Yonaguni language
| Yonaguni | |
|---|---|
| 与那国物言/ドゥナンムヌイ Dunan Munui | |
| Native to | Japan |
| Region | Yonaguni |
|
Native speakers
|
400 (2015) |
|
Japonic
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | yona1241 |
The Yonaguni language (与那国物言/ドゥナンムヌイ Dunan Munui) is a Southern Ryukyuan language spoken by around 400 people on the island of Yonaguni, in the Ryukyu Islands, the westernmost of the chain lying just east of Taiwan. It is most closely related to Yaeyama. Due to the Japanese policy on languages, the language is not recognized by the government and is instead called the Yonaguni dialect (与那国方言 Yonaguni hōgen?).
The table below shows the vowels present in the Yonaguni language. Vowels which are only allophonic appear in parentheses.
The table below shows the consonants present in the Yonaguni language. Consonants which are only allophonic appear in parentheses. Plosive and affricate phonemes have three-way contrast between fortis, lenis, and voiced consonants.
In the Yonaguni language, as well as in Miyako, Yaeyama, /b/ is cognate with Standard Japanese /w/. Yonaguni also has /d/ where Japanese and other Ryukyuan languages have /j/. Thus, for example, Yonaguni /dami(-n)/ ('to hurt, to ache') is cognate with the archaic or dialectal Japanese verb /jame(-ru)/ ('to hurt, to ache') rather than with Japanese /itam(-u)/ (same meaning). Yonaguni /d/ is probably a recent development from an earlier */j/, however, judging from the fact that even the */j/ in loanwords of Sinitic origin is pronounced /d/ by speakers of the Yonaguni language.
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