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Part of
Historical Linguistics 2019: Selected papers from the 24th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Canberra, 1–5 July 2019
Edited by Bethwyn Evans, Maria Kristina Gallego and Luisa Miceli
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 367] 2024
► pp. 172–193

Chapter 7
The role of geography and migration in the branching and spread of the Japonic language family

| Ruhr-Universität Bochum
This chapter investigates two extremes of the distribution of the Japonic language family: the Ryūkyū Islands in the southwest, and the Tōhoku region in the northeast. Despite the fact that both areas were settled relatively late by speakers of Japonic compared to other areas of Japan, the linguistic situation in the two regions could not be more different: in the Ryūkyūs there is extreme linguistic diversity, while in the Tōhoku region, the diversification is low. This chapter argues that differences in the natural environment (multiple islands in the southwest, versus the easily navigable Japan Sea coast, and room to withdraw from the pressure of the central state in the northeast) were factors that shaped the linguistic geography of the two regions.
Keywords: Japonic, migration, diversification, geographical configuration, spread of agriculture, state formation, hunter-gatherers, language replacement, comparative method
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The spread of Japonic to the Ryūkyūs
    • 2.1Serial founder effect compounded by isolation
  • 3.The spread of Japonic to the northeast
    • 3.1The dialect type of the Tōhoku region
    • 3.2The historical position of Izumo and the distribution of Izumo-type dialect features along the Japan Sea coast
  • 4.The ethnicity of the emishi
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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