On October 24, I was invited to teach a class on sumamuni (the local Ishigaki dialect/language) at Ishigaki Primary School together with two other native-speaking teachers. More than 60 fourth-grade students from two classes participated. People involved in shimakutuba education also joined the special session, which was held one day before the annual Dialect Summit, taking place this year in Ishigaki on October 25 and 26.
The children took part enthusiastically, and I was pleasantly surprised by how familiar they already were with sumamuni. I hope the session helped further raise their awareness and interest in the local language and culture.
