Byron Fija

 

Byron Fija

human

Ein sex anaa gender	male
Name wey dem give am	Byron
Ein date of birth	1969
Place dem born am	Naha
Ein occupation	singer, linguist

Byron Fija (Okinawan: 比嘉 光龍, Fija Bairon; dem born am 1 September 1969 insyd Naha) be Okinawan linguist wey dey practice Okinawan language den activist.

He be radio and TV personality wey dem know for ein homeland Okinawa as knowledgeable scholar, teacher den skilled practitioner of de endangered Okinawan languages.

Ein Biography

Dem born Fija give Okinawan mummie den American popie wey na he be U.S. soldier, but dem lef am plus ein uncle den aunt soon after ein birth. He refer ein body as "American-Uchinanchu" (American-Okinawan).

As kiddie, na ein classmates dey bell am "America" secof ein appearance. At de age of 22, he go United States wey na he dey see am say ebe irritating say menners dey assume say he dey fi speak English secof ein appearance. As he return go Okinawa at age 24 he encounter de traditional Okinawan folk songs wey dem dey sing insyd Okinawan language wey he realize say he identify am as Okinawan den wey na he dey want learn de language of de songs.

Ein Practice

Plus no classes anaa institutions wey dey no teach de language, na Fija for find ein own way of learning. He learn by say he go talk plus elderly people wey still dey speak Okinawan. Ein main teacher be famous stage actor, Makishi Kochu (1923–2011), wey na he dey visit every week so say he go mow. After say he master de language, Fija start say he go teach. For years, na he get radio show wey he conduct entirely insyd local language. Residents – almost all elderly – dey call dey request songs den chat. He dey appear for TV shows top wey Naha city government dey pay am say make he teach local residents.

Insyd popular culture

Fija be outspoken advocate give chao native language practice insyd daily life wey he dey encourage menners wey dey Okinawa say make dem mow de language. As one of de few fluent speakers of de language he be de go-to-person for domestic den international media wey he regularly dey attend national den international events for de matter of endangered languages anaa Okinawan languages top.

Dem include sam video wey dey feature Fija wey dey sing traditional Okinawan folk songs insyd Okinawan language is insyd sam collection for Ethnological Museum Berlin wey Okinawan artist Yuken Teruya compile am as part of sam new collection wey dey tell Okinawan history till today.

Sana spy

• Article for Japantimes [1]
• Article for BBC [2]
• Article for Washington Post [3]
• Fija ein homepage Archived 25 March 2019 for de Wayback Machine