The Nagasaki dialect (, ) is the name given to the dialect of Japanese spoken on the mainland part of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. It is a major dialect of the wider Hichiku group of Kyushu Japanese, with similarities to the Chikuzen (including Hakata) and Kumamoto dialects, among others. It is one of the better known Hichiku dialects within Japan, with various historical proverbs that relate to its regional flavour.
Sub-dialects There are several regional sub-dialects of the broader Nagasaki dialect, which are commonly divided into two main groups: Central-Southern and Northern. Of these, the Central-Southern dialect is further divided as shown below.
Central-Southern sub-dialect Nagasaki – Nagasaki city. Sonogi – Omura, Sonogi district and Saikai. Isahaya – Isahaya city, Yagami and Toishi. Shimabara – Unzen, Shimabara city and Minamishimabara. Northern sub-dialect – Sasebo, Matsuura, Hirado and Kitamatsuura district.
Central-Southern and Northern differ in pitch accent, with the former possessing non-accent and the latter having a southwestern Kyushu-standard accent. They also differ grammatically, with Northern having similarities with the dialects of western Saga Prefecture. Within Central-Southern, the dialect of Nagasaki city retains vocabulary of Chinese and Dutch origin, owed to the city's close ties to the Shogunate during the Edo period. The other divisions have been drawn to match the historical territories of Nagasaki Prefecture, which are thought to have led to the observable differences in the present day.
Phonology
Diphthongs The diphthongs ai (あい), oi (おい) and ui (うい) experience merging in the Nagasaki dialect. For example, the dai- (だい-) in daikon (だいこん radish) becomes jaa- (じゃあ) to make jaakon (じゃあこん), ototoi (おととい day before yesterday) becomes ototee (おとてぇ) and suika (すいか watermelon) is said shiika (しいか). Conversely, the diphthong ei (えい) is unaffected, so that tokei (とけい clock) is pronounced the same as in standard Japanese. Like other Kyushu dialects, the long o (お) sound derived from the diphthongs oo (おお), ou (おう) or eu (えう) is pronounced uu (うう). Examples of diphthong merging in the Nagasaki dialect are shown below.
Long o becoming a long u: Kyou (きょうtoday) becomes kyuu (きゅう), kefu (けふ) or keu (けう). Youjin (ようじん precaution) becomes yuujin (ゆうじん). Isshou (いっしょう) becomes isshuu (いっしゅう). Shiyou (しようlet’s ~) becomes seu (せう) or shuu (しゅう). Long o derived from au: Amaku (あまくsweet(ly)) becomes amau (あまう) or amou (あもう). Isshou (いっしょう whole life) becomes isshau (いっしゃう).
Consonants Unlike other Kyushu dialects, the Nagasaki dialect does not distinguish between the yotsugana (ji (じ) and zi (ぢ), and zu (ず) and dzu (づ). The consonants ga (が), gi (ぎ), gu (ぐ), ge (げ) and go (ご) lose their vowel sounds to become simply g / [g]. There remain some sounds in the Nagasaki dialect spoken predominantly by older speakers which are not found in standard Japanese. These include she (しぇ) and je (じぇ), which are now commonly pronounced as se (せ) and ze (ぜ) by younger speakers, as well as the labialized velar consonants kwa (くゎ) and gwa (ぐゎ). The r-starting consonants (ra (ら), ri (り), ru (る), re (れ) and ro (ろ)) can also experience elision when found within a word, leading to the omission of the consonant sound (r-). For example, are (あれ that) becomes ai (あい).
Nasalised n (ん) and geminate consonant (っ) insertion In the Nagasaki dialect, ru-ending verbs may have their eponymous ending replaced with a geminate consonant (small tsu (っ)). For example, kuru (来る to come) becomes ku- (来っ) and kangaeru (考える to think) becomes kangayu- (考ゆっ). Similarly to ru-ending verbs, the plain dialectal form of i- and na- adjectives may also have its ending changed to a geminate consonant. E.g., takaka (高か tall) becomes takka (たっか). Aside from when starting a word, n-starting consonants (na (な), ni (に), nu (ぬ), ne (ね), no (の)) and m-starting consonants (ma (ま), mi (み), mu (む), me め, mo (も)) often change to a nasalised n (ん). For example, inu (いぬ dog) becomes in (いん) and tsumetai (つめたい cold) becomes tsuntaka (つんたか).
