Japanese has several accents depending on the area. When people think of Japanese, they think that Japanese does not have thick accents, so it is called standard Japanese, and it is partly artificially made based on the Tokyo dialect. Dialects are interesting because each of them gives us a different impression. For me, Kansai dialect sounds a little funny because it reminds me of comedians. Also, Hiroshima dialect sounds friendly and warm. Each dialect has its own characteristics that play a big role in creating people’s identity. In this point, those who speak Tokyo Japanese are looking for another thing to create their identity because their language does not have any unique characteristic. Tsugaru dialect sounds like French and is sometimes impossible for me to understand. Dialects change the use of words and have their own vocabulary.

Throughout history, authorities have tried to unify the language into standard Japanese. For example, Ryukyuan people were forced to speak Japanese instead of their native language. Language is the basis of their symbol and identity, so the loss of their language was relevant to their loss of identity as Ryukyuans. Protecting the language from disappearing is the same as protecting the country and the ethnic group. Language is such an important thing.