Handbook of the Ainu Language (Handbooks of Japanese Language and Linguistics [HJLL], 12)

The volume is aimed at preserving invaluable knowledge about Ainu, a language-isolate previously spoken in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Kurils, which is now on the verge of extinction. Ainu was not a written language, but it possesses a huge documented stock of oral literature, yet is significantly under-described in terms of grammar. It is the only non-Japonic language of Japan and is typologically different not only from Japanese but also from other Northeast Asian languages. Revolving around but not confined to its head-marking and polysynthetic character, Ainu manifests many typologically interesting phenomena, related in particular to the combinability of various voice markers and noun incorporation. Other interesting features of Ainu include vowel co-occurrence restrictions, a mixed system of expressing grammatical relations, which includes the elements of a rare tripartite alignment, nominal classification distinguishing common and locative nouns, elaborate possessive classes, verbal number, a rich four-term evidential system, and undergrammaticalized aspect, which are all explained in the volume. This handbook, the result of unprecedented cooperation of the leading experts of Ainu, will definitely help to increase the clarity of our understanding of Ainu and in a long-term perspective may provide answers to problems of human prehistory as well as open the field of Ainu studies to the world and attract many new students. **Table of Contents** Masayoshi Shibatani and Taro Kageyama Preface Masayoshi Shibatani and Taro Kageyama Introduction to the Handbook of Japanese Language and Linguistics Contributors Anna Bugaeva Introduction I Overview of Ainu studies Anna Bugaeva 1. Ainu: A head-marking language of the Pacific Rim Juha Janhunen 2. Ainu ethnic origins Tomomi Satō 3. Major old documents of Ainu and some problems in the historical study of Ainu Alfred F. Majewicz 4. Ainu language Western records José Andrés Alonso de la Fuente 5. The Ainu language through time Alexander Vovin 6. Ainu elements in early Japonic Hidetoshi Shiraishi and Itsuji Tangiku 7. Language contact in the north Hiroshi Nakagawa and Mika Fukazawa 8. Hokkaido Ainu dialects: Towards a classification of Ainu dialects Itsuji Tangiku 9. Differences between Karafuto and Hokkaido Ainu dialects Shiho Endō 10. Ainu oral literature Osami Okuda 11. Meter in Ainu oral literature Tetsuhito Ōno 12. The history and current status of the Ainu language revival movement II Typologically interesting characteristics of the Ainu language Hidetoshi Shiraishi 13. Phonetics and phonology Hiroshi Nakagawa 14. Parts of Speech – with a focus on the classification of nouns Anna Bugaeva and Miki Kobayashi 15. Verbal valency Tomomi Satō 16. Noun incorporation Hiroshi Nakagawa 17. Verbal number Yasushige Takahashi 18. Aspect and evidentiality Yoshimi Yoshikawa 19. Existential aspectual forms in the Saru and Chitose dialects of Ainu III Appendices: Sample texts Anna Bugaeva 20. An uwepeker “Retar Katak, Kunne Katak” and kamuy yukar “Amamecikappo” narrated in the Chitose Hokkaido Ainu dialect by Ito Oda Elia dal Corso 21. “Meko Oyasi”, a Sakhalin Ainu ucaskuma narrated by Haru Fujiyama Subject index This handbook is aimed at preserving invaluable knowledge about Ainu, the only non-Japonic language of Japan, which is now on the verge of extinction. Ainu was not a written language but it possesses a huge documented stock of oral literature, yet is significantly under-described in terms of grammar. As an isolate with no known relatives, Ainu is of great significance to linguistic typology because of the many rare or unique features that its grammar exhibits. Although Ainu is a language widely cited in the typological literature, most of the published typological work relies on secondary sources. The aim of this volume is to present an updated quality description of Ainu, which will be based only on primary sources. The interesting features of Ainu include noun incorporation, a wealth of voices, vestiges of vowel harmony, a mixed system of expressing grammatical relations with the elements of tripartite alignment, nominal classification distinguishing common and locative nouns, a four-term evidential system, and verbal number. This handbook, presenting a case of unprecedented cooperation of the leading experts of Ainu, will definitely help to increase the clarity of our understanding of Ainu, open the field of Ainu studies to the world and attract many new students. Chapter titles Introduction Part I. Overview of Ainu Studies 1.The Ainu language Anna Bugaeva (National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics) 2.Early Japanese records of the Ainu language Tomomi Sato (Hokkaido University) 3.European records of the Ainu language Alfred F. Majewicz (Adam Mickiewicz University) 4.History and origins of the Ainu language Osami Okuda (Sapporo Gakuin University) 5.Language contact between Ainu and Northern languages Itsuji Tangiku (Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies, Hokkaido University) & Hidetoshi Shiraishi (Sapporo Gakuin University) 6.Hokkaido dialects of Ainu Hiroshi Nakagawa (Chiba University) & Mika Fukazawa (Chiba University) 7.Sakhalin dialects of Ainu Itsuji Tangiku (Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies, Hokkaido University) 8.Sociolinguistic situation of Ainu and revitalization movements Tetsuhito Oono (Ainu language teacher) 9.Ainu oral literature ShihoEndo (Chiba University) Part II: Typologically Interesting Characteristics of the Ainu Language 10.Phonetics and phonology Hidetoshi Shiraishi (Sapporo Gakuin University) 11.Parts of speech: focusing on nominal classification Hiroshi Nakagawa (Chiba University) 12.Grammatical relations Anna Bugaeva (National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics) 13.Verbal valency Anna Bugaeva (National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics) & Miki Kobayashi (Chiba University & National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics) 14.Noun incorporation TomomiSato (Hokkaido University) 15.Aspect and evidentially Yasushige Takahashi (Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies, Hokkaido University) 16.Verbal plurality Hiroshi Nakagawa (Chiba University) Appendix: Sample texts Index Preface Introduction to the Handbooks of Japanese Language and Linguistics Contents Contributors Introduction Part I: Overview of Ainu studies 1 Ainu: A head-marking language of the Pacific Rim 2 Ainu ethnic origins 3 Major old documents of Ainu and some problems in the historical study of Ainu 4 Ainu language Western records 5 The Ainu language through time 6 Ainu elements in early Japonic 7 Language contact in the north 8 Hokkaido Ainu dialects: Towards a classification of Ainu dialects 9 Differences between Karafuto and Hokkaido Ainu dialects 10 Ainu oral literature 11 Meter in Ainu oral literature 12 The history and current status of the Ainu language revival movement Part II: Typologically interesting characteristics of the Ainu language 13 Phonetics and phonology 14 Parts of speech – with a focus on the classification of nouns 15 Verbal valency 16 Noun incorporation in Ainu 17 Verbal number 18 Aspect and evidentiality 19 Existential aspectual forms in the Saru and Chitose dialects of Ainu Part III: Appendices: Sample texts 20 An uwepeker “Retar Katak, Kunne Katak” and kamuy yukar “Amamecikappo” narrated in the Hokkaido Ainu dialect of Chitose by Ito Oda 21 “Meko Oyasi” a Sakhalin Ainu ucaskuma narrated by Haru Fujiyama Subject Index