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Spatial Concepts of the Ainu of the Northwest Coast of Southern Sakhalin 1
Author(s) -
OHNUKITIERNEY EMIKO
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1972.74.3.02a00140
Subject(s) - geography , opposition (politics) , contrast (vision) , binary opposition , space (punctuation) , feature (linguistics) , linguistics , computer science , political science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , politics , law
Presented here is the basic cognitive structure underlying the concepts of space among the Ainu of the northwest coast of southern Sakhalin, now resettled in Hokkaido. The spatial structure is examined by analyzing cultural meanings attached to the spatial categories and directions. The basic spatial structure may be best understood as a dyadic structure comprising a series of contrast sets in binary opposition, with the super‐Ainu quality as the minimal distinctive feature.