Inshū dialect

Phonology

In the San’in area (including Tottori) the long o (お) sound derived from the au (あう) diphthong of the Heian and Kamakura periods has morphed to a long a (あぁ). Consequently, the volitional/persuasive ikō (行こう let’s go) is pronounced ikā (行かあ) and the conjecture-expressing ~ darō (～だろう) becomes ~ darā (～だらあ). Although usually said as kauta (買うた) in San’yō dialects, katta (買った bought) becomes kāta (買あた) or simply remains the same. It's pitch accent is the chūrin (中輪 ‘middle ring’) Tokyo standard, a trait that can also be seen in the Kurayoshi dialect.

Although diphthong merging is virtually absent in Tottori City, it does occur in the former districts of Yazu and Iwami. In Yazu, the diphthong ai (あい) merges to an ē (えぇ) like in akai (赤い red) → akē (あけえ). In Iwami, ai merges instead to yā (ゃあ) like in akai (赤い red) → akyā (あきゃあ). Although almost non-existent elsewhere in Tottori, in the town of Chizu there is a phenomenon of merging the diphthong oi (おい) to ē (えぇ) like in kuroi (黒い black) → kure (くれえ).

In contrast to most other Western Japanese dialects and in kind with more distant groups such as the Kanto dialects, across Tottori there is frequent silencing of vowels. When unaccented, voiceless consonants (shi (し), ki (き), etc.) become silent.