Hello everyone! Recently i have gotten really interested in Ainu culture, and i would like to learn more about the language/people/mythology/art/folklore. I would like to ask all of you, if you have any books you could recommend me, or even better a language app or blog where i could actually start to learn the language. Every help is greatly appreaciated!
Hi! I'm not an expert on Ainu, but here are some things you might want to consider.
The Ainu language is endangered and language revitalization efforts are currently underway with the Ainu communities. For indigenous communities, language is tied to identity so much more than global or majority languages like English and Japanese because histories of marginalization and assimilation lead to the disuse of both language and culture. So for these communities, language revitalization and language use is directly tied to the preservation of culture and ethnic identity.
I think it's really great that you're interested in Ainu culture! And I don't want to discourage you, but please consider your positionality as someone who does not identify as Ainu and what it means for you to learn an indigenous language.
(I have post-secondary degrees in linguistics, so us researchers are required to think about our positionality when researching languages and helping with revitalization efforts. So if you have any questions, feel free to message!)
I don't know much about the Ainu, as my area of interest is the Okinawan people, but I hope to be of some help. When I look for publication's I can usually find free pdf downloads to study. I did a quick Google search and it seems there are some available on the Ainu, though I don't know how much, I just searched Ainu culture books pdf.
