Tokyo dialect

The Tokyo dialect () is a variety of Japanese language spoken in modern Tokyo. As a whole, it is generally considered to be Standard Japanese, though specific aspects of slang or pronunciation can vary by area and social class.

Overview

Traditional dialects in central Tokyo are generally classified in two groups: and . The Yamanote dialect is characteristic of the old upper class from the Yamanote area. Standard Japanese was based on the Yamanote dialect during the Meiji period. The Shitamachi dialect is a working-class dialect, and it preserves features of Edo Chōnin ( Edokko) speech, so also called . Tokyo-style rakugo is typically played in the Shitamachi dialect.

Tokyo dialect dates back to Tokugawa Ieyasu's establishment of Edo. Large groups of people, speaking a range of dialects migrated across the country. The Kyoto dialect was the prestige language of the time and strongly influenced the Edo dialect in the early Edo period; the dialect grew inside the largest city in Japan and became the new prestige language in the late Edo period. Because of its unique history, especially in relation to the Kyoto dialect, Tokyo is a language island in the Kantō region. For example, traditional Kanto dialects have been characterized by the use of volitional and presumptive suffix -''be'', which is rarely used in Tokyo.

Phonology

The Shitamachi dialect is primarily known for its lack of distinction between some phonemes that are distinct in Standard Japanese. Most famously, it neutralizes and so ("shellfish gathering") becomes , and ("seven") becomes . Also, it famously fronts to so Shinjuku becomes , and ("operation") becomes .

Another notable feature is the monophthongization of to in the Shitamachi dialect. For example, ("terrible") becomes , and ("It's serious") becomes . That feature is used in Standard Japanese as informal masculine speech like ( "I don't know") and ( "great").

In addition, is pronounced as a trill to convey a vulgar nuance in Shitamachi speech. In informal speech, intervocalic is often changed to or sokuon so becomes ("welcome back home") and becomes ("then, and so").

Pitch accent

A few words are pronounced different pitch accent between Yamanote and Shitamachi. The following words are typical examples:
* (another name of Kantō region): accent on ''ba'' in Yamanote, Accentless in Shitamachi.
* ("slope"): accent on ''ka'' in Yamanote, on ''sa'' in Shitamachi.
* ("next"): accent on ''gi'' in Yamanote, on ''tsu'' in Shitamachi.
* : accent on ''shi'' in Yamanote, on ''su'' in Shitamachi.
* ("sand"): accentless in Yamanote, accent on ''na'' in Shitamachi.
* ("morning sun"): accent on ''a'' in Yamanote, on ''sa'' in Shitamachi.
* ("big brother"): accent on ''a'' in Yamanote, on ''ni'' in Shitamachi.
* ("always"): accent on ''i'' in Yamanote, on ''tsu'' in Shitamachi.
* ("talk"): accentless in Yamanote, accent on ''na'' in Shitamachi.
* ("egg"): accent on ''ma'' in Yamanote, accentless in Shitamachi.
* accentless word -''sama'' ( a honorific): accent on ''sa'' in Yamanote, accentless in Shitamachi.

Grammar

Most of the grammatical features of the Tokyo dialect are identical to the colloquial form of Standard Japanese like the examples mentioned here. Noticeable features of the Tokyo dialect include the frequent use of interjectory particle ''sa'', which is roughly analogous to "like" as used in American English slang; ''tsū'' (common style) and ''tee'' (Shitamachi style), instead of ("to say" or "is called"); the frequent use of emphasis sentence-final particle ''dai'' or ''dee'' in Shitamachi, which is famous for a typical Shitamachi verbal shot (, "What are you talking about!?").

Historically, Kanto dialects lacked (honorific speech). However, because of its connection with Kyoto and the stratification of urban society, the Tokyo dialect now has a refined keigo system. The Yamanote dialect is primarily known for an extreme use of keigo and the keigo copula or , sometimes , derived from . The courtesy imperative mood or is also a well-known keigo word from the traditional Tokyo dialect. For example, "Won't you please wait for me?" translates to for in standard Japanese, and in the traditional Tokyo dialect.

Vocabulary

Though it also includes a few distinctive words, it is largely indistinguishable from the standard speech of Tokyo except for phonology. Famous Shitamachi words are the swear word or (masculine Shitamachi speech is commonly known as or "Beranmee tone"), for "of course", for "straight" and for "for a moment, a bit." is a first-person feminine pronoun in Standard Japanese, but in Shitamachi dialect, it is often used by both men and women. An emphasis prefix ''o'' is used frequently with verbs such as for "to start" and for "to be startled."

New Tokyo dialect

Traditional Tokyo dialects can still be seen used in fiction, but most families living in Tokyo speak Standard Japanese today. The distinction between Shitamachi and Yamanote is now almost extinct.

Historically, many people moved to Tokyo from other regions and sometimes brought their dialects into Tokyo with them. For example, ''jan'' (じゃん), which is a contraction of ("isn't that right?"), comes from Tōkai–Tōsan dialect via Kanagawa and Tama, and , a nonstandard form of ("it was different"), comes from the Fukushima and Tochigi dialects.

References

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokyo Dialect
Japanese dialects
Dialects by location
Culture in Tokyo
City colloquials