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🌏 Region(s): Honshu (Standard)

ほうげん【方言】

hougen

Pronunciation: [hoːɡeɴ̩]

Definition

Noun

  1. Dialect; patois; regional dialect; variety; variant; lect
    1. ほうげんをつかうな!方言を使うな!】
      hougen o tsukau na!
      "No speaking in a dialect", "Speaking in a dialect is forbidden"
    2. きょうとのほうげん【京都の方言
      kyouto no hougen
      "Kyoto dialect"
  2. (Ryukyuan linguistics) Language
    1. おきなわほうげん【沖縄方言
      okinawa hougen
      "Okinawan language"
  3. Sociolect

Notes

The term ほうげん【方言】 hougen is frequently used in the context of Japanese linguistics to refer to major regional speech variants, especially with regards to the Ryukyu Islands, where English and other European languages would preferentially opt for the term "language" (as in あまみほうげん【奄美方言】 amami hougen "Amami language").

The term may also carry a pejorative nuance, primarily due to policies discriminating against dialects and to a culture promoting unity and homogeneity. In Okinawa particularly, children caught speaking in their local language would be punished and forced to wear dialect cards (known as ほうげんふだ【方言札】 hougen fuda).

Spelling

OrthographyForm
Kanji方言
Kanaほうげん
Romanizationhougen
Pronunciation (IPA)[hoːɡeɴ̩]

意味:ほうげん【方言】

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方言
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2019, October 15). ほうげん【方言】 : hougen | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, January 9, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/928/hougen/.