LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD

Ainu for Beginners

A Guide for Beginners
Francisco Jos da Silva

Lesson 1: Simple Sentences -1

Sentences Upas ru. Snow melts. Acapo ek Uncle comes. Pronunciation Ainu is a sound that does not exist in Japanese, it is simply final consonant -k instead of normal Japanese Katakana pronunciation of -ku. Ainu allows consonant finals while Japanese does not (with the exception of -n) and a set of Katakana extensions have been created to be used to write Ainu. Although they are now in Unicode, it would require a special font to view the Katakana extension properly and hence I just have used the smaller font size. Those who are not familiar with the Katakana may just stick to the Roman Ainu. Roman Ainu is fairly phonetic, but note that c (as in "acapo") is pronounced similar to ch as in English "church". But it will be helpful to learn Katakana as well as although both Roman and Katakana are used to write Ainu, Katakana is more common. Japanese loanwords and proper names may remain in Japanese Kanji even in Ainu when it is written in Katakana. More examples using Ainu Katakana: Cis Kosne Iruska Ak Hok Takne To cry To be light To be angry Younger brother To buy, purchase To be short

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Whale rises 2) Rain falls. Solutions 1) humpe yan 2) ruyanpe as

Vocabulary Acapo Upas Ek Ru Yan Humpe As Ruyanpe Uncle Snow To come To melt. Road. To rise Whale To fall Rain

Lesson 2: Simple Sentences - 2

Sentences Tanto rera as. The wind blows today. Tane mean. Now (it is) cold. Grammar The basic word order of Ainu is Subject-Object-Verb, similar to Japanese. Ainu verbs do not conjugate according to the time tense, and this led to a certain disagreement in the linguistic analysis. While some linguists (Chiri, Shibatani) maintain that the Ainu basic verb form is best translated as past tense, there are the others (Refsing) who disagree with the idea. In most cases the context is sufficient enough to determine whether the tense is past or present, and the specific words are added to clarify the time phrase when it is necessary. " as" from the last lesson has many meanings. Rain falls, snow falls, wind blows, and in other natural phenomena in general. When it is used to describe an action of a person, it means "to stand." " as" used in the sentence is translated as "to blow", but in Ainu context it is permissible to translate it simply as "to do." Pronunciation Ainu accents are different from Japanese. Ainu pronounced with Japanese (or any other foreign accent for that matter) would still be understood, but it wont be natural. Ainu stress often falls on the second syllable. Tane Cise Sita Poro Now House Dog To be big, large

Nukar

To see, look at

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Today is cold. 2) Snow falls a lot this year. Solutions 1) tanto mean 2) tanto upas poro

Vocabulary As Tane Tanto Mean Rera Upas Poro Tanpa To blow Now Today (tan "this" + to "day") To be cold Wind Snow To be big, much This year

Lesson 3: Past
Sentences Numan ruyanpe as. Yesterday rain fell. Ukran kamuyhum as. Last evening thunder stroke. Grammar Continuing from lesson 2, Ainu verbs do not change their forms in the past tense. Instead, Ainu simply adds temporal adverbs such as ukran, numan when it is necessary to specify when in the past the event occurred. Pronunciation Ainu Katakana is not a full syllable like normal Katakana (mu), but only as final consonant -m. Isam Komam Rimse Not to exist, to die Falling leaf Dance, to dance

Depending on the region, words like "numan" may be pronounced as "numan" (accent on the first syllable) but "numan" is more natural and widespread. Also in words like ruyanpe ukran kamuyhum the first syllables are not accented.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Yesterday the wind was strong. 2) Two days ago snow fell. Solutions 1) numan rera ruy 2) hoskanuman upas as

Vocabulary Numan Rera Ruy Upas Hoskanuman Yesterday Wind To be strong Snow Two days ago
(rain, snow) falls, (wind) blows, (something) rings/sounds, (something) is heard.

As

Ukran

Last evening, last night.

Kamuyhum

Thunder. (kamuy "bear, god" + hum "sound")

Ruyanpe

Rain. (apt dialects)

in

some

Lesson 4: Objects
Sentences Hekaci itaki eyapkir. Boy throws a dish. Unarpe suma oterke. Aunt steps on a stone. Grammar Basic Ainu word order is Subject + Object + Verb. Unlike Japanese, Ainu does not use the case particles to mark the subject or the object of the sentence. (But it uses particles for other things.) "The dog bites the man" and "the man bites the dog" differ in the word order in English, and it is also the case in Ainu. Notes on Pronunciation Small is pronounced as -p. (Unlike full Katakana , pu) Cep Cikap Fish Bird

Sinep

One

Small is pronounced as -ri but much softer than usual Japanese ri. One may drop -i sound as well. Pirka Cikir Kikir Good, beautiful Foot Worm

Small is pronounced as r as well. Ker Etor Terke Shoe Nasal mucus Jump

This is largely a spelling convention, and one may see , , , and used interchangeably. Kar "to make" may be either or , ermun "mouse" or , and korkoni "butterbur" or . How one may choose to spell something is largely the choice of the writer. Roman Ainu remains the same.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu

1) Uncle buys drink. 2) Dog eats bone. Solutions 1) acapo tonoto hok. 2) sita pone e

Vocabulary Tonoto Hok Acapo Pone Sita E Itanki Unarpe Eyapkir Oterke Suma Alcoholic drink To buy, purchase Uncle, middle-aged man Bone Dog To eat Dish Aunt, woman To throw To step on Stone middle-aged

Hekaci

Boy

Lesson 5: "My.." - 1
Sentences Ku=pake arka. My head hurts. (I have a headache.) Ku=cikir Tanne. My leg is long. Grammar There are two ways of saying possession in Ainu, and we introduce the first one in this lesson. It depends on whether the item is considered to be inalienable from the possessor (such as body parts) or alienable (most other things). The inalienable possessions are expressed by using the pronominal prefixes, first of which is ku. Ku is the first person singular pronominal prefix. Ku=namu Ku=etu Ku=teke My face My nose My hand

Ku=honi

My stomach

Pronunciation arka, "to hurt" may be pronounced and written as araka as well. And note that ku=cikir is pronounced as one word, don't break between ku and cikiri. The use of equal sign (=) in Roman Ainu is to make the morphology more easily understood, and some writers do not use this sign at all.

And pay attention to the accent. The stress falls on the second syllable. ku=pake ku=teke

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) My leg hurts. 2) My stomach is full. Solutions 1) ku=cikir arka 2) ku=honi sik

Vocabulary Ku= Arka I, my Hurt

Cikir Honi Sik Tanne Pake

Leg Stomach Full Long Head

Lesson 6: "My.." (2)

Sentences Ku=kor makiri een. My knife is sharp. Ku=kor unarpe iruska. My aunt is angry. Grammar Ku= is a first person pronominal prefix attached before the verb kor, which means "to have, to bear something." The phrase "ku=kor ..." literally translates as "... that which I have", which translates again as "my..." This is another way of saying possession in Ainu for alienable possessions. As it is explained in the last lesson, the direct attachment ku= is used to express inalienable possessions such as the body parts, as in "ku=pake", "my head." "Ku=kor pake" would not be an idiomatic Ainu usage. Most family members and relatives are considered to be alienable:

ku=kor ekasi ku=kor huci

My grandfather My grandmother My father My mother My uncle My aunt

ku=kor aca ku=kor hapo

ku=kor acapo ku=kor unarpe

But "my father" and "my mother" can also be said as " ku=aca" and "ku=hapo" as well.

Pronunciation The word een, "sharp" is not pronounced as a "long" E. Two e are pronounced separately, with the accent on the second syllable. een

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) My horse is big. 2) My father came. Solutions 1) Ku=kor umma poro. 2) Ku=kor aca ek.

Vocabulary Umma Ku=kor Poro Ek Aca Iruska Unarpe Een Makiri Horse My Big To come Father Angry Aunt Sharp Knife

Lesson 7: "I do.." (1)

Sentences Ku=sinot. I play. (as in having fun, not sports or music.) Poronno ku=apkas. I walk a lot.

Grammar Pronominal affixes must be marked in Ainu in all times, unlike Japanese and other languages where the personal pronoun may be omitted in contexts. The same pronominal prefix discussed in previous two lessons, "ku" is attached before the main verb when the subject is first person singular. The adverbs like "poronno" and the words that mark the time phrase (today, yesterday, etc) are placed before the verb. Pronunciation Pay attention to the small tsu. Although this exists in the standard Katakana set, it is still hard for most Japanese to pronounce as Japanese phonotactics does not allow small tsu to appear at the end of the word. However, it does in Ainu. This would not be difficult for the English speakers.

Sat Kut Apesokot

To dry Belt Hearth, fireplace

Many place names in Hokkaido that end with ~ ~betsu come from Ainu pet, meaning "river." The personal prefix ku is never pronounced as an independent word. Pronounce it as if it were one word and the accent is always placed in the second syllable. Ku=sini Ku=mina I rest I laugh

Ku=mokor Ku=ek

I sleep I come

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I come today 2) I played yesterday. Solutions 1) Tanto ku=ek. 2) Numan ku=sinot.

