中⽂No. 92

⽇本語

There are various kinds of dialects to be found in local areas in Japan. Do you know there isa dialect called ‘Morioka Ben’ in Morioka city? Morioka Ben is a dialect that has been
spoken in the northern and central areas of Iwate Prefecture since old times. Unfortunately,
the number of people who speak Morioka Ben has declined for these several decades, but
Morioka citizens still love its warm sounds.
In this issue, we will introduce Morioka’s dialect, Morioka Ben to you from basic greetings to a little
more complex, interesting expressions.

Click play buttons ( ) to listen to Morioka Ben.

*Dull and nasal sound are a distinctive feature■※Nasal sound…It is the sound in which air stream passes through the nose when the consonant of dull sound ispronounced. This sound is especially common in the dialects of Tohoku area.

Ageru"・"Mado wo ageru
Yo ga ageru
Tempura wo ageru
Tako wo ageru
NageruDull sound Kando shite nakeru (I was moved and cried.) Kando shite nageru
Nasal sound Gomi wo suteru (Throw the garbage away.) Gomi wo nageru■It has honorific expressions
The further the words go to the right in the sequences below, the politer they become.
・"Tabenasai" (Help yourself.)
Ke -Oage -Oagense -Oagette kunanse -Oagette ogurette kunanse・"(Nakani) Hairinasai" (Please come in.)
Here -Agare -Ohere -Oherette kunanse -Oherette ogurette kunanse■There are a lots of onomatopoeia words that describes state of being
・Doro ga teronteron ni kootteiru (The surface of the road is frozen and looks slippery.)・Doro ga deronderon ni kootteiru (The surface of the road is frozen and looks so slippery.)→Both words mean‘slippery’ but ‘deron deron’ indicates a stronger degree.
・Yuki ga nokkori to furitsumoru (The so much (Nokkori) snow piled up.)
Dull sound Mado wo akeru (Open the window)
Yo ga akeru (It’s dawning)
Nasal sound Tempura wo ageru (Fry tempura)
Tako wo ageru (Fly a kite)・""

Ohaya gansu
・Good evening. - Obande gozansu /Obande gozaiyansu (In Women’s Language)
・Good morning. -Omedeto gansu /Omedeto gozaiyansu （In Women’s Language）
・Thank you. - Arigato gansu /Arigato gozaiyansu （In Women’s Language）
・I am sorry. - Oyushette kunanse
・Welcome. Welcome back. - Odense ，Odette kunanse ，Yoku odenshita
・Good-bye. - Oshizukani ，Goyudan naku
・Congratulations. -Standard Japanese

You
SayCow
Soak something in the water
CuteShout, Cry
A little
Yes
For a while
Go outReallyMorioka Ben
OmehanSou
Bego
Urugasu
Menkoi
SagabuPekko
Nda
Ittogima
Deharu
Honi

Standard JapaneseAppearLet’s go, Come, Condition
Us or our family
Grow upChildTaroThrow away
Help yourself
ColdHitHave, Lift something up

Morioka Ben
DeharuAnbeOraho
Ogaru
WarasuImonogoNageruKeShakke
HadaguTanaguIcchora no odottoki※People used to wear second-hand kimono from western Japan in daily life and these were called ‘Osentaku’.
・Janken (Rock, Scissors, Paper) - Bankisshu※It is originally from the sound of the English “One, two, three”. People in old times heard the sounds like that.
・A sleety rain - Ameyugi ，Becchayugi※Imitative word ’Becchari’ + Yuki (snow)
・A cicada pupa - Nokonoko
・New or expensive Kimono -※It moves like Nokonoko, which means slowly.

You might have already heard some of these expressions above? The expressions of Morioka ben
which sound unique and warm are still used on various occasions in our daily life and are familiar to thecitizens. We recommend that you take this good opportunity to learn our local dialect, Morioka Ben, andtryitout
yourself.

Additional Information…
Morioka History and Cultural Museum holds a folk tales reading event in Morioka Ben on the third
Saturday in every month. It is an opportunity to learn a little more about Morioka Ben. If you areinterested, please feel free to participate in the event.
Nextdate:March17th(Sat.)
14:00～14:30(Place:2nd floor, Exhibition room 6, Permanent Historical Exhibition Room)※Participating in the event is free, but you will need to pay entrance fee to the facility (Elementary and JuniorHigh School students living in Morioka and people over age 65 and over are free to enter)

Inquiries: Morioka History and Culture Museum
Address: 1-50 Uchimaru, Morioka city Tel: 019-681-2100

March 11th, 2018 marks seven years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. In Japan, where you
are never certain when a disaster will occur, it is important to prepare for natural disasters that could
happen tomorrow.

■Earthquakes
It is considered that if a big earthquake occurs, many old buildings may fall down or collapse. There isalso the risk that fire will break out from collapsed buildings.

■FloodingIn the river region, there is the risk of flooding after a long period of rain during the rainy season or rainfrom a typhoon. Additionally, in the city areas, water may overflow from manholes into the streets.

■Sediment DisastersSince there are mountains and hills near suburban areas in Morioka city, sediment disasters may occur
due to heavy rain or earthquakes.
Cliff failure･･･Steep mountain slopes and cliffs can suddenly collapsed. Sometimes it occurs without any
signs, and it crushes the houses below the cliffs.
Landslide･･･In areas of special geological feature, a mass amount of soil may begin to move
Debris Flow･･･Areas where soil and sand have accumulated, such as valleys, can overflow with rain.
Large rocks or driftwood may wash away houses and farms at furious speeds.

Evacuation shelters are set up in places such as gymnasiums of schools if your evacuation time isgoing to be long after a large disaster. Many people gather there. Based on the situation, items like foodor blankets are distributed. In Morioka City, there are emergency shelters for those who don’t speak
Japanese or have little or no confidence to speak Japanese. Multilingual support will be provided atthe shelter.

■Emergency Shelters for Foreign People
・Ueda Public Hall (4-1-1 Ueda, Moriokacity)・International Exchange Center at Aiina(1-7-1 Morioka-eki Nishi-dori, Morioka city)
Shared spaces in 2nd and 3rd floors

The multilingual leaflet on disaster protection, ‘Protecting yourself during a natural disaster’ isavailable from the website of Iwate Prefecture. Please go to the following link and check the content.
さいがいみまも「災害から⾝を守るために / Protecting yourself during a natural disaster /灾害发⽣如何保护⾃⼰」

http://www.pref.iwate.jp/kokusai/tabunka/003379.html （※PDF file on the page）