Media resources for Japanese regional dialects

Introduction: Japanese dialect regions

Major dialect regions of Japan

• Map, from Wikimedia Commons
• For comparison: A topographic map of Japan

Some audio/video examples

• Tohoku ('northeastern') dialects
  • Konno Azuma (1947-2013), from Miyagi prefecture, reads the poem Ame ni mo makezu (written by Miyazawa Kenji, 1896-1933)
    • Text of the poem, with English translation
    • Compare: Same poem read with (conservative) Tokyo phonology
  • Silly bonus example:
    A vending machine that does 'Tohoku-ben' (maybe Aomori, based on several viewer comments?)
• Kansai dialects
  • "A guide to colloquial [Kansai] Japanese", from U. Tübingen: Textbook and videos
• Kyushu dialects
  • Fukuoka (Hakata) dialect
    • Dialogue, with audio and grammar notes, by Narikiri Hakata-kko
  • Various examples of Kagoshima-area dialects (far southern Kyushu)

Dialect maps: Phonology

• Map of the modern outcomes of older */zi di zu du/ (Mase 1977)

• Listen to the Tohoku examples (above); what phonological differences from standard Japanese can you identify?

Dialect maps: Morphosyntax

• Most links here are from the web site for the Hoogen bunpoo zenkoku tizu ("Grammar atlas of Japanese dialects"), compiled by NINJAL (the National Institute for Japanese Language)
  • List of atlas pages with PDF versions

Case markers and "particles"

• Nominative case marker (SJ: ga)
  • With inanimate subject [PDF]
  • With SSS animate subject [PDF]
  • For marking structural object of a stative Experiencer-subject verb [PDF]
• Accusative case marker (SJ: o) [PDF]
• 'because' (SJ: kara) [PDF]

Verb inflection

• Nonpast form of 'to open' (SJ: ake-ru) - polysyllabic vowel-root verb [PDF]
• Negative form of 'to see' (SJ: mi-na-i) - monosyllabic vowel-root verb [PDF]
• Negative form of 'to borrow' (SJ: kari-na-i) - polysyllabic vowel-root verb [PDF]

• The Tokyo/SJ -te+i-ru form : Do any dialects distinguish the progressive and resultative forms?
  • Progressive form of 'to fall' (of flower petals, leaves) (SJ: tit-te i-ru) [PDF]
  • Resultative form of 'to fall' (of flower petals, leaves) (SJ: tit-te i-ru) [PDF]

• Some past-tense forms of consonant verbs
  • /kaw-/ 'buy' [PDF]
  • /kas-/ 'lend' [PDF]
  • /tob-/ 'fly' [PDF]

• Attempting to investigate the copula (there's no NINJAL map for this specifically, I think?)
  • Map for 'it's peaceful (AN+copula)' (SJ: sizuka da) [PDF]