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For the language spoken in Central Asia, see Aini language
The Ainu language (アイヌ イタㇰ (Aynu Itak)) is spoken by the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It was once spoken in the Kurile Islands, the northern part of Honshu, and the southern half of Sakhalin. Although typologically similar in some respects to Japanese, Ainu is thought to be a language isolate with no relation to other languages, although it is termed "Paleosiberian".
| Ainu (aynu itak) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Japan, formerly Russia |
| Region: | Hokkaido, formerly Sakhalin and Kuril Islands |
| Total speakers: | ~15 |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Unclassified Ainu |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | mis |
| SIL | AIN |
| Linguasphere | 45-B |
Ainu is an endangered language with a small and rapidly dwindling number of speakers. In all of Hokkaido, there are perhaps 1000 native speakers not younger than 30 (with few exceptions). Usage among native speakers is increasing so it is no longer accurate to say only 15 people use it regularly as there is a movement to turn the decline in number of speakers around before it is too late. Most of the 150,000 self-proclaimed ethnic Ainu in Japan (many additional Ainu are not aware of their origins or are secretive for fear of discrimination) speak only Japanese, although there is an increasing number of second language learners, especially in Hokkaido, thanks to the efforts of Ainu activist and former Diet member Shigeru Kayano, a native speaker himself.
Ainu syllables are CV(C) and there are few consonant clusters.
There are five vowels:
The sequence /ti/ is realized as [ʧi], /s/ becomes [ʃ] before /i/ and at the end of syllables. There is some variation among dialects; in the Sakhalin dialect, syllable-final /p, t, k, r/ are merged into /h/.
There is a pitch accent system; words including affixes have a high pitch on the stem, or on the first syllable if it is closed or has a diphthong. Other words have the high pitch on the second syllable.
Ainu is SOV, with postpositions. Subject and object are usually marked with postpositions. Nouns can cluster to modify one another; the head comes at the end. Verbs, which are inherently either transitive or intransitive, accept various derivational affixes.
Officially, the Ainu language is written in a modified version of the Japanese syllabary katakana. There is also a Latin-based alphabet in use.
The Ainu have a rich oral tradition of hero-sagas called Yukar, which retain a number of grammatical and lexical archaisms.
See also: Kannari Matsu Chiri Mashiho Chiri Takao Kindaichi Kyosuke Bronislaw Pilsudski
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