Seira also explored Scottish-Arctic connections in her 2022 op-ed
Only one percent of the Scottish population can speak Gaelic1. Similarly, the majority (particularly younger generations) of the indigenous peoples of Japan – the Ainu and the Ryukyuans – do not understand their respective minority languages.
International Decade of Indigenous Languages
Why do we need to preserve languages when we can already communicate? Language revitalisation is associated with improved physical and psychological well-being – including lower rates of suicide, substance abuse and cardiovascular disease2. UNESCO recently celebrated the start of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. According to the same organisation, Gaelic, along with the Ainu and Ryukyuan languages, are endangered. Scots, one of Scotland’s indigenous languages alongside Gaelic, has roughly one and a half million speakers and is classified as ‘vulnerable’.
The Arctic Lens
In 2019, the Scottish government announced its interest in becoming a ‘European gateway to the Arctic’3, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon highlighted that Scotland is the ‘most northerly non-Arctic nation’ at the 2021 Arctic Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland. Scottish-Ainu partnerships would make sense in the context of Scotland’s growing interest in Arctic affairs. While Japan is not considered one of the eight Arctic countries, the Ainu (who live in Japan and the Russian Far East) are sometimes included in public and academic discourse as one of the many indigenous Arctic peoples.
Many universities in Scotland along with Hokkaido University in northern Japan are members of the University of the Arctic – an international network of universities and organisations interested in northern research. Just last year, the Institute for Northern Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland collaborated with the network to establish a Northern and Arctic Island Studies Research Thematic Network. Initiatives like these may greatly benefit the Ainu and the Scots, many of whom live on what can be considered ‘northern islands’. Other cases in point are the University of Aberdeen, which has an Anthropology of the North specialisation and Hokkaido University, which is home to an Arctic Research Center as well as a Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies. It is thus no surprise that the University of Aberdeen and Hokkaido University decided to ‘promote academic exchanges and cooperation between the two institutions’4 through an official partnership in 2014.
Connecting the dot(ted island)s
What does Scotland have in common with Okinawa, a chain of islands in southern Japan? For one, the aforementioned Institute for Northern Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands has a master’s programme in Island Studies. ‘Island communities are often culturally unique, yet by their nature they share many commonalities, sometimes referred to as islandness’5. As a student, you can ‘explore the insular identities, achievements, threats and futures of island communities, in Scotland and worldwide’ along with ‘the cultural identity, language, literature and politics of island communities’. The university cites as examples islands as far away from Scotland as the Falklands. Island Studies, a discipline that has burgeoned internationally over the past few decades, has also found its way to the subtropical islands of Japan. Every year, the Research Institute for Island Studies at the University of the Ryukyus on mainland Okinawa publishes an English-language, peer-reviewed journal entitled Okinawan Journal of Island Studies which looks at various islands in and outside their own regional context. A broader look at the partner institutions of universities throughout Scotland, however, reveals that there are limited opportunities for students here to study in Japan and vice versa.
Moving Forward
Along with the International Decade of Indigenous Languages’ calls for more attention to be paid to minority language revitalisation, the need to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate on northern and island communities is also clear. At the same time, other questions – including how to avoid or mitigate a brain drain – necessitate consideration and cooperation. In addition to strengthening existing Scotland-Japan ties and launching new partnerships with institutions in Hokkaido and Okinawa, it is paramount that the humanities and social sciences are not neglected. Such cultural exchanges would provide students from both countries with prospects of finding solutions to various challenges that may be of mutual interest. Needless to say, opportunities for dialogue among the Scots, Ainu and Ryukyuans need to be accessible to professionals outside of academia as well as to younger generations.
References
1 Scottish Government. (2017) ‘Scottish Government Gaelic language plan 2016-2021’. Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-gaelic-language-plan-2016-2021/pages/4/
2 Grenoble, L. (2021) ‘Why revitalize?’, in J. Olko & J. Sallabank, (eds.) Revitalising endangered languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 9-32.
3 Scottish Government. (2019) ‘Arctic Connections: Scotland’s Arctic policy framework’. Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/arctic-connections-scotlands-arctic-policy-framework/pages/2/
4 Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies. (n.d.) ‘Academic exchanges’. Available: https://www.cais.hokudai.ac.jp/english/aboutcenter/with/
5 Institute for Northern Studies. (n.d.) ‘Island Studies MLitt’. Available: https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/courses/mlitt-island-studies/
