Kunigami

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A language of Japan

ISO 639-3
xug
Population

5,000 (2004).

Location

Central Okinawa, central and north Okinawa island; Iheya, Izena, Ie-jima, Sesoko islands.

Language Maps
Language Status

7 (Shifting).

Classification
Japonic, Ryukyuan, Amami-Okinawan, Southern Amami-Okinawan
Dialects

Nago. Inherent intelligibility generally impossible, or very difficult, of Ryukyuan languages and Japanese [jpn]. Ryukyuan languages are 62%-70% cognate with Tokyo dialect of Japanese. Lexical similarity: Ryukyu languages: 62%–70% with Tokyo dialect of Japanese.

Language Use

Mainly older adults. The younger the generation, the more fluently they speak Japanese [jpn] (Wurm and Hattori 1981). Those under 20 are mainly monolingual in Japanese (1989 T. Fukuda).

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Kunigami