Tochigi dialect

The Tochigi dialect (Japanese: 栃木弁 Tochigi-ben) is a Japanese dialect spoken in Tochigi prefecture. It is classified along with the Ibaraki dialect as an East Kanto dialect, but due to possessing various shared phonological and grammatical features with the neighbouring Fukushima dialect to the north, many scholars consider it instead as part of the wider Tohoku dialect. It has notable differences within the prefecture depending on region, and in some parts of the southwest of the prefecture (including the cities of Ashikaga and Sano) a separate dialect, the Ashikaga dialect, is spoken.