日本の言語 – The Japanese Language and Japan’s Languages
The Japanese language is spoken by the 128 million Japanese people. It mostly confined to Japan. There are a few other languages and several other dialects which can also be considered part of Japan’s languages.
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The Standard Japanese Language
The standard Japanese language is based on the Tokyo dialect of Japanese. The reason I say based on is because the two are not exactly the same. There are words and slang used in the Tokyo region not part of the standard language.
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Standard Japanese is the style of the Japanese language school’s teach-in, what television is conducted in, and so on.
Dialects of the Japanese Language
Japan has several dialects. Most of them are similar enough that people can understand each other with no problem.
There are two main differences between dialects and the standard Japanese. First, there are some basic words that are specific to different dialects. Second, the way words are accented is different.
Today, regional dialects are not as different from each other as they used to be. Elderly people tend to have stronger dialects than younger people.
Languages of the Ryukyu Islands and Okinawa
The indigenous languages spoken in the Ryukyu Islands and Okinawa are related to Japanese. These languages together with Japanese make up the Japonic Language Family. They have follow the same trend as the rest of Japan though and much less people speak them.
The Ainu Language
Finally, there is one language in Japan that is unrelated to the Japanese. That language is the Ainu language. The language was traditionally spoken by the Ainu people. In the past, they lived in a much wider area of Japan and parts of Russia. Today they primarily remain in Hokkaido.
The Ainu people are today almost completely assimilated with the rest of Japan. There are very few people that speak the language today.
