Save the Ainu language

Brief Background
Region: Asia
Country: Japan
Speakers: 15 in Japan
Ethnic population: 15,000 in Japan

People and Culture
This language is one of the dialects spoken in Hokkaido, one of the islands of Japan. It is one of the nineteen dialects spoken on the same island. It is classified as an isolated language and it is not as if people are dying who speak it. Over time people who spoke the language in it's pure form are old and dying since it originated in 1897. But the language itself isn't disappearing it is just being adopted into regular Japanese. Over time it has evolved to become more and more like Japanese and it evolving to be the same as the main language. The dialects are not needed anymore since people find it easier to get from island to mainland and need to be able to communicate.
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ain

Why save the Ainu language?
They write in Katakana script which is very important to understand for the people of Japan and the islands. It is true to Japanese culture, and all of  the historical documents and ancient sources are written in Katakana. It is still being taught in schools but more people are finding a simpler writing system and learning different languages such as english and mandarin for business and trading purposes.
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ain
https://www.google.com/search?q=katakana+script&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=SmdXT47YJ8Ls0gG2sqDlDw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CA0Q_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667

Image
This is an example of the Katakana language that they are taught how to use when writing their names.

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=fwO5DMW6LYwvOM:&imgrefurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/feb/06/learn-japanese-script-katakana&docid=KrJUYhhxw6ekBM&imgurl=http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/countries/2010/2/3/1265213511042/Japanese-script-table-kat-001.jpg&w=460&h=521&ei=UGdXT-r4Debn0QGcis3WDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=375&vpy=134&dur=3916&hovh=239&hovw=211&tx=108&ty=127&sig=107986745431102092791&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=126&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0


http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=_Z23anxeErwlFM:&imgrefurl=http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanmaps/l/blmap.htm&docid=OUsULQU4tW2cMM&imgurl=http://0.tqn.com/d/gojapan/1/0/e/D/japanmap.gif&w=332&h=340&ei=f2pXT73DNKrL0QGA0MHhDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=345&vpy=171&dur=6365&hovh=227&hovw=222&tx=156&ty=66&sig=107986745431102092791&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=130&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0



  http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=VGK-zxjzOYnK1M:&imgrefurl=http://www.geosymbols.org/World/Hokkaido/Flag&docid=UZSrQQ4yvUNIpM&imgurl=http://www.geobop.org/images/GS/flags/world/eur/jpn/300/hok.png&w=300&h=200&ei=tmpXT7DuCsbv0gG7gtTfDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=927&vpy=202&dur=405&hovh=160&hovw=240&tx=63&ty=76&sig=107986745431102092791&page=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=173&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

Symbols in Language

1. What is(are) the cultural origin(s) of the symbol? 
2. Describe the knowledge portrayed by the symbol.
3. Is the symbol emotive, ambiguous or vague? 
4. What are the problems of knowledge you identify for the symbol?

1) This symbol originates from ancient Egypt, is a symbol that represented the goddess of life and death who was known as Hathor. It was said she used it to create life. Is sometimes known as the key to the Nile. 

2)  The symbol represents a goddess  of life but later on in Egypt it became associated with the Pharaoh's physician Imkotep who died and was made a god of medicine, so it is also associated with medicine in Egypt. It means healing or life. Today is is associated with pharmaceutics companies.

3)The symbol is ambiguous because it once represented both life an death, but it is also emotive since it can be taken in a very positive, or a very negative way.   

4)Problems of knowledge could be not knowing what the symbol meant. Or it could be assuming that since the symbol is also called the "Key of the Nile" that it represents the river instead of medicine or the goddess Hathor.