Want to study Okinawan but don't know which resources are good?
Haisai! I've studied Okinawan (and the other Ryukyuan languages) for a few years now and have gone through many types of resources both on and offline. I want to tell you guys about my favorites and what I would recommend for people wanting to learn Uchinaaguchi.
First of all, for dictionaries, I would recommend JLect. This dictionary is great if you only know English, and even better if you also know Japanese. I enjoy that this dictionary uses hiragana instead of katakana, which I always enjoy. If you speak Japanese, I also recommend this dictionary, which comes with a digital edition of the Omoro Soshi. This means that it includes historical words as well as words that are used today as well, so I'd recommend this when you are more advanced!
When you want to learn grammar, it gets more difficult. The verb paradigms of JLect are easy to approach for English speakers (second recommendation for that site I know!) If you do not know hiragana, katakana or kanji, the resource I can recommend for you is Rikka, Uchinaa-nkai! It is very basic and does not go very far into grammar, but it covers basic daily conversation and culture. I have also read All about Okinawan, which is similar. It is a bit too simple for me. If you aren't a linguist, this might also suit you.
For both beginners and linguists alike, I can recommend the Wikipedia page for the language. It is accurate and has quite a lot of content. I also like that the scripts used in it are hiragana and kanji (My favorite combination!) Do not forget that this language also has a Wikimedia Incubator!
If you are a linguist and familiar with reference grammars, I would recommend reading the introduction and Tsuken dialect part of the paper Ryukyuan languages: an introduction by Michinori Shimoji & Thomas Pellard. Note that the other parts of the book covers other Ryukyuan languages.
The rest of the resources are both physical books. I own Shokyu Okinawago and Okinawago no Nyuumon Tanoshii Uchinaaguchi. These two books are very nice, and clearly for different types of learners. I prefer the latter, as it uses latin letters with kanji and katakana and includes a CD. Shokyu Okinawago only uses katakana and seems to be aimed at people who love over-explanations of grammar points and exercises. I do not like either, so this book is boring me.
These are the resources I'd recommend the most. I might have forgotten some, so there might be a part two some time... Feel free to ask me anything about this language (or really any language I'm learning! I'd love to answer!) うたいみそーち !
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