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Paper short abstract

The Hachijō language is attested since the Edo period. Since then, several evolutions can be observed, among which a tremendous influence of mainland Japanese on its phonology, grammar and lexicon. This presentation proposes to study this phenomenon as a textbook case of ‘language erosion’ in Japan.

Paper long abstract

Hachijō is a small endangered Japonic variety spoken in the South of the Izu archipelago, roughly 300 km south-est of Tōkyō. It is considered quite remarkably archaic among Japonic languages and was often compared with Eastern Old Japanese (Kaneda:2012). Thus, it is recognised since 2009 as one of Japan's endangered languages by the UNESCO (Moseley, 2009).

Unlike several minority languages of Japan, Hachijō has been attested at least since the late Edo period (Baudel:2024), and was abundantly described and commented ever since. During those roughly 250 years of attestation, several dramatic linguistic evolutions can be observed, among which a tremendous influence of mainland Japanese, on phonology, grammar and lexicon alike.

The concept of ‘language erosion’ or ‘language attrition’ refers to ‘the process whereby a given grammar system undergoes a significant reduction when it is passed from one generation to the next, i.e. incomplete learning of a language system’ (Polinsky, 1995:88), causing ‘a decrease of language proficiency’ between original speakers and ‘language forgetters’, ‘incomplete language learners’ or ‘terminal speakers’.

Thus, this presentation proposes to study this phenomenon in Japan using the example of Hachijō, showing first examples of language erosion within the language, before studying:

- the chronological process of the linguistic erosion of Hachijō between 1800 and today (based upon the statistical analysis of a corpus of Hachijō texts)

- the sociolinguistic causes for its occurring (based upon former studies and testimonies)

- the details of its development (depending on the speaker's gender, social class, topolect or to the context of use), and its specificities within Japan

Finally, the presentation will end with the question of the possibility of reverting language attrition through the process of linguistic revitalisation.