Ōita dialect


Ōita dialect, commonly called, is a dialect of Japanese spoken in Ōita Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. Even within the prefecture, regional differences are still prevalent; for example, vocabulary within the Hita and Nakatsu regions tends to differ from that used in other regions of Ōita.

Outline

Ōita-ben has been strongly influenced by dialects from the Chūgoku region of Japan. For example, compared to other dialects within Kyushu, the sentence-final particle, the contradictory conjunction, and the secondary substantive particle are rarely used. However, the word endings and are frequently used.

Grammar

Potential forms of verbs

Apart from the younger generation's tendency to skip the ra when forming some standard Japanese potential verbs, the Ōita-ben usage is considered a fairly old custom. For example: The potential form of miru being pronounced mireru instead of mirareru.
In addition, there are three forms of potential verbs in Ōita-ben, depending on whether the potential is objective, subjective, or related to personal ability.
  1. taberaruru – An objective potential form; for example, because something hasn’t gone rotten, you can eat it. The negative potential is taberaren.
  2. tabereru – A subjective potential form; for example, because you aren’t full yet, you can eat it. The negative potential is taberen.
  3. tabekiru – A potential form that relates to personal ability; for example, others might not be able to eat it because they dislike it, but you can eat it. The negative potential is tabekiran.

''-yoru'' and ''-choru''

In general, -yoru refers to the progression or continuation of an action or occurrence, while -choru refers to the completion, continuation, or result of a condition or status. They are common in many western Japanese dialects. -yoru can change to -yon, while -choru can change to -chon as well.
  1. “Sakki kara ame ga furiyoru naa.” – For some time, it has been raining.
  2. “Itsun ma ni ka ame ga futchoru naa.” - I wasn't aware it had been raining.

Word endings and connectives

  1. -tcha – attached to the ends of words for emphasis. For example, “Chigau tcha! Ore wa yatchoran ccha!” which becomes “Chigau tte! Ore wa yatte nai tte!” in standard Japanese, means “No! I didn't do it!”
  2. -tchi – equivalent to the standard Japanese word ending -tte, it is used to quote something that was said or that you heard from someone else. Sometimes sounds like -tchie. For example, “Ano futari kekkon shita tchie”, which becomes “Ano futari kekkon shita tte yo” in standard Japanese, means “I heard those two got married.”
  3. -ni – similar to the da yo found in standard Japanese. For example, “Mada shukudai shite nai ni”, which becomes “Mada shukudai shite nain da yo” in standard Japanese, means “I haven’t done my homework yet.”
  4. -ya ni – almost the same as the plain -ni. For example, “Anta no koto ga suki ya ni”, which becomes “Anata no koto ga suki nan da yo” in standard Japanese, means “I like you.”
  5. -ken – equivalent to the standard kara meaning “because”, this is widely used across Kyushu.
  6. sogee, dogee, kogee, agee – the Ōita-ben equivalents of sonna, donna, konna, anna
  7. -kae – can be either the standard Japanese question particle kai or a substitute for the “Please do...” /...shinasai form. However, this ending is falling out of use with the younger generation.

Usage

Verbs

  • Irregular conjugation of verbs ending in -nu remains in Ōita-ben. This table shows the conjugations for different tenses of the verbs and. Inu is not used in standard Japanese.
  • The conjugation of verbs from Old Japanese still remains in Ōita-ben. However, the predicative takes the same form as the attributive. This table shows the conjugations for the verbs,,, and .
  • The conjugation of verbs from standard Japanese has become mixed with the conjugation of verbs in Ōita-ben. This table shows the conjugation for the verb.

Adjectives

Keiyōshi change form depending on the vowel before the final i. The two vowels combine into one elongated sound.
  1. ai → ee; for example, karai → karee
  2. ui → ii; for example, akarui → akarii
  3. oi → ii or ee; for example, kuroi → kurii or ''kuree''

Sounds and phonemes

  • In contrast to standard Japanese, there are no velar nasal sounds in Ōita-ben.
  • Like the -to itte → -chi iuchi → -chuchi transformation, it is common for words to contract and become palatised sounds for ease when speaking quickly.
  • Liaison of consonants is common, for example mikan wa → mikanna.

Euphonic changes

Oita-ben employs euphonic changes often during rapid speech.

Euphonic changes that differ from standard Japanese

u euphonic changes
  1. -u verbs: omotta → omoota; sorotta → soroota. When the vowel preceding the u is an a, it changes to an o: katta → koota; moratta → moroota
  2. -bu and -mu verbs: asonda → asooda; yonda → yooda. This change is falling out of use with the younger generation.
  3. Keiyōshi: akakute → akoote; takakute → takootei euphonic changes
  4. -su verbs: sashita → saita; kashita → kaita. When the vowel preceding the su is an o, it changes to an i: nokoshita → nokiita; modoshita → mojiita. This change is also falling out of use with the younger generation.

