The Ryukyuan Languages: Why Japanese Is Not Alone
Japanese is generally considered to be a unique and rather lonely language, because it isn't obviously related to other Asian languages.
However, this isn't completely true — as Japanese actually belongs to a language family called Japonic. The other languages in this family are the Ryukyuan languages, which are traditionally spoken in the Ryukyu Islands — an island chain that stretches between Taiwan and the southern Japanese island of Kyushu.
Experts say that to understand the history of the Japanese language and where it came from, we also need to study these Ryukyuan languages.
In the past, the Ryukyuan languages were thought to be dialects of Japanese, rather than separate languages.
However, even though they are part of the same language family, Ryukyuan languages and Japanese are said to be as different as French and Spanish or English and German.
Japanese speakers cannot understand Ryukyuan languages, and people speaking two different Ryukyuan languages would not be able to understand each other!
There are six Ryukyuan languages that have been recognized by UNESCO, and they are all endangered. The six languages are: Okinawan, Amami, Kunigami, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni.
These days, Japanese has replaced these languages in daily life; children don't learn them at home, and only older people can speak them.
Some individuals are trying to protect and preserve the Ryukyuan languages, but these efforts are not supported by the national or local government.
Experts say that one way to save these languages would be for all local children to learn them at school.
Another suggestion is to have a Ryukyuan language test for people who want to join the local civil service.
Some say that Ryukyuan languages could be used to promote local products and help boost tourism and the economy of the Ryukyu Islands.
However, if nothing is done, it is believed these languages will have all disappeared by 2050.
Location of Ryukyu Islands
