The first nation state of Ryukyu that unified the discrete clans in the main Island of Okinawa was founded in the year of 1429 (Nelson, 2006: 367). During this period, the Ryukyuan Kingdom were able to maintain its political independence by trading with China and Japan.

 

Shuri as official lingua franca

 

           The unification of Ryukyu Islands provided a pushing force to the development of a centralized language as communication is promoted and the exchange of ideas could be performed more easily. Regarding this, in the second dynasty of the Kingdom, the third emperor of the dynasty, proclaimed Shuri language, the language used in the capital city Shuri, where the Shuri Castle is found, as the official lingua franca between all communities in his reign, which started at 1477 and ended at 1527 (Osumi, 2001: 71). Not until the attempt of assimilation by the Meiji government between 19th and 20th century, Shuri language had been the common language between people from different communities and regions (Osumi, 2001: 71), hence most of the Ryukyuan varieties, especially varieties in Northern Ryukyu, are greatly influenced by Shuri language (Yasuko, 2012: 177).  

 

 

          In 1609, the Shizuma clan of Satsuma of Kyushu expanded its influence and annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom, but the Japanese influence remained little (Osumi, 2001: 71). While the remaining parts kept being partially independent, the Northern islands of Amami were governed by Satsuma (Yokota, 2005). The reason for this partial colonization was largely due to economic reasons. The rapid production of cane sugar in Amami Islands helped the growth of Satsuma’s economic power, while leaving the Ryukyu kingdom partly independent created a deception to China and maintained trade activities of the kingdom with China, which Japan had poor relationship with (Yokota, 2005). As a result, Amami Islands were quickly integrated with Japan, while the rest, including Shuri the capital, remained uninfluenced by Japanese, and its vernacular languages continued to be used in the next 270 years (Mastumori, 1995: 25 as cited in Osumi, 2001: 71).