Building a Comprehensive Open-Access Ainu-English-Ainu Dictionary: A Multi-Format Resource for Researchers and Learners

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

“When you actually use it to do Ainu research, it is rare to find a grammar and dictionary as useless as this one.” (Ainu linguist Chiri Mashiho in 1956 on John Batchelor’s Ainu-English dictionary, 1st edition in 1889) This post-doctoral research aims to create a comprehensive Ainu-English-Ainu dictionary. This is the first Ainu-English dictionary since Batchelor’s criticized work and thus helps to eliminate the language barrier that prevents non-Japanese speakers from entering Ainu studies. The dictionary will include approximately 10,000 headwords for both languages, accompanied by a basic Ainu grammar appendix, published open-access across multiple formats: print book, e-book, web dictionary, and mobile app. Ainu is a critically endangered indigenous language of Japan. Despite extensive Japanese documentation, most material remains inaccessible to international researchers due to the lack of reliable English resources. This access problem limits academic freedom and prevents a plurality of voices from contributing to Ainu studies. By providing English access to Ainu documentation, this project will increase cross-border research collaboration, ultimately supporting Ainu revitalization through enabling more versatile learning materials based on diverse linguistic research. The dictionary focuses on the Sar dialect, the most extensively documented Ainu variety. Without available glossed Ainu corpora, the project utilizes manual citation selection from the National Ainu Museum’s Language Archive and other existing digitized resources. The open-source software used to manage dictionary data enables multi-format publication. Unlike traditional dictionaries, digital versions allow continuous post-publication expansion and real-time updates, creating a living resource that grows with ongoing research. This groundwork also enables future Japanese-Ainu dictionary development, as no comprehensive version currently exists, thus contributing directly to Ainu revitalization