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16 — DIALECTS
Tsugaru and Nanbu Dialects
"Dosa." "Yusa." With just two syllables each, a proper conversation takes place. The speech of Aomori is known as one of the hardest dialects in Japan to understand, and on top of that, Tsugaru dialect in the west of the prefecture and Nanbu dialect in the east are quite different. Welcome to the world of snow-country words: short, and warm.
Labels: Factdocumented Likelysupported by most sources Legendoral tradition Urban legendlocal lore and rumour
The world's shortest conversation?
FactThere is a famous exchange in Tsugaru dialect. Two people meet in the street. "Dosa?" ("Where are you off to?") "Yusa." ("To the hot water", that is, to the public bath.) And that is the whole conversation. In Tsugaru dialect, words are cut down to the bare minimum and "sa", meaning "to", is attached to show direction.
FactThere are even shorter words. "Ke" means "Eat up", and "ku" means "I'll eat". With just "ke" and "ku", you can have the exchange "Eat up" – "I will".
"They talk without opening their mouths because it's cold"
It is often said that Tsugaru dialect is short and sounds as though it is spoken with the mouth barely open because, in the cold, opening your mouth wide lets in freezing air.
A question of language history
Most dialect researchers reject this theory. The features of Tohoku speech are thought to come from older Japanese pronunciation and from changes that developed independently in lands far from the capital. Dialects that favour short words exist in warm regions too.
"Wa" and "na"
FactIn Tsugaru dialect, you call yourself "wa" (I) and the person you are talking to "na" (you). "Wa" goes back to the old Japanese word "wa" (I, me), and "na" to "na" (thou). The "wa" in Munakata Shiko's "Wa da ba Gohho ni naru" ("I'm going to be Van Gogh") is this very word (the Arts room).
Tsugaru dialect and Nanbu dialect
FactBecause of the history of two separate domains, Hirosaki and Morioka, the speech of Aomori Prefecture is divided into Tsugaru dialect in the west, Nanbu dialect in the east, around Hachinohe and elsewhere, and Shimokita dialect on the Shimokita Peninsula (the Tsugaru and Nanbu room). Tsugaru dialect is said to be short and crisp, while Nanbu dialect, close to the speech of Iwate Prefecture, has a softer sound.
FactOther Tsugaru dialect words include "joppari" (stubborn, headstrong), "motsuke" (a show-off, someone easily carried away), "meyagu" (sorry, I've put you out) and "wantsuka" (a little).
The man who wrote poems in Tsugaru dialect
FactTakagi Kyozo, a doctor and poet born in Aomori City, published Marumero ("Quince"), a collection of poems written in Tsugaru dialect, in 1931. His poems, which portray the life and heart of Tsugaru in Tsugaru's own words, are still read today.
Fact23 October, the day Takagi Kyozo died, has been named "Tsugaru Dialect Day", and since 1988 an event has been held every year at which poems and essays written in Tsugaru dialect are presented.
Look for this: dialect posters in stations and shops
In Aomori's stations and souvenir shops you will see signs and posters using dialect, such as "Waiha!" (Tsugaru dialect for "Oh my!", said in surprise) and "Maine" (Tsugaru dialect for "No good" or "Don't"). Guessing their meanings as you go is one of the pleasures of travelling in Aomori.
Main sources: Aomori Prefecture, "Aomori's Dialects" / Tsugaru-ben no Hi Yarubeshi Kai (Tsugaru Dialect Day committee) / National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics / Hirosaki University dialect research