в Японии вышел словарик языка айну
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Dictionary preserves rare Ainu dialect
Yomiuri Shimbun
A dictionary containing more than 2,000 words of the Kushiro dialect of the Ainu language that were not listed in previous Ainu dictionaries has been published by members of a language association.
Nine members of the Kushiro Ainu Language Association, some of whom were teachers and company employees in Kushiro, Hokkaido, spent two years compiling the vocabulary for the Ainugo Kushiro Hogen Goi (Ainu Kushiro dialect dictionary).
"We hope people will use the dictionary to teach children the Ainu language," one of the members said.
The words were gathered from "Ainu Moshiri," a collection of Tasuke Yamamoto's stories that was published in 2002 by the association, which is chaired by Shigeyoshi Matsumoto.
Yamamoto was the descendant of an Ainu chief. The association also gathered many terms from interviews with elderly Ainu people living in Shiranukacho and Akancho, Hokkaido.
Fisherman Mitsunori Masuno, 77, of Shiranukacho, who was adopted by an Ainu couple when he was 2 years old and speaks the language, assisted in compiling the dictionary.
Masuno, who grew up listening to the dialect of his grandmother, said he could not understand 30 percent of other Ainu dialects, which are spoken in Sapporo and other cities. His inability to communicate with such people prompted him to offer his help to the association.
Hokkaigakuen University Assistant Prof. Hideo Kirikae, who was editor in chief of the compilation, said the dictionary hinted at what society was like 100 years ago ,when the Ainu language was widely spoken.
Yamamoto was born at that time.
The 429-page dictionary, priced at 3,000 yen, includes Yamamoto's stories and a Japanese translation at the end.
The association distributed some of the 600 copies of the dictionary to primary, middle and high schools as well as universities and libraries in Kushiro, and it also is available at book stores in Kushiro. For more information in Japanese or English, call (0154) 574 367.
