ABSTRACT

The emergence of Indigenous language revitalization seeks to address historical domination over Indigenous peoples and to recover the loss of ancestral languages as embedded in Indigenous knowledge systems. This paper draws from long-term linguistic ethnographic research on one of the Indigenous Ryukyuan languages: Yaeyaman. I highlight one variety of Miyara Yaeyaman spoken in the village of Miyara on Ishigaki Island. Along with other Ryukyuan languages, it has been endangered and minoritized due to the suppression/assimilation policies following the dominant monolingual ideology in Japan. The aim of this research is to investigate existing theories of newspeakerness and language attitudes in sociolinguistic situations in Miyara and to attempt to examine prevailing ideologies. By using ethnographic data of Yaeyaman knowledge holders, I show that there is a lack of compatibility in language attitudes and beliefs between new speakers and traditional speakers of Miyaran. Through educational policy completely based on dominant values, Miyara community members are made to believe that our language is not sophisticated. Hence, we are “educated” not to speak our own language. As a conclusion, I present how language education policy in Japan—so far, a major cause of the problem of language endangerment—can become part of a possible solution to language endangerment.

摘要

土著语言复兴的出现旨在解决对土著人民的历史统治，并恢复嵌入在土著知识系统中的祖先语言的丧失。本文借鉴了对琉球本土语言之一：八重山的长期语言民族志研究。我强调在石垣岛宫良村讲的宫良八重山的一种。与其他琉球语言一样，由于日本主导单语意识形态的压制/同化政策，它已经濒临灭绝和被少数民族化。本研究的目的是调查宫良市社会语言环境中关于新闻发言人和语言态度的现有理论，并试图检验流行的意识形态。通过使用 Yaeyaman 知识持有者的民族志数据，我表明新的 Miyaran 使用者和传统的 Miyaran 使用者之间在语言态度和信仰上缺乏兼容性。通过完全基于主流价值观的教育政策，宫良社区成员相信我们的语言并不复杂。因此，我们被“教育”为不说我们自己的语言。作为结论，我介绍了日本的语言教育政策——迄今为止，语言濒危问题的一个主要原因——如何成为解决语言濒危问题的可能解决方案的一部分。我们被“教育”为不说我们自己的语言。作为结论，我介绍了日本的语言教育政策——迄今为止，语言濒危问题的一个主要原因——如何成为解决语言濒危问题的可能解决方案的一部分。我们被“教育”为不说我们自己的语言。作为结论，我介绍了日本的语言教育政策——迄今为止，语言濒危问题的一个主要原因——如何成为解决语言濒危问题的可能解决方案的一部分。