Inshū dialect
The Inshū dialect is a dialect of Japanese spoken in eastern Tottori Prefecture, southwest Japan. It is also called the Tottori dialect, although this can also refer generally to any dialect spoken in Tottori, of which there are several. It is similar to certain neighbouring dialects, such as the Kurayoshi dialect, and also to the Japanese spoken in parts of northern Hyogo. It takes its name from Inshu, the former province where the dialect emerged.
History and classification
The Inshu dialect area formed based around Inshu which became modern Tottori Prefecture in the late 19th century.It is part of the Chugoku group of dialects, spoken across southwestern Japan. It is specifically an East San'in dialect, related to the Kurayoshi, Tango and Tajima dialects.
Phonology
In the San’in area the long o sound derived from the au diphthong of the Heian and Kamakura periods has morphed to a long a. Consequently, the volitional/persuasive ikō is pronounced ikā and the conjecture-expressing ~ darō becomes ~ darā. Although usually said as kauta in San’yō dialects, katta becomes kāta or simply remains the same. It's pitch accent is the chūrin Tokyo standard, a trait that can also be seen in the Kurayoshi dialect.Although diphthong merging is virtually absent in Tottori City, it does occur in the former districts of Yazu and Iwami. In Yazu, the diphthong ai merges to an ē like in akai → akē. In Iwami, ai merges instead to yā like in akai → akyā. Although almost non-existent elsewhere in Tottori, in the town of Chizu there is a phenomenon of merging the diphthong oi to ē like in kuroi → kure.
In contrast to most other Western Japanese dialects and in kind with more distant groups such as the Kanto dialects, across Tottori there is frequent silencing of vowels. When unaccented, voiceless consonants, ki become silent.