字 or カイダーディー).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nilab.info/wiki/KaidaJi.html |title=カイダー字: 与那国島にある象形文字。 (KaidaJi – MemoWiki) |publisher=Nilab.info |access-date=2014-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecco.m78.com/download/ |title=ダウンロード |access-date=2007-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718081109/http://ecco.m78.com/download/ |archive-date=2006-07-18 }}</ref> Under Japanese influence, all of those numerals became obsolete.

Nowadays, perceived as "dialects", Ryukyuan languages are not often written. When they are, [[Japanese writing system|Japanese characters]] are used in an ''ad hoc'' manner. There are no standard orthographies for the modern languages. Sounds not distinguished in the Japanese writing system, such as [[glottal stop]]s, are not properly written. Sometimes local [[Kanji#Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)|''kun'yomi'']] are given to kanji, such as ''agari'' (あがり "east") for [[:Wiktionary:東|東]], ''iri'' (いり "west") for [[:Wiktionary:西|西]], thus 西表 is [[Iriomote-jima|Iriomote]].

Okinawa Prefectural government set up {{Nihongo|the investigative commission for orthography of ''shimakutuba''|しまくとぅば正書法検討委員会|Shimakutuba seishohō kentō iinkai}} in 2018, and the commission proposed an unified spelling rule based on katakana for languages of Kunigami, Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni on May 30 in 2022.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-1525912.html|title=しまくとぅば「カナ」でどう書く？ 沖縄県が表記法まとめホームページで公開 普及・継承の一助に|publisher=[[Ryūkyū Shimpō]]|language=Japanese|date=2022-05-31|accessdate=2022-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531054020/https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-1525912.html|archive-date=2022-05-31}}</ref>

== Literature ==

=== ''[[Omoro Sōshi]]'' ===
A compilation of ancient poems and songs from [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] and the [[Amami Islands]], collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in [[hiragana]] with some simple [[kanji]]. The ''Omoro Sōshi'' was first compiled in 1531.

More than 80% of the words used in Omoro are common with the [[Japanese language|Yamato language]] and were used in the Muromachi period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=阿部 |first=美菜子 |title=沖縄文化はどこから来たか: グスク時代という画期 (叢書・文化学の越境 18) |date= |publisher=森話社 |year=2009 |isbn=978-4916087966 |language=ja |trans-title=Where did Okinawan culture come from: The Gusuku period, an epoch of transition (Sosho, Bunkagaku no Kosetsu 18).}}</ref> This usage of language Indicates that the people who carried Omoro peoms were those who migrated south from [[Yamato people|Yamato]] to Okinawa in the late [[Heian period|Heian]] to [[Muromachi period|Muromachi]] periods.<ref>{{Cite web |last=福 |first=寛美 |date=2022-07-01 |title=2022年度春学期 総合講座「沖縄を考える」⑤ |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10T4rL4ck8o&t=1132s |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Youtube}}</ref>

==Phonology==
Ryukyuan languages often share many phonological features with Japanese, including a voicing opposition for [[obstruent]]s, CV(C) syllable structure, [[Mora (linguistics)|moraic rhythm]], and [[pitch accent]]. However, many individual Ryukyuan languages diverge significantly from this pan-Japonic base. For instance, Ōgami does not have phonemic voicing in obstruents, allows CCVC syllables, and has unusual syllabic consonants such as {{IPA|/kff/}} {{IPA|[kf̩ː]}} "make".{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=4}}

===Consonants===
The Northern Ryukyuan (Amami-Okinawa) languages are notable for having [[glottalic consonant]]s.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=5}} Phonemically these are analyzed of consisting of a cluster {{IPA|/ʔ/}} + C, where the consonant {{IPA|/ʔ/}} consists of its own mora. For instance, in the Amami dialect Yuwan the word {{IPA|/ʔma/}} {{IPA|[ˀma]}} "horse" is bimoraic. Tsuken (Central Okinawan) restricts glottalization to glides and the vowels {{IPA|/a i/}}. Southern Ryukyuan mostly has little to no glottalization, with some exceptions (e.g. Yonaguni). For instance, the Irabu dialect of the Miyako language only allows glottalization with {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/c/}}: {{IPA|/ttjaa/}} {{IPA|[ˀtʲaː]}} "then", {{IPA|/ccir/}} {{IPA|[ˀtɕiɭ]}} "pipe".{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=5}}

