Dialects of Japanese

要旨

Ryukyuan has been treated as a dialect of Japanese. While dialects of Japanese, including Ryukyuan, are diverse, they have some common features. Japanese dialectology was developed by concentrating on the linguistic study of dialects. On the other hand, dialects are spoken in local regions by ordinary people and are influenced by society, history, and other extra-linguistic factors. Misao Tojo, author of the Dialectological Handbooks, is considered the founder of modern Japanese dialectology. He claimed that the purpose of dialectology is the classification of dialects and the mapping of borders between them. Research on Japanese dialects is very extensive. This chapter divides the studies and sources of data by type. There are two linguistic atlases that cover all of Japan. These differ in several respects: it is said that the Linguistic Atlas of Japan (LAJ) contains interpretational maps, whereas the Grammar Atlas of Japanese Dialects (GAJ) contains maps of material.

主題