Vocabulary Ku= Tanto Ek Sinot Numan Apkas Poronno I Today To come To play Yesterday To walk A lot, many, much

Lesson 8: "I do.." (2)

Sentences Wakka ku=ku. I drink water. Numan hambaga ku=e. Yesterday I ate hamburger. "Foreign words" (gairaigo) that entered Japanese are usually written in Katakana. They are used the same way in Ainu as well. Grammar As explained in the previous lesson, the pronominal prefix ku= is attached before the verb, and it is not separated and placed in front of the sentence. I go tomorrow. Nisatta ku=oman. Ku nisatta oman. I ride a horse. Umma ku=o. Ku umma o. Also there are many words that are essential in modern life that just don't exist in Ainu. Japanese makes a heavy use of the foreign loanwords (gairaigo) to solve this problem such as (basu: bus), (intanetto, internet), (rajio, radio) and such words can be used the same way in Ainu as well.

Exercises

Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I have a lot of money. 2) I drink a little bit of hot water. Solutions 1) Icen poronno ku=kor. 2) Usew ponno ku=ku.

Vocabulary Ku= Kor Icen Poronno Usew Ku Ponno E Numan Hambaga Wakka I To have, hold Money A lot of, many, much Hot water To drink A little bit of To eat Yesterday Hamburger Water

Lesson 9: Continuous
Sentences Hapo monrayke kane an. Mother is working. 1 2 Aca eiga nukar kane an. Father is watching a movie. 1. "" eiga is a Japanese word, and thus written in Kanji. There are many words from Japanese, and they may still be written in Kanji. 2. nukar may be written and pronounced as nukara as well. Grammar In this lesson ~ ~kane an is used to make a continuous sense of the verb an, to be. It can also be ~ ~kor an or its shorter form ~ ~koran depending on the dialect. The latter forms may be used in Samani ( ) area as well, ~kane an is more common. This lesson focuses on the Samani dialect. There is no third person singular pronominal affix in Ainu. The word for "father" differs in different regions. In Samani, aca is used, and also in Urakawa, Mitsuishi, Shizunai, Hiroo, Shiranuka, Kushiro, Akan, Bihoro, Wakkanai and many other areas. Same word is used in some areas of Sakhalin, with a slightly different pronunciation: a:ca. Another word mici means father as well, but a dead father. But there are regions where two words are used interchangeably. And aca may mean an "uncle" in many regions as well. "Mother" is less complex, it is hapo in most areas of Hokkaido, including Samani. Pronunciation

It is commonly said that Ainu has no voiced consonants, but in fact it has. In Samani, the word for mother hapo is often pronounced as habo. Voiced/Voiceless do matter in Japanese, as it can change the meaning: kaki (persimmon) and kagi (key) are different words. These are free variants in Ainu, meaning that it doesn't change the meaning. Ruyanpe (rain) can be ruyanbe, hunpe (whale) can be hunbe, etc. k/g, t/d, p/b are the common allophones in Ainu. How one should pronounce a word depends on the individual habit and the region, but the most accepted pronunciation is to pronounce them voiceless, and it is advised for the learners to pronounce them voiceless.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Dog is swimming. 2) Aunt is making dango. Solutions 1) Sita ma kane an. 2) Unarpe sito kane an.

Vocabulary Ma Kane Sita An To swim ~ing, continuous Dog To be

Unarpe Sito Kar Aca Eiga Nukar Hapo Monrayke

Aunt Dango (kind of Japanese delicacy) To make Father Movie To look Mother To work a

Lesson 10: Plural Verbs

Sentences Suma an. (There) is a stone.

 Suma okay. (There) are stones. Grammar Ainu is grammatically similar with Japanese in many aspects, but there are notable differences. Using different verbs to mark the plural is one of it. A Japanese sentence " " (sakana ga iru, "there is/are fish") may mean there is one fish or more. Ainu makes this differentiation from using plurals not on the noun, but on the verb. If there were only one fish, the Ainu verb would be an, if two or more, the verb would be okay. There are a number of such verbs, and here is a short list of them. Oman Ek Paye To go

Arki

To come

Ahun

Ahup

To enter

Soyne Soyenpa To go outside San Sap To appear, to go down (the river, etc)

Hopuni Hosipi

Hopunpa To wake up, to rise, to fly

Hosippa To return, to come back

But not all Ainu verbs have distinct plural forms, such as sinot "to play, have fun" applies to both singular and plural subjects. And while Japanese has two different verbs "to exist, to be there", such as iru for

animate subjects and aru for the inanimate subjects, Ainu makes no distinction between them. kane from the last lesson can be used as kane an and kane okay to make the continuous sense of these verbs. English uses subjects like "it" or "there" when there is an ambiguous subject as English grammar does not allow a sentence to be without an apparent subject, but this is not necessary in Ainu. Pronunciation As it has been emphasized in the previous lessons, Ainu accent falls on the second syllable. It is suma, not suma.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) There is a deer. 2) There are a lot of people. Solutions 1) Yuk an. 2) Aynu poronno okay.

Vocabulary An To be, to exist (sg.)

Yuk Aynu Okay Poronno Suma

Deer Person To be, to exist (pl.) A lot, many, much Stone

Lesson 6: "My.." (2)

Sentences Ku=kor makiri een. My knife is sharp. Ku=kor unarpe iruska. My aunt is angry. Grammar Ku= is a first person pronominal prefix attached before the verb kor, which means "to have, to bear something." The phrase "ku=kor ..." literally translates as "... that which I have", which translates again as "my..." This is another way of saying possession in Ainu for alienable possessions. As it is explained in the last lesson, the direct attachment ku= is used to express inalienable possessions such as the body parts, as in "ku=pake", "my head." "Ku=kor pake" would not be an idiomatic Ainu usage. Most family members and relatives are considered to be alienable: ku=kor ekasi My grandfather

ku=kor huci

My grandmother My father My mother My uncle My aunt

ku=kor aca ku=kor hapo

ku=kor acapo ku=kor unarpe

But "my father" and "my mother" can also be said as " ku=aca" and "ku=hapo" as well. Pronunciation The word een, "sharp" is not pronounced as a "long" E. Two e are pronounced separately, with the accent on the second syllable. een

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) My horse is big. 2) My father came. Solutions 1) Ku=kor umma poro. 2) Ku=kor aca ek.

Vocabulary

Umma Ku=kor Poro Ek Aca Iruska Unarpe Een Makiri

Horse My Big To come Father Angry Aunt Sharp Knife

Lesson 7: "I do.." (1)

Sentences Ku=sinot. I play. (as in having fun, not sports or music.) Poronno ku=apkas. I walk a lot.

Grammar Pronominal affixes must be marked in Ainu in all times, unlike Japanese and other languages where the personal pronoun may be omitted in contexts. The same pronominal prefix discussed in previous two lessons, "ku" is attached before the main verb when the subject is first person singular. The adverbs like "poronno" and the words that mark the time phrase (today, yesterday, etc) are placed before the verb. Pronunciation Pay attention to the small tsu. Although this exists in the standard Katakana set, it is still hard for most Japanese to pronounce as Japanese phonotactics does not allow small tsu to appear at the end of the word. However, it does in Ainu. This would not be difficult for the English speakers. Sat Kut Apesokot To dry Belt Hearth, fireplace

Many place names in Hokkaido that end with ~ ~betsu come from Ainu pet, meaning "river." The personal prefix ku is never pronounced as an independent word. Pronounce it as if it were one word and the accent is always placed in the second syllable. Ku=sini Ku=mina Ku=mokor I rest I laugh I sleep

Ku=ek

I come

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I come today 2) I played yesterday. Solutions 1) Tanto ku=ek. 2) Numan ku=sinot.

Vocabulary Ku= Tanto Ek Sinot Numan Apkas Poronno I Today To come To play Yesterday To walk A lot, many, much

Lesson 8: "I do.." (2)

Sentences Wakka ku=ku. I drink water. Numan hambaga ku=e. Yesterday I ate hamburger. "Foreign words" (gairaigo) that entered Japanese are usually written in Katakana. They are used the same way in Ainu as well. Grammar As explained in the previous lesson, the pronominal prefix ku= is attached before the verb, and it is not separated and placed in front of the sentence. I go tomorrow. Nisatta ku=oman. Ku nisatta oman. I ride a horse. Umma ku=o. Ku umma o. Also there are many words that are essential in modern life that just don't exist in Ainu. Japanese makes a heavy use of the foreign loanwords (gairaigo) to solve this problem such as (basu: bus), (intanetto, internet), (rajio, radio) and such words can be used the same way in Ainu as well.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I have a lot of money. 2) I drink a little bit of hot water. Solutions

1) Icen poronno ku=kor. 2) Usew ponno ku=ku.