Southern Ryukyuan stands out in having a number of syllabic consonants. These consonants are contextually nucleic, becoming syllabic when not adjacent to a vowel.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=5}} Examples:

Irabu Miyako:
* {{IPA|/nam/}} {{IPA|[nam]}} "wave"
* {{IPA|/mna/}} {{IPA|[mna]}} "shell"
* {{IPA|/mm/}} {{IPA|[mː]}} "potato"
* {{IPA|/pžtu/}} {{IPA|[ps̩tu]}} "man"
* {{IPA|/prrma/}} {{IPA|[pɭːma]}} "daytime"
Ōgami Miyako
* {{IPA|/us/}} {{IPA|[us]}} "cow"
* {{IPA|/ss/}} {{IPA|[sː]}} "dust"
* {{IPA|/kss/}} {{IPA|[ksː]}} "breast"

Ōgami even shows a three-way length distinction in fricatives, though across a syllable boundary:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=118}}
* {{IPA|/fɑɑ/}} {{IPA|[fɑː]}} "child"
* {{IPA|/f.fɑ/}} {{IPA|[fːɑ]}} "grass"
* {{IPA|/ff.fɑ/}} {{IPA|[fːːɑ]}} "comb", "top"

Ikema (a Miyako dialect) has a voiceless moraic nasal phoneme {{IPA|/n̥/}}, which always precedes another nasal onset and assimilates its place of articulation to the following nasal.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=170}}

===Vowels===
Amami has high and mid central vowels.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=5}} Yonaguni only has three contrasting vowels, {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/u/}} and {{IPA|/a/}}.

===Suprasegmentals===
The Ryukyuan languages operate based on the [[mora (linguistics)|mora]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=6}} Most Ryukyuan languages require words to be at least bimoraic, thus for example in Hateruma the underlying noun root {{IPA|/si/}} "hand" becomes {{IPA|/siː/}} when it is an independent noun, though it remains as {{IPA|/si/}} when attached to a clitic, e.g. {{IPA|/si{{=}}nu/}}.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=6}}{{notetag|In fact, in Irabu Miyako lengthening occurs even before a clitic, thus underlying {{IPA|/ti/}} "hand" becomes {{IPA|/tiː/}} independently and {{IPA|/tiː{{=}}nu/}} with attached clitic. {{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=6}}}} However, the [[syllable]] may still sometimes be relevant—for instance, the Ōgami topic marker takes a different form after open syllables with short vowels:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=119}}
* "staff" {{IPA|/pɑu + {{=}}ɑ/}} → {{IPA|/pɑu{{=}}iɑ/}}
* "vegetable" {{IPA|/suu + {{=}}ɑ/}} → {{IPA|/suu{{=}}iɑ/}}
* "person" {{IPA|/pstu + {{=}}ɑ/}} → {{IPA|/pstɑ{{=}}ɑ/}}

Ryukyuan languages typically have a [[pitch accent]] system where some mora in a word bears the pitch accent. They commonly either have two or three distinctive types of pitch accent which may be applied. The category of [[foot (prosody)|foot]] also has relevance to the accentual systems of some Ryukyuan languages, and some Miyako varieties have a cross-linguistically rare system of tonal foot. However, Irabu Miyakoan does not have lexical accent.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=7}}

==Grammar==

===Morphology===

The Ryukyuan languages consistently distinguish between the [[word class]]es of nouns and verbs, distinguished by the fact that verbs take [[inflectional morphology]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=9}} Property-concept (adjectival) words are generally [[bound morphemes]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}} One strategy they use is compounding with a free-standing noun:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top='''Ikema:'''{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}}
|imi- + ffa → imi-ffa
|small {} child {} {small child}|}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top='''Yuwan:'''{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}}
|kjura- + ʔkin → kjura-gin
|beautiful {} kimono {} {beautiful kimono}|}}

