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Japonic languages

Japonic
Geographic
distribution:
Japan
Linguistic classification: One of the world's primary language families
Subdivisions:
ISO 639-2 / 5:
Glottolog: japo1237
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The Japonic languages

The Japonic language family includes the Japanese language spoken on the main islands of Japan as well as the Ryukyuan languages spoken in the Ryukyu Islands. The family is widely accepted by linguists, and the term "Japonic languages" was coined by Leon Serafim. The common ancestral language is known as Proto-Japonic. The essential feature of this classification is that the first split in the family resulted in the separation of all dialects of Japanese from all varieties of Ryukyuan. According to Shiro Hattori, this separation occurred during the Yamato period (250–710).

Scholarly discussions about the origin of Japonic languages present an unresolved set of related issues. The clearest connections seem to be with toponyms in southern Korea, which may be in Gaya (Kara) or other scarcely attested languages.

The Japonic (or Japanese–Ryukyuan) languages are:

Beckwith includes toponymic material from southern Korea as evidence of an additional ancient Japonic language there:

It is not clear if "pre-Kara" was related to the language of the later Gaya (Kara) confederacy.

The relationship of the Japonic (or Japanese–Ryukyuan) languages to other languages and language families is controversial. There are numerous hypotheses, none of which are generally accepted.


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Wikipedia

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