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Jan 4, 7:20 PM
#1
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Mar 2020
55
Is she capable of speaking in standard Japanese because she seems to be an outlier amongst everyone by purely speaking in the local dialect? Even the older people (I am stereotyping here) seem to be able to speak in standard Japanese.

It confuses me more when there are bits when she does speak standard Japanese, but I'm not sure if it's being translated like in sci-fi stuff.

I'm not familiar with how different the dialects are but she seems to be able to understand the MC fine, so it would make sense (to me) that she would be able to speak in a way that he could, at least somewhat, understand.

P.S. this isn't me saying the classic "I'm in a foreign country, they should be speaking English". I'm just saying that if she is capable of being understood but is choosing to speak in her local dialect when interacting with the MC, then she's being awkward for no reason.
Jan 4, 8:57 PM
#2

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Nov 2019
6156
If she also spoke in standard dialect then this work would no longer have any raison d'etrê

'Fell in love with an Okinawan girl, but I wish I knew what she is saying.'
SgtBateManJan 4, 9:00 PM
Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Helpppppp!

Jan 5, 12:24 AM
#3

Online
Apr 2014
3591
It's kinda gimmick of the series.
Nowadays, there are only a few fully Okinawan speakers left, most of them are either the elders or the people who live in the remote outlying islands. As for Hina or people who live on the main island of Okinawa they speak Standard Japanese or Okinawan Japanese(Uchinaa Yamato-guchi) which is kind of a dialect mixing between Japanese and Okinawan.
Also, Hina studies Standard Japanese in her school, and her teachers and her friends also speak Standard Japanese to her. So, at least, she must know the language and know how to speak the language.
AkeZZZJan 5, 12:27 AM
何それ?意味分かんない
Jan 5, 3:28 AM
#4

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Sep 2012
71
My guess would be that she grew up speaking the way she's speaking (a mixture of standard Japanese and Uchinaaguchi) and she doesn't know how to only speak in standard Japanese, i.e. she doesn't know that Teeru doesn't understand her. I forgot if they mentioned where Hina is from, if she's from a remote island or the north tip of the main island of Okinawa, then she probably hasn't met many outsiders. While Kana is far more proficient in standard Japanese.

Hina starts off speaking almost exclusively in Uchinaaguchi but as the manga goes on she speaks more and more standard Japanese. If that's a reflection of her learning standard Japanese in school or the mangaka being lazy, that's up to you.

It's been over a year since I read the manga so my memory is a bit foggy on the details. They could've addressed this already and I just don't remember.
Jan 5, 8:06 AM
#5
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Jan 2021
310
In fact, the world of Okinawans in real life is more chaotic, ...
This manga is imagined as if someone had already revived all Ryukyuan languages and Hina was part of this imagination.
Jan 5, 1:50 PM
#6

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Feb 2016
132
Reply to AkeZZZ
It's kinda gimmick of the series.
Nowadays, there are only a few fully Okinawan speakers left, most of them are either the elders or the people who live in the remote outlying islands. As for Hina or people who live on the main island of Okinawa they speak Standard Japanese or Okinawan Japanese(Uchinaa Yamato-guchi) which is kind of a dialect mixing between Japanese and Okinawan.
Also, Hina studies Standard Japanese in her school, and her teachers and her friends also speak Standard Japanese to her. So, at least, she must know the language and know how to speak the language.
@AkeZZZ
I'm really glad you know your stuff about the language/dialect situation on these islands. Not many viewers know this.
It's unfortunate that this series (at least the English subtitles) makes no difference between the language Uchinaaguchi and the Japanese dialect Uchinaa Yamato-guchi. Basically they call Uchinaaguchi a "dialect", even though it's a separate (japonic) language, with it's own dialects (Kunigami, Shuri–Naha etc).
I hope that the series don't keep teaching westerners wrong knowledge.

Uchinaaguchi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawan_language
Uchinaa Yamato-guchi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawan_Japanese
Jan 5, 3:08 PM
#7

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Jul 2024
481
It is spelled out somewhere that Hina is an outlier, particularly among young people, speaking a full and somewhat archaic version of the Okinawan dialect.
Lord Cruelty V
"But my Dreams they're not as empty, as my conscience seems to be"
Jan 5, 10:36 PM
#8

Online
Apr 2014
3591
Reply to Teisatsu
@AkeZZZ
I'm really glad you know your stuff about the language/dialect situation on these islands. Not many viewers know this.
It's unfortunate that this series (at least the English subtitles) makes no difference between the language Uchinaaguchi and the Japanese dialect Uchinaa Yamato-guchi. Basically they call Uchinaaguchi a "dialect", even though it's a separate (japonic) language, with it's own dialects (Kunigami, Shuri–Naha etc).
I hope that the series don't keep teaching westerners wrong knowledge.

Uchinaaguchi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawan_language
Uchinaa Yamato-guchi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawan_Japanese
@Teisatsu
And, you also mentioned about this point. Actually, Okinawan is a language of its own since the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom. However, the Japanese treated it as a dialect because of the reason that Japan viewed itself as a homogeneous state with one people, one language, and one nation.
何それ?意味分かんない

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