CHANGES IN GEOGRAPHICAL DIALECT CREATED BY "SHIMANAMI" BRIDGE

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"Shimanami coastal highway" (Nishi-seto Express way) was completed in May of 1999 as the Seto inland sea transcontinental highway connecting Onomichi city in Hiroshima prefecture and Imabari city in Ehime prefecture.Due to that highway construction, Chugoku region and Shikoku region is connected by 7 bridges via 6 islands, such as Inno island and others in the Seto Inland Sea.It was predicted that the opening of Shimanami coastal highway would result in major direct changes in this region, due to direct contact and conflict between the dialects of Hiroshima prefecture and Ehime prefecture.The result of 3 years investigation and research is the conclusion that the above predictions were only 50% precise.The changes has not progressed enough, because only a few years have passed since the highway opening, and the highway has not yet became a "residential road" among the residents.Moreover, the minor change of language in this region from linguistic conflict is surpassed by the standardization of language by mass communication, as well as by the popularization of Kansai dialect.This makes it difficult to see actual results from direct contact and conflict.However, some new trends have appeared in various places. There have been increases in the number of people who commute to work or school by bridge instead of by ship.Because of this situation, we feel that the dialect change by direct contact will occur gradually in the future. This kind of change seems quick, but in fact, it is happening at a slower pace.