Compounding is found in both Northern and Southern Ryukyuan, but is mostly absent from Hateruma (Yaeyama).{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}}

Another way property stems are used is by verbalization:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top='''Yuwan Amami:'''{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=52}}
|an kɨɨ{{=}}ja taa-sar-oo
|that tree{{=}}TOP tall-{{gcl|VLZ|verbalizer}}-{{gcl|SUPP|suppositional}}
|"That tree is supposed to be tall."}}

Miyako is unique in having stand-alone adjectives.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}} These may be formed by reduplication of the root, e.g. Irabu Miyako ''imi-'' "small" → ''imii-imi'' "small (adj.)".{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=11}} They may also be compounded with a grammaticalized noun ''munu'' "thing", e.g. Irabu ''imi-munu'' 'small (thing)'.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=10}}

===Syntax===
Ryukyuan languages are generally [[subject-object-verb|SOV]], [[dependent-marking]], modifier-head, [[nominative-accusative]] languages. They are also [[pro-drop language]]s. All of these features are shared with the Japanese language.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=8}}

In many Ryukyuan languages, the nominative and genitive are marked identically, a system also found, for example, in [[Austronesian languages]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=8}} However, Ryukyuan has the unusual feature that these markers vary based on an [[animacy hierarchy]].{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=9}} Typically there are two markers of the form ''=ga'' and ''=nu'', which are distinguished based on animacy and definiteness. In Yuwan Amami, for instance, the nominative is marked with ''=ga''/''=nu'' and the genitive by ''=ga''/''=nu''/''=Ø'' based on the following hierarchy:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=9}}

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Yuwan Amami nominative marker
|-
! human pronouns
| rowspan="3" | ''=ga''
|-
! demonstratives
|-
! elder kinship terms
|-
! other nouns
| ''=nu''
|}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Yuwan Amami genitive marker
|-
! human pronouns, adnominal
| rowspan="2" | ''=ga''
|-
! demonstratives
|-
! human names
| rowspan="2" | ''=Ø''
|-
! elder kinship terms
|-
! other nouns
| ''=nu''
|}
{{col-end}}

In the Miyako varieties, the object in a dependent clause of clause-chaining constructions has a special marker, homophonous to a topic marker. This might even be interpreted as another function of the topic marker.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=9}}

Hateruma Yaeyama stands out in that it is a [[zero-marking language]], where word order rather than case marking is important:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=8}}

{{interlinear|indent=3|abbreviations=CORE:core argument;
|pïtu{{=}}Ø budur-ja-ta-n
|person{{=}}CORE dance-PRF-PAST-REAL
|"People danced."}}

{{interlinear|indent=3|abbreviations=CORE:core argument; MED:medial
|aboa{{=}}Ø ija{{=}}Ø mir-i bir-ja-ta-n
|mother{{=}}CORE father{{=}}CORE look-MED PROG-PRF-PAST-REAL
|"(My) mother was looking at (my) father."}}

The Ryukyuan languages mark both [[topic (linguistics)|topic]] and [[focus (linguistics)|focus]] grammatically. The typical form of the topic marker is ={{transliteration|mis|(j)a}}, or in Southern Ryukyuan ''=ba''; the typical focus marker is ''=du''. In some Ryukyuan languages there are many focus markers with different functions; for instance, Irabu has ''=du'' in declarative clauses, ''=ru'' in yes-no interrogative clauses, and ''=ga'' in wh-interrogative clauses. The focus markers trigger a special verbal inflection—this typologically unusual focus construction, known as ''kakari-musubi'', was also found in [[Old Japanese]], but has been lost in Modern Japanese.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=11}}

