HSI Report: Sociolinguistics –Language and Wellbeing
University News | September 02, 2021
Organized by Hokkaido University’s Graduate School of International
Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies, the “Sociolinguistics –Language and Wellbeing” course was held over 4 successive days, fromAugust 2 to 5, 2021. As a part of Hokkaido Summer Institute (HSI)
2021, the course was originally designed for an on-site learning
experience, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it wastransformed to a full online session. Thus, participants from all over
the world were still able to participate.

Marish/ShutterstockAt the heart of the course was the importance of language and how it
affects society. Dr. Patrick Heinrich from the University of Ca’ Foscari
University of Venice (Italy), who has been actively involved insociolinguistics research for more than 20 years, was the main
facilitator. The course was also joined by the organizer lecturers from
Hokkaido University: Associate Professor Ruriko Otomo and Professor
Jeffry Joseph Gayman. Despite the time differences, the discussions
held among the participants were very lively and insightful.
“The challenge is the time difference. It was tough and tiring,” said Dr.
Heinrich, who throughout the entire course had been 7 hours behindJapan, where most of the participants were. “But that was something towhich we have all become accustomed. I enjoyed talking to all theparticipants. It is not an exaggeration to say that this year’s class was
the most pleasant class that I have taught in the last 20 years.”
The participants ranged in age, linguistic and academic background,which was perfect for a discussion on sociolinguistics. Participants
shared their thoughts based on their unique experience, feeding eachother new perspectives. Such as through one assignment, in which thestudents introduced and analysed the linguistic landscapes around thestudents’ place of residence, every participant was able to take a glanceat other cultures.

Two Okinawan language revitalizations in Naha City, Okinawa Island. Okinawan
teacher training session in 2006 (left) and playful language learning in an Okinawan
language nest in 2016 (right). (Photo: Patrick Heinrich)To explore more sociolinguistics landscapes, Dr. Heinrich also invitedthe discussants to investigate the language-related issues in Japan.
Most of Dr. Heinrich’s research has been scrutinizing the endangered
languages in Japan, most notably the language variants of Ainu andRyukyu. Discussions always entailed different facets of human wellbeing, from identity, to solidarity, and even environment.

Due to the nature of the online course, the fieldwork had to be
substituted. In lieu of a visit to the National Ainu Museum inHokkaido, the course organizers invited Dr. Mika Fukazawa from themuseum. Professor Yumiko Ohara from the University of Hawaii wasalso invited as an external speaker. Both guest speakers are experts inthe area of language-culture interactions.
“Inviting two other speakers from outside the university is somethingthat had not been done before in our HSI course. Had it not been
online, we probably would not have had this degree of guest discussantvariety,” explained Professor Gayman.
Wenting Li, a first year Master’s Student of Hokkaido University’s
Graduate School of Education, took part in the course. She wasdelighted to have taken part in the discussions as it would help
progress her ongoing research on the Yi language in China.
“I am glad that I took this course, which was recommended by myacademic supervisor. I attained new knowledge about the language
varieties in Japan. The Yi language, which is used in the Southwesternpart of China, also has a high variety. With this, I hope I can observe
parallelisms between the two languages,” said Li.

The course participants at the final session, including Dr. Heinrich (top left) andProfessor Gayman (second row, left)

The Sociolinguistics course has been offered in HSI multiple times,
creating a meeting — and networking — opportunity for people sharingsimilar interests in the subject. This year’s course, albeit in a different
form, still offered the same opportunities.
“I admire the HSI program and the international make-up of theclasses. I now have long-standing and excellent relations withcolleagues at Hokkaido University. From the week we spent together, I
learned new things from the fellow lecturers and the students,”
commented Dr. Heinrich.
To receive information about HSI 2022, please sign up for areminder here.

Written by Aprilia Agatha Gunawan