Aonghas Crowe

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Abunaka-ken

I found these two signs at a construction site in my neighborhood. Written in Hakata-ben, they sound more familiar, softer perhaps, and are probably more effective than if they had been written in standard Japanese.

あぶなかけん (Abunaka-ken)

入ったら (haittara)

いかんとばい (ikan-to-bai

In standard Japanese the sign would read: 危ないので、入ったらいけないよ (Lit. “Because it is dangerous, do not enter.”)

Key:

. . . ken means . . . kara or . . . node, and expresses a reason or cause.

As we have seen in another posting, in many parts of Kyūshū, the i-ending of adjectives is replaced with -ka, so abunai (dangerous) becomes abunaka.

. . . ikenai is ikan in Hakata-ben, similar to akan in the Kansai dialect, but much less frequently used.

. . . to can added for emphasis or as a question marker.

. . . bai in standard Japanese is . . . dayo.

工事しよるけん (Kōji-shiyoru-ken)

立入禁止ばい!! (tachiirikinshi-bai)

 Again, in standard Japanese the sign would read: 工事しているので、立入禁止ばいのよ (Lit. “Under construction, entering is forbidden.”)