A Linguistic Introduction

The Japanese language is composed of numerous regional dialects, many of which are mutually unintelligible. It is not surprising, then, that dialectology (the study of dialects) has long been very popular in Japanese linguistics. Regional dialects are, however, rapidly fading away, due mainly to the influence of mass communication, which routinely utilizes kyōtsūgo ‘common Japanese’. As of the mid-twentieth century, unique dialectal forms and traits were most conspicuous only in the Okinawa, Kyūshū, and Tōhoku regions (Sanada 2002: 15).