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Ainu (/ˈaɪnuː/;[1] Ainu: アイヌ・イタㇰ Aynu=itak; Japanese: アイヌ語 Ainu-go) is a language(s) spoken by members of the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Until the 20th century, Ainu languages were also spoken throughout the southern half of the island of Sakhalin and by small numbers of people in the Kuril Islands. There are three main dialects[2] along with other 19 dialects of the Ainu languages. Only the Hokkaido variant survives, the last speaker of Sakhalin Ainu having died in 1994. Hokkaido Ainu is moribund, though attempts are being made to revive it. The Japanese government made a decision to recognize Ainu as Indigenous in June 2008.[3] Currently, the Japanese government is constructing a facility dedicated to preserving Ainu culture, including the language.[4]

Ainu has no generally accepted genealogical relationship to any other language family.

Speakers

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Pirka Kotan Museum, an Ainu language and cultural center in Sapporo (Jozankei area)

Depending on the classification system used, According to UNESCO, Ainu is considered an endangered language.[5] As of 2016, Ethnologue lists Ainu as class 8b: "nearly extinct".[6] It has been endangered since before the 1960s. There are approximately 30,000 Ainu people in Japan[7], and only 15 speakers remaining with 304 people understanding the Ainu language. However, those numbers are uncertain because of other Ainu speakers who have not claimed as Ainu.[8]

Revitalization

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In general, Ainu people are hard to find because they tend to hide their identity as Ainu. The Japanese word "Wa" means "not causing waves" which could be preventing Ainu language revitalization. Especially in the young generation, 66% of Ainu youth do not know that they are Ainu. [9] In addition, because of Ainu students being strongly recommended to speak Japanese in school due to assimilation, and MEXT (Ministry of Education , Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) been only concerning English and Japanese, [10] it has been challenging for the Ainu language to be revitalized.

Despite this, there is an active movement to revitalize the language, mainly in Hokkaido but also elsewhere such as Kanto.[11] Ainu oral literature has been documented both in hopes of safeguarding it for future generations, as well as using it as a teaching tool for language learners.[12] Beginning in 1987, the Ainu Association of Hokkaido with approximately 500 members[13] began hosting 14 Ainu language classes, Ainu language instructors training courses and Family Ainu Learning Initiative[14] and have released instructional materials on the language, including a textbook.[12] Also, Wajin linguists teach Ainu and train students to become Ainu instructor in university. [15] In spite of these efforts, the Ainu language is not yet taught as a subject in any secondary school in Japan.[16]

Due to the Ainu Cultural Promotion Act of 1997, Ainu dictionaries transformed and became tools for improving communication and preserving records of the Ainu language in order to revitalize the language and promote the culture.[17] There is now an increasing number of second-language learners, especially in Hokkaido, in large part due to the pioneering efforts of the late Ainu folklorist, activist and former Diet member Shigeru Kayano who first opened an Ainu language school in 1987 funded by Ainu Kyokai,[18] himself a native speaker. The Ainu Association of Hokkaido is the main supporter of Ainu culture in Hokkaido. Ainu language classes have been conducted in some areas in Japan and small numbers of young people are learning Ainu. Efforts have also been made to produce web-accessible materials for conversational Ainu because most documentation of the Ainu language focused on the recording of folktales.[19] Ainu language has been in media as well;the first Ainu radio program was called FM Pipaushi which runs since 2001 along with 15 minute radio Ainu language lessons funded by FRPAC, and news paper "The Ainu Times" has been established since 1997.[20] In addition, the Ainu language has been seen in public domains such as the outlet shopping complex's name, "Rera" which means "wind" in Minami Chitose area and the name "Pewre" meaning "young" at shopping centre in Chitose area. There is also have a basketball team in Sapporo named "Pera Kamuy" which means "God of Wind".[21]　The well-known Japanese fashion magazine's name, "Non-no" is also Ainu language which means "flower".

  1. ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
  2. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
  3. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
  4. ^ Lam, May-Ying (27 July 2017). "Perspective | 'Land of the Human Beings': The world of the Ainu, little-known indigenous people of Japan". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  5. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
  6. ^ Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2016. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Nineteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
  7. ^ Gayman, J. (2012). Ainu Right to Education and Ainu Practice of “Education “: Current Situation and imminent Issues in Light of Indigenous Education Rights and Theory. Intercultural Education. Vol. 22.
  8. ^ Okazaki, T & Teeter, J. (2011). Ainu as a Heritage Language of Japan: History, Current State and Future of Ainu Language Policy and Education. Heritage Language Journal. 8 (2)
  9. ^ Gayman, J. (2012). Ainu Right to Education and Ainu Practice of “Education “: Current Situation and imminent Issues in Light of Indigenous Education Rights and Theory. Intercultural Education. Vol. 22.
  10. ^ Hanks,H, D (2017). Policy Barriers to Ainu Language Revitalization in Japan: When Globalization Means English.  Working Papers in Educational Linguistics 32(1): pp. 91-110.
  11. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
  12. ^ a b Vanishing Languages of the Pacific Rim. Oxford, GB: OUP Oxford. 2007-01-01. pp. 377–382. ISBN 9780191532894.
  13. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
  14. ^ Gayman, J. (2012). Ainu Right to Education and Ainu Practice of “Education “: Current Situation and imminent Issues in Light of Indigenous Education Rights and Theory. Intercultural Education. Vol. 22.
  15. ^ Gayman, J. (2012). Ainu Right to Education and Ainu Practice of “Education “: Current Situation and imminent Issues in Light of Indigenous Education Rights and Theory. Intercultural Education. Vol. 22.
  16. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
  17. ^ Hansen, A.S. (2014). "Re-vitalizing an indigenous language: Dictionaries of Ainu languages in Japan, 1625-2013". Lexicographica. 30 (1): 547-578. doi:10.1515/lexi-2014-0017. S2CID 156901164.
  18. ^ Okazaki, T & Teeter, J. (2011). Ainu as a Heritage Language of Japan: History, Current State and Future of Ainu Language Policy and Education. Heritage Language Journal. 8 (2)
  19. ^ Bugaeva, Anna (2010). "Internet applications for endangered languages: A talking dictionary of Ainu". Waseda Institute for Advanced Study Research Bulletin 3: 73–81.
  20. ^ Okazaki, T & Teeter, J. (2011). Ainu as a Heritage Language of Japan: History, Current State and Future of Ainu Language Policy and Education. Heritage Language Journal. 8 (2)
  21. ^ Martin, K. (2011). Aynu itak. On the Road to Ainu Language Revitalization. Media and Communication Studies. 60: 57-93
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