An investigation of the Miyako-Yaeyama dialects in Okinawa

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I received a research grant on a proposal entitled Vernacular Studies on the Yaeyama-Miyako Regions of Okinawa for two consecutive years, starting in 2002. According to my initial plan, I conducted a comprehensive phonetico-conjugational-particular study of the Kuroshima district of Yaeyame and Kurima district of Miyako in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Since my on-site study involved actual speakers of the target vernaculars who are in their 70's or older, I am confident that the data gathered are those which closely reflect the purest original language possible today. Some notable features observed in the target vernaculars are vowel and consonant shifts, as is the case between i and e in the Kurima district and w and b in both Miyako and Yaeyama Regions. Seeing that barely any comprehensive approach has been taken to elucidate a phenomenon such as the consonant shift, which is merely one of the numerous insights I gained through my research, I am convinced that more detailed elaboration on the issue needs to be undertaken in the future. The regional dialects that have been in use for hundreds of years are now fast losing their currency among local populations, partly because of the overwhelming predominance of the standard Japanese. They need to be recorded and preserved and that has been my priority in pursuing my two-year project. The result of my research will be published in March, 2004.