Yonaguni
与那国物言
Yonaguni is a Japonic language spoken in Japan, by about 400 people. Glottolog rates it moribund.
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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, which instead calls it the Yonaguni dialect (与那国方言, Yonaguni hōgen). As classified by UNESCO, the Yonaguni language is one of the most endangered languages in all of Japan, after the Ainu language.
From Wikipedia · Yonaguni language · CC BY-SA 4.0
Words in Yonaguni
| Meaning | Word | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| name | 名 | nā |
| tongue | 舌 | tta |
| head | みんぶる | minburu |
| liver | 肝 | chimu |
| water | 水 | min |
| rain | 雨 | ami |
| stone | 石 | ichi |
| mountain | ダマ | dama |
| leaf | 葉 | hā |
| night | 夜 | duru |
| fish | 魚 | iyu |
| eat | ハイ | hayi |
| tea | サー | saː |
| house | 家 | dā |
| new | 新ーん | mīn |
Most similar languages
Vocabulary
- YoronJaponic48% alike
- Central OkinawanJaponic48% alike
- KunigamiJaponic47% alike
- Oki-No-ErabuJaponic44% alike
- KikaiJaponic43% alike
- Toku-No-ShimaJaponic43% alike
Grammar
- Central OkinawanJaponic95% alike
- Oki-No-ErabuJaponic93% alike
- Southern Amami-OshimaJaponic92% alike
- Peripheral MongolianMongolic-Khitan92% alike
- YaeyamaJaponic91% alike
- MiyakoJaponic90% alike
Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.
Nearby languages
Elsewhere
Glottolog · yona1241 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · yoi