Video of Miyako spoken through song.
As previously discussed on this blog there are preferences with specific language dialects being spoken over others. This can easily be seen in which specific dialect is taught in foreign language courses. This preference can have serious implications within the language itself, including but not limited to the lack of recognition of languages that are perceived as dialects but are not. They are actually similar but simultaneously different languages all together. This is the case for the language known as Miyako. This blog post is going to delve further into this language.
Miyako is spoken in southern Japan on the Ryukyu Islands. For a long time it was believed to be a dialect of Japanese and that remains the popular opinion of people residing on the Ryuku Islands and outside of them. This resulted in the lack of documentation of the language and the progressive loss of native speakers. Today, it is estimated that there are anywhere between 2000 and 13,000 Miyako speakers. The reason for the vast difference in speaker estimates is that the recent acknowledgement of the language also led to the realization that there are at least five dialects spoken within the language itself. This means that depending on how one classifies the language there can be fewer or more native speakers.
Presently, what is known is that the language is considered severely endangered. Native speakers are at least 50 years of age or older, and younger generations, such as middle aged individuals, understand the language but do not speak it regularly if at all. Younger generations (children and young adults) have no comprehension of the language. They also show very little interest in learning the language. Because of the ages of native speakers there has been a rush among linguists to document and record the language, but the worldwide Covid pandemic has stymied several of those attempts. Therefore there is an incomplete source of information concerning this language. The argument to preserve this language is to recognize the cultural and linguistic diversity that exists in Japan, which subverts the dominant idea that Japanese are ethnically the same.
The efforts to preserve Miyako have been successful in some ways. The language is spoken during religious/ritual services of the Ikema minzoku tribe, of which the language is associated. Mikayo is also spoken during speech contests, which also encourages younger generations to learn the language. It is hoped that these and other language preservation efforts will be successful in preserving it, if for no other reason than to learn more about the language itself and the Ikema minzoku culture.
Works Cited
Austin, Peter. "Miyako." 2020. Endangered Language Project. Electronic. 21 May 2024.
Jarosz, Aleksandra. "Miyako-Ryukyuan and its contribution to linguistic diversity." JournalLIPP (2014): 39-55. Print.
Nakayama, Toshihide. "Miyako (Ryukyuan)." 2016. COLANG. Electronic. 21 May 2024.
Shinohara, S. "Ikema Miyako (Japan)-Language Snapshot." Language Documentation and Description (2020): 240-248. Electronic.
UNESCO. "Miyako in Japan." 2021. UNESCO. Electronic. 21 May 2024.
1 comment:
This article was a little familiar to me. I am Japanese and have never seen anyone who speaks Miyako language before. The article said that the estimated number of Miyako speakers is between 2,000 and 13,000, but I really think there are only that many Miyako language speakers. I have actually been to Okinawa and I have not seen a single person using the Miyako language, but I think the Miyako language is really endangered. The article says that they are encouraging the younger generation to speak the Miyako language, so I will try to learn it as a Japanese person after reading this article.
Post a Comment