Endangered Language Profile: Miyako (Japan)

 

 

Video of Miyako spoken through song.

 

As previously discussed on this blog there are preferences with specific language dialects being spoken over others.  This can easily be seen in which specific dialect is taught in foreign language courses.  This preference can have serious implications within the language itself, including but not limited to the lack of recognition of languages that are perceived as dialects but are not.  They are actually similar but simultaneously different languages all together.  This is the case for the language known as Miyako.  This blog post is going to delve further into this language.

 

Miyako is spoken in southern Japan on the Ryukyu Islands.  For a long time it was believed to be a dialect of Japanese and that remains the popular opinion of people residing on the Ryuku Islands and outside of them.  This resulted in the lack of documentation of the language and the progressive loss of native speakers.  Today, it is estimated that there are anywhere between 2000 and 13,000 Miyako speakers.  The reason for the vast difference in speaker estimates is that the recent acknowledgement of the language also led to the realization that there are at least five dialects spoken within the language itself.  This means that depending on how one classifies the language there can be fewer or more native speakers.

 

Presently, what is known is that the language is considered severely endangered.  Native speakers are at least 50 years of age or older, and younger generations, such as middle aged individuals, understand the language but do not speak it regularly if at all.  Younger generations (children and young adults) have no comprehension of the language.  They also show very little interest in learning the language.  Because of the ages of native speakers there has been a rush among linguists to document and record the language, but the worldwide Covid pandemic has stymied several of those attempts.  Therefore there is an incomplete source of information concerning this language.  The argument to preserve this language is to recognize the cultural and linguistic diversity that exists in Japan, which subverts the dominant idea that Japanese are ethnically the same. 

 

The efforts to preserve Miyako have been successful in some ways.  The language is spoken during religious/ritual services of the Ikema minzoku tribe, of which the language is associated.  Mikayo is also spoken during speech contests, which also encourages younger generations to learn the language.  It is hoped that these and other language preservation efforts will be successful in preserving it, if for no other reason than to learn more about the language itself and the Ikema minzoku culture.

 

Works Cited

Austin, Peter. "Miyako." 2020. Endangered Language Project. Electronic. 21 May 2024.

Jarosz, Aleksandra. "Miyako-Ryukyuan and its contribution to linguistic diversity." JournalLIPP (2014): 39-55. Print.

Nakayama, Toshihide. "Miyako (Ryukyuan)." 2016. COLANG. Electronic. 21 May 2024.

Shinohara, S. "Ikema Miyako (Japan)-Language Snapshot." Language Documentation and Description (2020): 240-248. Electronic.

UNESCO. "Miyako in Japan." 2021. UNESCO. Electronic. 21 May 2024.

Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Madeleine Leininger, Nursing Theorist, Transcultural Nursing Theory

 

Dr. Madeline Leininger

 

Wisdom is gained through experience, and it is through experience that we begin to understand how little we actually know.  This epitomizes the journey of Dr. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer nurse who ultimately synthesized nursing and anthropology when she developed Transcultural Nursing Theory.  This blog post will discuss Dr. Leininger’s journey to reaching this monumental achievement, as well as address what specifically transcultural nursing theory is and how it is applied to nursing practice.

 

Dr. Leininger was born on July 13, 1925 in Sutton, Nebraska.  She lived in a rural area and grew up with several siblings.  It was her tight knit family, particularly her closeness to her aunt, who suffered from congenital heart failure, that inspired her to pursue a career in nursing.  She applied to a nursing program in Denver, Colorado, in 1945, but she ultimately earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Benedictine University (located in Atchison, Kansas).  In 1950 she opened a psychiatric nursing program at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, followed by earning her Master’s in Nursing in 1954.  She moved on to serve as an Associate Professor of Nursing and Director of the graduate nursing program at the University of Cincinnati between 1954-1960. 

 

It was here where she first started to explore anthropology.  This came about as she was practicing nursing and working with children.  She noted that children from different cultural backgrounds were not receiving the same level of care as those whose cultural backgrounds matched nurses. She began having conversations with anthropologist Margaret Mead, which ultimately led her to pursue her doctoral work in anthropology at the University of Washington (Seattle).  She conducted fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, observing and learning from the local people about how they viewed health, illness, and medical care, and she realized that there were stark differences from what she understood through her nursing education and practice.  But more importantly, she realized that there were similarities and the need to respectfully incorporate diverse ideas into medical care provided to patients of diverse cultural practices.  In 1965 she completed her doctorate, becoming the first professional nurse with a Ph.D. in anthropology.

 

Dr. Leininger’s doctoral work and experiences led her to develop Transcultural Nursing Theory.  She recognized that the primary role of nurses is to assist patients with their healthcare, which includes educating them about their health status and health care options.  Sometimes nurses must do this when the patient has vastly different beliefs and ideas about what is defined as healthcare and what the nurses themselves believe in appropriate treatment options.  This is where transcultural nursing theory comes in.  This theory recognizes that some cultural groups have different views of healthcare, such as employing the symbolic therapeutic process, which associates illness with specific symbols and utilizes rituals as healthcare treatments.  For example, this is commonly found among the Hmong, who traditionally have beliefs radically different from that held by Western medical professionals, but these ideas about the symbolic nature of illness are also present within American and other Western cultures.  For example, individuals who believe that certain illnesses can be combated solely with chicken noodle soup and an “appropriate diet”, however that is defined, fall within this categorization.  From protective amulets to prayer nurses will be confronted with various remedies and ideas that help reassure the patient but may not be a medically credible preventative method or treatment option.  Nurses must acknowledge these choices their patients make, remaining respectful, while also providing the appropriate level of care available.