Vocabulary Ku= Kor Icen Poronno Usew Ku Ponno E Numan Hambaga Wakka I To have, hold Money A lot of, many, much Hot water To drink A little bit of To eat Yesterday Hamburger Water

Lesson 9: Continuous

Sentences Hapo monrayke kane an. Mother is working. 1 2 Aca eiga nukar kane an. Father is watching a movie. 1. "" eiga is a Japanese word, and thus written in Kanji. There are many words from Japanese, and they may still be written in Kanji. 2. nukar may be written and pronounced as nukara as well. Grammar In this lesson ~ ~kane an is used to make a continuous sense of the verb an, to be. It can also be ~ ~kor an or its shorter form ~ ~koran depending on the dialect. The latter forms may be used in Samani ( ) area as well, ~kane an is more common. This lesson focuses on the Samani dialect. There is no third person singular pronominal affix in Ainu. The word for "father" differs in different regions. In Samani, aca is used, and also in Urakawa, Mitsuishi, Shizunai, Hiroo, Shiranuka, Kushiro, Akan, Bihoro, Wakkanai and many other areas. Same word is used in some areas of Sakhalin, with a slightly different pronunciation: a:ca. Another word mici means father as well, but a dead father. But there are regions where two words are used interchangeably. And aca may mean an "uncle" in many regions as well. "Mother" is less complex, it is hapo in most areas of Hokkaido, including Samani. Pronunciation It is commonly said that Ainu has no voiced consonants, but in fact it has. In Samani, the word for mother hapo is often pronounced as habo. Voiced/Voiceless do matter in Japanese, as it can change the meaning: kaki (persimmon) and kagi (key) are different words. These are free variants in Ainu, meaning that it doesn't change the meaning. Ruyanpe (rain) can be

ruyanbe, hunpe (whale) can be hunbe, etc. k/g, t/d, p/b are the common allophones in Ainu. How one should pronounce a word depends on the individual habit and the region, but the most accepted pronunciation is to pronounce them voiceless, and it is advised for the learners to pronounce them voiceless.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Dog 2) Aunt is making dango. Solutions 1) Sita 2) Unarpe sito kane an. ma kane an. is swimming.

Vocabulary Ma Kane Sita An Unarpe Sito Kar To swim ~ing, continuous Dog To be Aunt Dango (kind of Japanese delicacy) To make a

Aca Eiga Nukar Hapo Monrayke

Father Movie To look Mother To work

Lesson 10: Plural Verbs

Sentences Suma (There) is a stone. Suma (There) are stones. Grammar Ainu is grammatically similar with Japanese in many aspects, but there are notable differences. Using different verbs to mark the plural is one of it. A Japanese sentence " " (sakana ga iru, "there is/are fish") may mean there is one fish or more. Ainu makes this differentiation from using plurals not on the noun, but on the verb. If there were only one fish, the Ainu verb would be an, if two or more, the verb would be okay. There are a number of such verbs, and here is a short list of them. Oman Paye To go an. okay.

 Ek Arki To come

Ahun

Ahup

To enter

Soyne Soyenpa To go outside San Sap To appear, to go down (the river, etc)

Hopuni Hosipi

Hopunpa To wake up, to rise, to fly

Hosippa To return, to come back

But not all Ainu verbs have distinct plural forms, such as sinot "to play, have fun" applies to both singular and plural subjects. And while Japanese has two different verbs "to exist, to be there", such as iru for animate subjects and aru for the inanimate subjects, Ainu makes no distinction between them. kane from the last lesson can be used as kane an and kane okay to make the continuous sense of these verbs. English uses subjects like "it" or "there" when there is an ambiguous subject as English grammar does not allow a sentence to be without an apparent subject, but this is not necessary in Ainu. Pronunciation As it has been emphasized in the previous lessons, Ainu accent falls on the second syllable. It is suma, not suma.

Exercises

Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) There 2) There are a lot of people. Solutions 1) 2) Aynu poronno okay. Yuk an. is a deer.

Vocabulary An Yuk Aynu Okay Poronno Suma To be, to exist (sg.) Deer Person To be, to exist (pl.) A lot, many, much Stone

Lesson 16: Copula Sentences Wenkur ku=ne. I am poor.

 Onne ekasi ku=ne. I'm an old uncle.

Grammar Ne is the standard Ainu copula, and it can combine with the pronominal prefix ku= to express "I am." However, unlike English, ku=ne is used mostly to express the identity: I am something. Pay attention not to say " ku wenkur ne" instead of " wenkur ku=ne." Pronunciation we is not pronounced as two distinct syllables. This is another pronunciation that may cause troubles to a Japanese learner, who might say ue with two distinct syllables. It is more like "whe" as in "where" in English. Examples: Wen Hawe Ruwe Wente Uwekarpa Bad Voice Trace To break, invade To collect

And note that the stress falls on the second syllable in all cases. kune kune (O) (X)

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I am a woman. 2) I am a college student from Muroran.

Solutions 1) Menoko ku=ne. 2) Moruran wa ek Daigakusei ku=ne.

Vocabulary Ne Ku= Menoko Ek Moruran Daigakusei Wa Wenkur Copula (to be) I Woman To come Muroran College student (Japanese loanword) From A poor person

Ekasi Onne

Uncle, a grown-up man Old, aged

Lesson 17: "Your.." (1)

Sentences E=etu poro. Your nose is big. E=cise ku=nukar. I see your house. Grammar E= is the second person singular pronominal prefix. This is used to express the inalienable possession, analogous to ku= in lesson 5. Note that "house" cise is considered as an inalienable possession. Pronunciation tu may be written as or depending on the writer, as this is a sound that doesn't exist in normal Japanese. However, this "tu" has been introduced to Japanese through various English loanwords such as "today" or "tonight", and became the standard spelling for this sound. Examples: Etuy Etu Sea Nose

Tuyma Tus Tup Tuk Tukar Turse

Far Net, network Two To feed, raise (children, etc) Seal (animal) To fall down

There is a type of red coloured bird called "puffin" known in Japanese as " Etopirika", but the real Ainu name would be " Etupirika." This is an Ainu loanword into Japanese. Here, "etu" means not a rose, but (reasonably enough) a beak.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Your hair is white. 2) I wash your shoes. Solutions 1) E=etopi retar. 2) E=keri ku=huraye.

Vocabulary Etopi Hair

Retar E= Huraye Keri Ku= Etu Cise Nukar Poro

White You To clean, wash Shoes I Nose House To see Big

Lesson 18: "Your.." (2)

Sentences E=kor hapo poronno monrayke. Your mother works a lot. E=kor kamera sonno pirka. Your camera is very good. Grammar

E=kor is used to express the alienable possession of the second person, analogous to ku=kor in lesson 6. This literally translates as "(something) that you have/hold." Note that e=kor is not used for the body parts such as " e=kor etu" (your nose) or " e=kor pake " (your head). Body parts are expressed with simple e= instead, as they are considered to be inalienable.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Your earrings are beautiful. 2) Yesterday your aunt danced.

Solutions 1) E=kor ninkari pirika. 2) Numan e=kor unarpe rimes.

Vocabulary Kor Ninkari Pirka E= Unarpe To have, to hold Earrings Beautiful, good You Aunt

Rimse Numan Kamera Sonno Hapo Poronno Monrayke

Dance Yesterday Camera Very, truly Mother A lot, many, much Work, to work

Lesson 19: "You do.." (sg.)

Sentences Upopo e=ye. You sing a song. Pirka kuruma e=kor. You have a good car. Grammar The pronominal prefix e= could be placed before a verb to mark the subject of the predicate as well, analogous to the usage of ku= in lessons 7 and 8. Ainu verbs has no time tense, and additional temporal adverbials are added to indicate the time when it is necessary.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) You see a big mountain. 2) You will arrive in London tomorrow. Solutions 1) Poro nupuri e=nukar. 2) Nisatta London ta e=sirepa.

Vocabulary Nukar Nupuri E= Poro Nisatta Rondon Ta Sirepa Ye Upopo To see Mountain You Big Tomorrow London Locative case particle To arrive To say, speak, sing Song

Kuruma Kor Pirka

Car (Japanese loanword) To have, hold Good, beautiful

Lesson 20: Independent Pronoun "I" (1)

Sentences Kuani ku=oman. I go. Kuani poronno ku=apkas. I walk a lot. Grammar Ainu has the independent pronouns beside the pronominal prefixes. The first person pronominal suffix is ku=, and the independent pronoun is kuani or its contracted form kani. (Kani form is used more often in Saru, Mukawa and Chitose areas.) This is analogous to French moi or Latin ego, and the Ainu independent pronouns are used in a similar way to emphasise the subject pronoun. But you can't omit the pronominal prefix even if you have an independent pronoun, just like you can't say *Moi suis instead of Moi, je suis in French. I go. Kuani Ku=oman. Kuani oman. Ku=oman. I walk a lot. Kuani poronno ku=apkas.

 Ku poronno apkas. Kuani poronno apkas. Poronno ku=apkas.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I play a lot. 2) I am very tired. Solutions 1) Kuani poronno ku=sinot. 2) Kuani sonno ku=sinki.

Vocabulary Sinot Poronno Kuani Ku= Sinki Sonno To play (having fun) A lot, many, much I I To be tired Very

Apkas Oman

To walk To go

Lesson 21: Independent Pronoun "I" (2)

Sentences Kuani anak Terebi ku=nukar. I watch TV. Kuani anakne poro umma ku=o. I ride a big horse. Grammar The independent pronoun kuani may be used by itself, but it is more often accompanied by the topic marker particle anak or anakne, which were introduced in lesson 12. This is used to emphasise the subject of the sentence, it is "I" who is watching the TV (while the others might be doing other things). There is an implied sense of relativity. Pay attention to the pronominal affix ku as well, it has to be used in all cases. I watch TV. kuani anakne terebi ku=nukar. ku anakne terebi nukar. kuani anakne terebi nukar. terebi ku=nukar. I ride a big horse. Kuani anak poro umma

ku=o. Kuani anak poro umma o. Ku anak poro umma o. Poro umma ku=o. Anak and anakne are mutually interchangeable. The additional ne is thought to be derived from the copula ne.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I am listening to radio. 2) I come from Sapporo. Solutions 1) Kuani anak Radio ku=nu. 2) Kuani anakne Satporo wa ku=ek.

