The Japonic languages reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Japonic languages

The Japonic family of languages are a group of languages related to Japanese, believed to descend from a common language known as Proto-Japonic. The Japonic languages have been postulated to belong to the Altaic languages, but there is no empirical proof of a relationship.

The Japonic languages are:

• Japanese (日本語)

• Ryukyuan languages (琉球語)
  • Amami (奄美語), aka North Okinawan
  • Okinawan (沖縄語), aka Central Okinawan
  • Miyako (宮古語)
  • Yaeyama (八重山語), aka South Okinawan
  • Yonaguni (与那国語)

Whether the various Ryukyuan languages are separate languages or merely dialects is debatable.

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