Phonology of the Shimabara sub-dialect The sub-dialect of Shimabara possesses several notable phonological differences with the rest of the Nagasaki dialect area. Certain s-starting voiced consonants (za (ざ), ze (ぜ), zo (ぞ)) become pronounced with a leading d / [d] instead, resulting in pronunciations closer to da (だ), de (で) and do (ど). In addition, ri (り) and ryo (りょ) may be said as zi (ぢ) and dzo (ぢょ), respectively. i / [i] may also be replaced by a u / [u] sound so that tori (とり bird) becomes toru (とる) and awabi (あわび abalone) becomes awabu (あわぶ).
Pitch accent The Central-Southern sub-dialect group of the Nagasaki dialect possesses a so-called ‘second-type’ (nikei (二型)) pitch accent of the wider southwestern Kyushu-standard pitch accent. It shares this trait with Kagoshima Prefecture and the western part of Kumamoto Prefecture. This pitch accent has generally consistent rules which change based on the number of mora and type of word; second-type pitch accent distinguishes between two major noun types, ‘A’ and ‘B’. ‘A’-type nouns are generally pronounced with a higher pitch towards the start of the word. For example, kaze (かぜ wind) or katachi (かたち shape). This higher pitch never exceeds the second mora, regardless of the length of the word. In contrast, ‘B’-type nouns are pronounced with a higher pitch only on the final mora. For example, haru (はる spring) or kaminari (かみなり thunder). Pitch accent can change when particles are attached to the word. For ‘A’-type nouns, an extra particle could ‘extend’ the length of a two-mora noun so that it is usually non-accented second mora is stressed. For example, kaze becomes kaze when the particle ga (が) is attached to (kaze ga (かぜが). Similarly, ‘B’-type nouns can have the stress usually found on their final mora transferred to the addended particle instead. For example, haru becomes haru when ga is attached (haru ga (はるが)). Among younger speakers, ‘A’-type nouns can have the stress on their first mora transferred to the second mora when a particle is attached, so that kaze ga (かぜが) becomes kaze ga (かぜが). Additionally, in regions close to Saga Prefecture and around Shimabara city, ‘A’-type nouns may not have their stress extended to the second mora when a particle is addended. E.g., kaze ga (かぜが) remains kaze ga (かぜが). The table below shows some examples of pitch accent in the Central-Southern Nagasaki sub-dialect. Noun typeTwo-moraThree-moraFour-moraAKaze (かぜ)
Chi ga (ちが)Katachi (かたち)
Kaze ga (かぜが)Kamaboko (かまぼこ)
Katachi ga (かたちか)BHaru (はる)
Te ga (てが)Inochi (いのち)
Haru ga (はるが)Kaminari (かみなり)
Inochi ga (いのちが) Unlike the Central-Southern sub-dialects, the Northern sub-dialect does not possess any discernible pitch accent, with all words pronounced flat.
Grammar
Verbs The inflection of verbs differs considerably between the Nagasaki dialect and standard Japanese. The table below shows the differences in conjugation between Standard Japanese and the Nagasaki dialect for the Ichidan verb ukeru (受ける to receive). Form Standard Japanese Nagasaki dialectPlain/dictionaryUkeru (受ける receive)Ukuru (受くる)NegativeUkenai (受けない do not receive)Uken (受けん)-masu stemUke- (受け-)Uke- (受け-)HypotheticalUkereba (受ければ if I receive)Ukureba (受くれば)ImperativeUkero (受けろreceive)Ukero (受けろ) Traditionally, for the volitional and persuasive form (shiyou (しよう) let’s ~), Ichidan verbs with an -iru (-いる) ending are conjugated with a palatalised -u (-う) sound. For example, okiru (起きる to wake up) is conjugated to okyuu (起きゅう) as opposed to okiyou (起きよう) (with both meaning let's get up). Likewise, some former Nidan verbs such as deru (出る to go out) are palatalised (in this case to juu (じゅう) or zuu (ずう) instead of deyou (出よう) (all meaning let's go out)). A more recent conjugation pattern has also emerged in which Ichidan and former Nidan verbs are conjugated as if they are Godan verbs. E.g., okirou (起きろう) and dero (出ろう).