Vocabulary Ku= Rajio Anak Nu I Radio Topic marker To hear, listen to

Kuani Anakne Satporo Wa Ek

I Topic marker Sapporo From To come Horse (from Japanese uma.) Television. Japanese) To look, watch Big To ride (from

Umma

Terebi Nukar Poro O

Lesson 22: Independent Pronoun "You" (sg.)

Sentences Eani cep e=koyki. You catch a fish.

 Eani anak Anaunsa e=ne. You are an announcer. Grammar Eani is the independent pronoun for the second person singular, analogous to kuani. The corresponding pronominal suffix for it is e=, which must be present even when eani is used.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) You drink beer. 2) You are a boy. Solutions 1) Eani Beer e=ku. 2) Eani anakne hekaci e=ne.

Vocabulary Biru Ku E= Eani Ne Anakne Beer. (a Dutch loanword in Japanese) To drink You You Copula Topic marker

Hekaci Anaunsa Anak Koyki Cep

Boy, young man Announcer. Japanese) Topic marker To take, catch, annoy, pile. Fish (from

Lesson 23: Connector "wa" (1)

Sentences Ruyanpe as war u teyne. Rain fell and the road is wet. Herikiputa ek wa hekattar uwekarpa. A helicopter came and the children gathered.

Grammar Wa is a connector which links two sentences together, best translated as "and" in English. A more literal translation of the first sentence would be

"the road became wet as it was raining", and a sense of spontaneity is implied. Wa can become ma after a word ending in n or m. Sak an ma sirsesek. Summer came and it became hot. Mean ma ku=teke yam. It became cold and my hand is cold.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Wind blows and the wave is rough. 2) Father is angry and the daughter cries. Solutions 1) Rera as wa rir yupke. 2) Aca iruska wa matnepo cis.

Vocabulary Wa Rir As Rera Yupke "And" Sea wave To blow, fall Wind Strong, rough

Cis Aca Matnepo Iruska Uwekarpa Ek Teyne Hekattar Herikoputa Ru Ruyanpe

To cry Father Daughter To be angry To gather To come To become wet Children Helicopter Japanese) Road, pathway Rain (from

Lesson 24: Connector "wa" (2)

Sentences Kondoru hopuni wa oman. Condor flew and went.

 Tonoto ku=hok wa ku=ek. I bought alcohol and came. Grammar Wa as a connector in lesson 23 was translated as "and". It is also used to describe a sequence of actions: a condor first flies and goes somewhere and I buy alcohol and comes back. Note that the example sentences are both translated in the past tense. Ainu verbs have no time tense, and it is customary to translate them into the past tense unless the time is specified otherwise. Not everyone agrees with this convention, and it is up to the translator to translate them as one sees fit.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Uncle rode the car and went. 2) I walked a lot and became tired. Solutions 1) Acapo Kuruma o wa oman. 2) Poronno ku=apkas wa ku=sinki.

Vocabulary Wa Oman O Acapo "And" To go To ride Uncle

()

Kuruma Ku= Apkas Poronno Sinki Ek Kondoru Tonoto Hok Hopuni

Car (from Japanese) I To walk A lot, many, much To come To come Condor Alcoholic drink To buy To fly, to wake up from sleep

Lesson 25: Imperative

Sentences Emkota oman. Go quickly. Wakkata wa ek. Ladle water and come.

Grammar There are no special verb forms for the imperative in Ainu, and it is formed by using the base form of the verb without the pronominal affix.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Go to the railway tomorrow. 2) Get up quickly and wash the face. Solutions 1) Nisatta kusur en oman. 2) Emkota hopuni wa yaske.

Vocabulary Kusur Oman En Nisatta Railway To go "To" Allative case particle. Tomorrow

Emkota Quickly, early Hopuni Wa Yaske To wake up, rise "And" To wash face

Ek Wakkata

To come To ladle water. Wakka (water) + ta (ladle)

Lesson 26: Negation

Sentences Huci henne mokor. Grandmother doesn't sleep. Tapanpe sita henne ne. This is not a dog. Grammar Ainu word of negation is henne, whether it is not or it does not. Henne comes before the verb it negates. It does not affect the pronominal affixes, and they must be present in the verb in negation as well. The above two sentences show no affixes as the third person is marked by the absence of the affix. The pronominal affixes will be present in the first and second person, such as henne ku=oman (I dont come) and henne e=nukar (you dont see). Henne may be used in a manner similar to English un (as in undo) or im/in (as in impossible). Henne pirka would mean something is not good.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) My father is not having a meal. 2) You are not a man.

Solutions 1) Ku=kor aca henne ipe. 2) Eani anak okay henne e=ne.

Vocabulary Ipe Ku= Aca Henne Kor E= Ne Eani Anak Okkay Sita Tapanpe Huci To have, eat a meal I Father Negation To have, hold You Copula You Topic marker Man, male Dog This Grandmother

Mokor

To sleep

Lesson 27: Genitive (1)

Sentences Tapan ker anak ku=kerihi ne. These shoes are my shoes. E=nanuhu sonno pirka. Your face is very beautiful. Grammar The word ker in the first sentence means a pair of shoes in its base form, and kerihi is the genitive form of it. The shoes and other cloth items attached immediately on the body is considered to be inalienable, so it takes the pronominal suffixes ku= or e=, and either ker or kerihi is permissible in the third person, which takes no pronominal suffix. (unarpe ker/kerihi, "aunts shoes") Notice that Ainu genitive applies to the item which is possessed, not the possessor. Not all Ainu nouns have this genitive forms. The nouns which have genitive parts include body parts, clothing, animals, plants and tools. Nichihi in makiri nicihi "grip of a small blade" is the genitive of nit, "grip", and nanuhu in the second sentence above is "face of", whose base form is nan. More examples: Nominal Genitive

Kisar

Ear

, Kisara, Kisaraha Asama, Asamaha

Ear of

Asam

Bottom

Bottom of

Etop

Hair

Etopi, Etopihi Hair of Siki, Sikihi Reki, Rekihi Piri, Pirihi Eye of Beard of Wound of Shadow of

Sik Rek Pir Kur Hum Mat

Eye Beard Wound

Shadow Kuri, Kurihi Sound Wife

Humi, Humihi Sound of Matu, Matuhi Wife of Nanu, Nanuhu

Nan

Face

Face of

Rap Kap

Leaf Hand

Rapu, Rapuhu Leaf of Kapu, Kapuhu Hand of Hamu, Hamuhu

Ham Tek

Voice Hand

Voice of

Teke, Tekehe Hand of

Haw

Voice

Hawe, Hawehe Ataye, Atayehe

Voice of

Atai

Price

Price of

Car

Mouth

Caro, Caroho Mouth of Osoro, Osoroho

Osor

Hip

Hip of

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Your eyes are small. 2) My legs are slim. Solutions 1) E=sikihi pon. 2) Ku=cikirihi sonno ane.

Vocabulary Sikihi E= Pon Eye of You Small

Ane Cikirihi Sonno Ku= Anak Kerihi Ker Tapan Nanuhu Ne Pirka

Slim, narrow Leg of Very, truly I Topic marker Shoes of Shoes This Face of Copula Beautiful, good

Lesson 28: Genitive (2)

Sentences

 Ku=kor acapo etuhu poro. My uncle's nose is big. Ku=matnepo etopi hure. My daugter's hair is red. Grammar Etuhu in the ` of etu, meaning "nose of" Certain nouns such as body parts can be possessed without being in genitive as well, so e=etu and e=etuhu are both acceptable. This applies to family members as well, so matnepo in the second sentence becomes either ku=matnepo or ku=matnepoho. Nominal Hura Kera Genitive Hura, Huraha Kera, Keraha English Smell Taste

Etu

Tusa, Tusaha Pa, Paha

Sleeve

Pa

Year Lower end of a clothing Husband

Cinki

Cinki, Cinkihi Hok, Hokuhu

Hok

Etu

Etu, Etuhu Cise, Cisehe Pake, Pakehe

Nose

Cise Pake

House, home Head

Re Po

Re, Rehe Po, Poho

Name Child, son

Matnepo

Matnepo, Matnepoho Mitpo, Mitpoho To, Toho

Daughter

Mitpo

Grandchild

To

Day

The genitives ending with p, t, k, s, m, r, n, y, w, or in Katakana, small , , , , , , or , , undergo vowel changes in genitive, as they were presented in the last lesson. The other words that end with a vowel get genitive affixes after them. ha after the nouns ending with -a, hi after -i, hu after -u, he after -e and ho after -o .

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) The smell of ramsons is strong. 2) My dog is smart. (lit. "to have a good head.") Solutions 1) Puksa anak huraha ruy. 2) Ku=kor sita pake pirka.

Vocabulary Anak Topic marker

Ruy Pukusa Huraha Ku Pirka Pake Sita Kor Acapo Etohu Etopi Hure Poro Matnepo

Strong Ramsons Smell of I Good, beautiful Head Dog To have, hold Uncle Nose of Hair of Red Big Daughter

Lesson 29: Nominalizer

Grammar Ainu nominalizers pe and p are attached at the end of the word to make nouns. They roughly correspond to the English affixes like ness (after noun), -ing (after verb), -ity (after adjective or adverb), -er (after person), etc. Ainu nominalizers are more general, it could also be used to create a place name "place where occurs." Pe is used after words that end with a small Katakana, or p, t, k, s, m, r, n, y or w in Roman Ainu. (Or, anything else than a, e, i, o, u.) Examples: Itakpe Apkaspe Thing which speaks Thing which walks Thing exist which doesnt

Isampe

Retarpe Ponpe Okaype

Thing which is white Thing which is small Things which are

P is used after the words that end with a big Katakana (including or ) or a, e, i, o, u in Roman Ainu. Sinip Pirikap Terkep Rimsep Wakkakup Thing which rests Thing which is good Thing which jumps Thing which dances Thing which drinks

water Ku=yep "I", "whom I call myself"

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) There are lots of tasty things. 2) This obon is a thing that my uncle carved. Solutions 1) Keraan pe poronno okay. 2) Tapan ita anak acapo nuyep ne.

