ABSTRACT
Southern Ryukyuan is the group of languages/dialects spoken on the Sakishima islands, which lie between Okinawa island to the northeast and Taiwan to the southwest. Genealogically the dialect group splits into the Miyako dialects and the Yaeyama dialects. The Miyako dialects, of which there are about 35, are spoken on Miyako island and surrounding islands, and on Tarama island and nearby Minna island; and the Yaeyama dialects, of which there are about 20, are spoken on the large islands of Ishigaki, Iriomote, and Yonaguni, and the surrounding smaller islands. The Yonaguni dialect was the first to diverge from the Yaeyama branch of Southern Ryukyuan, and because it has undergone many major innovations, it will be the focus of Chapter 14 and is not included in this description.
