The Kaga dialect (Japanese: 加賀弁 kaga ben) is a Japanese Hokuriku dialect spoken south of Kahoku in the Kaga region (formerly Kaga Province) of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Regional variation
The Kaga dialect is broadly divided into three regional dialects, which include:
The North Kaga dialect, centred around Kanazawa. Also known as the Kanazawa dialect and sometimes treated separately to the wider Kaga dialect. It may also be known as Kanazawa kotoba (金沢言葉 Literally 'Kanazawa language'), but this term in particular refers predominantly to the phrases used in customer service that have developed in the hanamachi district of its old town. The Central Kaga (or Komatsu) dialect centred around Komatsu. Includes the vernacular of the former village of Shiramine, Hakusan, known as the Shiramine, or Jige dialect. The Shiramine dialect is a language island that differs considerably from other Kaga dialects. The South Kaga (or Daishōji) dialect centred around Kaga City.
Phonology
General features
Single-mora nouns become lengthened, like me (目 eye) → mē (めぇ) and te (手 hand) → tē (てぇ). In areas such as Komatsu, two-mora first-class nouns are lengthened. For example: hashi (橋 bridge) → hāshi (はあし), ashi (足 foot) → āshi (あぁし). In Shiramine, a /tu/ sound can be heard. Except when beginning a word, g-starting mora become nasalised. At the end of words or in breaks in conversation, an ‘undulating’ intonation (indicated by bold (rising) and underline (falling)) appears. It is a characteristic phenomena of Hokuriku dialects, and is known as kantō (間投 "interjection", not to be confused with the Kantō region) or yusuri ("shaking") intonation. Even among the younger generation, whose Japanese is increasingly standardised, this intonation is common. Below are some examples: sore de (それで and then) → honde (ほんで) → hondeee (ほんでぇえ) ~da kedo (〜だけど but) → ~ya kedo ( 〜やけど but) → yakedooo (やけどぉお) . ano ne (あのね hey, so...) → anoon-nē (あのぉんねぇ) etto ne (えっとね (filler word used to indicate one is thinking)) → ettoon-nē (えっとぉんねぇ). The demonstrative stem so- (そ-) sometimes becomes ho- (ほ-). Sō da (そうだ that’s right ) → sō ya (そーや) ・ hō ya (ほーや). Soshite (そして and ) → hoshite (ほして), etc. Among the older generation, there remains a distinction between ka (か) and kwa (くゎ), such as between kaji (家事 household task) and kwaji (火事 fire).
Pitch accent
According to Haruhiko Kindaichi, the pitch accent of Kaga dialects is considered to be intermediate between the Kyoto and Tokyo standards. Two-mora nouns like ka-ze (風 wind) are pronounced flat in both the Tokyo and Kyoto standards, but have a characteristic so-called kakō (下降) standard tone in Shiramine. When independent of any particles, the first mora is pronounced somewhat higher and the second mora falls slightly (indicated by 〇〇 in the table below). When a particle is attached, the second mora is higher and gently falls from the third mora onwards. Second- and third-class two-mora nouns like ya-ma (山 mountain) are front-mora stressed and fourth- and fifth-class two-mora nouns like ka-sa (笠 conical hat) are unaccented. In plain area, however, pitch accent changes depending on the type of vowel used. For example, in Daishoji, Kaga City, among first-, second- and third-class two-mora nouns, those with a close vowel (i, u) as their second mora are front-mora stressed and those with an open vowel (a, e, o) are final-mora stressed. Conversely, among those born in Showa Era Kanazawa, first-, second- and third-class two-mora nouns with a voiced consonant and close vowel (e.g. i-nu 犬 dog) as their second mora are front-mora stressed and those with a consonant and open vowel (e.g. i-ke 池 pond) as their second mora are final-mora stressed. Among the generation born between (mainly) the Meiji Era and the mid-Taisho era, however, first-class nouns are all final-mora stressed, differentiating them from second- and third-class nouns. In Kanazawa, fourth- and fifth-class nouns are unaccented. This pitch accent system is also found in the former town of Imajō in Fukui Prefecture.
Expressions and grammar
Kanazawa dialect
Men often attach ya (や) and women ne (ね) to the end of words. The casual interrogative no (の) becomes ga (が), a trait found throughout Ishikawa and Niigata and is also shared with the Tosa dialect. For example: sonna no ga ii no ka? (そんなのがいいのか is that really okay?) → honna ga ga ii ga ke? (ほんなががいいがけ).
~masshi (〜まっし)