Tsugaru dialect

Tsugaru dialect
Aomori dialect
Native to	Japan
Region	Aomori
Language family	Japonic Japanese Eastern Japanese Tōhoku Northern Tsugaru dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	tsug1237

The Tsugaru dialect (津軽弁, Tsugaru-ben) is a Japanese dialect spoken in western Aomori Prefecture.

Tsugaru-ben is reputed to be too divergent from standard Japanese for those who are not native speakers, to the point that even people living in the same prefecture may have trouble understanding it. In 1988, fans of the Tsugaru dialect proclaimed October 23 to be Tsugaru Dialect Day (津軽弁の日, Tsugaru-ben no hi). October 23 is the anniversary of the death of Kyōzō Takagi (ja:高木恭造), a famous poet who wrote in the Tsugaru dialect.

In Tsuruta, there is an annual summer Tsugaru-ben competition (津軽弁大会, Tsugaru-ben taikai) in which teams of foreigners create short skits or performances, usually humorous, using Tsugaru-ben. In June 2009, a short segment featuring the competition was broadcast nationally on NHK.

Examples

The words are sometimes very different from those of standard Japanese.

English	standard Japanese	Tsugaru dialect
I	watashi	wa
you	anata	na
cute	kawaii	megoi
friend	tomodachi	keyagu
countryside	inaka	jago
but	keredo	dabatte
same	onaji	futozu
very	totemo	tage/gappa
cold	tsumetai	shakkoi
warm	atatakai	nuge
noisy	urusai	sashine
irritating	ira-irasuru	kacha-kuchane
money	(o-)kane	jenko
forehead	hitai, (o-)deko	nazugi
home	ie	i
cooked rice/meal	gohan	mama
to freeze (verb)	kooraseru	shimiragasu
frozen (adjective)	koru	shimiru
to eat (verb)	taberu, kuu (colloquial)	ku

External links

• (Japanese) Tsugaru Dialect Day
• (Japanese) Tsugaru-ben dictionary
• (Japanese) Suzumeko (Aozora Bunko) - a Tsugaru-ben short novel by Osamu Dazai
• A reading of Tsugaru-ben poem in Tsugaru Dialect Day 2008 on YouTube
• A reading of Tsugaru-ben poem in Tsugaru Dialect Day 2008 on YouTube
• Talk about food in Tsugaru-ben on YouTube
• Talk of locals in Kanita Station, Aomori on YouTube