Vocabulary Poronno Keraan Okay Acapo Tapan Nuye Ita A lot, much, many Tasty To be (pl.) Uncle This To carve Obon (Lanton Festival)

Anak Ye E= Ku=

Topic marker To call You I Bicycle This Copula Good, beautiful, right Nominalizer Nominalizer To buy

Zitensha Tapan Ne Pirka P Pe Hok

Lesson 30: "You do.." (pl.)

Sentences Eci=mina. You laugh. (pl.)

 Cepkoykikur eci=ne. You are fishers. (pl.) Grammar Eci= is the second person plural pronominal suffix. Like all pronominal affixes, eci= can never occur independently. You are eating meat. (pl.) Eci kam e. Kam eci=e. Eci= is also used to denote the genitive relationships, that something belongs to "those of you." eci=teke / eci=tekehe "your hands" eci=ker / eci=kerihi "your shoes" eci=keutum / eci=keutumhu "your hearts"

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) You (pl.) walk a lot. 2) I see your heads. Solutions 1) Poronno eci=apkas. 2) Eci=nanuhu ku=nukar.

Vocabulary

Apkas Poronno Eci Nukar Ku Nanuhu Cepkoykikur Ne Mina

To walk A lot, many, much You (pl.) To see I Head of Fisher Copula To laugh

Lesson 31: Independent Pronoun "You" (pl.)

Sentences Eciokay France en eci=paye. You go to France. Eciokay anakne ataykor steak eci=e. You eat expensive steaks. Grammar

Eciokay is the second person plural independent pronoun. Its usage is analogous to eani, second person singular. The pronominal affix eci= must be retained when eciokay is used. Examples: "You go to France" (pl.) Eciokay France en paye. Eciokay France en eci=paye. You eat expensive steaks. (pl.) Eciokay anakne ataykor steak e. Eciokay anakne ataykor steak eci=e. Note that some Ainu verbs change their forms entirely in plural, and the word for "to go" in the above example is paye instead of oman. Eci=oman* is grammatically incorrect.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) You sleep well. (pl.) 2) You are elementary school students. (pl.) Solutions 1) Eciokay pirkano eci=mokor. 2) Eciokay anak Shougakusei eci=ne.

Vocabulary Mokor Eci= To sleep You (pl.)

Pirkano Eciokay Anak Ne

Well (adv.) You (pl.) Topic marker Copula Elementary student Expensive Topic marker To eat To, towards Steak To go (pl.) France school

Shougakusei Ataykor Anakne E En Sute-ki Paye Furansu

Lesson 32: "We do.." (1)

Sentences Mokor=an. We sleep. Numan Iskar en paye=an. We went to Ishikari yesterday. Grammar Lets review the three pronominal affixes weve met so far: ku= is the first person singular, e= and eci= are the second person, singular and plural. They all acted as prefixes, but the first person plural =an acts as a suffix. More examples: Arki=an Sinki=an Rimse=an Hauki=an Terke=an Peure=an Onne=an Poro=an We come We are tired We dance We speak We jump We are young We grow old We are big We descend (down the river, etc)* We descend (from

Sap=an Rap=an

somewhere high)* Okay=an Pon=an We are, we exist* We are small*

sap=an, rap=an, okay=an, and pon=an may be shortened as sapan, rapan, okayan/ okaan, or ponan in speech. Note that Ainu has no adjectives in the strict sense. Instead, Ainu has corresponding verbs for "to be such" and they act as if they were verbs: the copula "to be" is largely incorporated in them. They also mean "to become such", and you must rely on the context to figure out what exactly is meant. Conventionally, Ainu sentences are translated contextual cues tell otherwise. Not everyone Shibatani in the Ainu chapter of his book maintains this position, while Kirsten Refsing questions this practice. into past tense unless the agrees with this, though. The Languages of Japan in her The Ainu Language

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) We take a little break. 2) We come from Shiranuka.

Solutions 1) Ponno sini=an. 2) Sirarika wa arki=an.

Vocabulary

=an Sini Ponno Sirarka Arki Wa Iskar En Numan Paye

We To rest, take a break A little Shiranuka (pn.) To come From Ishikari (pn.) To, towards Yesterday To go (pl.)

Lesson 33: "We do.." (2)

Sentences

 Dress an=mi. We wear dress. Kesto CD an=nu. We listen to the CD everyday. Grammar In the last lesson, the pronominal affix =an was attached at the end of the verb. That was when the verb was intransitive, that is to say the verb does not take a direct object. When the verb is transitive, the same affix is attached before the verb, making it an=. Example words are mi "to wear", nu "to listen to", e "to eat", kor "to have, hold", nukar "to look at" etc. Note that "transitive" and "intransitive" mean slightly different things in English and Ainu. English defines "transitive" at a more strict sense, that is the object has to be acted upon in some way while in Ainu (and Japanese) a purely mental activity like "wanting" is sufficient enough to become transitive, because it takes an object after all. More examples: An=e An=kor An=ne An=nukar An=kar An=ku An=nu An=mi We eat We have We are We look at We make We drink We listen to We wear

An=nuye An=o

We write We ride

An= as a prefix is translated as "our" when attached before a noun. A noun may or may not take its genitive form in this case. An=siki / An=sikihi "Our day" An=pake / An=pakehe "Our head" An=cise / An=cisehe "Our house" An=matnepo / An=matnepoho "Our daughter"

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) We eat meat. 2) We drink wine a little. Solutions 1) Kam an=e. 2) Ponno Wine an=ku.

Vocabulary An= We

Kam E Ku Wain Ponno Kesto

Meat To eat To drink Wine A little Everyday Dress (Formal female outfit in Japanese usage) To listen to To wear

Doresu

Nu Mi

Lesson 34: "We do.." (3)

Sentences Uskes wa arki=as. We come from Hakodate. Poronno apkas=as wa sinki=as. We walked a lot and got tired.

Grammar Ainu makes a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first person plural. Inclusive "we" includes the listener, "you and I", while exclusive "we" does not; "I and others, but not you". An in the previous two lessons are inclusive, and the exclusive takes a different affix: as. Although they both translate as "we" in English, the distinction has to be made in Ainu.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) We have a meal together. (excl.) 2) Tomorrow we go to Osaka. (excl.) Solutions 1) Uturano ipe=as. 2) Nisatta Osaka en paye=as.

Vocabulary =as Ipe Uturano Paye Osaka Nisatta En We To eat, have a meal Together To go (pl.) Osaka (pn.) Tomorrow To, towards

Apkas Arki Uskes Sinki Poronno Wa Wa

To walk To come (pl.) Hakodate (pn.)* To be tired A lot, many, much From And

Uskes is the indigenous name for the modern city of Hakodate( ). Unlike many place names in Hokkaido, "Hakodate" is not derived from Ainu name. It was also known as Ushorkes or Usorkes as well.

Lesson 35: "We do.." (4)

Sentences Pasokon ci=kor. We have a (personal) computer. Salaryman henne ci=ne. We're not the corporate employees. ("salaryman")

Grammar This lesson introduces the last form of first person plural pronoun: ci=. It is exclusive first person plural pronominal for the transitive verbs. To summarize: Inclusive Transitive Intransitive -an -an Exclusive ci-as

As you can see, -an is used for the inclusive first person plural, for both transitive and intransitive verbs, and Ainu makes a distinction between first person plural transitive ci and intransitive as in exclusive. Examples: Ci=kotanu / ci=kotanuhu "Our village" Ci=ker / ci=kerihi "Our shoes" Ci=tek / ci=tekehe "Our hands" Ci=mitpo / ci=mitpoho "Our grandchild" And ci is also used for "people in general", similar to French on or German man. This aspect of ci is most noticeable in compound nouns, personal and place names. For example, the word cironnup is composed of three parts: ci-ronnu-p, "what people kill" with p being the nominalizer. This word means "fox." More examples: cikarkarpe (Embroidered clothing) ci=karkar=pe "What people embroider" cieyunkep (Tool) ci=eyunke=p "What people use"

 citatap (An Ainu dish made of bashing a salmon's head) ci=tata=p "What people bash" cinomisir (A holy land) ci=nomi=sir "Where people pray"

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) We eat fish. 2) We are young youth. Solutions 1) Cep ci=e. 2) Pewre okkaypo ci=ne.

Vocabulary E Cep Ci= Pewre Ne Okkaypo To eat Fish We To be young Copula Youth

Kor

To have, hold "Salaryman", a corporate employee. Personal computer Negation (Not)

Sarariman

Pasokon Henne

Lesson 36: "If.. then"

Sentences E=ek yakun ku=hosipi. If you come, I come back. Ruyanpe as yakun henne ku=oman. If it rains, I don't go. Grammar Yakun is a conditional particle which is best translated as "if" in English. But unlike English, yakun is placed at the end of the conditional clause: instead of "if X, Y" the Ainu equivalent would be "X yakun, Y." The second sentence "ruyanpe as yakun henne ku=oman" may be broken down as "ruyenpe as yakun" (if rain falls) with yakun connects the conditional to the main clause "henne ku=oman" (I don't/won't go.) The usage of yakun is strictly limited in a situation where the result "then" is determined given the condition "if" is satisfied. This means yakun will not be used in a prediction, such as "it will become warm if spring comes." Nor in a subjunctive sentence like "I wish if I were.." either, as this is a wish, not a determined action under specific conditions.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) If snow comes, mother rides bus. 2) If father is angry, I apologize. Solutions 1) Upas as yakun hapo Bus. 2) Aca iruska yakun ku=yawnaske.

