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Languages spoken by Ainu ethnic groups in Hokkaido, Kuril and Sakhalin / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ainu language (occasionally also Ainuic; /ˈaɪnuː/;[3] Ainu: アィヌ・イタㇰ, Aynu=itak; Japanese: アイヌ語, Ainu-go) is a language isolate or language family spoken by the Ainu people of northern Japan, although it is only spoken in Hokkaido now.
Ainu | |
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アィヌ・イタㇰ, Aynu=itak | |
Native to | Russia, Japan |
Region | Currently only Hokkaido; formerly also southern and central Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and possibly northern Honshu |
Ethnicity | 25,000–200,000 ethnic Ainu[1] (estimated) |
Native speakers | 2[2] |
Language isolate or one of the world's primary language families | |
Dialects |
|
Katakana, Latin (present) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | ain |
ISO 639-3 | ain |
Glottolog | ainu1252 |
Map of pre-1945 distribution of Ainu languages and dialects |
The varieties of Ainu are alternately considered a group of closely related languages[4] or divergent dialects of a single language isolate. The only surviving variety is the Hokkaido Ainu, which UNESCO lists as critically endangered. Sakhalin Ainu and Kuril Ainu varieties are now extinct. Toponymic evidence suggests Ainu was also spoken in northern Honshu in the past. No genealogical relationship between Ainu and any other language family has been demonstrated, despite numerous attempts.
Due to the colonization policy employed by the modern Japanese government in the Hokkaido area through history, the number of Ainu language speakers has gradually decreased and very few people can speak the language fluently in daily life. In fact, according to UNESCO, only 15 people now can speak Ainu in their daily lives (as of 2011).