[Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture] Introducing traffic safety slogans full of Tsugaru dialect such as “Futozu” and “Ittomaga”!

Traffic safety slogans that you often see when driving a car. Signboards are placed on the side of the road, displayed on electronic bulletin boards, and used to make people aware of traffic safety. Although it is a traffic safety slogan that is often seen nationwide, there is actually a unique traffic safety slogan written in the Tsugaru dialect in some areas of Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture.

This time , we will introduce Hirosaki City's unique traffic safety slogans, titled "[Motsuke] [Unuunu] Introducing traffic safety slogans full of Tsugaru dialect!" We will also explain the installation location and the meaning of the slogan, so please be sure to look for it when you visit Hirosaki.

Traffic safety slogan full of Tsugaru dialect

Traffic safety slogans full of Tsugaru dialect are an initiative started in 2007 by the Watoku branch of the Hirosaki Traffic Safety Association. Every year, the contest is created by 6th grade students at Joto Elementary School in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, and this year, 4 of the 43 entries won prizes.

The winning traffic safety slogans have been turned into billboards and placed within the Joto Elementary School district. There are 66 pieces, including past winning entries, and some of them have slogans that are not in the Tsugaru dialect. However, most of them are full of Tsugaru dialect, so drivers from other prefectures may be surprised if they don't understand the meaning.

Introducing the meanings of five Tsugaru dialect traffic safety slogans! How many correct answers can you get?

We will introduce the meanings of the five Tsugaru dialect traffic safety slogans, focusing on the winning entries in 2024.

① Obederaga? The yellow color has stopped, but it's still normal.

One of this year's new releases. This means, "You remember, right? (You know, right?) Yellow is the same as stop.

First of all, "Obederaga" and "Yellow wa Stop" are simply accents of "Do you remember?" and "Yellow is Stop", so "You remember, right? (You know, right?) Yellow is Stop." ”.

The problem is that it's just a matter of course. People who don't understand the Tsugaru dialect might think, "Futozu? Does that mean fat?", but it actually means "the same." "Dane" is used as the ending of a word in standard Japanese, but the nuance is slightly different, and it conveys the strong will of the person saying "-dora."

So, if you put it all together, it means, "You remember, right? (You know, right?) Yellow means stop."

②Stop at the crosswalk

This is also a new work this year, but it is less difficult than the other three works. The meaning is "Please stop at the crosswalk for a moment," but I think you could have read it even if you didn't understand the Tsugaru dialect.

"Ittomaga" is used to mean "in the blink of an eye" and is said to have changed from "ittokima" (one hour). Older people sometimes pronounce it as ``itomaga'' without the ``tsu'', making it a fairly popular Tsugaru dialect. The next thing I want to pay attention to in "stop" is "ke". In the Tsugaru dialect, ``ke'' is famous for having multiple meanings with just one character. It is said that if you change the pronunciation, it can have 12 meanings, such as "eat," "give me," and "itch." In this usage, "Please stop" is applicable, so "Please stop" is the correct meaning.

It turns out that this is a slogan that tells drivers to "stop at the crosswalk for a moment."

③Damn it, don't drive with your smartphone.

This is also one of this year's new works, but it doesn't make any sense from the beginning, ``Don Dakkya.'' It conveys a strong message: ``What do you think? Choose between using your smartphone or driving.'' ``Donda'' means ``How are you doing?'' when you ask someone, but it can also be used to say ``What do you mean?'' when you are stunned. "Kya" is a word ending that is often used in the Tsugaru dialect, and when you put the two together, it means "What do you mean?".

Also, in ``Dojigasase'', ``Dojiga'' means ``either'' and ``~sa'' means ``to'' in relation to a place or person. ``～se'' includes the meaning of the command ``do...'', so if you translate it all, it means ``do one or the other.'' Since elementary school students are thinking about this, Tsugaru elementary school students are not ordinary...

④Ado Wanka Fly and Asaidege

This is the slogan that was the most difficult to read among this year's new works. The meaning ``Leave the house a little earlier and go for a walk,'' but it's not clear which words mean what.

First, let's start with ``Ado Wanka.'' ``Ado'' is just a accented version of ``ato,'' so the meaning is the same as the standard Japanese. "Wanka" means "a little" in the Tsugaru dialect, so "Ado Wanka" can be expressed as "just a little more." In the next sentence, ``haegu de hat'', ``haegu'' means ``quickly,'' and ``hatte'' means ``come out.'' Both of these words are just accents, but there are too many voiced marks and they are far from the original words. The last word, "asaidege," means "to walk," and "asaide" can be translated as "to walk." ``Ge'' is an accent of ``ke = ~shiro'' that appeared earlier, so when you put all of them together, it means ``Leave the house a little earlier and go on foot.''

⑤Dopurido Kuregunategara Bayameguna

This is a past award-winning work. The Tsugaru dialect, which is quite popular, is used, so I'm sure many people understand the meaning. This is a message to children: ``Don't wander around late at night.''

First of all, ``Doppurido'' is an accent of ``Toppuri'', which is used when the sun sets. So, you can see that the next ``Kuregunategara'' will take place at dusk. ``Doppurido He wa Kuregunategara'' can be literally translated as ``After it gets dark (after the sun goes down)''. It's easy to get to this point, but the problem is that it's too late. "Bayamegu" means "to wander around" or "to move around," and children in Tsugaru grow up being yelled at, "Don't move around!" "Bayameguna" is a Tsugaru dialect that every elementary school student in Tsugaru knows, so it's an excellent road safety slogan for children.

Public relations slogan using dialect released by Aomori Prefectural Police

In addition, the Aomori Prefectural Police is ``Public Relations Slogans Utilizing Dialects'' and announcing them on its official website.

In addition to "Traffic Accident Prevention," slogans such as "Special Fraud Damage Prevention" and "Police Recruitment Recruitment" have been published in the Tsugaru dialect, which are almost impossible for other prefectural residents to decipher. Introducing some of the outstanding works that have been published.

Special fraud damage prevention public relations

• I don't care about telephone postcards.
• If you don't understand, it's a fake son.

Traffic accident prevention public relations

• Bigabiga, if you stand out, it's a car.
• If you get into trouble, you'll be in trouble
• Dabyon Gottayori Check first

Police officer recruitment advertisement

• I'm too lazy to protect this shameful city.
• We must protect the future of the dog with the power of the dog.

...Did you understand everything? If you are interested, please take a look at the correct answer, which is available in PDF format on the Aomori Prefectural Police official website below.

Link: Aomori Prefectural Police – Public relations slogan using dialect

summary

Traffic safety slogans full of Tsugaru dialect can only be seen in the Joto Elementary School district in Hirosaki City. In addition to the five we introduced this time, there are many other billboards installed in the area. If you have a chance to visit Hirosaki, why not take a look at the Tsugaru dialect traffic safety slogan and experience the native Tsugaru dialect?