Japonic languages

The Japonic family of languages are a group of languages believed to descend from a common language known as Proto-Japonic. The Japonic languages have been postulated to belong to the Altaic language family, but there is no generally accepted proof of a relationship.

The Japonic languages are:

• Japanese languages (日本語)
  • Eastern Japanese (now represented only partially by the speech of Aogashima, Tokyo, Hachijojima, Tokyo, Minamidaito, Okinawa, Kitadaito, Okinawa, and a few other small islands)
  • Western Japanese (represented by all Mainland Japanese dialects)
    • Eastern Western Japanese dialects, including most dialects east of the Kansai region
    • Western Western Japanese dialects, including most dialects west of the Kanto region

• Ryukyuan languages (琉球語)
  • Amami (奄美語)
    • Northern dialect
      • Tanegashima dialect
      • Yakushima dialect
      • Northern Oshima dialect
    • Southern dialect
      • Southern Oshima dialect
      • Yoron dialect
  • Okinawan (沖縄語)
    • Kunigami dialect (aka Northern Okinawan)
    • Ie dialect
    • Southern dialect (aka Central Okinawan or Standard Okinawan)
      • Mainland dialect
      • Shimajiri dialect (the linguistic affiliations of the Shimajiri dialects are uncertain, but are often included in the Southern dialect because the Shimajiri region is often considered to be part of that region)
  • Miyako (宮古語)
    • Miyako dialect
    • Irabu dialect
  • Yaeyama (八重山語)
    • Ishigaki dialect
    • Iriomote dialect
    • Taketomi dialect
  • Yonaguni (与那国語)