The Southern Amami Ōshima language is a
Ryukyuan language spoken in
Setouchi,
Kagoshima Prefecture,
Japan.
It is generally considered to be the southern variety of the
Amami Ōshima language, whereas a separate northern variety exists.
According to
Ethnologue, there are 1,800 speakers of Southern Amami Ōshima.
The northern variety has 10,000 speakers.
Both of these languages are endangered, as younger generations either speak
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
or a local variety of Japanese known as
Ton-futsūgo.
See also
*
Amami Ōshima language
*
Ryukyuan languages
The , also Lewchewan or Luchuan (), are the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Along with the Japanese language and the Hachijō language, they make up the Japonic language family.
...
*
Amami Ōshima
, also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands.
The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...
References
{{Japonic languages
Ryukyuan languages
Amami Islands
Languages of Japan