Tosa dialect

The Tosa dialect (Japanese: 土佐弁 tosa-ben) is a Japanese Shikoku dialect spoken in central and eastern Kochi Prefecture (former Tosa Province), including Kochi City.

Tosa dialect
土佐弁
Tosa dialect area.
Native toJapan
RegionKōchi, Shikoku
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
jpn-koc

Classification

Shikoku dialects are divided into Western (Tokushima, Kagawa and Ehime), Southern (Kochi), and also occasionally Southwest (western Kochi and southern Ehime).[1][2] The Tosa dialect exists in a somewhat unique position due to being historically isolated from other prefectures because of the Shikoku Mountains.[1]

Kochi Prefecture dialects are broadly divided into Western and Eastern-Central.[3][4]

  • Western dialect - Shimanto (city), Tosashimizu, Sukumo, Otsuki, Mihara, Kuroshio (excluding the former town of Saga), Shimanto (town) (excluding the former town of Kubokawa), Yusuhara.[3][4] Possesses a Tokyo standard pitch accent. Known as the 'Hata dialect’.
  • Eastern-Central dialect - All other areas in Kochi. Possesses a Keihan standard, or Tarui standard pitch accent. Known as the 'Tosa dialect’, and will be described in this article.[2]

The coastal region from Muroto to Toyo has been influenced by the Tokushima Awa dialect and the Kinki dialects.[3][5]

Phonology

The most notable phonetic traits of the Tosa dialect are as follows:

  • Virtually no silent vowels.
  • The diphthong ei is distinctly retained.[5] For example: pronunciation of keisan (計算 calculation) in the Tosa dialect is keisan (ケイサン), as opposed to keesan (ケーサン) in standard Japanese and Kansai dialects.
  • Among older speakers, a nasalised sound (n) is inserted before g and d.[3] Example: kagami (鏡 mirror) → kangami.[6]
  • Older speakers also differentiate between  ji (じ) and di (ぢ) and zu (ず) and du (づ) (so-called yotsugana). Ji is pronounced [ʒi] whilst di is pronounced [dʒi], zu is pronounced [zu] whilst dzu is pronounced [dzu].[6] In addition, tsu is sometimes pronounced tu.[7]
  • Shi (し) sometimes becomes i (い) (i-euphony).[8] For example: doshita (どうした) → doita (どういた), soshite (そして) → soite (そいて) and ashita (あした) → aita (あいた).
  • In other Shikoku dialects and in the Kinki dialects, single-mora words tend to become lengthened like in te (手) → tee (てー) or chi (血) → chii (ちー), but this tendency is weaker in the Tosa dialect.[8] Only third-class nouns such as ki (木) and te (手) are sometimes lengthened.[8] However, mainly among the younger generation, increased interaction with other Shikoku dialects and the Kinki dialects through media has resulted in a continuing trend of lengthening all single-mora words.
  • Aside from northern Kochi, which has a Tarui standard pitch accent, a traditional Kyoto standard pitch accent is retained, much like in coastal Tokushima, in the city of Tanabe in Wakayama and in the central Kinki Region.

See also

References
  1. 土居, 重俊 (1982). 「四国方言の概説」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. p. 271.
  2. 吉田, 則夫 (1982). 「高知県の方言」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. p. 429.
  3. 土居, 重俊 (1982). 「四国方言の概説」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. p. 291.
  4. 吉田, 則夫 (1982). 「高知県の方言」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. pp. 428–429.
  5. 吉田, 則夫 (1982). 「高知県の方言」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. p. 430.
  6. 吉田, 則夫 (1982). 「高知県の方言」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. pp. 430–431.
  7. 吉田, 則夫 (1982). 「高知県の方言」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. p. 431.
  8. 吉田, 則夫 (1982). 「高知県の方言」、飯豊毅一; 日野資純; 佐藤亮一編 『講座方言学 8 中国・四国地方の方言』 (in Japanese). 国書刊行会. p. 432.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.