 

Transcultural nursing acknowledges the above, as well as the role of the patient, their family, friends, and communities in how the patient chooses and acts on medical advice and options.  Through the acknowledgement, recognition, and incorporation of faith based or traditional medical practices nurses, and ultimately other medical professionals, can provide the best treatment options to their patients.  This generates trust between the patient and nurse(s), thereby encouraging best practices in treatment of the patient and their medical and cultural needs.

 

Dr. Leininger ultimately went on to teach Transcultural Nursing in various programs across the United States, including the Universities of Colorado, Washington, Utah, Nebraska, and ultimately at Wayne State University, where she ultimately retired from.  Her pioneering theory catapulted her to various academic positions, and she was highly sought after for developing and refining nursing programs to incorporate Transcultural Nursing Theory.  She also served as an educator of anthropology at several of the schools, particularly as she was the first Registered Nurse to also hold a Doctorate in Anthropology.  She received numerous awards from academic and professional organizations for her contributions, which have become a standard in nursing education and practice.

 

Bibliography

Cerino, V. (2012, August 14). Legendary nurse, Madeleine Leininger, Ph.D., dies at 87. Retrieved from University of Nebraska Medical Center Newsroom: https://www.unmc.edu/newsroom/2012/08/14/legendary-nurse-madeleine-leininger-ph-d-dies-at-87/

No Author. (n.d.). The Madeleine M. Leininger Collection. Detroit: Wayne State University.

Petiprin, A. (2023). Madeleine Leininger - Nursing Theorist. Retrieved from Nursing Theory: https://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Madeleine-Leininger.php

Transcultural Nursing Society. (2012). Dr. Madeleine M. Leininger Foundress, Transcultural Nursing Society, Leader in Human Care Theory and Research (July 13, 1925-August 10, 2012) . Retrieved from Transcultural Nursing Society: https://tcns.org/madeleineleininger/

University of Maine-Fort Kent. (2020, February 7). Transcultural Care in Nursing. Retrieved from University of Maine-Fort Kent: https://online.umfk.edu/nursing/rn-to-bsn/transcultural-care-in-healthcare/

Madeleine Leininger (anthropologist profile-nursing)

Flower Power: Discussing Ethnobotany

Anthropology is the study of people (their presents, their pasts, their languages, and their biology).  Given the breadth of the discipline I, the author, often find myself locating anthropology in various other fields of study, even if the individuals working in those disciplines do not see it themselves.  This is because where there are people there is at least a touch of anthropology.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to supporting this point by examining the connections between the study of plants (e.g., agriculture, plant sciences, botany, etc.) and anthropology, which is more formally known as ethnobotany.

 

The term ethnobotany was coined by American scholar John William Harshberger in 1895.  At that time it had a very narrow focus that was simply the study of how native cultural groups used and interacted with plants and the physical environment.  Many early ethnobotanists typically recorded what plants were being used by indigenous groups and the purpose of those uses. 

 

Today, however, the definition of ethnobotany has expanded.  Presently ethnobotany is understood to be an interdisciplinary field that draws upon anthropology (specifically cultural anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology), biology (including but not limited to botany), agriculture, chemistry, ecology, history, and economics.  There remain some disagreements concerning the specific definition, but generally it is understood to be the study of the intersections between cultural groups and plants, allowing for a greater understanding of human relationships with nature and how those relationships have changed over time.  No longer are ethnobotanists exclusively focused on non-Western cultural groups but also people who identify as Western or urban-industrialists, the latter of which also includes the rural populations who live in such nations. 

 

There has also been an increase in the types of studies that fall within this newly defined idea of ethnobotany. Of course there remains the cataloguing of what plants are used and how by cultural groups (both in the past and present).  This is important to understanding how people value plants for specific uses (e.g., certain woods for construction of housing, utilitarian goods, or artworks; or certain plants for medicinal purposes).  There are new avenues of research, which include but are not limited to recognizing the role of humans in the development and diversification of plants (e.g., the development of marijuana or the various species of corn); the role people play in the management, proliferation, or loss of wild plants through unintentional or intentional practices (e.g., the extinction of a plant associated with contraception); as well as the use of plants in medicine, magic, ritual, personal use (e.g., clothing or housing), nutrition, and identity, although this last one is largely a focus among anthropologists (e.g., among the ancient Maya or African Americans).  There are even forays into studying how people hunting seed dispersing animals (e.g., primates) affects the plant ecology of the area.

 

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of ethnobotany a variety of methods are used to conduct these studies.  These include those that are specific to the scientific disciplines employed (e.g., isotopic studies), but specific anthropological methods used are largely found within cultural anthropological methods.  These include participant observation, interviews, and making use of cultural informants.  There are not many individuals who are trained specifically in ethnobotany, so many ethnobotanical studies are beingconducted by interdisciplinary teams that include anthropologists.  There are, of course, anthropologists and scientists who strike out on their own, drawing upon the methods and techniques of other fields to complete their research.

 

Ultimately, ethnobotany is one area of study that demonstrates the utility of anthropology in furthering our knowledge.  Ethnobotany allows one to better understand the human connections to plants and how that has and continues to affect the natural environments we exist in.  Preservation of human societies and natural environments will require the appropriate use of ethnobotanical research, including the use of the anthropological skills that are instrumental to this discipline.

 

Works Cited

Albuquerque, U. P., Ramos, M. A., Ferreira Júnior, W. S., & Muniz de Medeiros, P. (2017). Ethnobotany for Beginners. London: Springer International Publishing.

Heinrich, M. (2000). Ethnobotany and Its Role in Drug Development. Phytotherapy Research, 479-488.

Prance, G. T. (1991). What is Ethnobotany Today? Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 209-216.

Welsch, R. L., & Vivanco, L. A. (2020). Anthropology: Asking Questions About Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.