Amami
Also Known As:
Kikai, Kunigami, Northern Amami-Oshima, Oki-no-Erabu, Southern Amami-Oshima, Toku-no-Shima, Yoron, Ryukyuan, Oshima, Osima, Oosima, Northern Ryukyuan, Amami-Osima, Okinoerabu, Okierabu, Tokunosima, 奄美語, 奄美方言, 国頭語, 国頭方言, Shimayumuta, 島口, シマユムタ
Dialects & Varieties
  • Onotsu
  • Nago
  • Sani
  • Naze
  • West Oki-No-Erabu
  • East Oki-No-Erabu
  • Kametsu
Amami
Amami
Amami
Amami
Amami

Stories

Recent Resources

Severely Endangered
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~37,000
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends

Speaker Number Trend 4

Less than half of the community speaks the language, and speaker numbers are decreasing at an accelerated pace.

4
Domains of Use

Domain Of Use 4

Used mainly only in the home and/or with family, and may not be the primary language even in these domains for many community members.

4
Transmission

Transmission 4

Many of the grandparent generation speak the language, but younger people generally do not.

4

Revitalization Programs

Community Members

Forums

Bibliography

Bibliography of Vitality:
Niinaga, Y. (2015). Amami grammar. In Heinrich, P., Miyara, S., & Shimoji, M. (Eds.), Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages : history, structure, and use (323-343) . De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614511151
Bibliography of Locations:
"Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.
Bibliography of Context:
Niinaga, Y. (2015). Amami grammar. In Heinrich, P., Miyara, S., & Shimoji, M. (Eds.), Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages : history, structure, and use (323-343) . De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614511151