Yonaguni phrasebook
From World travel guide
Yonaguni is a language spoken solely on the island of Yonaguni at the westernmost tip of the Yaeyama Islands, Japan.
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Pronunciation guide
ŋ - like the "ng" in "ing" Yonaguni only has 3 vowels, a, i, and u, compared to Okinawan, with 5, Yaeyaman, with 4, Miyako, with 4, and Amami, with 8.
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Phraselist
- where are you going?
- M̩maŋki hiruna?
- to okinawa (main island)
- Wunnaŋki.
- welcome to this place
- Kʻumaŋki waːriː.
- who are you?
- Nda tʻaːya?
- I am [a Yonagunian/Okinawa mainlander/Japanese mainlander/American/Australian/Briton].
- Anuya [dunaŋtʼu/wunnaŋtʼu/damatuŋtʼu/amirikaŋtʼu/wusutiraːriyaŋtʼu/iŋciriŋtʼu] du.
- I don't have money.
- Zhiŋ minuŋ.
- please, eat!
- Yiː hayi.
- I can't eat anymore, I'm full.
- Maː hwunuŋ, bataŋti du.
- thanks or congratulations
- Hwugarasa.
- ahh, ok.
- Ishi-ishi.
- idiot.
- Miŋburubutta.
- mountain(s).
- Dama.
- east.
- Aŋgayi.
- west.
- Yiri.
- south.
- Hayi.
- north.
- Nici.
- Sonai.
- Tumayimura.
- Kubura.
- Kubura.
- Higawa.
- Ŋdimura.
- Atlas moth (world's largest moth).
- Ayamihabiru.
- guava.
- Baŋshiru.
- banana.
- Basu. ("basu" means 'bus' in Japanese, so using this word in an otherwise-Japanese sentence may cause confusion)
- San'ai Isoba (legendary empress of Yonaguni).
- Sakayi Isuba.
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Learning more
If you're really interested in the language, the Yonaguni Ethnographic Museum sells a small dictionary written by an island auntie who is the museum's curator, Nae Ikema. The same woman, over 100 years old, is also the last remaining soul with a traditional knowledge of the island's peculiar writing system known as "kayida dii" (two symbols found carved in the underwater ruins closely resemble the local characters for horse and goat, respectively).
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