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Southern Ryukyuan languages

Eurasian Language Families

The Southern Ryukyuan languages form one of two branches of the Ryukyuan languages, spoken on the Sakishima Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The three languages are Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni; UNESCO has identified the Macro-Yaeyama languages as critically endangered and Miyako as definitely endangered.

Facts
Region
Sakishima Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan 1
Proto-Language Status
Proto-Sakishima, reconstructed by Bentley (2008) 1
Connections

Ancestor Of

Macro-Yaeyama groups the Yaeyama and Yonaguni languages within Southern Ryukyuan, itself a branch of the Ryukyuan languages under Japonic; linked here to the more specific Southern Ryukyuan parent rather than the broader Japonic ancestor.

Sources
1. Southern Ryukyuan languages - Wikipedia
  • Infobox, Geographic distribution
    Sakishima Islands, Okinawa Prefecture
  • Proto-language
    Proto-Sakishima, the proto-language ancestral to the Southern Ryukyuan languages, has been reconstructed by Bentley (2008).
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