Ainu on the Edge of Extinction

Good day,

As we have enthusiastically started our third unit in the Language and Literature course, we were given the opportunity to work with different media to produce an oral presentation. Following the conventions and regulations of a podcast, I have produced a 6 minute digital radio headline regarding endangered languages. In my podcast I explain the significance of the Hokkaido Ainu language, as it was on the edge of extinction. It is a rare but culturally very important language to maintain biodiversity on this world.

Outline/script: 

“Welcome and thank you for downloading ‘Indigenous Voices’ where we daily strive to bring to light the impact of global endangered languages and their significance to the preservation of biodiversity. I’m your host Coco Bink, and today’s podcast will approach the linguistic and cultural values of the Ainu language. Ainu is a Japanese dialect and derived from the Ainu ethnic group originated on the island of Hokkaido. Hokkaido Ainu is the sole survivor of Ainu languages. It may be said to be the rarest language in existence, as it has no genealogical reference to any other language family. With less than 10 fluent speakers, the Japanese government has recognized the Ainu’s as indigenous and in great danger of losing their cultural identity and fond relation to Japan’s history.

The exponential decline in global linguistic diversity is truly a tragedy to multiculturalism and distinct life on earth. Your tongue determines your lineage and connects your soul to the nature of your ancestors, those who’ve taught the traditions and spirits of your cultural heritage. The retention of small languages is entirely neglected by extern influences such as colonialism and monocultures. Economical, social and political prosperity have become key factors to fully participate in society, at the cost of eroding the vitality of the earth’s diverse ecosystems, cultures and languages. Unwittingly evicting the native’s from their lifestyle and vernacular. The Ainu tribal community lost its independence by the Japanese in early 1700s and was further socially oppressed and exploited during the Meiji era, whereby the government believed in assimilation and prohibited the act of Ainu customs.  

Ainu means human, which in turn represents livelihood due to their strong appreciation towards the natural world. It is very important to keep their language intact to ensure we preserve the unique ways of life and cultural diversity. It is against human rights to prohibit any individual from following their own path. Terralingua is an amazing source that provides information about unity in biocultural diversity. They stated the following regarding indigenous people such as the Ainu: “It’s their right to walk towards the future in the footsteps of their ancestors”. Regardless of the fact that Ainu is a minority language that suffers under social oppression and the lingua franca’s in modern day culture, it miraculously stabilized it’s decline in population and fluent speakers. Japan has announced the Ainu language endangered due to their diminishing society and their significance to Japan’s history and culture. Japan’s awareness regarding vanishing indigenous languages and its people losing their cultural identity is rising. Japan is economically reliable on its rich agriculture. The Ainu people are one of the impacting factors that have matured Japan’s dependence on the power of nature.

In a typical Ainu community you have one nuclear family, the center of the Ainu’s wealthiest and historical ancestry, as the basic social unit. Male Ainu’s, if related to one of the tribes’ male ancestors, make up the core members and must possess over collective hunting ground and efficient fish runs. The language is transmitted from mother to child and has special value in the rituals of the Ainu people. The most important ritual, which keeps the Ainu language unimpaired, is the so-called oral tradition. The oral tradition serves as a primary source to obtain knowledge about their Gods and a guide to learn how to behave.

Revitalizing the Ainu language will allow the people to connect with their own cultural identity and reintegrate with their environment. In 1899, after the continuous discrimination of the Ainu, the Hokkaido Aborigine Protection Act was established. Their primary aim was to relief the Ainu from social obligation and help them become engaged in agriculture. However, despite this first approach to preserve their language, discrimination and cultural exploitation continued to affect the Ainu people to the extent that it still leaves a huge impact today. Multiple projects followed the years after, such as educating those engrossed in the construction of social welfare facilities. This was the fundamental goal of the Hokkaido Ainu Association, established in 1946. Furthermore, these days, various activities are being vigorously promoted to revive the Ainu language and to preserve and maintain Ainu culture, such as traditional dancing and various ceremonies. Ainu language classes are being held in various parts of Hokkaido.

Documentation of the language itself is present and recorded by multiple anthropologists and linguists including alphabetical and grammatical documentation, but above all the many persevered stories and myths were kept and in fact put on display in local museums.

This is an example of a native Ainu tribal member telling a story.

Thus far, ‘Indigenous Voices’. I’m your host Coco Bink and have a great day.”

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Most Meaningful Takeaway

David Malouf's work "The Only Speaker of his Tongue| has made me see the intriguing connection between nature, men and culture. I could feel the passion in which he links the indigenous tongue to every aspect of life. Language has become the key to one's identity and ethnical origin. A tongue is mastered by the simplest rhymes and verses; it is where the roots of a language have settles their pristine perceptions of their culture and ethnicity. It tells the tails of traditions, norms and values of unique ancestry. It is the driving force behind the understanding of their environmental senses and impressions. 

"When I think of my tongue being no longer alive in the mouths of men a chill goes over that is deeper than my own death, since it is the gathered death of all my kind." This passage in specific depicts the astonishing meaning of indigenous languages and the impact of one dying out affecting the entire culture. The liveliness that was once present in between the lines and words of native tongues, the words that told stories about the nature of their cultural inception and the feelings that were exposed throughout their linguistics will now only be remembered by written documents.  

Preservation of Indigenous Languages

A language on an imminent demise can be denoted as extinct once children no longer master the language. In the text ‘Back to Babel’ by James Geary, the following quote suggest that language to a certain extent is a sign of life: “Languages, like all living things, depend on their environment to survive.” Thus preserving indigenous languages will ensure the existence of primitive peoples and help diversify cultural distinction. The affects of mass culture are detrimental for indigenous languages and traditional lifestyle, as consequence that entire cultures are endangered. Languages represent the driving force behind distinct cultures, hence when a language is on the edge of extinction the entire culture is negatively impacted in a sense of losing valued communication and identity. Contemporary communication needs to be fast and coherent, therefore the obligation of a lingua franca is increasingly respected amongst pop cultures. However at the cost of severe losses of indigenous languages.

A language can be vigorously decisive in shaping one’s sense of self. Identity and language function cohesively, therefore it is fairly important to preserve indigenous languages in order to prevent disassociation with one’s self. Mastering a language serves as more than just a communicative system of words, rules and regulations. It encapsulates a way of thinking and being. Indigenous languages connect people to their ethnic groups, in which they share knowledge and traditions crucial to maintain cultural heritage. Language can be an important aspect in strengthening feelings of pride and self worth. It enhances the sense of belonging. Regarding the Aboriginal languages, their existence is essential to botanists nowadays. Their language has the explicit potential to describe the natural world. The aboriginals have named various species of flora, which are now being used by botanists to identify identical flora species. As for their rich and poetic vocabularies, it can be noticed how close the aboriginal clans have bonded with their land.