Vocabulary O Yakun Basu As Hapo Upas Iruska Aca Yawnaske To ride Conditional Bus To fall Mother Snow To be angry Father To apologize

Ku= E= Ek Oman Henne Hosipi Ruyanpe

I You To come To go Negation To come back, go back Rain

Lesson 37: "I suppose.."

Sentences Nisatta upas as nankor. I suppose it would snow tomorrow. Oyapa Canada en paye=an nankor. I supposed we would go to Canada next year. Grammar Nankor is a suppositional particle which expresses a guess or prediction about the future or current event. It may be used to express something is expected from people or things depending on the context. In Katakana it may be spelt either as or , depending on the habit of the speaker.

 Tomakomay en e=oman nankor. You would go to Tomakomai. Ku=ye itak eci=nu nankor. You would listen to what I say.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I suppose the wind would blow strong today. 2) I suppose you would see lots of stars if you go outside.

Solutions 1) Tanto era yupke nankor. 2) E=soyne yakun nociw poronno e=nukar nankor

Vocabulary Yupke Tanto Rera Nankor Nociw To be strong Today Wind Suppositional Star

Soyne E= Nukar Poronno Yakun As =An Upas En Oyapa Kanada Nisatta Paye

To go outside You To look at A lot, many, much Conditional To blow, to fall We Snow To, towards Next year Canada Tomorrow To go (pl.)

Lesson 38: Object Pronoun "Me"

Sentences

 Ku=yupo en=kik My brother beat me. Ku=kor hapo chocolate en=kore. My mother gave me chocolate. Grammar En= is another first person pronominal affix in the objective case, while ku= is the subjective. The subject of the verb is still the agent of the action, and en is there to mark the object of the action, as something is done to "me."

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) A big dog bites me. 2) My aunt scolds me.

Solutions 1) Poro sita en=kupapa. 2) Ku=kor huci en=hoyki.

Vocabulary Sita Kupapa En= Dog To bite Me

Poro Huci Koiruska Kor Ku= Kik Kore Chokoreto Hapo Yupo

To be big Aunt To scold To have, hold I, my To beat To give Chocolate Mother Brother

Lesson 39: Connector "korkay"

Sentences Upas as korkay sirpopke. Snow falls, but it is warm. /It is warm though it's snowing. Tapan kimchi carkar korkay keraan. This kimchi is hot, but it tastes good. / This kimchi tastes good though it is hot.

Grammar Korkay is a word which connects two clauses. A korkay B is translated as "A, but B" or "B, although A." The main clause follows the subordinate clause, and this is a feature shared by both Japanese and Ainu. Depending on the dialect and habit of the speaker, korkay may be korokay, korka or koroka.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I eat sherbet, although it is cold. 2) We dance, although we are tired. Solutions 1) Mean korkay Sherbet ku=e. 2) Sinki=as korkay rimse=as.

Vocabulary Korkay E Shabetto Ku= Mean Although To eat Sherbet I To be cold

Rimse =as Sinki As Upas Kimuchi Keraan Sirpopke Tapan Carkar

To dance We Tired To fall, blow Snow Kimchi To be tasty To become warm This To be hot, spicy.

Lesson 40: "Let us.." (1)

Sentences Ipe=an no. Let us have a meal.

 Uraka pakno apkas =an no. Let us walk to Urakawa. Grammar The suggestive "let us" in Ainu is expressed by the particle no attached at the end of the clause. suy unukar=an no is a common "good bye" expression in Ainu, literally meaning "let us meet again!" This no may become ro, rok , or na depending on the dialect.

Exercises There are no exercises for this lesson.

Vocabulary Apkas =an Ipe Uraka No Pakno To walk We To eat, have a meal Urakawa (pn.) Suggestive Up to, even, all the way to

Lesson 41: "Let us.." (2)

Sentences Pororimse an=ki no. Let us dance pororimse. Yamaw an=kar wa an=e no. Let us make yamaw and eat. Pororimse, known as Waodori in Japanese, is a traditional dance in a circle after a festival. The Ainu word pororimse literally means "Great Dance", and the Japanese waodori means "Circled Dance." Yawaw is a traditional Ainu dish, which literally means "cold (yam) soup (ohaw)." Grammar The suggestive sentences used in Lesson 40 with particle no were all intransitive, and the pronominal affix =an was placed after the verb. However, when the sentence takes an object and the verb made transitive, then the affix is placed before the verb as an=. The pronominal affix can never be omitted. "Let us watch a movie" Eiga an=nukar no. Eiga nukar no. In addition, no may cause a sound change in the preceding word. If the preceding word ends with a small Katakana or an r in Roman Ainu, this r is dropped and nasalized as (n) to ease the pronunciation. An=kar no "Let us make..." -> An=kan no An=nukar no "Let us see..." -> An=nukan no

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu

1) Let's ride metro. 2) Let's go to Tomakomai and find a cheap room. Solutions 1) Chikatetsu an=o no. 2) Tomakomai en paye=an wa ataysak tumpu an=estan no

Vocabulary O An= No Chikatetsu Tumpu Tomakomai En Paye Ataysak Estan Wa To ride We Suggestive Metro, subway Room Tomakomai (pn.) To, towards To go (pl.) To be cheap To find, search And

E Kar Ki

To eat To make To do

Lesson 42: Particle "na"

Sentences Tanto mean na. Today is cold. Kampisos poronno ku=kor na. I have a lot of books. kampisos "book" is a compound noun made of kampi "paper" and sos, a rarely used word for collection of flimsy materials. Some speakers may just say "hon" () as a Japanese loanword. Grammar The assurance particle na does not carry any semantic meaning, and the above examples make sense even if na is removed. This is used when the speaker provides information which the speaker wants the listener to pay attention: cf. "You know, its cold outside." This roughly corresponds to Japanese particle yo. Like no from lesson 41, na may cause a sound change if the preceding word ends in small Katakana or an r. R in the preceding word is then nasalized and becomes / n. -> ku=kor na -> ku=kon na

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) This melon is cheap but tastes good (and I assure you) 2) As for me, I understand Ainu language a little (so that you know) Solutions 1) Tapan Melon ataysak korkay keraan na. 2) Kuani anak aynuitak ponno ku=eramuan na.

Vocabulary Ataysak Tapan Na Meron Korkay Keraan Ku= Anak Ainuitak To be cheap This Assurance particle Melon Although To taste good, to be tasty I Topic marker Ainu language

Eramuan Kuani Ponno Kor Tanto Poronno Mean

To understand I A little To have, hold Today A little To be cold

Lesson 43: Particle "ya"

Sentences Enpitsu e=kor ya? Do you have a pencil? Ukuran imeru at ya? Did lightning strike last night? At is "to appear" or "occur", such as light, smoke, smell or gas. It is also found in compound nouns such as urarat "to become misty", huraat "to become fragrant", nupekiat "light appears, shine" or supyaat "smoke appears."

Imeru is "lightening", as opposed to kamuyhum , "thunder". It is made of i "that (of god)" and meru "brightness." Grammar Ya is an interrogative particle attached at the end of the sentence to make it a question, roughly corresponding to Japanese ka. This can be omitted if you just raise the tone at the end of the sentence. Wakka e=ku? You drink water? Ainu itak eci=eranpetek? You (pl.) know Ainu language?

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Is your aunt's house big? 2) Do you (pl.) work every day? (lit. Do you be while working every day?) Solutions 1) E=kor unarpe cisehe poro ya. 2) Kesto eci=monrayke kane eci=okay ya.

Vocabulary Kor Ya Poro Unarpe To have, hold Interrogative particle To be big Aunt

E= Cisehe Kane Kesto Monrayke Eci= Okay

You (sg.) Home, house (genitive) While Everyday To work You (pl.) Copula (pl.) Last night, evening Pencil yesterday

Ukuran

Enpitsu

Lesson 44: Particle "rusuy"

Sentences Arbeit ku=ki rusuy. I want to get (lit. "do") a part time job. rurmotpe en paye=as rusuy. We want to go to Rumoi.

Grammar Rusuy is a desiderative particle, roughly translated as "to want to do something." Without rusuy, the example sentences mean "I do a part time job" and "we go to Rumoi." Rusuy is often used in compound words as well, as in iperusuy "to be hungry" (lit. to want to dine), mokonrusuy "to be sleepy" (lit. to want to sleep) and konrusuy "to want to have." Notice the sound changes of mokor and kor to mokon and kon here.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I want to buy a new watch. 2) Do you want to go to Sakhalin? Solutions 1) Asir Tokei ku=hok rusuy. 2) Eciokay Karapto en eci=paye rusuy ya.

