In the Ainu language the word ainu means "human being." For the rest of the world, the word designates the small indigenous population that lives in the northern part of Japan. Although Japan has several minority groups (Burakumin,...

Language with approx. 16,000 speakers on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and in the Kurile Islands. Its genetic affiliation has not yet been satisfactorily determined. Dettmer, H. 1989. Ainu-Grammatik. Wiesbaden. Patrie, J. 1982....

The Ainu language (Ainu: アイヌ イタク, aynu itak; Japanese: アイヌ語 ainu-go) is spoken by the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō. It was once spoken in the Kurile Islands, the northern part of Honshū, and the...