The te- (て-) and past tense form of certain verbs experience euphony in the Nagasaki dialect. These include verbs ending in -u (-う), -bu (-ぶ) and -mu (-む), as well as those ending in -su (-す). For the former three, a u sound is inserted as shown in the examples below.
U-ending verb example: kau (買う to buy) Katta (買った bought) is said kauta (買うた) or kouta (こうた). Bu-ending verb example: hakobu (運ぶ to carry) Hakonda (運んだ carried) is said as hakouda (運うだ) or hakuuda (はくうだ). Mu-ending verb example: yomu (読む to read) Yonda (読んだ read) is said youda (読うだ) or yuuda (ゆうだ).
For the latter, an i (い) sound is inserted as shown in the example below.
Su-ending verb example: dasu (出す to take out) Dashita (出した took out) is said as daita (出いた) or jaata (じゃあた).
A report in 1998 found that among these instances of euphony, in particular the insertion of -u in -bu and -mu ending verbs was vanishing among younger speakers, with most conjugating in concordance with standard Japanese.
For polite speech, the Nagasaki dialect makes use of the bound auxiliary -masu (-ます), albeit often with geminate consonant (small tsu (っ)) insertion. For example, shirimasen (知りません I don’t know (polite)) may be said as shirimassen (知りまっせん). Like standard Japanese, speakers of the Nagasaki dialect may contract the hypothetical form of verbs. For example, kakeba (書けば if I write) may be said kakya (書きゃ) and sureba (すれば if I do), surya (すりゃ).
Adjectives Like other Hichiku dialects, the Nagasaki dialect possesses several notable differences regarding i-adjectives when compared to standard Japanese. For the plain and attributive form, the eponymous ending -i (-い) is replaced with ka (か). For example, akai (赤い red) becomes akaka (赤か) and shiroi (白い white) becomes shiroka (白か). The connective -ku (-く) is contracted to -u (-う), leading to conjugations such as younaka (良うなか) (yokunai (良くない not good)). The continuative form, -kute (-くてand), is changed to -shite (-して), so that yokute (良くて good and…) is said youshite (良うして). Unlike standard Japanese, which simply addends darou (だろう probably, could be) to the end of all adjective types to express conjecture, i-adjectives in the Nagasaki dialect can be conjugated. -rou (-ろう) is added to the plain form to create expressions such as yokarou (良かろう it’s good, right?) or shirokarou (白かろうI wonder if it’s white). Alternatively, an equivalent to darou, jarou (じゃろう), can be directly added to the end of the adjective like in yokajarou (良かじゃろう) or shirokajarou (白じゃろう). For the hypothetical form, -kereba (-ければ if its…) is changed to -kareba (-かれば), which may be contracted to -karya (-かりゃ). For example: yokareba (良かれば if it's good) / yokarya (良かりゃ). For expressing conjecture about the state of something (-garu (-がる seeming to be) in standard Japanese), -sshasuru (しゃする) is used. For example, ureshigaru (嬉しがる he/she seems happy) becomes uresshasuru (嬉っしゃする). Lastly, -sa (-さ) may be added to the stem of i-adjectives to express exclamation. For example, umasaa! (美味さあ! it's so tasty!).
Like i-adjectives, na-adjectives often have ka attached in place of a copula for their plain and attributive forms. For example, genki da (元気だ, I'm well) becomes genki ka (元気か). Some na-adjectives may have na inserted in addition to ka, producing forms such as hen na ka (変なか, it’s strange) (equivalent to hen da (変だ)).
Bound auxiliaries
Copula and negative form