Language Crisis in the Ryukyus: The Price for Being Japanese?

Mark Anderson · Patrick Heinrich

Jan 2015 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Ebook

355

Pages

Eligible

Ratings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More

About this ebook

Long denigrated as dialects of Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages are today recognized as languages in their own right. However, speakers of Ryukyuan languages have suffered from stigmatization, oppressive language policies and domination from outside the Ryukyu Archipelago. As a result, the Ryukyuan languages are now severely endangered.

This volume depicts, roughly in chronological order, aspects which have led to the language crisis in the Ryukyus today. Taking account of these factors is important because endangered languages can only be maintained and revitalized on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of why these languages became endangered in the first place.

The chapters of this book have been written by leading experts in Ryukyuan sociolinguistics and the scope encompasses the entire field. It sheds light on the dark side of language modernization, on a misplaced obsession with monolingualism, and on Japan’s difficulties in surmounting its invented self-image.

About the author

Mark Anderson is a Centre Exams Manager for Cambridge English Language Assessment and is affiliated to the University of New South Wales. His research interests have focused on sociolinguistic aspects of language shift since his PhD thesis Emergent Language Shift in Okinawa, at the Department of Japanese Studies, University of Sydney, in 2009. During his extensive travels across the Ryukyu Archipelago, he joined a traditional folk band and has produced a number of recordings over the last decade. At home in Sydney, he has been involved in TESOL/Applied Linguistics for several years, and has worked as a teacher after emigrating to Australia from his native UK in 2000.

Patrick Heinrich is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’Foscari University in Venice. His present research interests focus on language ideology, language shift dynamics and globalizing sociolinguistics. His recently-edited books include Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages (with Shinsho Miyara and Michinori Shimoji; 2014); Mezase! Ryūkyū shogo no iji [In Pursuit of Ryukyuan Language Maintenance] (with Michinori Shimoji; 2014); Language Life in Japan (with Christian Galan; 2011); and Higashi ajia ni okeru gengo fukkō [Language Revitalization in East Asia] (with Shin Matsuo; 2010). His latest monograph is The Making of Monolingual Japan (2012).

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

eReaders and other devices

To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

Report illegal content