Learning Ainu Language via Online Archives
by rebecca ~ November 18th, 2005. Filed under: Ainu rights, New Media Musings.Radio Archive of Ainu Language Lessons
Sapporo TV Radio hosts an Ainu language class with accompanying textbook (which you can order) every Sunday morning, from 7:05am to 7:20am, and repeated Saturday evenings from 11:15-11:30pm. They also have the lessons archived on Real Player audio files since it began in 1999.
A look at one lesson (November 20) showed the example of the grammar “Where are you heading/going?” I found the example answer they will teach quite strange:
Ex.: Where are you heading/going?
Answer: We are heading/going to a splendid (beautiful) village.
I don’t know about you, but this sounds not only awkward to me in English, but also in Japanese–I am not prone to say I am going to a splendid village, are you? See the below script:
１ エノン エソイエネ？
enon e=soyene?
どこへ あなたが外へ出る
（＝どこへあなたは出かけるの？）
Where are you going?
２ ピリカ コタン オレン パイエアン。
pirika kotan or en paye=an.
立派な 村 のところへ 相手を含む私達は行く
（＝立派な村へ私達は行く。）
We are going to a splendid village.
I need to see if all of the lessons are as arcane as this. It sounds like we are learning to speak ‘fairy’, not Ainu. Could this language lesson actually be just another act of ‘othering’ conducted by the Wajin (mainstream Japanese)? It seems to be teaching the Ainu language as an archaic, lost romantic language. True, few native speakers remain, but does this lesson give their language justice? I don’t know the answer yet; this site was rather disappointing to see at first glance….