Amami_language Amami_language

Amami language - Definition and Overview
Related Words: Afghan, Afghani, Afrikaans, Ainu, Akan, Akkadian, Albanian, Aleut, Algonquian, Algonquin, Amharic, Anatolian, Andaman, Apache, Arabic, Aramaic, Araucanian, Arawak, Arawakan, Armenian, Aryan, Assamese

Amami is a language spoken by around 130000 people in the Amami islands south of Kyushu. It is a Ryukyuan language, most closely related to Okinawan.

Phonology

Consonants:

  • Unvoiced fricatives: h hj hw s sj
  • Unvoiced aspirate stops: kʻ kʻj tʻ cʻ cʻj
  • Unvoiced laryngeal inaspirate stops: kʼ kʼj kʼw tʼ cʼ cʼj　pʼ pʼj
  • Voiced stops: g gj gw d z zj b bj
  • Voiced nasals: n nj m mj
  • Laryngeal nasals: ʔn ʔnj ʔm
  • Liquids: r rj
  • Voiced glides: ' 'j 'w
  • Laryngeal glides: ʔ ʔj ʔw

Vowels:

Short vowels:

  • Closed: i ï u
  • Half-open: (e) ë o
  • Open: a

Long vowels:

  • Closed: iː ïː uː
  • Half-open: (eː) ëː oː
  • Open: aː

Dialects

It is usually classified into the following dialect groupings:

  • North
    • Tanegashima
    • Yakushima
    • Northern Oshima
  • Central
    • Oshima
  • South
    • Yoron

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Example Usage of language
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