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After Okinawa's reversion to Japanese sovereignty, Japanese continued to be the dominant language used, and the majority of the youngest generations only speak Okinawan Japanese. There have been attempts to revive Okinawan by notable people such as Byron Fija and Seijin Noborikawa, but few native Okinawans know the language. [13]
Okinawan Japanese (ウチナーヤマトゥグチ, 沖縄大和口, Uchinaa Yamatu-guchi) is the Japanese language as spoken by the people of Okinawa Islands. The name Uchinaa Yamatu-guchi is composed of Uchinaa meaning "Okinawa", Yamatu referring to mainland Japan, and the suffix - guchi approximately meaning "language."
Circa 2007, in Okinawa, people under the age of 40 have little proficiency in the native Okinawan language. [13] A new mixed language, based on Japanese and Okinawan, has developed, known as "Okinawan Japanese". Although it has been largely ignored by linguists and language activists, this is the language of choice among the younger generation ...
Some younger people speak Okinawan Japanese which is a type of Japanese. It is not a dialect of the Okinawan language. The six Ryukyuan languages are listed on the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger since 2009, as they could disappear by the mid-century (2050).
The Ainu languages, of which Hokkaidō Ainu is the only extant variety, are isolated and do not fall under any language family. Ever since the Meiji period, Japanese has become widely used among the Ainu people and consequently Ainu languages have been classified critically endangered by UNESCO .
In Okinawa, this is known as Uchinaa-Yamatoguchi (Okinawan Japanese). In Amami Ōshima, it's called Ton-futsūgo (Amami Japanese). [10] In 2009, UNESCO included the Ryukyuan languages in its atlas. The Yaeyama and Yonaguni languages are classified as "severely endangered", whereas the other 4 Ryukyuan varieties are "definitely endangered". [11]
Some younger people speak Okinawan Japanese which is a type of Japanese. It is not a dialect of the Okinawan language. The six Ryukyuan languages are listed on the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger since 2009, as they could disappear by the mid-century (2050).
An example of traditional Okinawan writing circa 1471. Okinawan, spoken in Okinawa Island, was once the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom.At the time, documents were written in kanji and hiragana, derived from Japan.