Location: Kansai Dialect Self-study Site / Ch1. Characteristics / 2. Linguistic Aspects /

b. Accent (Accentuation and pitch pattern)

What makes the Kansai dialect distinct is its characteristic pitch pattern. You will see the actual pitch pattern difference when comparing the Kansai dialect with the Standard in the conversation video clips in the following chapter. However, the most particular characteristic feature of the Kansai dialect pitch pattern is the H-H (plain high/flat high) pitch pattern. In the Standard, the first mora and the second mora of a word should have different pitch levels; however, this is not the case in the Kansai dialect. The following difference between the Standard and the Kansai dialect illustrates the point. (H: high pitch, L: low pitch)
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Tokyo

Kansai

箸 (はし: chopsticks)
HL
LH
橋 (はし: bridge)
LH
HL
端 (はし: edge)
LH
HH

In this way, the Kansai dialect has a three-way distinction with a variety of H-H pitch patterns while the standard has a two-way distinction. Even sentences with all-high flat pitch pattern occur such as;

Tokyo
Kansai
()ってあげようか?(Shall I buy it for you?)

こ うたろかあ
  
邪魔(じゃま)しないで。(Don't disturb me!}

じゃ ませんといてぇ



Note

Professor Yoshitaka Yamashita in Hokkaido University claims that these sound / pitch characteristics (such as the high flat pitch pattern and tones in one-mora words in Kansai dialect) are inherited characteristics from the Chinese language that was brought thousands of years ago. According to Professor Yamashita, the ancient Japanese language had been very monotonous with no accent, tone or pitch, until some Chinese migrated to the Kansai area, which is believed to have been the center of Japan at that time. Only the accentual characteristics spread to the Eastern Japan; however, the tonal characteristics continued to affect the language in the Kansai area. This might be the reason why the sound of Kansai dialect resembles that of Chinese!


Experiment

Let’s examine how Kansai people count one to ten! What do you think makes the Kansai-ben versions different from Tokyo version? When counting numbers, one-mora numbers such as 'two (に) ' and 'five (ご)' are lengthened even in standard, but can you find any difference in tones between Tokyo version and Kansai versions? Also, pay attention to the pitch patterns and the sound characteristics (how they pronounce vowels such as い and う, how they pronounce 'seven (しち)' etc.). Lastly, can you find a common 'musical' pitch pattern in Kansai heavy version?

Tokyo
Kansai