The is a functionally extinct 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 .
Matagi contains various unique words relating to hunting, tools, and rituals, many of which are of Ainu origin.
A dictionary of Matagi was published by Yoshizo Itabashi (板橋義三) in 2008.
Vocabulary Below are some examples of unique Matagi words. Words such as wakka 'water', seta 'dog', and sanpe 'heart' are of Ainu origin.
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 熊 いたず itazu bear 熊 なびれ nabire dog 犬 せた seta dog 犬 へだ heda wolf 狼 おきゃく okyaku Japanese macaque 猿 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 牛 つのから tsunokara rice (uncooked) 米 くさのみ kusanomi Buddhist temple 寺 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:
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) sirar cliff (崖) hono medium-sized serow (中型のカモシカ) pon small (小さい) horo a lot (たくさん) poro big (大きい) sa(n)pe 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 Akita dialect Tsugaru dialect Matagi Emishi Kyōsuke Kindaichi
References