Okinawan language

Okinawan
沖縄口 ウチナーグチ(Uchinaaguchi)
Pronunciation	[ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi]
Native to	Japan
Region	Southern Okinawa Islands
Native speakers	1.2 million (2020)[1]
Language family	Japonic Ryukyuan Northern Ryukyuan Okinawan
Writing system	Japanese Okinawan Rōmaji
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ryu
Glottolog	cent2126
ELP	South-Central Okinawan
Linguasphere	45-CAC-ai 45-CAC-aj 45-CAC-ak[2]
Northern Okinawan or Kunigami   South–Central Okinawan or Shuri–Naha
Okinawan is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger [3]

The Okinawan language (沖縄口, ウチナーグチ, Uchināguchi, [ʔut͡ɕinaːɡut͡ɕi]) or Central Okinawan is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands.^[4] Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as endangered.^[5]

Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects,^[6] the Shuri–Naha variant is generally recognized as the de facto standard,^[7] as it had been used as the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom^[8] since the reign of King Shō Shin (1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard,^[8][7] which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era.

Today, most Okinawans speak Okinawan Japanese, although a number of people still speak the Okinawan language, most often the elderly. Within Japan, Okinawan is often not seen as a language unto itself but is referred to as the Okinawan dialect (沖縄方言, Okinawa hōgen) or more specifically the Central and Southern Okinawan dialects (沖縄中南部諸方言, Okinawa Chūnanbu Sho hōgen). Okinawan speakers are undergoing language shift as they switch to Japanese, since language use in Okinawa today is far from stable. Okinawans are assimilating and accenting standard Japanese due to the similarity of the two languages, the standardized and centralized education system, the media, business and social contact with mainlanders and previous attempts from Japan to suppress the native languages.^[9] Okinawan is still kept alive in popular music, tourist shows and in theaters featuring a local drama called uchinā shibai, which depict local customs and manners.^[10]