How does the different regions of jap differ?

[dan_j]

hey all,
i'm just wondering if the different regions of japan differ in speech and writing?
and also how big is the difference's ?
thanks all
dan

 

[PaulTB]

Well
1. Please don't use the abbreviation 'jap'. If you really need to save the extra keystrokes use 'jp' or something.
2. A lot, but (like the Scottish etc. in the UK) they all watch the same TV programs so they don't have any trouble understanding 'standard' Japanese speech. I believe that they also tend to write in more standard Japanese - particularly in formal situations.
3. As well as different dialects there is also the Ainu language which is not exactly thriving but still around. (Similar to the Welsh language in the UK I suppose).

 

[dan_j]

1. yea sure wont use it next time, i guess i no y
2. ok i see, is kanji from a certain region?
3. yea more of the 'old tounge', i get wat u mean

 

[nhk9]

Perhaps this link shall answer your question

Japanese dialects - Wikipedia

 

[The7thSamurai]

Most of the Japanese people you talk to will tell you that the people of northern Honshu, in the Touhoku area, speak the most difficult type of Japanese. One of my Japanese friends said that when he was up there once he had to get a girl to interpret what an old woman was saying because he accent was so thick.

However, I've just been reading the book "Roads to Sata" by Alan Booth, who walked from the top to the bottom of Japan, and he seemed to think that the people in countryside Hyougo prefecture, in the Kansai region, were the hardest to understand.

I live in Osaka, and the people here are quite proud of their dialect. However, I think it only really differs greatly in casual conversation. In formal speech like in business meeting they use standard Japanese without the slang and colloquialisms.