Matagi dialect

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Matagi dialect
マタギ
Native toJapan
RegionAkita, Aomori
Extinct2021[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3
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The Matagi dialect (マタギ言葉, Matagi kotoba) is a functionally extinct[1] Japanese sociolect spoken by the Matagi people of Akita Prefecture and other areas of the Tohoku region in northern Honshu, Japan. The Matagi dialect is sometimes called Yama-kotoba (山言葉; lit.'mountain words').

Matagi contains various unique words relating to hunting, tools, and rituals, many of which are of Ainu origin.[1][2]

A dictionary of Matagi was published by Yoshizo Itabashi (板橋義三) in 2008.[3]

Vocabulary

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Below are some examples of unique Matagi words. Words such as wakka 'water', seta 'dog', and sanpe 'heart' are of Ainu origin.[4]

English gloss Japanese gloss Matagi (hiragana) Matagi (romanized)
water; liquor 水・酒 わっか wakka
gun; rifle 鉄砲・銃 するべ surube
bear いたず itazu
bear なびれ nabire
dog せた seta
dog へだ heda
wolf おきゃく okyaku
Japanese macaque すね sune
Japanese serow カモシカ あおけら aokera
Japanese serow カモシカ こしまけ koshimake
cattle つのから tsunokara
rice (uncooked) くさのみ kusanomi
Buddhist temple くし kushi
heart 心臓 さんぺ sanpe
non-Matagi person マタギでない人 せたぎ setagi

Yoshizo Itabashi (板橋義三) (2019) notes that many Ainu words in Matagi have undergone semantic shifts:[5]

Matagi Meaning in Matagi Ainu Meaning in Ainu
kado weather (天候) kanto heaven, sky (天、空)
magiri small knife, spear (小刀、槍) makiri small knife (小刀)
bakke bear head (熊の頭) pake human or animal head (人の頭、動物の頭)
hira net for catching bears (ケン網という熊を捕まえる網) pira cliff (崖)
hono medium-sized serow (中型のカモシカ) pono small (小さい)
horo a lot (たくさん) poro big (大きい)
sa(m)be heart, gall of bear or serow (熊やカモシカの心臓、胆) sampe heart (心臓)
heda, seda, seta dog (犬) seta dog (犬)
wa(n)ba, washi avalanche (雪崩) upas snow (雪)
wakka water (水), liquor (酒) (as part of compounds) wakka water (水)

See also

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References

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