Nagaoka dialect
Introduction '''Nagaoka dialect''' is a dialect of the Japanese language spoken in Chūetsu region centered Nagaoka city in Niigata prefecture of Japan. Nagaoka dialect is similar to Niigata dialect spoken in the Shin'etsu region. It differs somewhat from town to town.
Accent The accent of the Nagaoka dialect is classified as being among the outer range of the Tokyo accent group. With the development of modern media and transportation in recent years, there has been a trend, mostly among younger people, to use the middle range of the Tokyo accent group, which was originally used only in Itoigawa. For example, two-syllable words originally having a ''heiban'' accent, meaning a word ending with a high pitch that carries over to the following particle, have changed to an ''odaka'' accent, meaning the high pitch no longer carries over to the particle.Some additional difference from the standard Tokyo dialect:Japanese wordTokyo accentNagaoka accentEnglish translationネズミnezumineꜜzumirat卵tamaꜜgotaꜜmagoegg服fukufuꜜkuclothes靴kutsukuꜜtsushoe(s)
Grammar ===''ga''===The postposition ''ga'' is probably the best known element of the Nagaoka dialect. It is typically placed at the end of sentences to alter the speaker's tone. It is basically equivalent to ''(no da) yo'' or ''no'' in standard Japanese. It is often pronounced with a lengthened vowel sound, i.e. ''gā'', written in Japanese as がー or がぁ.Features of ga:*When spoken with rising intonation it can often indicate a question, while falling intonation often shows the speaker's understanding or concent. *Unlike regular postpositions, additional postpositions can be added after ''ga'', such as ''ka'', ''ya'' and ''te''. *The copula ''da''/''desu'' and the polite form ''-masu'' can be abbreviated when ''ga'' is added, e.g. "This is Nagaoka." which would be rendered in standard Japanese as ''Koko wa Nagaoka na n da'' (ここは長岡なんだ) would be ''Koko wa Nagaoka n ga'' (ここは長岡んが) (Note that ''na'' has also been lost). Other auxiliary verbs are not removed.===''te''===Like ''ga'', ''te'' is generally attached to the end of a sentence, and carries a meaning similar to ''(da) yo'' in standard Japanese. Unlike ''ga'', however, ''da'', ''desu'' and ''-masu'' are not removed when ''te'' is added, e.g. "This is Nagaoka", rendered in standard Japanese as ''Koko wa Nagaoka da yo'' (ここは長岡だよ) would be ''Koko wa Nagaoka da te'' (ここは長岡だて) in Nagaoka dialect.===''ra''===The copula ''da'' and its derivative ''darō'' are replaced with ''ra'' and ''raro'', e.g. standard Japanese ''Sō darō?'' (そうだろう？) becomes ''Sō raro?'' (そうらろ？) in Nagaoka dialect.
Vocabulary Below is a list of example words from the Nagaoka dialect: Nagaoka dialect Standard Japanese English Lexical category ''atchē'' (あっちぇ) ''atsui'' (熱い、暑い) hot adjective ''ga'' (が) ''(da) yo'' ((だ)よ) ''see above'' particle ''ga, nga, gan'' (が、んが、がん) ''to iu mono, na mono'' (というもの、なもの) that, thing particle ''-gakeba'' (～がけば) ''-nara'' (～なら) if verb ending ''na, nā'' (な、な～、なぁ～) ''anata'' (あなた) ''you'' pronoun ''shagu, shagitsukeru'' (しゃぐ/しゃぎつける) ''naguru, tataku'' (殴る、叩く) to hit, to strike (rarely conjugated) verb ''shakkoi'' (しゃっこい) ''tsumetai'' (冷たい) cold adjective ''soiga, sōiga'' (そ(ー)いが) ''sō na no da'' (そうなのだ) oh really, is that so phrase ''sorotto'' (そろっと) ''sorosoro'' (そろそろ) soon, steadily, gradually adverb ''(dā)suke, rasuke'' ((だ～)すけ、らすけ) ''da kara, na no de'' (だから、なので) because conjunction ''te'' (て) ''(da) yo'' ((だ)よ) ''see above'' particle ''najira'' (なじら) ''...wa dō desu ka?'' (～はどうですか？) asking someone's opinion of something phrase ''butcharu'' (ぶっちゃる) ''suteru'' (捨てる) throw out, throw away verb ''mo(n)jakuru'' (もんじゃくる) ''kushakusha ni marumeru'' (くしゃくしゃに丸める) to crumple up into a ball phrase ''yakkoi'' (やっこい) ''yawarakai'' (柔らかい、軟らかい) soft adjective ''nomeshikoki'' (のめしこき) ''mendōkusagari, namakemono'' (面倒臭がり、なまけもの) lazy person noun ''shōshii'' (しょーしい) ''hazukashii'' (恥ずかしい) shy, embarrassed adjective
References