Yonaguni Language Resources (Dunanmunui)
For those who are interested in learning Yonaguni (better known as Dunanmunui or Dunan language), here is a list of books that I use.
Before we start, there are several things to keep in mind:
1. It is important to develop good reading comprehension in Japanese.
2. These books are very rare, but it is still possible to buy or borrow them. If you are lucky, you may find them online (Yahoo Auction JP), in locol second-hand bookstores or libraries, such as 琉球大学附属図書館 (University of the Ryukyus Library).
・List of books
1) 琉球与那国方言の研究
This book is probably the closest one to a "grammar book" that I could find. Published in 1964, it mainly focuses on phonology, accents, comparative linguistics, and basic Yonaguni grammar. While roughly 70% of this book is dedicated to Yonaguni, learners of other Ryukyuan languages might also find this book helpful since it has many structural comparisons between Dunan and other Ryukyuan languages.
2) しまくとぅば読本
Shimakutuba Readers are two books designed for elementary school and junior high school students respectively, with the goal of educating Ryukyuan languages to younger generations.
The government of Okinawa Prefecture offers PDF format of these books for free. For details please click here: 「しまくとぅば」に関する資料を掲載します／沖縄県
3) 與那國島圖誌
This book is a revised edition of a very old book with the same title. It includes basic facts about the island, its culture, traditions, and language.
4) くいんだしあんびんだんぎ (With Kanji: 声出し遊んだんぎ)
This is an illustrated phrasebook for children. All contents can be found on this Twitter account.
5) 琉球の方言 八重山 • 与那国
This is a somewhat old dictionary published by Hosei university, and I would personally recommend other dictionaries.
6) 与那国の歷史
This book details the history of Yonagunijima.
8) 南島昔話叢書11 - 与那国島の昔話
This book is a must if you want to better your Yonaguni reading comprehension. It consists of some 50 Yonaguni folktales, with Japanese transliteration. All texts are written in Kanji and Hiragana, making this the only source to learn Kanji of Yonaguni. (Be aware that some spellings and punctuations are a little bit old-fashioned.)
7) 与那国島の無形文化財
This book is a documentation of intangible cultural heritage (performing arts) of Yonagunijima.
9) いつまでも残したい与那国のことば and 続 いつまでも残したい与那国のことば
These two books are Japanese-Yonaguni pocket dictionaries, with basic phrases and Kaida glyphs.
10) どぅなんむぬい辞典
どぅなんむぬい辞典 is the best Yonaguni dictionary available. Published by local education committee (与那国町教育委員会), this dictionary is easy-to-use and suitable for all levels of learners.
11) 与那国ことば辞典 (2nd and 1st edition)
There aren’t a ton of dictionaries to choose from, and this one also does a pretty good job. This Yonaguni dictionary was compiled by a native islander Nae Ikema, who is also the curator of Yonaguniminzoku Museum.
12) 全国方言資料 第10卷 琉球編 I
13) 全国方言資料 第11卷 琉球編 II
I bought these books from a bookstore in Hokkaido. These books consist of some short stories and proverbs, and they are mostly targeted towards researchers or linguists.
14) 琉球ことばの書き方
This is an excellent book for learning Ryukyuan orthography.