uchinaaguchiblog

[uchinaaguchiblog]

OMG an Uchinaaguchi version of BTS’s Dynamite!! I love this so much haha

[uchinaaguchiblog]

うちなーぐち単語集～テーブルマナー編～♪

旧暦5月5日（新暦2021年6月14日）

[uchinaaguchiblog]

旧暦3月27日（2021年5月8日）

はっさびよー！

ちゅーぬ　ふりーや　うとぅるはぬよー！！

***

はっさびよー！

今日の稲光はこわいねー！！

[uchinaaguchiblog]

This is an excellent overview of the Ryukyuan languages. I learned from it that there are around 400 dialects of Uchinaaguchi! Basically each village or area developed their own variant. Amazing!

[uchinaaguchiblog]

New piece on Vocal!

My take on my mixed-race heritage, as being both Black and Okinawan–an Afro-Okinawan–but not quite recognized as either or. I questioned my identity for a lot of my childhood, even resenting it somewhat through high school and college, until recent events had me refocus on the history of my heritage. I hope my perspective resonates with my readers, and informs others on the state of being mixed race.

Please like and reblog! Views on the piece become contributions to me!

[uchinaaguchiblog]

Unsuu - Destiny

The word for "destiny" or "fate" in Uchinaaguchi is "unsuu" (うんすー)。

Here is an example sentence:

'chu nu unsuu nri iishee wakaran.

In this sentence, 'chu means "person", nu is a possessive marker, nri iishee is like "as for", and wakaran means "I don't know."

So all together, it directly translates to, "As for a person's fate, I don't know it."

More naturally, this phrase means "You never know what the future holds for you."

What does your unsuu hold for you?

[uchinaaguchiblog]

[uchinaaguchiblog]

Woah I just learned that the name for Titus from FFX comes from the Uchinaaguchi word for "sun", which is てぃーだ　(tiida).

Thanks to Erica Kunihisa for sharing this tidbit! And go check out her amazing artwork on IG!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erica Kunihisa (she/her) (@ekunihisa)

[uchinaaguchiblog]

This is an awesome rap/reggae song that is mostly in Uchinaaguchi. I love the little video snippets of Uchinaa (Okinawa) at various points throughout modern history. This song seems to be about the hardships Okinawans have gone through, having pride in our culture, and that goes along with having pride in using our heritage language.

[uchinaaguchiblog]

This is Governor of Okinawa Denny Tamaki speaking in Uchinaaguchi, his heritage language. In this clip, he highlights the importance of learning your mother tongue, quoting this classic proverb (kugani kutuba): んまりじま　ぬ　くとぅば　わしーねー　くにん　わしゆん　 Nmarijima nu kutuba washiinee kunin washiyun “To forget one’s language is to also forget one’s homeland.”

[uchinaaguchiblog]

看板、a sign at a noodle place

「めんそーれー」　いらっしゃい。＠西原町、呉屋

mensooree. Welcome, Come on in! (used when customers come in at restaurants, or when letting people in to the house) @Goya, Nishihara

This is a pun （麺 (men) means noodles in Japanese）.

[uchinaaguchiblog]

[uchinaaguchiblog]

Today (February 21st) is International Mother Tongue Day! Actually for me, every day is mother tongue day as I am actively learning my heritage language, but it's nice to get this official day by the UN. Moreover, starting next year, the UNESCO will dedicate a whole decade (2022 - 2032) to Indigenous Languages!! This commitment is wonderful and I hope more Indigenous people all over the world engage in the difficult but important work of revitalizing and re-normalizing our mother tongue which is inseparable from our culture.

From the UN website:

"When languages fade, so does the world's rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost.

Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.

Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way."

[uchinaaguchiblog]

This podcast episode features Yaeyama language researcher Madoka Hammine talking about language attitudes in her own community. She talks about how sad she feels that her own community devalues their own heritage language, and the emotional fulfillment she gets when she is able to find people willing to speak to her in their heritage language. She also talks about the difference between her community's reaction to researchers from inside their community versus those from outside. Very interesting and worth checking out!

[uchinaaguchiblog]

旧暦1月1日（新暦2021年2月10日）そーぐゎち　桜♪

ゐー　そーぐゎち　でーびる！

新正月ぬ　とちぇー　さちぇー　をぃびらんたしが、　うちなー　そーぐゎちなてぃ　さかぎーびーんどー。

てぃーだ　うきてぃ　あかあかとぅ　なてぃ　じこー　ちゅらはぬ。

***

あけましておめでとうございます！

新正月の時には咲いていなかったけど、沖縄正月なって咲いていますよ。

太陽うけて、赤々となり、とても美しい。

[uchinaaguchiblog]

ゐーそーぐぁちでーびる! Happy New Year!! Okinawans celebrate the Lunar New Year since our culture is strongly influenced by Chinese culture.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erica Kunihisa (she/her) (@ekunihisa)