Ryukyuan languages

The Ryukyuan languages (琉球語派, Ryūkyū-goha, also 琉球諸語, Ryūkyū-shogo or 島言葉 in Ryukyuan, Shima kutuba, literally "Island Speech"), also Lewchewan or Luchuan (/luːˈtʃuːən/), are the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Along with the Japanese language and the Hachijō language, they make up the Japonic language family.

Ryukyuan
Lewchewan, Luchuan
EthnicityRyukyuan
Geographic
distribution		Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa Prefecture, Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture)
Linguistic classificationJaponic
  • Ryukyuan
Proto-languageProto-Ryukyuan
Subdivisions
Glottologryuk1243
Map of Ryukyuan languages

Although Japanese is spoken in the Ryukyu Islands, the Ryukyu and Japanese languages are not mutually intelligible. It is not known how many speakers of these languages remain, but language shift toward the use of Standard Japanese and dialects like Okinawan Japanese has resulted in these languages becoming endangered; UNESCO labels four of the languages "definitely endangered" and two others "severely endangered".

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