Hiroyuki Today: ‘Okinawans have a dialect that includes two subjects and so on…’ What are pundits’ views?

Hiroyuki Nishimura, founder of the internet noticeboard “2channel”, who is involved in protests against the construction of the new Henoko airbase, said on his YouTube channel on 7 August that Okinawans “have dialects, and many of them don’t use clean Japanese, such as having two subjects in their grammar. Many of them don’t speak clean Japanese. Professor Ken Nakamoto of the Faculty of Education at the University of the Ryukyus, who researches Shimakutouba, shakes his head and says: “It is difficult to understand how Shimakutouba can influence the inclusion of two subjects.

　According to Professor Nakamoto, the grammatical structure of Shimaketootuba is close to that of the common language; for example, in many areas in the central and southern parts of the main island, “Hananu satun” is used for “flowers bloom”, and the word order is the same as in the common language. Regarding Mr Hiroyuki’s statement, he said, “It is difficult to understand what he is saying about ‘two subjects’ without concrete examples.

　As for Hiroyuki’s description of ‘clean Japanese’, he said, “If you are referring to the common language spoken by NHK announcers, for example, it is just ‘common language in accordance with normative grammar’. There is no superiority or inferiority of languages”.

　He complained that “it is a matter of course that dialects and intonations exist in different regions, and this is not limited to Okinawa”. He added: “Shimakutuba has a history of oppression, such as the dialect tag policy. I am concerned that behaviour that incites discrimination may hinder correct understanding and inheritance”.

Mr Hiroyuki, completely debunked. Japan is being swept away by his developmentally disabled opinion.