| Tosa dialect | |
|---|---|
| 土佐弁 | |
 Tosa dialect area. | |
| Native to | Japan |
| Region | Kōchi, Shikoku |
Japonic
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
jpn-koc | |
The Tosa dialect (Japanese: 土佐弁 tosa-ben) is a Japanese Shikoku dialect spoken in central and eastern Kochi Prefecture (former Tosa Province), including Kochi City. The dialect of the Western region of Kochi Prefecture is called the Hata dialect (Japanese: 幡多弁 hata-ben) and is drastically different from the Central and Eastern dialect.
Shikoku dialects are divided into Western (Tokushima, Kagawa and Ehime), Southern (Kochi), and also occasionally Southwest (western Kochi and southern Ehime).[1][2] The Tosa dialect exists in a somewhat unique position due to being historically isolated from other prefectures because of the Shikoku Mountains.[1]
Kochi Prefecture dialects are broadly divided into Western and Eastern-Central.[3][4]
The coastal region from Muroto to Toyo has been influenced by the Tokushima Awa dialect and the Kinki dialects.[3][5]
The most notable phonetic traits of the Tosa dialect are as follows:
The Tosa dialect, like English, differentiates between perfect and progressive tenses. Perfect tense uses the Renyōkei (連用形 conjunctive) form + chuu, choru, and chou, (ちゅー・ちょる・ちょう) and progressive tense uses the Renyōkei (連用形 conjunctive) form + yuu, yoru, and you (ゆー・よる・よう).[9]
For example, the question 「宿題やった?」(shukudai yatta? Did you do your homework?) can be answered in the following ways without the use of adverbs.
(Tosa Dialect) 「やりゆうき」(yariyūki)
(Standard Japanese) 「（今）やっているよ」( (ima) yatteiruyo)
(I’m doing it now!)
(Tosa Dialect) 「やっちゅうき」(yacchūki)
(Standard Japanese) 「（もう）済ませているよ」( (mou) sumaseteiruyo)
(I’ve already finished it!)
In the case of 「（し）よった」( (shi) yotta I was (doing) it) it is the past progressive aspect and for 「（し）ちょった」( (shi) chotta I had (done) it) the past perfect aspect. The specification of perfect aspects is one of the characteristics of the dialects of western Japan.
With verbs such as 「死ぬ」(shinu to die) or 「消える」(kieru to disappear/ go out) where the change is instantaneous, the progressive aspect like 「死にゆう」(shiniyū) and 「消えゆう」(kieyū) is used to express the sense of “...is about to...”.[9] In the progressive aspect, the existential verb「ある」(aru to be) expresses a specific duration of time.[9]
Orders can be given using the Renyōkei (連用形 conjunctive) form of verbs, which makes for a gentler expression than using the Meireikei (命令形 imperative) form. 「や」(ya) is often used, such as in 「行きや」(ikiya go) and 「見（ー）や」(mi(i)ya look). [10] 「-ておーせ・とーせ・とーぜ」(-teōse, tōse, and tōze) are used with subsidiary verbs like the formal「…してください」(shitekudasai please do).
In cases such as「行かれん」（ikaren) which in standard Japanese is（行くな）(ikuna don’t go) and 「見られん」(miraren) which means the same as（見るな）(miruna don’t look) in standard Japanese, the Mizenkei (未然形 nai stem) form of a verb plus 「れん・られん」(ren or raren) is used to indicate prohibition. This expression is also present in the Awa dialect and the Iyo dialect. [11]
(Tosa dialect) 「いかんちや、せられん」(ikanchiya, seraren)(Standard Japanese) 「ダメだよ、やっちゃダメ」(damedayo, yacchadame)
(stop, don’t do that)
Additionally, the Renyōkei (連用形 conjunctive) form of a verb can be used to express prohibition, such as in「行きな」(ikina don’t go) and 「見な」(mina don’t look). [10] This is also present in the Kansai dialect.
Expressions like「はれるろー」(harerurō)（晴れるだろう）(harerudarou it will be sunny) and 「たかいろー」(takairō)（高いだろう）(takaidarou it will be expensive) are composed of the Shūshikei (終止形 dictionary) form of a conjugated word + 「ろー」(rō) and are used to express conjecture. [12]「ろー」(rō) originated as 「らむ」(ramu).[12] Additionally, expressions like 「あっつろー」(atsurō) or（あっただろう）(attadarō would have had) in Standard Japanese and「たかかっつろー」(takakattsurō) or（高かっただろう）(takattadarō would have been expensive) in Standard Japanese use the Renyōkei (連用形 conjunctive) form of a conjugated word + 「つろー」(tsurō) and express conjecture in the perfect tense.[12]
「-にかーらん」(-nikāran) correlates to 「-らしい」(-rashii it seems...). It can also be used to express the comparison phrase “it’s like…” (「まるで…のようだ」marude…noyōda).[13]
(Tosa Dialect)「あの店はラーメン屋に変わったにかあらん」(ano mise wa ramenya ni kawattanikāran)
(Standard Japanese) 「あの店はラーメン屋に変わったらしい」(ano mise wa ramenya ni kawattarashii)
(I heard that restaurant got converted into a ramen shop)
※This also includes the nuance of “no mistaking it” (-に違いない -ni chigainai).