Osaka dialect

Kansai Japanese
Kinki
Native to	Japan
Region	Kansai
Language family	Japonic Japanese Western Japanese Kansai Japanese
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	kink1238
Kansai-dialect area

The Kansai dialect (関西弁, 関西方言, Kansai-ben, Kansai hōgen) is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, Kansai-ben is the common name and it is called Kinki dialect (近畿方言, Kinki hōgen) in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka, especially in the Edo period, are also called Kamigata dialect (上方言葉, 上方語, Kamigata kotoba, Kamigata-go). The Kansai dialect is typified by the speech of Osaka, the major city of Kansai, which is referred to specifically as Osaka-ben. It is characterized as being both more melodic and harsher by speakers of the standard language.

Since Osaka is the largest city in the region and its speakers gained the most media exposure over the last century, non-Kansai-dialect speakers tend to associate the dialect of Osaka with the entire Kansai region. However, technically, Kansai dialect is not a single dialect but a group of related dialects in the region. Each major city and prefecture has a particular dialect, and residents take some pride in their particular dialectical variations.

The common Kansai dialect is spoken in Keihanshin (the metropolitan areas of the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) and its surroundings, a radius of about 50 km (31 mi) around the Osaka-Kyoto area (see regional differences). In this article, it is mainly discussed about the Keihanshin version of Kansai dialect in Shōwa period and Heisei period.

Dialects of other areas have different features, some archaic, from the common Kansai dialect. Tajima and Tango (except Maizuru) dialects in northwest Kansai are too different to be regarded as Kansai dialect and are thus usually included in the Chūgoku dialect. Dialects spoken in Southeastern Kii Peninsula including Totsukawa and Owase are also far different from other Kansai dialects, and considered a language island. The Shikoku dialect and the Hokuriku dialect share many similarities with the Kansai dialects, but are classified separately.