Aynu Itak
Posted: 2007-09-04, 22:21
Okay, another Ainu thread on this forum.. this is meant to be a general discussion/QnA thread about Ainu while the other one is to be more or less an archive for the translations. Yes, I am going to spam the forum with the legitimate materials
First, for those of you who never heard of it.. Ainu is an indigeneous language of Japan and Russia, and it is the language of the Yukars, the traditional Ainu oral narrative.
Wikipedia: Ainu language
Wikipedia: Yukar
Online resources in English are few, but here are some.
Ainu language : a few basic phrases with sound files.
Ainu Grammar by Batchelor
Ainu -Japanese-English Dictionary by Batchelor
The works of Batchelor were pioneering at that time, but the Ainu scholarship advanced much since then and apparently there were large number of mistakes in his books. Use them at your risk, if you want.
And of course, the Sapporo TV Ainu Radio Lessons translations on this very forum.
For printed materials, "The Languages of Japan" by Masayoshi Shibatani is probably the only Ainu material that you can easily purchase online. His book discusses both Ainu (about 80 pages) and Japanese (the rest). This book is more like a linguistic description, though - it's not very learner friendly.
"The Ainu Language: The Morphology and Syntax of the Shizunai Dialect" by Kirsten Refsing is a very comprehensive study of Ainu, and unfortunately this is out of print and rare. If you have an access to a university library, try it.
"Japanese Step by Step" by Gene Nishi is one of the best introduction to Japanese in English. You will need some Japanese if you ever want to go beyond the basics of this language. Japanese unlocks the access not only to Ainu but another rare language - Ryukyuan as well.
First, for those of you who never heard of it.. Ainu is an indigeneous language of Japan and Russia, and it is the language of the Yukars, the traditional Ainu oral narrative.
Wikipedia: Ainu language
Wikipedia: Yukar
Online resources in English are few, but here are some.
Ainu language : a few basic phrases with sound files.
Ainu Grammar by Batchelor
Ainu -Japanese-English Dictionary by Batchelor
The works of Batchelor were pioneering at that time, but the Ainu scholarship advanced much since then and apparently there were large number of mistakes in his books. Use them at your risk, if you want.
And of course, the Sapporo TV Ainu Radio Lessons translations on this very forum.
For printed materials, "The Languages of Japan" by Masayoshi Shibatani is probably the only Ainu material that you can easily purchase online. His book discusses both Ainu (about 80 pages) and Japanese (the rest). This book is more like a linguistic description, though - it's not very learner friendly.
"The Ainu Language: The Morphology and Syntax of the Shizunai Dialect" by Kirsten Refsing is a very comprehensive study of Ainu, and unfortunately this is out of print and rare. If you have an access to a university library, try it.
"Japanese Step by Step" by Gene Nishi is one of the best introduction to Japanese in English. You will need some Japanese if you ever want to go beyond the basics of this language. Japanese unlocks the access not only to Ainu but another rare language - Ryukyuan as well.