The role of geography and migration in the branching and spread of the Japonic language family

要旨

Abstract This chapter investigates two extremes of the distribution of the Japonic language family: the Ryūkyū Islands in the southwest, and the Tōhoku region in the northeast. Despite the fact that both areas were settled relatively late by speakers of Japonic compared to other areas of Japan, the linguistic situation in the two regions could not be more different: in the Ryūkyūs there is extreme linguistic diversity, while in the Tōhoku region, the diversification is low. This chapter argues that differences in the natural environment (multiple islands in the southwest, versus the easily navigable Japan Sea coast, and room to withdraw from the pressure of the central state in the northeast) were factors that shaped the linguistic geography of the two regions.

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