Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Ikimatsu, Ryukyuan, Southern Ryukyuan, Saskisima, Saskishima, 宮古語, 宮古方言, ミャークフツ
CLASSIFICATION		Japonic, Ryukyuan, Southern Ryukyuan
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3; Glottolog
LANGUAGE CODE		mvi; miya1259
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Mainland Miyako Ōgami Ikema Irabu Tarama
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		Dialect names are from Aoi (2015).

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Information from: “Ikema Miyako (Japan) - Language Snapshot” . Shigeko Shinohara and Qandeel Hussain (2020) , Peter K. Austin · ELPublishing

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Less than 2,000
Native speakers worldwide
CHILDREN
0
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Sarahama dialect has the most speakers and more young speakers, followed by Nishihara and Ikema with the fewest young speakers.

DATE OF INFO: 2008

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Recent revival movements are promoting the language at events such as speech contests and religious rituals in local communities. The language plays a role in the ethnic identity for those of the Ikema minzoku tribe.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Japanese

PLACES: Ikema Island, Sarahama on Irabu Island, and Nishihara on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
10,000-15,000
Native speakers worldwide

DOMAINS OF USE
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
TRANSMISSION

PLACES: Japan

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Miyako islands

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Ethnic population
67,653
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Ethnic population: 67,653 (2000)

DATE OF INFO: 2000

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

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

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

"little prestige" ... "still widely considered a “dialect” of Japanese, regardless of a definite lack of intelligibility and centuries of development virtually uninfluenced by any mainland Japanese variation"

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Japanese

PLACES: Japan;

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Southern Okinawa; Miyako, Ogami, Ikema, Kurima, Irabu, Tarama, Minna islands.

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
The total of all the Okinawan speakers is somewhere around 100,000.
Native speakers worldwide
CHILDREN
0
YOUNG ADULTS
0
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Most speakers are over the age of 50 and are bilingual in Miyako and Japanese.

DATE OF INFO: 2014

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"Younger Miyako speakers are L1 Japanese speakers, and L2 Miyako learners (most people under 40 who learn are involved in traditional Okinawan culture, like the theater, with a growing number of language activists). And basically no children learn it at home from their parents, though there have been efforts to establish a language nest."

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Japanese

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

"'Language nest' is implemented at the community level, though the government has issued statements that it is certainly not opposed."

Scripts (Writing system)

kana

More on Orthography

It's not written until quite recently and speakers don't write much.

PLACES: Japan

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: The Miyako Islands

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Approx. 350 for the Tarama dialect of Miyako
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"In Tarama, all fluent speakers are in their sixties or older."

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"Like all other Ryukyuan languages, Miyako Ryukyuan is endangered. The younger generations do not speak or comprehend Tarama, nor do children learn it at school."

				2014	Miyako-Ryukyuan and its contribution to linguistic diversity		39-55			JournaLIPP	3		https://lipp.ub.lmu.de/article/view/192	Jarosz, Aleksandra	Jarosz, Aleksandra. 2014. Miyako-Ryukyuan and its contribution to linguistic diversity. JournaLIPP 3: 39-55.				10,000-15,000		10000-99999							Severely Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	14		14	14	Japan	Miyako islands
			16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	67,653			2000		Ethnic population: 67,653 (2000)		Japanese	"little prestige" ... "still widely considered a “dialect” of Japanese, regardless of a definite lack of intelligibility and centuries of development virtually uninfluenced by any mainland Japanese variation"			Severely Endangered (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	14	Mainly older adults. The younger the generation, the more fluently they speak Japanese (Wurm and Hattori 1981). Those under 20 are mainly monolingual in Japanese (1989 T. Fukuda).			Japan;	Southern Okinawa; Miyako, Ogami, Ikema, Kurima, Irabu, Tarama, Minna islands.
				2015	Tarama Miyako Grammar	Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages : history, structure, and use	405-421	Heinrich, P., Miyara, S., & Shimoji, M.	De Gruyter Mouton				https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614511151	Aoi, Hayato	Aoi, Hayato. (2015). Tarama Miyako Grammar. In Heinrich, P., Miyara, S., & Shimoji, M. (Eds.), Handbook of the Ryukyuan languages : history, structure, and use (405-421) . De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614511151				Approx. 350 for the Tarama dialect of Miyako			"In Tarama, all fluent speakers are in their sixties or older."						Severely Endangered (40 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	14	"Like all other Ryukyuan languages, Miyako Ryukyuan is endangered. The younger generations do not speak or comprehend Tarama, nor do children learn it at school."
		May 24		2014	personal communication on Japonic languages									Thomas Dougherty	Thomas Dougherty. May 2014. Personal Communication on Japonic languages.			0	The total of all the Okinawan speakers is somewhere around 100,000.	2014	10000-99999	Most speakers are over the age of 50 and are bilingual in Miyako and Japanese.	all	Japanese		"'Language nest' is implemented at the community level, though the government has issued statements that it is certainly not opposed."	all	Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13	"Younger Miyako speakers are L1 Japanese speakers, and L2 Miyako learners (most people under 40 who learn are involved in traditional Okinawan culture, like the theater, with a growing number of language activists). And basically no children learn it at home from their parents, though there have been efforts to establish a language nest."	14	13	Japan	The Miyako Islands
			3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing			Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub																			24.8004,125.2798
ISSN: 1740-6234	Language Snapshots			2020	Ikema Miyako (Japan) - Language Snapshot			Peter K. Austin	ELPublishing	Language Documentation and Description	19		http://www.elpublishing.org/PID/221	Shigeko Shinohara and Qandeel Hussain	Shinohara, Shigeko & Qandeel Hussain. 2020. Ikema Miyako (Japan) – Language Snapshot. Language Documentation and Description 19, 240-248.				Less than 2,000	2008	1000-9999	Sarahama dialect has the most speakers and more young speakers, followed by Nishihara and Ikema with the fewest young speakers.		Japanese				Severely Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	14	Recent revival movements are promoting the language at events such as speech contests and religious rituals in local communities. The language plays a role in the ethnic identity for those of the Ikema minzoku tribe.	15	14	Ikema Island, Sarahama on Irabu Island, and Nishihara on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan		24.930462, 125.244197

Miyako

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Less than 2,000

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

10,000-15,000

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

The total of all the Okinawan speakers is somewhere around 100,000.

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Approx. 350 for the Tarama dialect of Miyako

Discussion

Miyako

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Less than 2,000

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

10,000-15,000

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

The total of all the Okinawan speakers is somewhere around 100,000.

Severely endangered

40 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Approx. 350 for the Tarama dialect of Miyako

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

Download language data

Sources of information

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