Yamagata Dialect

The Yamagata dialect (山形弁, Yamagata-ben?) is the local dialect spoken in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It is a form of Tōhoku-ben, and can itself be broken down into sub-regional branches that vary from area to area within Yamagata.

Yamagata-ben was used for comic effect in the Japanese film Swing Girls, 2004, to suggest that the film was set in a rural, 'backward' location. However, some Yamagata residents feel that the film used the dialect in an unnatural and patronising way. The dialect has also had Japan-wide exposure through Daniel Kahl, an American who has made a TV career as the gaijin talent who can speak fluent Yamagata-ben.