Episode 45: Patrick Heinrich on Ryukyuan Language Documentation and Revitalization

Field Notes is back for its fifth and final season! Season five’s inagural episode is with Patrick Heinrich from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Patrick received his Masters degree in Linguistics and Japanese Studies in 1998 from Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf. He completed his PhD in Japanese Studies in 2002 at Duisburg University. He is a sociolinguist who has worked extensively in the Ryukyuan archipelago, and has written many publications on language ideology, language shift, language reclamation, language planning and policy, and language and well-being. Along with Shinsho Miyara and Michinori Shimoji, he is the co-editor of the Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages (2015). He is also co-editor of Language Crisis in the Ryukyus (2014), along with Mark Anderson. 

Reiko Yonaha (left) and Otomi Sunagawa (right) assisting Patrick Heinrich in the translation of Yonaguni folk songs

“Don’t drink and drive”: Dunan (Yonaguni-Ryukyuan) in the linguistic landscape of Yonaguni Island

Things mentioned in this episode:

If you are interested in Ryukyuan linguistics, check out previous Field Notes episodes with Prof. Michinori Shimoji and Madoka Hammine:

Listen to this episode here, or on your favorite podcast app! Field Notes is available on Apple Podcasts app (iPhone), Google Play Music (Android), Google Podcasts app (Android), StitcherSpotifyPodbeanPodcast RepublicCastboxPlayer FM, and several other apps via RSS.

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