This index was compiled by Pierre Rudloff, student of Modern Languages (Japanese) at the University of Strasbourg. 2010.

Data on Ainu

Alternative names: Ainu Itak ( アイヌ イタ_ク), Ainugo ( アイヌ語)

Classification: Language isolate

Area: Hokkaidō, Japon

Number of speakers: 15

Language status: No official status.

There exists nevertheless bilingual signposting in Ainu language zones.

Vitality & transmission:

Ainu is close to extinction, which UNESCO considers to be “in critical condition”: there are only a dozen native Ainu speakers who truly master the language, and it hasn’t been passed down to the new generations.

In Japan, 150 000 people claim Ainu descent (a number which excludes those who are either unaware of their Ainu roots, or who prefer to conceal their Ainu heritage for fear of discrimination). Of this number, the vast majority speak only Japanese.

Sociolinguistic observations

In the past, Ainu was mostly spoken on the islands of Honshū and Sakhaline. Up until the middle of the 19^th century, it was also widely spoken on the Kuril Islands. However, Ainu is now in danger of extinction. In 1996, Ainu speakers numbered only a dozen – all of whom were over 80 years of age.

Linguistic observations

Ainu is a language isolate i.e. linguistic specialists have been unable to establish any linguistic relations with other languages.

From a typological perspective, Ainu somewhat resembles Paleo-Siberian languages. Ainu shares a certain number of loanwords with Nivkh, as well as with Japanese. However some Ainu roots have clear Siberian origins. For example, *it (“language, word”) can be traced back to Samoyedic.

Sources & Links

Shibatani, Masayoshi (1990). The Languages of Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_language