# Tokunoshima language

The Tokunoshima language (シマグチ (島口) Shimaguchi or シマユミィタ Shimayumiita), also Toku-no-Shima, is a dialect cluster spoken on Tokunoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture of southwestern Japan. It is part of the Amami–Okinawan languages, which are part of the Japonic languages.

## Dialects

Okamura (2007) posits two divisions of Tokunoshima: Kametsu–Amagi in the north and Isen in the south. Kametsu is the traditional politico-cultural center of the island. It has been a center of distributions of new lexical traits, some of which were not confined in Tokunoshima Town but spread to Amagi Town in the northeast and, less frequently, to Isen. The dialects of Isen are considered more conservative by the speakers.

## Folk terminology

According to Okamura Takahiro (b. 1936 in Asama, Amagi Town), the speakers of Tokunoshima call their tongues sïmagucï, which consists of two morphemes. The first part sïma (Standard Japanese shima) refers to an island both in Standard Japanese and Tokunoshima but it also means (one's own) local community in Tokunoshima and other Amami dialects. The second part kucï (Standard Japanese kuchi) means a mouth, and by extension, speech. Hence, sïmagucï refers to the speech of one's own community and of the island as a whole. Note that sïmagucï is more strongly associated with the former because the speakers of Tokunoshima are fully aware that each shima has a distinct language.

## Phonology

The following is the phonology of the Kametsu dialect, which is based on Hirayama et al. (1986).

### Consonants

As with most Ryukyuan languages to the north of Central Okinawan, stops are described as "plain" C’ and "glottalized" C‘. Phonetically, the two series are lightly aspirated [Cʰ] and tenuis [C˭], respectively.
Consonant phonemes :
| | Bilabial | Bilabial | Bilabial | Alveolar | Alveolar | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | Post- alveolar | Post- alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Velar | Glottal | Moraic |
| Nasal | | mˀ | m | | nˀ | n | | | | | | | | | Q N |
| Stop | pʰ | | b | tʰ | t˭ | d | | | | | kʰ | k˭ | ɡ | ʔ | Q N |
| Affricate | | | | | | | t͡ʃʰ | t͡ʃ˭ | dz | | | | | | | Q N |
| Fricative | | | | s | | | | | | | | | | h | Q N |
| Approximant | | | | | | | | | | j | | | w | | | Q N |
| Flap | | | | | | | | | r | | | | | | | Q N |
Notes
* The zero onset /'/ may be added. It is contrasted with glottal /h/ and /ʔ/.
* /h/ is [ç] before /i/ and /j/, and [ɸ] before /u/ and /w/.
* /pʰ/ is new and infrequent.
* /si/, /t͡ʃʰɨ/ and /t͡ʃ˭ɨ/ are realized as [ʃɪ], [t͡sʰɨ] and [t͡sɨ], respectively.
* /dz/ is [d͡z] before /ɨ/ and /ɘ/, and [d͡ʒ] elsewhere.
* [ʃa], [ʃe], [ʃu] and [ʃo] are phonemically analyzed as /sja/, /sje/, /sju/ and /sjo/, respectively.
* [t͡ʃʰa], [t͡ʃʰe], [t͡ʃʰu] and [t͡ʃʰo] are phonemically analyzed as /t͡ʃʰja/, /t͡ʃʰje/, /t͡ʃʰju/ and /t͡ʃʰjo/, respectively.
* [t͡ʃa], [t͡ʃu] and [t͡ʃo] are phonemically analyzed as /t͡ʃ˭ja/, /t͡ʃ˭ju/ and /t͡ʃ˭jo/, respectively.

### Vowels

Tokunoshima has /a/, /e/, /i/ [ɪ], /o/, /u/, /ɨ/ and /ɘ/, long and short.

### Correspondences to Standard Japanese

Only major sound correspondences are listed.
* Standard Japanese /e/ mostly corresponds to /ɨ/.
* Standard Japanese /o/ is merged into /u/.
* Tokunoshima /e/, /ɘ/ and /o/ are of secondary origin and mostly correspond to Standard Japanese diphthongs.
* Standard Japanese /hi/ and /he/ corresponds to Tokunoshima /sɨ/ and /hwɨ/, respectively.
* Standard Japanese /si/ and /zu/, /zi/ and /zu/, and /t͡ʃi/ and /t͡ʃu/ are merged into /sɨ/, /zɨ/, and /t͡ʃɨ/, respectively.
* The fusion of two consecutive morae resulted in glottalized consonants in Tokunoshima.