[Sunday Culture] Japan Also Says "Bap Mutna"... 16 Dialect Stories

Different Characteristics by Region... Kansai-ben is the Most Popular

"Bap mutna?"

My mother, who is from Gyeongsang-do, always calls me with a warm dialect greeting. I spent my childhood in Jeju-do, so with my friends, the day after a promise, I say, "Jal deureogan? Ojenhanan sogatjyeo (Did you get home safely? You must have had a hard time coming)." So, I am somewhat trilingual in my own way (Standard Korean, Gyeongsang-do dialect, Jeju dialect).

The welcome message "Welcome to Okinawa" that used to be displayed at Okinawa Airport. The phrase "Welcome (Irasshaimase)" was written in the Ryukyu dialect as "Mensore." (Photo by Okinawa Dive)

In Japan, there are also dialects and regional accents depending on the area. Besides the well-known Kansai-ben in Korea, there are dialects quite different from the standard language, like the Jeju dialect. Today, I will tell you about Japanese dialects.

Japan also has specific words for dialects and accents. Dialect is written in kanji as '方言' and read as Hogen. Accent or intonation is usually called 'Namari (訛り)'.

Then, what does the 'ben (弁)' in dialect names like 'Kansai-ben' or 'Hakata-ben' mean? 'Ben' is a term used to refer to regional dialects, with a more localized meaning than just dialect. It's like distinguishing between the Busan dialect and Daegu dialect within Gyeongsang-do in Korea. Kansai dialect is so famous in Japan that it is often called 'Kansai-ben,' but it is more accurate to specify it as Osaka-ben, Kyoto-ben, etc., within the Kansai dialect.

Just like in Korea, where Jeolla-do, Gyeongsang-do, and Gangwon-do have different dialects, Japan classified dialects into 16 regions in 1953.

The largest division is between the mainland dialects and the Ryukyu dialects of the current Okinawa region. The Ryukyu Kingdom, which was the origin of Okinawa, was an independent kingdom not part of Japan for a long time, so its language is quite different.

Mainland dialects are divided into East Japan dialects, including Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, and Higashi-Kanto, and West Japan dialects, including Chugoku and Kinki regions. The speech differs slightly.

For example, the Hichiku dialect used in western Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Oita Prefecture changes adjectives. In Japanese, adjectives usually end with 'i (い),' but in Hichiku dialect, this is changed to 'ka (か).' For instance, 'yoi (良い),' meaning good, is called 'yokka (良か).'

The reason why the transportation card in Fukuoka is named 'Hayakaken' is related to this. The adjective 'hayai (早い),' meaning fast, is changed to 'hayaka (早か)' in the dialect. So, it means 'fast (boarding) ticket.' It's interesting that the card name reflects the local dialect.

Fukuoka's transportation card 'Hayakaken'. (Photo by Fukuoka Subway official website)

Personally, I find the Hakata-ben very charming. It is considered the cutest dialect in Japan. Hakata-ben is characterized by adding 'tto (と)' at the end of questions or ending sentences with 'ken (けん).' For example, the sentence "Is it delicious? (Oishii)" is asked as "Oishii tto?" When I actually heard it, it sounded cute and soft.

Especially, Kyushu, where Fukuoka is located, is close to the Korean Peninsula, and there has been frequent contact with Koreans since ancient times. Therefore, interpreters who spoke Japanese during the Joseon Dynasty often showed the Kyushu accent. It is said that people who speak this dialect feel that the intonation is somewhat similar to Korean.

So, what is the most popular dialect in Japan? It is the Kansai-ben from the Kansai region, which is also well known in Korea. It is characterized by sentence endings like '~nen (ねん)', '~hen (へん)', and '~na (な)', and its expressions are straightforward and cheerful. Thanks to amusing anecdotes like "If you shoot a finger gun in Osaka, everyone falls down," people who speak Kansai-ben are perceived as fun and hearty.

Then, what is the hardest dialect to understand? Surprisingly, it is not Okinawa but Tsugaru-ben from Aomori Prefecture. Just as videos of elderly women speaking Jeju dialect in Korea have been mistaken for English, Japanese locals say Tsugaru-ben sounds like French, which has become a hot topic. On Japanese TV, when someone speaks Tsugaru-ben, standard Japanese subtitles often appear. For example, a conversation telling someone to eat more because the food is delicious is like this in standard Japanese:

A Japanese broadcast explaining the difficulties of the Tsugaru dialect. (Photo by Himitsu no Kenmin SHOW Goku Channel)

A: Oishii (美味しい)

B: Sou desho, motto tabete (そうでしょ、もっと食べて)

This conversation in Tsugaru-ben becomes:

A: Meja (めじゃ)

B: Undanzu, mottoke (んだんず、もっとけ)

It sounds completely different from standard Japanese.

However, difficult dialects are gradually disappearing. The dialects of Hachijo Island and Kagoshima Prefecture are designated by UNESCO as endangered languages.

In fact, the indigenous Jeju language is also designated by UNESCO as an endangered language. It is mostly used only by elders, and younger generations only imitate the intonation.

Today, we learned about regional dialects existing in Japan. Since language serves not only as a tool for communication but also as a means to transmit culture and history, I feel that both Korea and Japan need to make efforts to preserve local dialects.

Then, I will end today’s article in Jeju dialect. Pogssak sogassuda (Thank you for your hard work).