Yonaguni | |
---|---|
与那国物言/ドゥナンムヌイ Dunan Munui | |
Pronunciation | [dunaŋmunui] |
Native to | Japan |
Region | Yonaguni |
Native speakers | 400 (2008)[1] |
Japanese | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | yoi |
Glottolog | yona1241 |
ELP | Yonaguni |
Yonaguni is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger [2] | |
The Yonaguni language (与那国物言/ドゥナンムヌイ Dunan Munui) is a Southern Ryukyuan language spoken by around 400 people on the island of Yonaguni, in the Ryukyu Islands, the westernmost of the chain lying just east of Taiwan.[3] It is most closely related to Yaeyama. Due to the Japanese policy on languages, the language is not recognized by the government, which instead calls it the Yonaguni dialect (与那国方言, Yonaguni hōgen). As classified by UNESCO, the Yonaguni language is one of the most endangered languages in all of Japan, after the Ainu language.