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Evolution of the pronunciation of the surname 中嶋/中島 from "Nakashima" to "Nakajima"

Japanese Language Asked on October 25, 2021

I was trying satiate my nostalgia by looking for theme songs of classic Japanese dramas on YouTube, when it suddenly occurred to me that 中島 can be pronounced in two ways:

  • 中島 みゆき is Nakajima Miyuki
  • 中島 美嘉 is Nakashima Mika

So I looked up the Japanese Wikipedia for clues about the distinction. It was only mentioned in passing:

清音の「なかしま」から時代が経つにつれて濁音の「なかじま」と変わった家や、中嶋から中島に変えた家がある。

"Some houses have changed from the seion Nakashima to the dakuon Nakajima." There is no reference offered for that claim, however.

The Wikipedia page then lists several different origins of 中島 from different areas of Japan. It explicitly put なかじま between parentheses for the 中島 of 土佐.

Am I to understand that the 中島 of 土佐 is predominantly pronounced "Nakajima", whereas the 中島 from other areas are predominantly pronounced "Nakashima"?

So was there really an evolution of the pronunciation? Was there any traceable record of such?

Is there anyway to infer the origin of a 中島 member from the pronunciation of the surname? Or vice versa?

One Answer

According to several sources, なかしま is dominant in western Japan.

But guessing the reading of a 中島さん based on their birthplace is not very realistic. Practically, if you don't know how to read a particular 中島さん, I think it's usually okay to default to なかじま and switch to なかしま after being corrected. As pointed out in the comment section, there are many similar examples, and even native speakers often make mistakes regarding the rendaku of proper nouns.

Answered by naruto on October 25, 2021

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