Take Asai

Otasu village, Tahkonanna's birthplace

Take Asai (浅井タケ Asai Take) or Tahkonanna (died 1994) was the last fluent speaker of the Sakhalin Ainu language. She was born in Otasu village on the west coast of Sakhalin Island in 1901 or 1902, and moved to Rayciska (Raichishika) during her childhood. After World War II she was relocated to Hokkaido, Japan, and toward the end of her life lived in an old-age home in Monbetsu, Hidaka, in southern Hokkaido. She served as an informant with the Piłsudski Research Project (ICRAP) and other projects until her death in 1994.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Piłsudski, Bronisław; Alfred F. Majewicz (2004). The Collected Works of Bronisław Piłsudski. Trends in Linguistics Series 3. Walter de Gruyter. p. 600. ISBN 9783110176148. Retrieved 2012-05-22.