A British Missionary by the name of John Batchelor (1854-1944) translated the Bible into the Ainu language during his sixty years spent with them (Refsing, 2000).
John Batchelor was convinced that the Ainu were of Aryan descent and through this his views have influenced many generations of Western linguists (Refsing, 2000).
Refsing, Kirsten
2000 Lost Aryans? John Batchelor and the Colonization of the Ainu Language. Taylor and Francis LTD (2)1: 21-34.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Facts
The Ainu have their own culture, language, and religion that have been fostered in harmony with nature (Tsunemoto, 2001).
In the past, they survived through hunting, gathering, and fishing (Tsunemoto, 2001).
Prosperous trade with Japan, Sakhalin, and Asian Continent further enriched the Ainu culture (Tsunemoto, 2001).
In the past, they survived through hunting, gathering, and fishing (Tsunemoto, 2001).
Prosperous trade with Japan, Sakhalin, and Asian Continent further enriched the Ainu culture (Tsunemoto, 2001).
Tsunemoto, Teruki
2001 Rights and Identities of Ethnic Minorities in Japan: Indigenous Ainu and Resident Koreans. Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law (2)1: 119-141.
2001 Rights and Identities of Ethnic Minorities in Japan: Indigenous Ainu and Resident Koreans. Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law (2)1: 119-141.
Ainu Ethnicity: Debates
What exactly are the Ainu? There have been a lot of debacle between their genetic relations between certain European groups.
Sutherland claims that the Ainu's appearance resemble that of Caucasoid type. The Japanese frequently refer to their indigenous neighbours as "hairy Ainu" because of the amount of hair the Ainu grow on their body (in comparison to Asians who don't have much body hair) (Sutherland, 1948).
Now, the widely accepted hypothesis about the Ainu is that they are proto-Caucasians (Sutherland, 1948).
Again, this book was written way back when (1948 is quite a looong time ago) and is not up-to-date by any means. This view is no longer in use.
Sutherland claims that the Ainu's appearance resemble that of Caucasoid type. The Japanese frequently refer to their indigenous neighbours as "hairy Ainu" because of the amount of hair the Ainu grow on their body (in comparison to Asians who don't have much body hair) (Sutherland, 1948).
Now, the widely accepted hypothesis about the Ainu is that they are proto-Caucasians (Sutherland, 1948).
Again, this book was written way back when (1948 is quite a looong time ago) and is not up-to-date by any means. This view is no longer in use.
Sutherland, I.L.G.
1948 The Ainu of Northern Japan. The Polynesian Society (57)3: 203-226.
1948 The Ainu of Northern Japan. The Polynesian Society (57)3: 203-226.
Tidbit
"Unfortunately, since Hokkaido Ainu is moribund and thus "different speech styles" do not now exist, this latter advantage of fused units cannot be exploited. However, as the linguistic affinities of Ainu have not yet been determined, a comparison of the fused units of Ainu with those of languages with which a connection is possible would add another piece of evidence to the Ainu enigma and be of benefit to comparativists and ethnologists alike" (Simeon, 1969).Interesting...
Simeon, George
1969 Hokkaido Ainu Phonemics. American Oriental Society (89)4: 751-757.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Learn Ainu #3
"The copula ne also takes the same personal affixes as do transitive verbs" (Shibatani, 1990).
- kuani Aynu ku-ne
I am an Ainu - eani sisame-ne
You are a Japanese - tan-kur poro nispa ne
This person is a great chief - orwa ku-kor kotanta oray-as
And then, we were in my village
Shibatani, Masayoshi
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York.
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York.
Learn Ainu #2
- a-e-koyki
I kill you - kindaichi tono nispa ku-nukar
I met Mr. Kindaichi - kamuy umma rayke
A bear killed a horse - kuani pon turesi ku-kay
I carried the little sister on my back - tampe huci ku-kore
I gave this to Grandmother - ahci mahpooho kosonto miire
Grandmother put the Sunday best on the girl
Shibatani, Masayoshi
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York.
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York.
Learn Ainu #1
- ku-ita
I spoke - e-itak
You (sg) spoke - itak
He spoke
These 'lessons' were taken straight out of the textbook! It didn't come in IPA form so I have no idea how to pronounce these words properly :(
Shibatani, Masayoshi
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York.
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York.
Lesson Book
Want to learn about the structure of the language of the Ainu? The book "The languages of Japan" is a very useful one because it includes everything from grammatical structures to phonology to lexicons and more!
I learnt, from this book, that the Ainu language structured in an SOV format.
I learnt, from this book, that the Ainu language structured in an SOV format.
Shibatani, Masayoshi
1990 The Languages of Japan. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press for New York. Population
In 1998 it was said that the population of the Ainu consisted of roughly 20,000 peoples (Bugaeva, 2010).
This may not be a significant number, but with the help of scholars and funding from the government, the Ainu langugage can definitely get back on its feet and hopefully obtain more people who speak Ainu as a first language.
This may not be a significant number, but with the help of scholars and funding from the government, the Ainu langugage can definitely get back on its feet and hopefully obtain more people who speak Ainu as a first language.
Bugaeva, Anna
2010 Ainu applicatives in typological perspective. John Benjamin’s Publishing Company (34)4: 491-801.
What Does Ainu Mean?
The word Ainu means ‘human’ in the language but the actual definition of it has been a mystery until very recently! (Fukasawa, 1998).
Note: 'recently' was used when the book was published back in 1998 and because I have not been able to get a hold of more updated books, this is the term I will have to use. (Shucks).
Fukasawa, Yuriko
1998 Ainu Archaeology as Ethnohistory: Iron technology among the Saru Ainu of Hokkaido, Japan, in the 17th Century. Oxford, England: British Archaeology Reports.
Note: 'recently' was used when the book was published back in 1998 and because I have not been able to get a hold of more updated books, this is the term I will have to use. (Shucks).
Fukasawa, Yuriko
1998 Ainu Archaeology as Ethnohistory: Iron technology among the Saru Ainu of Hokkaido, Japan, in the 17th Century. Oxford, England: British Archaeology Reports.
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