The Amami language (奄美語; Amami: シマユムタ (島口) Shimayumuta) is spoken in the Amami Islands south of Kyūshū. The number of competent native speakers is not known, but native speakers can be found mostly among old people—as a result of Japanese language policy, the younger generations speaks mostly Japanese as their first language. Amami is a Ryukyuan language, most closely related to Okinawan. It is sometimes considered two languages. The main dialects are as follows:
- Northern Amami
- Northern Ōshima dialect
- Kikai Island dialect
- Southern Amami
- Southern Ōshima dialect
- Yoron dialect
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“The problems of society will also be the problems of the predominant language of that society. It is the carrier of its perceptions, its attitudes, and its goals, for through it, the speakers absorb entrenched attitudes. The guilt of English then must be recognized and appreciated before its continued use can be advocated.”
—Njabulo Ndebele (b. 1948)