Examples from Yuwan Amami:{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=75}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|kurɨ{{=}}ba{{=}}du jum-ju-i
|this{{=}}ACC-FOC read{{=}}IPFV-NPST
|"(I) read this."}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|uroo kun hon{{=}}ba{{=}}du jum-jur-ui?
|2SG.NHON this book{{=}}ACC-FOC read{{=}}IPFV-FOC.{{gcl|YNQ|yes–no question}}
|"Will you read this book?" (yes–no question)}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|uroo nuu{{=}}ba{{=}}ga jum-jur-u?
|2SG.NHON.TOP what{{=}}ACC-FOC read{{=}}IPFV-FOC.{{gcl|WHQ|wh-question}}
|"What will you read?" (wh-question)}}

While in many Japonic languages this special inflection is often identical to the verbal inflection in relative clauses, in Yuwan Amami is different (the relative inflection is ''-n/-tan'').{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=75}} There is some variation among the Ryukyuan languages as to the form of kakari-musubi—for example, in Irabu Miyako a focus marker blocks a specific verb form, rather than triggering a special inflection.{{sfnp|Shimoji|Pellard|2010|p=12}}

==Vocabulary==
Thorpe (1983){{sfnp|Thorpe|1983}} reconstructs the following pronouns in Proto-Ryukyuan. For the first person, the singular and plural are assumed based on the Yonaguni reflex.
* *a, 'I' (singular)
* *wa 'we' (plural)
* *u, *e 'you' (singular)
* *uya, *ura 'you' (plural)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Ryukyuan numerals
|-
!
! Proto-Ryukyuan
! Amami Ōshima<ref>{{citation |author=Yuto Niinaga |chapter=Yuwan (Amami Ryukyuan) |editor1=Michinori Shimoji |editor2=Thomas Pellard |title=An Introduction to Ryukyuan Languages |date=2010 |location=Tokyo |publisher=Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa |isbn=9784863370722 |url=https://lingdy.aa-ken.jp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2015-papers-and-presentations-An_introduction_to_Ryukyuan_languages.pdf |page=55}}</ref>{{notetag|Numerals for counting inanimates.}}
! Shuri (Okinawa){{sfnp|Shimoji|2012|p=357}}
! Hatoma (Yaeyama){{sfnp|Lawrence|2012|p=387}}
! Miyako 
! Yonaguni{{sfnp|Izuyama|2012|p=429}}
|-
| 1
|{{IPA|*pito}}
|{{IPA|tïï-}}|| {{IPA|tii-}} || {{IPA|pusu-}} 
|pitii-|| {{IPA|tʼu-}}
|-
| 2
|{{IPA|*puta}}
|{{IPA|taa-}}|| {{IPA|taa-}} || {{IPA|huta-}} 
|ftaa-|| {{IPA|tʼa-}}
|-
| 3
|{{IPA|*mi}}
|{{IPA|mii-}}|| {{IPA|mii-}} || {{IPA|mii-}} 
|mii-|| {{IPA|mii-}}
|-
| 4
|{{IPA|*yo}}
|{{IPA|juu-}}|| {{IPA|juu-}} || {{IPA|juu-}} 
|juu-|| {{IPA|duu-}}
|-
| 5
|{{IPA|*etu}}
|{{IPA|ïcï-}}|| {{IPA|ici-}} || {{IPA|ici-}} 
|itss-|| {{IPA|ici-}}
|-
| 6
|{{IPA|*mu}}
|{{IPA|muu-}}|| {{IPA|muu-}} || {{IPA|muu-}} 
|mm-|| {{IPA|muu-}}
|-
| 7
|{{IPA|*nana}}
|{{IPA|nana-}}|| {{IPA|nana-}} || {{IPA|nana-}} 
|nana-|| {{IPA|nana-}}
|-
| 8
|{{IPA|*ya}}
|{{IPA|jaa-}}|| {{IPA|jaa-}} || {{IPA|jaa-}} 
|jaa-|| {{IPA|daa-}}
|-
| 9
|{{IPA|*kokono}}
|{{IPA|kuunu-}}|| {{IPA|kukunu-}} || {{IPA|(ku)kunu-}} 
|kkunu-|| {{IPA|kuɡunu-}}
|-
| 10
|{{IPA|*towo}}
|{{IPA|tuu}}|| {{IPA|tuu}} || {{IPA|tuu}}
|tuu|| {{IPA|tuu}}
|}

Pellard (2015){{sfnp|Pellard|2015}} reconstructs the following cultural vocabulary words for Proto-Ryukyuan.

