Send message to Authors

Paper short abstract

This presentation introduces practical initiatives aimed at passing local languages on to future generations. It emphasizes creating enjoyable opportunities for young people through picture books, exhibitions, and workshops, viewing language as something sustained through active use.

Paper long abstract

In this presentation, we introduce a range of initiatives we have undertaken to pass local languages on to future generations. Preserving a language certainly involves recording texts, audio, and video, as well as producing dictionaries and grammars. However, these efforts alone are not sufficient. What is especially important is creating opportunities for children and younger generations to become familiar with the language, to use it, and to experience it as something enjoyable.

To this end, we have produced picture books based on local languages and stories. We have also organized exhibitions of picture books and research materials in a traditional house on Taketomi Island, allowing community members to see and engage with the outcomes of our research. In addition, we have worked with children to create art inspired by the worlds of picture books, and we have held “treasure hunt” workshops in which participants walk around the island while listening to myths related to local plants and make leaf rubbings to capture their patterns.

Beyond these activities, we have developed playful learning materials such as a textbook for studying the Ishigaki–Miyara dialect (Mēramuni), puzzles that encourage learners to think about dialects through illustrations, and escape games in which participants solve riddles while following a story. Through these activities, we aim to convey the importance of viewing language not merely as something to be “preserved,” but as something that connects people and is passed on through active use.