AIN ISO 639-3
Ainu
アイヌ イタㇰ (Aynu itak) Autonym
A language of Japan
- ISO 639
- ain
- Alternate Names
- Ainu Itak
- Autonym
- アイヌ イタㇰ (Aynu itak)
- Population
- 2 (2008 A. Vovin). Ethnic population: 13,000 (2019 E. Jozuka).
- Location:
- Hokkaido prefecture: Kuril and Tsishima islands.
- Language Status
- 8b (Nearly extinct).
- Classification
- Language isolate
- Dialects
- Sakhalin (Saghilin), Taraika, Hokkaido (Ezo, Yezo), Kuril (Shikotan, Tsishima). There were at least 19 dialects. The last speaker of Sakhalin Ainu, Take Asai, died in 1994.
- Typology
- SOV; postpositions; noun head final; case-marking; verb affixes mark person, number; aspect; 12 consonant and 5 vowel phonemes; non-tonal.
- Language Use
- Elderly only. Shifted to Japanese [jpn].
- Language Development
- Newspapers. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. NT: 1897. Small numbers of young people are learning Ainu in classes; revival efforts underway (Bradley 2007a).
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Ainu
- Writing
- Katakana script [Kana], primary usage. Latin script [Latn].
- Other Comments
- Ainu [aib] in China is a different, unrelated language.
Also Spoken in
Map
Location: Hokkaido prefecture: Kuril and Tsishima islands.
Size and Vitality
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