| Abstrakt: |
This article, referring to the notion of island communicative ecology, explores the role of local Okinawan initiatives for language revitalisation through community radio and island cultural agents, especially focusing on the activities of an individual, Minoru Ikehara, his private information and communications technology company, Crest Co. Ltd and their innovative use of vending machines. In Okinawa, the movement for re-introducing shimakutuba (community languages) officially started in 2006 when Okinawa Prefecture's legislated Shimakutuba no hi ('Community Languages Day'). Since then, local governing bodies have increased their language revitalisation efforts especially at school level. However, there have been difficulties with allocating time for shimakutuba education under the control of Japanese government curriculum guidelines. The choice of which language to work with, among various shimakutuba nurtured in each island community, has also raised endless discussions. As a top-down approach is not sufficient, the local media and grassroots efforts have played an important role for in the language revitalisation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
