OSAKA -- The distinctions are clear, a Kansai native might tell you. To express, for example, "she's not coming" ("kanojo konai" in standard Japanese), Osaka people would say "kanojo kehen," Kyoto people "kanojo kihen" and Kobe people "kanojo kohen."
But while outsiders might be scoffed at for only recognizing Osaka-ben (dialect), the stuff of comedy television, there's a Kansai speech pattern that even most residents couldn't identify: Senba kotoba (language).
Actually an Osaka subdialect, Senba kotoba is sometimes referred to as the "true Osaka-ben" because of its 17th-century origins in Chuo Ward's Senba commercial district -- a symbol for many Osakans of their city's proud history as a center for Japan's textile, finance and securities industries.