{| class="wikitable"
! Gloss !! Proto-Ryukyuan
|-
| rice || *kome B
|-
| rice || *mai A
|-
| rice plant || *ine B
|-
| unhulled rice || *momi A
|-
| wheat || *mogi B
|-
| [[foxtail millet]] || *awa B
|-
| [[broomcorn millet]] || *kimi B
|-
| [[taro]], yam || *umo B
|-
| field || *patake C
|-
| rice paddy || *ta B
|-
| cow || *usi A
|-
| pig || *uwa C
|-
| horse || *uma B
|-
| pot || *tubo A
|-
| jar || *kame C
|-
| boat || *pune C
|-
| sail || *po A
|-
| paddle || *ijako B
|}

== See also ==
*[[Ryūka]]
*[[Jōmon period|Jōmon]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|}}
* {{cite book
  | surname = Izuyama | given = Atsuko
  | chapter = Yonaguni
  | pages = 412–457
  | title = The Languages of Japan and Korea
  | editor-first = Nicolas | editor-last = Tranter
  | publisher = Routledge | year = 2012
  | isbn = 978-0-415-46287-7
  }}
* {{cite book
  | surname = Lawrence | given = Wayne P.
  | chapter = Southern Ryukyuan
  | pages = 381–411
  | title = The Languages of Japan and Korea
  | editor-first = Nicolas | editor-last = Tranter
  | publisher = Routledge | year = 2012
  | isbn = 978-0-415-46287-7
  }}
* {{Cite book|chapter=The Linguistic archeology of the Ryukyu Islands|last=Pellard|first=Thomas|chapter-url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01289257|title=Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages: History, structure, and use|publisher=De Mouton Gruyter|location=Berlin|date=2015|editor-last1=Heinrich|editor-first1=Patrick|pages=13–37|doi=10.1515/9781614511151.13|editor-last2=Miyara|editor-first2=Shinsho|editor-last3=Shimoji|editor-first3=Michinori|isbn=978-1-61451-115-1|s2cid=54004881 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01289257/file/Pellard_2015_The_linguistic_archeology_of_the_Ryukyu_Islands.pdf}}
* {{cite book
  | surname = Shimoji | given = Michinori
  | chapter = Northern Ryukyuan
  | pages = 351–380
  | title = The Languages of Japan and Korea
  | editor-first = Nicolas | editor-last = Tranter
  | publisher = Routledge | year = 2012
  | isbn = 978-0-415-46287-7
  }}
* {{Cite book|editor1-last=Shimoji|editor1-first=Michinori|editor2-last=Pellard|editor2-first=Thomas|year=2010|title=An Introduction to Ryukyuan languages|publisher=ILCAA|place=Tokyo|url=https://lingdy.aa-ken.jp/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2015-papers-and-presentations-An_introduction_to_Ryukyuan_languages.pdf|isbn=978-4-86337-072-2|access-date=June 10, 2018}}
* {{Cite conference|last=Sugita|first=Yuko|year=2007|title=Language revitalization or language fossilization? Some suggestions for language documentation from the viewpoint of interactional linguistics|conference=Proceedings of Conference on Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory|publisher=SOAS|location=London|url=http://www.hrelp.org/eprints/ldlt_28.pdf|access-date=December 19, 2009|isbn=978-0-7286-0382-0}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Takara|first=Ben|title=On Reclaiming a Ryukyuan Culture|publisher=IMADR|journal=Connect|volume=10|issue=4|pages=14–16|date=February 2007|place=Irifune|url=http://www.imadr.org/en/pdf/TakaraBen.pdf|access-date=August 21, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520141217/http://www.imadr.org/en/pdf/TakaraBen.pdf|archive-date=May 20, 2011}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*Sanseido (1997). ''言語学大辞典セレクション：日本列島の言語'' (''Selection from the Encyclopædia of Linguistics: The Languages of the Japanese Archipelago''). "琉球列島の言語" (''The Languages of the Ryukyu Islands'').
* {{cite thesis |last=Ashworth |first=D. E. |title=A generative study of the inflectional morphophonemics of the Shuri dialect of Ryukyuan |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Cornell University |year=1973}}
