It would be as much of a mistake to say that people in Miyako are friendly as it would be to say that they aren't, but I've had a few good, unexpected experiences.
I took a taxi to the airport last month. Little did I know that I would not only be taken to my destination, but to the wonderful and mysterious world of The Origins of the Miyako Language.
Miyako Language? Yeah, it is different from Japanese. And by different, I mean entirely unlike Japanese.
Here are a few examples (with ample mistakes, I'd expect):
ミドゥーン (miduun) means 彼女 (kanojo), or 'girlfriend'
ンミャーチ (nmyaachi) means ようこそ (yokoso), or 'welcome'
ンギャマス (ngyamasu) means だまれ! (damare), or 'shut up'
アッチャンカイ (acchankai) means 'see you later/bye/etc.'
バタゴゴ (batagogo) means 'I'm full (stomach).'
People interested in Japanese as an elegant language with clean, precise sounds (as I was) should steer clear of Miyako. It's amusing but not pretty. It has grown on me, but it still sounds like a mess and is unintelligible to mainland Japanese. Further, as the taxi driver explained, there are still many problems regarding the transliteration of Miyako words into Japanese characters.
Yes.
Little did I know, the taxi driver had a wealth of information regarding the origins of the Miyako language. As we made our way to the airport, I explained that I came to Japan largely because I wanted to learn the language, to which he replied 'Yes, but what do you think of the Miyako dialect?' I immediately saw an education in the making.
APPARENTLY the Miyako language has many similarities to Satsuma Japanese, though the direction of this relationship was unknown to the driver. He also explained to me how it is difficult to write some Miyako family names in Japanese kanji because of the disparity between the sounds used in Miyako and the sounds that are available in Japanese.
I was taking notes. The taxi had became a lecture hall.
Naturally, I was reluctant to leave when we arrived at the airport. These days it is difficult enough to hear interesting thoughts from anyone, and hearing accessible thoughts about Japan/Miyako from an actual local person is doubly so. When I met my crew at the airport I explained what happened.
"You heard all of this from a taxi driver?" they asked.
Word.
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