Okinawan language

Okinawan is a type of language that people talk in the Okinawa islands, which are in Japan, far away from the other big cities in Japan. It sounds different from Japanese because it has its own vocabulary and way of speaking. Imagine if you and your friends made up your own language, that's what Okinawan is like compared to Japanese. The words can sound really different, like how "hello" in Japanese is "konichiwa" but in Okinawan it's "haisai". People who live in Okinawa often speak both Japanese and Okinawan, but some people also only speak Okinawan. It's important to keep this language alive, because it's a special part of Okinawan culture and history.