Accent

Words in Ōita-ben are accented according to a slight variation of the Tokyo dialect’s pitch accent. The western Hita region, while still considered to utilize the pitch accent of the Tokyo dialect, has some minor differences in intonation, while areas close to the inland Kumamoto and Miyazaki Prefectures sometimes utilize the “no accent” pitch that is characteristic of those prefectures.

Words with accents that differ from standard Japanese

In this list, the left side is the standard intonation, while the right is the Ōita-ben intonation. The accented part is in bold.ya : ya ono : ono kumo : kumo fuku : fuku nomi : nomi aida : aida – in the standard intonation, the tone is actually closer to monotone, while Ōita-ben emphasizes the latter half of the wordabura : abura awabi : awabi itachi : itachi kawara : kawara kimono : kimono kinjo : kinjo senaka : senaka tasuki : tasuki tabako : tabako Chiyoko : Chiyoko tsutsuji : tsutsuji hashira : hashira yuube : yuube obasan : obasan – when obasan means aunt instead, the pitch accent is the same as the standardkoumori : kou'mori saku : saku nuku : nuku hairu : hai'ru ooi : ''ooi''

Changes in pronunciation

za, zo → da, do; for example, zoukin → doukinnou → nyou; for example, kinou → kinyourada → dara; for example, karada → kadara. However, aside from karada, no other words have this widespread change in pronunciation.anna → agena, sonna → sogena, dounimo kounimo → dogen kogen, and other similar instances. Additionally, when speaking rapidly, anna → aina and similar changes are common.tsu → tu; for example tsumaran → tumaran. This mainly exists in the northern regions of Ōita, especially with people middle-aged or older.

