Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 15, 2026

Amami languages

The Amami languages are a collection of dialect clusters spoken across the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. All dialects are members of the Ryukyuan languages, specifically its northern branch.

Last revised
Jun 15, 2026
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≈ 1 min
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149 w
Citations
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Wikipedia ↗
Amami languages
Geographic
distribution		Amami Islands, Japan
EthnicityRyukyuan
Linguistic classificationJaponic
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottologamam1245
ELPAmami

The Amami languages are a collection of dialect clusters spoken across the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. All dialects are members of the Ryukyuan languages, specifically its northern branch.

Classification

There are many distinct clusters of the Amami languages, most of which have their own ISO 639-3 codes:12

Scholars are divided on the specific subgrouping of these dialects. The Okinoerabu and Yoron clusters may be grouped within the Kunigami language.3

References

References

  1. "Did you know Amami-North Okinawan is endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  2. "ISO 639 Code Tables | ISO 639-3". iso639-3.sil.org. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  3. Heinrich, Patrick; Miyar, Shinsho; Shimoji, Michinori, eds. (2015). Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages: History, Structure and Use. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. p. 375. ISBN 978-1-61451-161-8.