Lost in Translation: The Quiet Death of Japan's Local Dialects

Mongolian-Throat-Singing Table-Tennis-Dancing and the Disappearing Dialects of Japan

Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai) on the border of Yamagata and Akita Prefectures.

Yamagata cops a lot of flack for its dialects.

And for good reason.

When people ask if I can understand the local Shonai dialect, I tell them: my wife doesn’t even understand it.

And she’s a born-and-bred Yamagatan.

Okay, that’s a little disingenuous. She understands Shonai dialect just…