Yaeyama language
| Yaeyama | |
|---|---|
| 八重山物言/ヤイマムニ Yaimamuni | |
| Native to | Japan |
| Region | Yaeyama Islands |
| Ethnicity | 47,600 (2000) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | yaey1239 |
The Yaeyama language (八重山物言/ヤイマムニ, Yaimamuni) is a Southern Ryukyuan language spoken in the Yaeyama Islands, the southernmost inhabited island group in Japan, with a combined population of about 53,000. The Yaeyama Islands are situated to the southwest of the Miyako Islands, southwest of the Ryukyu Islands and to the east of Taiwan. Yaeyama (Yaimamunii) is most closely related to Miyako. The number of competent native speakers is not known - as a consequence of Japanese language policy which refers to the language as the Yaeyama dialect (八重山方言 Yaeyama hōgen?), reflected in the education system, people below the age of 60 tend to not use the language except in songs and rituals, and the younger generation exclusively uses Japanese as their first language. As compared to the Japanese kokugo, or Japanese national language, other Ryukuan languages such as Okinawa and Amami , have also been referred to as dialects of Japanese. Yaeyama is noted as having a comparatively lower "language vitality" among neighboring Ryukyuan languages.
Yaeyama has three main dialects, named after the islands they are found on:
The speech of the island of Yonaguni, while related, is usually considered a separate language.
The Ryukyuan language split from Proto-Japonic when its speakers migrated to the Ryukyu Islands.
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