Japanese Dialects

Just like how the Chinese have different dialects such as Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese and many more, the Japanese also have different dialects that are subdivided according to regions. The lingua franca of Japan however is hyojungo which is the standard language based on Tokyo dialect. The dialects are referred to by placing the province or place with a “-ben” at the end, for example, “Osaka-ben” or “Kyo-ben” which means Osaka dialect and Kyoto dialect respectively.

The dialects can be largely divided into three; The Eastern dialects, the Western dialects and Kyushu dialects. The Eastern dialects mainly consist of dialects of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto and eastern part of Chubu whereas the Western dialects consists of dialects of Kansai (which includes Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe cities), Shikoku, Hokuriku and Chugoku.

Western Japan used to be the epicentre for commerce and trading hence it was the economic base of the country. Kansai-ben was predominantly used in political and economic matters and Kansai was the former home of Japan’s first two capitals: Nara and Kyoto.

Tokyo is the modern capital of Japan and is situated in the eastern part of Japan which is also known as Kanto hence the Kanto dialects. Since Tokyo has become known as the capital of Japan, the Tokyo dialect is also known as the standard language which is usually used in official matters such as government policies and education.

The reason for the existence of many dialects in Japan is due to the lack of mobility and contact with other regions. Some dialects are similar to one another while others may be completely foreign to people living in different regions.