Gaiko Dialects of Nagano Prefecture

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  • 長野県の外行方言

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From the perspective of observation on the regional language side, the author called the process by which a regional language is accepted into the common language ‘gaiko’, and the dialects of that language ‘gaiko dialects’. Three cases of gaiko dialects from Nagano Prefecture were taken up, and the process of gaiko was observed and discussed. The term ‘pinpinkorori (PPK)’ was coined by a member of the education committee of Takamori Town, Shimoina County, Nagano Prefecture. Initially, the term expressed a feeling of happiness about it, and was also used as a compound term for the ‘PPK movement’. Later, it became established in Nagano Prefecture as a noun referring to the aspect of ‘living a long and healthy life and dying without suffering’, and is now also used nationwide. The fact that the term was introduced from Nagano Prefecture, which has the highest average life expectancy in Japan, and the fact that the meaning of the term was expanded compared to the common adverb ‘pokkuri’, which was already used, gave it greater freedom as a noun, are thought to have contributed to its spread nationwide. The factors that led to the nationwide spread of ‘ninenmairi’ and ‘otsukaresama’ were analysed and discussed, focusing on social culture, attitudes and the language itself, while capturing the transformation of the regional language.

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