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.
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