I found this sign at one of the gusuku (castles) in Okinawa a few years back.
いっちぇ〜ならん！
Iche~naran!
Do not enter!
At a construction site near my apartment in Fukuoka I found this warning:
危なかけん (Abunaka-ken)
入ったら、(haittara)
いかんとばい (ikanto-bai)
工事しよるけん (Kōji shiyoru-ken)
立ち入り禁止ばい！ (Tachiiri kinshi-bai)
I came across an interesting website the other day when looking up the meaning of haisai (ハイサイ). The site featured an interactive quiz of Uchinaaguchi (沖縄口), or the Okinawan language. Below is a sample of the questions from that quiz.
1. ウケーメー (ukaymay)
◯ おかゆ (Okayu, rice porridge)
◯ しゃもじ (Shamoji, a wooden spoon)
◯ 大変 (Taihen, terrible, awful, grave)
◯ 泥棒 (Dorobo, a thief)
☆ Scroll down for the answer.
2. ワタヤミ (watayami)
◯ お世辞 (o-seji, a compliment, flattery)
◯ 雀（suzume, a sparrow)
◯ 腹痛 (fukutsû, a stomachache)
◯ ニセクロホシフエダイ (nisekuro hoshifuedai, a kind of fish.)
3. カージ (kahji)
◯ ピーナッツ (peanuts)
◯ 扇（ôgi, a folding fan)
◯ 新鮮な魚 (shinsen-na sakana, fresh fish)
◯ 便所 (benjo, W.C., toilet.)
4. ヒィラファグサ (Hiirafagusa)
◯ 婚約 (konyaku, engagement)
◯ ブダイ (budai, Japanese parrotfish)
◯ アロエ (aroe, aloe vera)
◯ オオバコ (ôbako, Plantago asiatica)
5. エーキンチュ (Ehkinchu)
◯ よもぎ (yomogi, Japanese mugwort)
◯ ごぼう (gobô, burdock root)
◯ 指 (yubi, finger)
◯ 金持ち (kanemochi, rich wealthy)
6. ウチナー (uchinah)
◯ 沖縄本島 (Okinawa hontô, the island of Okinawa)
◯ あらまあ (Arama, Oh dear!)
◯ 硫黄 (iô, sulfur)
◯ コバンザメ (kobanzame, live sharksucker)
7. ワン (Wan)
◯ 俺 (oré, I)
◯ ウデフリクモヒトデ (Udefurikumohitode, a kind of star fish)
◯ バカモノ (Bakamono, idiot, fool)
◯ アイゴの稚魚 (Aigo no chigyo, the small fry of the mottled spinefoot fish)
1. ウケーメー (ukay may)
（1）お粥 (おかゆ), o-kayu, or rice porridge.
2. ワタヤミ (watayami)
(3) 腹痛 (fukutsû, a stomachache)
3. カージ (kahji)
(2) 扇（ôgi, a folding fan)
In the past the fans were made of kuba leaves and are still called kuba uchiwa today. The fans are also used in religious rites.
4. ヒィラファグサ (Hiirafagusa)
(4) オオバコ (ôbako, Plantago asiatica)
A perennial herb found all over Okinawa, it can be used for medicinal purposes or eaten in a variety of dishes.
5. エーキンチュ (Ehkinchu)
(5) 金持ち (kanemochi, rich wealthy person)
Anyone familiar with the Okinawan language should have gotten this one. Kin is "gold, money" and chu means "person".
6. ウチナー (uchinah)
(1) 沖縄本島 (Okinawa hontô, the island of Okinawa)
From a previous posting: I listen to a lot of music from Okinawa and have even written about the song Chinsagu nu Hana in previous posting. The song is sung in a dialect known as Uchinâ Yamato-guchi, the Japanese language as it is spoken in Okinawa with the local accent and words and phrases from both the Ryûkyû language and to some degree American English. The word Uchinâ, by the way, is how “Okinawa” is pronounced by Okinawans (O→U ki→chi na→na wa→a) and one of the first things I was happy to finally clarify. Ask your typical Japanese what Uchinâ means and they’ll either say they’ve never heard of it or venture a guess that it means “us”, “our” or “my”, as in the standard Japanese phrase uchi no (うちの).
7. ワン (Wan)
(1) 俺 (oré, I)
This word is the also used in Amami Ôshima.
Haisai (ハイサイ), by the way, can mean "Hello!" or "How are you doing?" While men say "ハイサイ" (Haisai!), women should say "ハイタイ" (Haitai!).
The other day I went to our local public library looking for some children's books in English. Although I didn't find what I wanted, I did come across two series of books for young readers on Japan's various dialects. I picked up two volumes each on the Kyūshū and Okinawan dialects. Being the nerd that I am, I was actually quite excited about it and couldn't wait to dive into the books.
Quiz Time: What does the following mean?
"Kumā Uchinå uti ichiban hanayaka tukuru yaibin. Mijirashii munu uti uyuru machiyanu ippē aibin."
Translation:
ここは沖縄で一番華やかな所でございます。珍しい品物を売っている店がたくさんございます。
This is Okinawa's most thriving area. There are many shops selling unusual items.
Key:
クマー is ここは or "Here/This". Again, は (wa) loses the "w" and is pronounced "a".
ウチナー is merely the local pronunciation of 沖縄 (Okinawa), where "o" sounds like "u", "ki" sounds like "chi" and "wa" loses the "w", becoming "a"
お き な わ → ウ チ ナ ア
o ki na wa → u chi na a
ウティ (uti/uchi) means で or "in/at"
沖縄で → ウチナーウティ
トウクル (tukuru) is again the local pronunciation of 所 (tokoro), where "o" becomes "u".
ヤイビーン (yaibin) is the formal copula following a consonant. I need to look more into this later.
ミジラシー ムヌ (mijirashii munu) is the Okinawan pronunciation of 珍しい物 (mezurashii mono, "unusual things")
ウゆる (uyuru) is 売る, with an added syllable "yu" added to the middle, similar I guess to the way people in Fukuoka add y to some words such as koyui (濃い, deep, heavy) which is pronounced koi in most other areas.
マチヤヌ (machiyanu), I think comes from 町家 (machiya, town house with store fronts)
イッペー (ippē) means いっぱい (ippai, a lot/many)
アイビーン (aibin) is the copula that follows a vowel.
Note: dialects in Okinawa Prefecture can vary greatly from island group to island group. Words that may be used in Naha might not be used in, say, the Yaejima archipelago, i.e. Ishigaki-jima.