Language Contact
| For a list of words relating to Japanese borrowings from Ainu, see the ja:Ainu derivations category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
The Ainu appear to have experienced intensive contact with the Nivkhs during the course of their history. It is not known to what extent this has affected the language. Some linguists believe the shared vocabulary between Ainu and Nivkh (spoken in the northern half of Sakhalin and on the Asian mainland facing it) is due to borrowing.
There are also a great number of loanwords from the Japanese language in various stages of its development to HokkaidÅ Ainu and a smaller number of loanwords from Ainu to Japanese (particularly animal names, such as rakko "sea otter", Ainu rakko; tonakai "reindeer", Ainu tunakkay; and shishamo "sp. smelt", Ainu susam, from *susu+ham).
Read more about this topic: Ainu Languages
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