Ainu
1
9.6
- proper noun
- Genetic studies indicate that modern Japanese are descended from both the aboriginals now known as Ainu and a more recent Korean influx.
Examples
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The language spoken by the Ainu is a crucial part of their cultural heritage.
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The Ainu are a rapidly disappearing people who live on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to the north.
Academic text (2000) -
Do you know anything about the Ainu?
Fiction book (1994) -
" The Ainu are an aboriginal people of North Japan.
Fiction book (1994) -
The indigenous Ainu people of Japan have long told of an enormous marine animal known as the Akkorokamui.
Blog text (16) -
They call their traditional territory Ainu Mosir, which means a peaceful land where the Ainu dwell, while the word I know itself simply means human.
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The Ainu are recognized as the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan.
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Many researchers study the traditions and history of the Ainu.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Ainu is the name the people used for themselves and it comes from their word aynu, meaning 'human' or 'person'. That's why Ainu refers to the native people of northern Japan and to their language.