Characteristic vocabulary

This section contains some of the typical words and phrases in Ōita-ben. Words are listed according to Japanese alphabetical order with Ōita-ben on the left and standard Japanese on the right. The accented syllable is in bold.aii/aee : aoi ataru : sawaru ado : kakato abo : mochiayuru : a verb describing the action when strong winds cause fruits or berries to fall from tree branchesarakii/arakenee : arappoi anshi : ano hito. shi comes from the kanji 衆 meaning "people", and anshi is thought to have come from the term.
  • 'iichiko' : ii. Used in northern Ōita, especially the Nakatsu area. chiko is an emphasizing suffix. The sake company Sanwa Shurui makes a barley shōchū of the same name.ikazu toukyouben : a term to make fun of someone who tries to hold informal conversations in standard Japanese rather than Ōita-ben.ikachii : Used in the northern regions, its meaning is similar to the seikaku ga warui meaning of oroii found below. In two-person conversations it is often used to refer to the other person in a non-serious, joking manner, but it can also be used to negatively refer to a third-person.issunzuri : a term that refers to heavy traffic, specifically the motion of moving and then stopping, moving and then stopping.icchikacchi : a type of oak nut, specifically the Japanese Stone Oak, that you can eat without having to cook it to get rid of the astringent taste.ido : oshiri. Used by women.ibishii/ibishigenee : kitanai, kimochi warui iyari/ia'ri : ari. A corruption of ie ari, it refers to ants that invade the house in search of food.utachii : kitanai eerashii : kawaii. Sometimes pronounced erashii.enoha : yamane oisan, obasan : ojisan, obasan. An intimate term.okudo : kamado ojii/odee/ozoi/odoi : kowai ojami : otedama ossan : oshousan ottoroshii : osoroshii ottoroshunakotsu/'ottorosshanou : sugoi naa orabu : sakebu oroii : In the northern areas and in Hita, it can mean either furui or zurui. In Kitsuki and some other areas, it means seikaku ga warui.onbo/oppo : onbu kaku : motsu, katsugu kataguru : ninau ~surukatade : ~shinagara kataru : sanka suru, nakama ni hairu kachikowasu : kowasu with kachi functioning as an emphasizing prefix, meaning to "break something so severely that it is in pieces".katte : karite kateru : sanka saseru, nakama ni ireru kayasu : It can either mean to knock over a cup and spill the liquid inside, or to turn something inside out.karuu : ninau. It is used by all generations and is so widespread that many people do not realize it is Ōita-ben.kichii : kitsui, hageshii, karai, tsukareta, guai ga warui kina : kiiro kinodokii : An i-adjective form of the na-adjective ki no doku. It has also been altered to mean something like Kyoushuku desu or katajikenai.kibaru : to prepare thoroughly, to persist, to put effort intokiinee : kiiroi kibi ga ii : ii kimi da gyuurashi : gyougyoushii kude : a term for bruised fruit that can't be soldkubiru : musubu kuyuru : kuzureru kurii : kuroi keshou mo shiren : "It is not worth talking about"keccharakii : a term used for someone you just can't help disliking. For example, Ano hito wa keccharakii -- "That person is disagreeable ". Has fallen out of use.getten : something's nature or character has been warpedkoki : koko koshikii/koshii : zurugashikoi. Has fallen out of use.goto/gotsu : ~no you ni. It is thought to be a change of gotoku.kobiru/ kobiri : a term for snacks consumed between doing farmworkkoburu : kajiru, kuitsuku saaryamanaa : sou da ne. Mostly an obsolete term.shiofuki : aoyagi shikata mo shiren : bakarashii hodo tsumaranai shikaburu, marikaburu : a term for when children have accidents; shikaburu is especially used for urine.shichikujii : shitsukoi shittoi : a material in the facing of a tatami matjinashi : conversation of no significanceshinetto : a term for someone with two extremes in personality. It can mean either that they easily change between the two, or that they only show one side depending on the situation.shaashii : urusai, mendoukusai shakaki : sakaki shacchi, shatte : shiite, muri ni, waza to, shocchuu shou mo nee : doushiyou mo nai, tsumaranai showashii : isogashii jirii : when the ground is still a little muddy after it rainsshirashinken : isshoukenmei shinken : hijou ni, totemo sukantarashii : an emphasis of sukan, Ōita-ben for kirai or iya. It is even stronger than basaree sukan.succhan gacchan : a term for when things are completely scattered, severely broken, or a doushiyou mo nai situationzutsunee : sennai, doushiyou mo nai zuru : a term for when things are progressing forwardsumotsukuren : kudaranai, bakabakashii. Used by many older people.seku : isogu, komu, haguru, sekitomeru segou, segau : ijimeru seseroshii : urusai sechii : setsunai, yarusenai, nasakenai, kitsui, mendou da sedo : roji sokorasonbashi : sonzai ni sodenshita : Deriving from wairo, it is when an employee becomes very close to his employer and receives better wages and more favorable treatment than other employees.tayuusan : a joking way to refer to someone who is good at singing or dancingchaamaa : Said without thinking by those who are surprised, similar to aramaa.chainee : chairoi chichimawasu : to knock again and againtsuba : kuchibiru tsubushi : hiza tsubo : a garden or open plot of landtou : to be within one's reach-dou : -tachi toukibi : toumorokoshi touten : totemo togi : yuujin toppakuro : uso, hora dobe : biri, saikai doroyokoi : a term for when the busy farm season begins to slow downtowazuben : hitorigoto naosu : mono wo shimau, katazukeru nashika, nashikae : nande da?. Widely recognized throughout Ōita; there are even books and radio programs titled Yuugata nashika.naba : kinoko, especially relating to the thickness of shiitake mushroomsnankakaru : yorikakaru. Used in regions north of Ōita City. Also used in Kagoshima and Kumamoto Prefectures, though in the latter it is pronounced nenkakaru.nankurikayasu : an emphasized form of uragaesu niki : same as nekineki : often seen as n neki, where n is a contraction of no, meaning no atari or no kinjo nejikine : kimuzukashii. Can also refer to a person who is kimuzukashii.hakawara : hakachi. When another word comes before it, it often corrupts to bakara.basaree : monosugoku, not really used apart from older peoplehajikee, hajikaii : a term for when something itches or pricklesbatoko : a term for the fixed fee paid to rent land such as a parking spot. Cannot be used for house or apartment rent.hawaku : haku bikitan : kaeru fukeru : saezuru - as a godan verb, the negative is fukeranai biko : musume - not limited to one's own daughterhikojiru : hikizuru hijii : kitsui, tsukareta hidarii : onaka ga suita bittare : darashinai hito, kitanai hito hidoru : the action of stepping back while facing forward. It can also mean to take a position "one step back" from your superiors.bibinko : medaka binbinko, bibinko : kataguruma hirikaburu : omorashi wo suru, especially a large amountbussamee : mendoukusai. Used in Usa. The meaning is close to yodakii.hokaru, hokasu : suteru hoki : gake, or a rough spot on a path along a cliffhotaru : houtte oku, sono mama ni shite oku, suteru boru : moreru, as in "rain leaks through the roof". Cannot be used for hanashi ga moreru or similar.hon : totemo bon : otoko no ko honnakotenaa : honto da ne mau : mawaru man : un, as in man ga ii mugenee : kawaisou. Also used by the younger generation.mendoshii : hazukashii. There are also many young people who mistake it for mendoukusai and use it similarly.mouga : maguwa mona, mouna : totemo, sugoku. Used in Bungo Takada and its surroundings.yazenee : isogashii, sewashinai yazen no hana ni : totan ni yunbe, yonbe : yuube yokou : kyuukei suru. A linguistic corruption of ikou.yodakii : used similarly to mendou or tsukareta. Comes from the Heian term yodakeshi. It is widely used within Ōita and is also used in Miyazaki.wayaku : itazura wakudo : kaeru ware : Exercise caution when using this term, because depending on the region it can mean either omaesan or, within the center regions of Ōita, kisama. Only used by men.