*{{cite journal |last=Heinrich |first=Patrick |year=2004 |title=Language Planning and Language Ideology in the Ryūkyū Islands |journal=Language Policy |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=153–179 |doi=10.1023/B:LPOL.0000036192.53709.fc |s2cid=144605968 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Heinrich |editor-first1=Patrick |editor-last2=Miyara |editor-first2=Shinsho |editor-last3=Shimoji |editor-first3=Michinori |year=2015 |title=Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages |location=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |doi=10.1515/9781614511151|isbn=978-1-61451-161-8 }}
* {{cite thesis |last=Serafim |first=Leon Angelo |year=1984 |title=Shodon: the prehistory of a Northern Ryukyuan dialect of Japanese |url=https://ling.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/SARAFIM.pdf |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Yale University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724054616/https://ling.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/SARAFIM.pdf |archive-date=2020-07-24}}
*{{cite book |last=Shimabukuro |first=Moriyo |year=2007 |title=The accentual history of the Japanese and Ryukyuan languages: a reconstruction |series=Languages of Asia series |volume=2 |location=Folkestone, Kent |publisher=[[Global Oriental]] |isbn=978-1-901903-63-8}}
*{{cite thesis |surname=Thorpe |given=Maner Lawton |title=Ryūkyūan language history |publisher=University of Southern California |year=1983 |type=PhD thesis |url=https://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/JAPANESE/Thorpe_Ryukyuan_language_history.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314050317/http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/JAPANESE/Thorpe_Ryukyuan_language_history.pdf |archive-date=2022-03-14}}
* {{cite book |last1=Uemura |first1=Yukio |last2=Lawrence |first2=Wayne P. |year=2003 |title=The Ryukyuan language |series=Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim |volume=A4-018 |location=Osaka |publisher=ELPR}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ryukyuan languages}}
{{Wikivoyage|Ryukyuan phrasebook|Ryukyuan|a phrasebook}}
* [http://ryukyu-lang.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/index.html Ryukyuan language phonetic database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212074128/http://ryukyu-lang.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/index.html |date=2009-12-12 }}
* [http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/bunka-sports/bunka/documents/simakutuba.html Documents about Shima kutuba], Okinawa Prefecture
* [https://okimu.jp/sp/museum/minwa/ Web archives of Okinawan Folktales], Okinawa Prefectural Museum
* [http://hougen-gakushu.eepc.jp/index.html What is a dialect?], Amami Culture Foundation
* [https://kikigengo.ninjal.ac.jp/en/index.html Database of Endangered Languages of Japan], National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics
* [http://www.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/iha/index.html 伊波普猷文庫目録] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401074919/http://www.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/iha/index.html |date=2009-04-01 }}
* [http://manwe.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/seizen 仲宗根政善言語資料]
* [http://www.haisai.co.jp/welcome.htm うちなあぐち]
*[http://www.terra.dti.ne.jp/~miyara/sanenori.html メーラムニ用語便覧]
*[http://ryukyulang.org/ooritaboori/ おーりたぼーり：メーラム二（宮良言葉）の学習者のためのポッドキャスト] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128013152/http://ryukyulang.org/ooritaboori/ |date=2020-01-28 }}

{{Japonic languages}}
{{Japanese language}}
{{Languages of Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryukyuan Languages}}
[[Category:Ryukyuan languages| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Japan]]
[[Category:Ryukyu Islands]]
[[Category:Culture in Okinawa Prefecture]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of Japan]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Asia]]