On the Relationship of the Degrees of Correspondence of Dialects and Distances

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between the degrees of resemblance and distances between dialects based on several dialectological atlases. This analysis investigates various correspondence data with respect to total valid data in setting reference places and comparison places. The degree of correspondence (DC) can be calculated by quantifying the degree of resemblance. I adopt a great-circular distance for the distance between the source and a comparison place. It is possible to graph the data with distances and DCs along the X and Y axes, respectively. The analysis yields five main results. (1) DC has an inverse relationship with distance in most places, here called the main sequence. However, there are exceptional places called peculiar groups. (2) One of the peculiar groups was caused by in-migration. (3) Another peculiar group is found on islands having very narrow land areas divided by the sea. (4) The main sequence can be classified into two types of linguistic classes. The grammatical data show a stepping slope instead of a gentle slope in the lexical data. (5) The main sequence shows a precise linear relationship over a narrow area.

Japanese Lexical Variation Explained by Spatial Contact Patterns

“…Most research on Japanese dialects focused on the linguistic relations themselves, and did not quantitatively account for the underlying potential spatial factors assumed to affect dialectal variation. With some exceptions, e.g., [14,15], quantitative studies involving aggregation of multiple phenomena across larger areas are missing.…”

“…Holman et al [49], inspired by population genetics [50], explicitly associate the concept of 'isolation by distance' among the world's languages with the situation faced by dialectology. The axiomatic role of geography structuring language, phrased by Nerbonne and Kleiweg [51] (p. 154), which practically describes spatial autocorrelation in dialectal variation, was tested in numerous studies, e.g., [15,21,26,41,52,53]. Nerbonne and Kleiweg's postulate, "geographically proximate varieties tend to be more similar than distant ones", is, in effect, the linguistic adaptation of Tobler's first law of geography [54].…”

“…Despite the fact that Japanese dialects are among the most thoroughly researched ones, the explanatory power of geographic factors on linguistic variation has not been researched until lately [14,15]. Japanese dialectology until recently, similarly to traditional dialectology in general, was involved mostly in qualitative studies of characterising individual linguistic phenomena, e.g., [65][66][67], and quantitative studies involving aggregation of multiple phenomena based on surveys, but excluding geostatistical analyses.…”

Japanese Lexical Variation Explained by Historical Contact Patterns

“…With some exceptions, e.g. [14,15], quantitative studies involving aggregation of multiple phenomena across larger areas are missing.…”

“…The axiomatic role of geography structuring language, phrased by Nerbonne and Kleiweg [51] (p. 154), which practically describes spatial autocorrelation in dialectal variation, has been tested in numerous studies, e.g. [15,21,26,41,52,53]. Nerbonne and Kleiweg's postulate, "geographically proximate varieties tend to be more similar than distant ones", is, in effect, the linguistic adaptation of Tobler's first law of geography [54].…”