Vocabulary Hok Asir Ku= Rusuy Tokei To buy, purchase To be new I Desiderative particle Watch

En Ya Paye Eci= Karapto Eciokay =as

To, towards Interrogative particle To go (pl.) You (pl.) Karafuto, Sakhalin (pn.) You (pl.) We (exclusive) A part-time job, from German "Arbeit" To do Rumoi (pn.) Rur "ocean", mo "silence", ot "to be", pe "place." "Where the silence of ocean is"

Arubaito

Ki

Rurmotpe

Lesson 45: Particle "kusu"

Sentences Sonno mean kusu wakka rupus. Water froze because it is very cold.

 Ski ci=ki kusu paye=as rusuy. We want to go to ski. Grammar Kusu is a causal particle attached at the end of the clause. Water froze because the weather was cold, and we want to go in order to (or, "because") we ski. Note that the word order is different from English: "A because B" would translate as "B kusu A" in Ainu. B is the reason or goal, and A is the reason. Keep in mind that the subordinate clause comes before the main clause in Ainu. A common expression using kusu includes " kusu ne." Literally it would mean "because it is so...", but in idiomatic usage this means "I am going to / planning to do." Example: Kankoku en ku=oman kusu ne. I am going to Korea. (I have planned to do so.) In the second sentence you find ci= and =as used in the same sentence. They are both first person plural exclusive pronominal affixes, that the "we" does not include the listener. Ki takes transitive ci= because it has an object (ski), while paye doesn't because there is no destination (object) specified, thus intransitive =as.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) Now I'm going back because I am tired. 2) We want to go to Hawaii for surfing. Solutions 1) Ku=sinki kusu tane ku=hosipi. 2) Surfing ci=ki kusu Hawaii en=paye as rusuy.

Vocabulary Ku= Kusu Hosipi Tane Sinki I Causal particle To return Now Tired We exclusive) Hawaii Surfing To, towards Desiderative particle We (transitive exclusive) Ski. Ski was used by Sakhalin Ainu to move around in the snow-piled mountains, but it is unlikely that it was so in (intransitive

=As

Hawai Safin En Rusuy Ci= Suki

Hokkaido. Sonno Mean Rupus Wakka Very, truly To be cold To freeze Water

Lesson 46: Tuytak

Text ( Beginning of the story ) ha Iskar kotan Village of Ishikari Kotan etoko Hill of the village A=kohorari wa okay=an I was living. (Refrain) Paw paw haeeeee Iskar kotan Village of Ishikari

 Kotan etoko Hill of the village A=kohorari okay=an awa I was living there, but Pokoinne=an ma I had a lot of children An=po utar My children An=resu kusu In order to raise them Toaninma taaninma Here and there Terketerke=an kane I was flying about Payekay=an ma I was walking about An=poutari My children An=ere kun pe Something to feed them An=emomasnu wa I collected An=rura wa I carried

 An=poutari My children An=resu kane okay=an. I was raising. English translation I was living in village of Iskar, on the hill of the village. The place I was living, was village of Iskar, on the hill of the village. I had lots of children, and in order to raise my children, I flied around and walked around here and there. I collected things (which ought to) feed my children, carried them, and raised my children.

Exercises There are no exercises for this lesson.

Vocabulary A= Awa An= =An Iskar Utar (Variant of An=) Where interrogative) I I Ishikari (pn.) Plural particle. "People" (Not

as an independent word. Etoko Enomasnu Ere Hillside (genitive), base form etok. To collect, gather To feed Contraction of (unchanged in Roman) While Because, in order to Should, ought to do Village To live in To hither (Taani + un + wa) To fly around. Terke by itself means "to jump" To thither (Toani + un + wa) (Opening sound)

Okay=an

Kane Kusu Kun Kotan Kohorari Taaninma

Terketerke

Toaninma Ha-

Payekay Paw Haeeeee Pe Po Poutari

To walk around (pl.) (Onomatopoeia dying fox) of a

(Meaning unknown) Nominalizer Child Children (Genitive). Base form Poutar. To have many children. Po (children) + ko (to him/her) + inne (to be many) And, while. Variant of Wa. To carry To raise And, while.

Pokoinne

Ma Rura Resu Wa

About Tuytak Tuytak is a form of Ainu literature. This Tuytak was collected by Hiroshi Nakagawa (Chiba University) in 1985 from Ms. Yumi Okamoto. We only introduced the beginning lines here. Tuytak is a tale where the gods tell their stories in the first person narrative. Gods appear as heroes in forms of various animals and birds, such as bear, rabbit, owl and crane. This form of narrative is generally

known as shinyou ( ) in Japanese. In Ainu, it is known as Tuytak in Samani and Urakawa, Kamuy Yukar from Shizunai to Western Iburi, Oyna in Tokachi, Kushiro and Asahikawa. (Generally known as "Yukar" in English.) The word Tuytak is used in Tokachi, Kushiro and Asahikawa as well but there it means "Olden Tales." "Olden Tales" in Samani and Urakawa is Isoytatki, and Uwepeker in Iburi. The refrain (Ainu: sakehe saha) "paw paw haeeeee" is repeated every line, and it is a characteristic of Tuytak. (Some of the lines in the text were combined to facilitate annotation) The refrain differs in different parts of the story. The hero of this Tuytak is Pawsekamuy, a fox. This is very similar to the other tale collected by Shigeru Kayano in Biratori, which is published as (Kitsune no Charanke) and is a well-known tale. Grammar So far we have learned the basics of Ainu language. This Tuytak may have been a bit too difficult and it is because the language of the oral literary tradition, Classical Ainu, differs from the Modern Colloquial Ainu. For example, the first person singular pronominal is - an= or - =an instead of the familiar ku=. "I rest" in Modern Ainu is ku=nisi, but it is nisi=an in Classical Ainu. Notice that this =an looks same as the Colloquial =an for the first person plural. The independent pronoun differs as well, Classical pronoun for "I" is Anokay instead of Colloquial kuani. The plural forms of the nouns (cf. Lesson 10) are used not only for the plural subjects, but singular subject "I" as well in Classical Ainu. "I go" would be ku=oman in Colloquial, paye=an in Classical. Example: "I go down to the shore and catch fish" Modern: Modern: Kuani anak pisi ta ku=san ma cep ku=koyki. Classical: Classical: Anokay anak pisi ta sap=an ma cep an=koyki. Literally: I (topic marker) shore (to) go down-(I) and fish (I)-catch.

Lesson 47: Where?

Sentences Cinukarkur ney ta an? Where is Big Dipper? Nisatta enon eci=paye? Where do you (pl.) go tomorrow? Grammar Ney ta is used to ask "where" a person or a thing is located, while enon is used to ask the destination of a movement. A related word onon is used to ask "from where." Ney ta Enon Onon "Where" "Whither" "Whence" Locative Allative Ablative

Onon eci=arki? Where do you come from? (pl.) Enon is used in Shizunai, Eastern Hidaka and Tokachi areas. It may be hunakun, hinakun, neyne or newn in other regions.

Exercises Exercises: Translate to Ainu

1) Where is your father? 2) Where do you want to go tomorrow? Solutions 1) E=kor aca ney ta an. 2) Nisatta enon eci=paye rusuy.

Vocabulary An Ney Kor E= Aca Ta Rusuy Eci= Nisatta Paye To be Where To have, hold You Father Locative particle Desiderative particle You (pl.) Tomorrow To go (pl.)

Enon

Whither The Big Dipper. Made of ci=nukar=kur, "the one which we behold." The name comes from its function as a reference point to tell the directions.

Cinukarkur

Lesson 48: What?

Sentences Nep e=e rusuy? What do you want to eat? Nep kay keraan kuwas ku=e rusuy. I want to eat some tasty snacks. Grammar Nep is the basic interrogative to ask "what". It can form compounds with other particles as well, such as nep kay "something", nep kusu "for whatwhy" and nep ta an pe "something, for what reason" etc. Kay is not used independently, and it is used after an abstract word: nep kay "something" (what-certain) or enon kay "somewhere" (what-place).

Exercises

Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) What will you wear tomorrow? 2) Do you have some good ideas? Solutions 1) Nisatta nep e=mi wa e=oman. 2) Nep kay pirka sanniyo eci=kor ya. Vocabulary Mi To wear What (Interrogative). Hemanta in some dialects. You And Tomorrow To go Thought, Idea Interrogative particle To be good You (pl.)

Nep

E= Wa Nisatta Oman Sanniyo Ya Pirka Eci=

Nep kay Ku=

Something I Candy, snack. From Classical Japanese Kuwashi. Topenpe or Rurkorpe in some dialects. To be tasty, to taste good Desiderative particle.

Kuwas

Keraan Rusuy

Lesson 49: "Even so.."

Sentences Anmip poronno e=mi yakkay e=meun nankor. You feel (lit. are) cold even if you wear a lot of clothes. Nisatta upas as yakkay monrayke=as kusu ne. We will (lit. are decided) to work even if it snows tomorrow. Grammar Yakkay is a conjunction placed after the subordinate clause to express "even if so" or "despite that", in a manner similar to korkay in lesson 39. Keep in mind that Ainu subordinate clauses come before the main clause.

Exercises

Exercises: Translate to Ainu 1) I am not even finding work. 2) I suppose my son doesn't run away even if I am angry. Solutions 1) Monrayke ku=estan yakkay isam. 2) Ku=iruska yakkay ku=poho henne kira nankor.

