Amami language

Amami is a language spoken by around 130000 people in the Amami islands south of Kyushu. It is a Ryukyuan language, most closely related to Okinawan.

Phonology

Consonants:

• Unvoiced fricatives: h hj hw s sj
• Unvoiced aspirate stops: kʻ kʻj tʻ cʻ cʻj
• Unvoiced laryngeal inaspirate stops: kʼ kʼj kʼw tʼ cʼ cʼj　pʼ pʼj
• Voiced stops: g gj gw d z zj b bj
• Voiced nasals: n nj m mj
• Laryngeal nasals: ʔn ʔnj ʔm
• Liquids: r rj
• Voiced glides: ' 'j 'w
• Laryngeal glides: ʔ ʔj ʔw

Vowels:

Short vowels:

• Closed: i ï u
• Half-open: (e) ë o
• Open: a

Long vowels:

• Closed: iː ïː uː
• Half-open: (eː) ëː oː
• Open: aː

Dialects

It is usually classified into the following dialect groupings:

• North
  • Tanegashima
  • Yakushima
  • Northern Oshima
• Central
  • Oshima
• South
  • Yoron