Language communities of the Southern Ryukyus

Abstract

Miyakoan, Yaeyaman, and Dunan (Yonaguni) languages are spoken in the Southern Ryukyu, Okinawa prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. These vernacular languages are labelled as the endangered languages of Japan. This endangerment articulates Japanese modern history when the Ryukyuan Islands were incorporated under the control of Japan in 1879 when the language assimilation into Japanese by the central government started. In the 21st century in Japan, UNESCO’s alert made an impact and internationally acknowledged ‘endangered languages’ raised the attention and awareness. How to make this awareness sustainable both at the research and local level and bring their efforts to the policy level will be the next challenge for the language revitalization for the Southern Ryukyu.