Which dialects are hardest for Tokyo speakers to understand
An Insight Into the World's Japanese Dialects and Accents: Which dialects are hardest for Tokyo speakers to understand
The dialects hardest for Tokyo speakers to understand are primarily those that are geographically and linguistically distant from the Tokyo standard dialect (Kanto-ben). The most challenging include:
- Ryukyuan languages (Okinawa dialects), which are not actually dialects but separate languages, making them almost incomprehensible to Tokyo speakers.
- Kyushu dialects, particularly Kagoshima-ben (Satsugū dialect), which is very distinct and often considered gibberish even by neighboring Kyushu residents.
- Certain rural dialects such as those in deep mountain regions like Kiso (Nagano Prefecture) and Maniwa (Okayama Prefecture), which scored very low in mutual intelligibility tests with Tokyo speakers.
- Tohoku dialects like Tsugaru-ben, characterized by unique vocabulary and phonetic changes, making them difficult for Tokyo speakers to follow.
- Some dialects in Hokuriku (Toyama Prefecture’s Himi dialect) and other isolated areas also show low comprehension rates.
In contrast, dialects like Kansai-ben are relatively easier for Tokyo speakers to understand due to their frequent presence in media and cultural exchange.
In summary, the dialects hardest for Tokyo speakers are those from the Ryukyus, Kyushu (especially Kagoshima), deep mountainous rural areas, and Tohoku, with examples like Tsugaru-ben and Kagoshima-ben being notably difficult to comprehend. 1, 2, 3, 4