Ryukyuan languages

The Ryukyuan languages are a group of Japonic languages native to the Ryukyu Islands. Linguists classify them as languages distinct from Japanese, not as Japanese dialects.

Japonic languages: A language family comprising Japanese and the Ryukyuan languages. Ryukyuan languages form one of Japonic’s two primary branches.
Proto-Japonic: The reconstructed ancestral language from which Japanese and Ryukyuan languages descend. Comparisons with this ancestor help reconstruct Ryukyuan’s shared history.
Amami language: A Ryukyuan language spoken in the Amami Islands of southern Japan. It represents the northern part of the Ryukyuan language area.
Ryukyu Kingdom: An independent kingdom that ruled the Ryukyu Islands from the fifteenth century until its annexation by Japan. Its political centers supported distinct local speech traditions before annexation.
Language death: The loss of a language when its last speakers stop using it. Some Ryukyuan varieties face severe decline as fluent speakers become fewer.
Japanese language: The principal language of Japan and the other major branch of the Japonic family. Its relationship to Ryukyuan languages frames their classification as a separate branch.
Historical linguistics: The study of language change and relationships among languages over time. Its comparative methods establish Ryukyuan’s relationship to Japanese.
Okinawan language: A Ryukyuan language spoken in the central and southern Okinawa Islands. It is one of the group’s largest and most widely recognized languages.
Ryukyu Disposition: The 1879 Japanese annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom and establishment of Okinawa Prefecture. Annexation brought Ryukyuan-speaking communities under centralized Japanese administration.
Language revitalization: Efforts to increase the use and transmission of a language that has declined. Community programs seek to restore Ryukyuan use across generations.

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