Vocabulary Monrayke Isam Ku= Estan Kira Poho Nankor Iruska Henne As =as Work, to work Not to exist I To find, search To run away Son (genitive) Suppositional particle To be angry Negation To fall We (exclusive)

Anmip Upas E= Kusu Nisatta Ne Poronno Mi Meun

Clothing. Snow You Because. Kusu ne "intended/planned to do" Tomorrow Copula (to be) A lot, many, much To wear To be cold. Merayke in some dialects. "Despite, even if." Yakka in some dialects.

Yakkay

Lesson 50: Yayrap

Text nekon iki wa ...in what way

 sikup awan pe one who was born an=ne ine I was, and ciorkusketo in such a place atuyso ka ta on the ocean mommon=an kane floating and floating oka=an ma was, and a=koyaynupa I noticed there ayororope ayororope ayororope nekon iki wa ...in what way sikup awan pe one who was born ipan=ne ki tek I was tan nupur atuy this great sea atuyso ka ta on the ocean mommon=an kane ...floating and floating okay=an ki wa while I was a=koyaynupa I noticed there.

English translation I was one born in what way, (that I do not know). I was floating and floating on the ocean, and I noticed there. Ayororope, ayororope, ayororope. I was born in what way, (that I do not know), I was floating and floating on the great ocean, and I noticed there.

Exercises There are no exercises for this lesson.

Vocabulary A= Atuy Atuyso Ayororope Awan An= =An Iki Ine Ipan= I. Variant of =an. Sea Open sea. So "wide area" (Has no meaning) And I I To do And I. (Appears only in tales)

Oka Ka Kane Ki Koyaynupa Sikup Ta Tan Ciorkusteko Tek

To be, to exist. Variant of Okay. Above ing, while To do To notice there. To grow up Locative particle This In what way And Spiritually powerful, great. To be of deep color. Copula Contraction of . (Change in Kana only) In what way Nominalizer

Nupur

Ne

Nekoniki

Nekon Pe

Ma Mommom Wa

And. Variant of Wa. Floating and floating. Mom by itself is "to float" And

Grammar This is a sample of a Yayrap, a heroic epic narrative orally transmitted in Samani area. This Yayrap was performed by Ms. Yumi Okamoto. It is a difficult task to sing Yayrap, one must practice to sing continuously for a prolonged time. The language itself is quite difficult as well, as it employs Classical Ainu. This Yayrap begins with chanting ayororope between the lines, but it has no meaning, it just lets the listeners to know that the narrative begins. This occurs repeatedly between lines or phrases.

Lesson 51: Ainu Theatre

Text Man 1: Topattumi ek na! Invading army came! Man 2: Hayok wa tumi etokoyki yan! Arm and prepare for a war! Man 4

Ay=sitoma na! menoko utar newa hekattar anak kim ta kira wa What a terrifying thing! Let the women and children run to the mountain Sinuynak nankor! itekke soyenpa! and hide! You ought not to come outside! Woman 1: Topattumi ek yakaye! It seems like the invading army came! Woman 2: Kira=an kusu ne! Let us run away! Woman 3: Hetak kira=an no! Let us run away, quickly! Woman 4: Onne utar newa hekattar an=tura wa kira=an no! Let us run away, taking the aged and the children with us!

Exercises There are no exercises for this lesson.

Vocabulary Ay= Anak An= Variant of An= Topic marker We

=An Itekke Utar Ek Etokoyki Onne

We Do not, you ought not People To come (sg.) To prepare for Aged, old Mountain. Nupuri is generally used for a "this, or that mountain" while kim is more usual when it comes to "to, into mountain." To run away Because To be terrified of To hide, conceal oneself To come outside (pl.) Soyene in singular. Locative particle War, fight

Kim

Kira Kusu Sitoma Sinuynak Soyenpa Ta Tumi

Tura Topattumi Na Nankor Ne Newa No Hayok Hekattar Hetak Menoko

To take along Invading army bandit gang Suggestive particle Suppositional particle Copula And. This is used in enumerating items. "Let us" To arm Children Quickly Woman "I heard" or "it seems like...". Contracted from Yak aye, and yakaye or hakaye in some dialects. Imperative "Do!" And particle. or a

Yakaye

Yan Wa

Grammar This is a sample of an Ainu play, Legend of Sand Whale( Hotehunpe). It was performed by the students of Samani Ainu class in the 19th Ainu Culture Festival held in Samani. The original version was performed by Mr. Soukichi Okamoto and published in History of Samani Village(). Topattumi is a recurring word in various Ainu tales, and it is a group of people with a malicious intent who attack the village and sack the treasures. Topa is a group or a mass of people, and tumi means a feud or a war. Iskatumi means the same, from iska meaning "to steal".

Lesson 52: Conversation

Text A: upas ru wa sirpopke na. Snow melts and it became warm, isn't it? B: paykar an na. ku=nucaktek. It's spring! I'm feeling good. A: nisatta NICHIYOUBI ne kusu enon kay paye=an no! Tomorrow is sunday, so let us go somewhere! B: pirka! KURUMA an=o wa paye=an no! Good! Let us ride car and go! (i.e. Let us drive to somewhere) A: enon e=oman rusuy? Where do you want to go? B: Otarunay en ku=oman rusuy. I want to go to Otaru. A: pirka. kuani usa ku=oman rusuy. Good. I want to go there too. B:

yakun, uturano paye=an no. So, let's go together. sinkehe (Next day) A: Otarunay ta sirepa=an ruwe ne. We arrived in Otaru. B: inne utar okay! There are lots of people! A: kuani anak pintoro ari an=kar pe ku=hok rusuy. I want to buy some glass products. B: yakun, toanta paye=an no. So, let's go there. MIYAGEYA oske ta (At a souvenir shop) A: inkianpe e=konrusuy? What do you like? B: opitta sonno ataykor na. They're all expensive. A: oyak ta paye=an kusu ne. Then let's go to somewhere else. B: paye=an no. Let's go. oya MIYAGEYA oske ta (At a different souvenir shop) A: tanpe sonno pirka na. ku=hok kusu ne. This is really beautiful. So I'm buying it. B: kuani anak tapan ORUGORU ku=hok na. humihi sonno pirka. I'm buying this orgel. It sounds very beautiful.

 MIYAGEYA or wa soyenpa (Leaving the souvenir shop) A: tokes an na. ipe=an no. ku=iperusuy. It's lunch time. Let's go eat. I'm hungry. B: nekon an pe e=e rusuy? What do you want to eat? A: kuani anak RAMEN ku=e rusuy. I want to eat ramen. B: Otarunay ne kusu SUSI ku=e rusuy. It's Otaru, so I want to eat Sushi. A: kuani anakne RAMEN ku=e rusuy korkay, Though I want to eat ramen, SUSI e=e rusuy yakun SUSI ne yakkay pirka. but sushi is fine if you want to eat sushi. B: iyayraykere. keraan ma ataysak uske an=estan no. Thanks. Let's find somewhere good and cheap.

Exercises There are no exercises for this lesson.

Vocabulary Ataykor Ataysak To be expensive To be cheap

Anak Anakne

Topic marker Topic marker Instrumental particle, made of something, to do something with X etc. Ani in some dialects. To be, to exist. We We To have a meal To be hungry Thank you! Which, which one To be a lot of people, to be crowded Somewhere, a place Too, as well People Together

Ari

An An= =an Ipe Iperusuy Irayraykere Inkianpe Inne Uske Usa Utar Uturano

Upas E E= Estan Enon En O Oske Or Okay Otarunay Opitta Oman Oya Oyak Orugoru

Snow To eat You To find, search. Hunar in some dialects. To where To, towards To ride Inside, in the midst of Somewhere, a place To be, to exist (pl.) Otaru (pn.) Ota-ru-nay, "sand-road-field." All, everything To go Other, something else Somewhere else Orgel

Kar Kay Kuani Ku= Kusu Kuruma Keraan Korkay Konrusuy Sirpopke Sirepa

To make Interrogative particle I I Since, because, so Car, automobile To be tasty, to taste good But, although To want To be warm To arrive Next day (gen.) Base form sinke. Simke in some dialects. Sushi To go outside (pl.) Really, truly Locative particle

Sinkehe

Sushi Soyenpa Sonno Ta

Tapan Tanpe Toanta Tokes Na Nisatta

This This thing Over there Daytime, lunchtime Suggestive particle Tomorrow Sunday To be envious of. Yaykopuntek, nupetne, or yayrenka in some dialects. Copula In what way "Let us" To go (pl.) Spring To be good, beautiful Glass. Portuguese loanword into Japanese and Ainu.

Nichiyoubi

Nucaktek

Ne Nekon No Paye Paykar Pirka

Pintoro

Humihi Pe Hok Ma

Sound (gen.) Base form Hum. Nominalizer. Thing. To buy Variation of Wa. Souvenir shop. If then, so Even that Ramen To melt Thing (abstract) Desiderative particle From And though, despite

Miyageya Yakun Yakkay Ramen Ru Ruwe Rusuy Wa Wa

Grammar Be careful with the expression "pintoro ari an=kar pe". Although an= is used here, this does not mean "a thing that we made from glass", but rather "something that is made of glass". Ruwe as in "ruwe ne" is a "thing", but ruwe ne as a whole as an idiomatic expression is "it turned out such", "it is such a.." or "it is like.." to emphasize an event.

This concludes the year-long study of Ainu. This lesson might have been a little bit difficult, but it is meant to give you a sense of what would an Ainu conversation sound like, so we came up with this dialogue with two travelers to Otaru, a town famous for sushi. There are a few expressions that we didn't learn yet, but most of it is the application of what we have learned so far. Iyayraykere!