（今年、9月17-2０日、沖縄国際大学で開催される『危機言語国際学会』で発表する概要です！劇団「うない」さんと去年10月27日、ハワイ沖縄センターで沖縄芝居公演をやった経験から、そこで英語字幕を出したこと、その操作に関わったりして、字幕の問題を取り上げてみました。琉球・沖縄諸語の保存・継承・再活性化に関心をもっています。沖縄の伝統芸能は琉球・沖縄諸語、主に首里・那覇語中心だが、言語が使用されなくなると、琉球・沖縄芸能は衰退していきます。芸能が言語を保存する文化の記憶装置としてとても重要な役割を担っていると考えるゆえに、芸能やあらゆるPerforming artsと言語の関係に関心をもってその継承・発展・再生に寄与したいと考えています。ご笑覧ください。疑問点などありましたらご遠慮なくメールください。最近英国のシェイクスピア生誕地のStratford-Upon-avonの街を訪問しその街にあるRoyal Shakespeare Company Theatreで二つの演劇を鑑賞したのですが、街が文化（演劇）を完璧な形で保存・継承しているモデルケースに見えました。さて沖縄はどうだろう？見た作品では字幕は出ませんでした。しかし英国でも、加齢や様々な理由で耳が不自由になっていく方々のために字幕が設置されていく傾向にあります。字幕の問題は、その利点や不利な点も含め、今後大いに論じられていくテーマかと考えます。論議を深めたいものです。）
Do Surtitles of Traditional Okinawan Theatre Contribute to Language Revitalization on Okinawa in General? - Based Upon the Traditional Okinawan Theatre Production in Hawaiiand National Theatre Okinawa
Shoko Yonaha
On October 27th 2013, the all female Okinawan theatre company ‘Unai’ had a chance to perform at Hawaii Okinawa Center. They performed the traditional Okinawan comedy ‘Teijo-gwa’ and Ryukyuan Opera (Kageki) ‘Nachijin Nundunchi’ along with three Ryukyu dances and Ryukyu folk music. For two plays’ performances, English subtitles were prepared. Most of the audiences were Okinawan Americans from the first to the fifth generations. The production in Okinawan languages (mainly spoken in Shuri-Naha languages) was successful, and part of the reason was because Unai prepared surtitles. This was clearly indicated through the survey I made. Among 171 surveys, many were found to appreciate the surtitles, and this experience made me pay attention to the issue of surtitles. Usually subtitles or captions are familiar on screen production, but surtitles are named especially for the stage subtitles. So I’ll use surtitles in this paper.
Necessity of surtitles: in the overseas and mainland Japan’s production.
The theatre troupe‘Unai’ which has been performing mainly Okinawa shibai (play) and Ryukyu dances since 2004 was founded after the legendary all female Okinawan theatre company Otohime Gekidan which lasted for 52 years from1949 to 2001. In 2012, the troupe had performed inTaiwan and Osaka with surtitles of Chinese inTaiwan and Japanese in Osaka. Because of these experiences, the leader Ritsuko Nakasone decided to make English surtitles inHawaii, too, even if it was estimated that many elder Okinawan Hawaiians can understand Okinawan languages.
The results were as I pointed out above: many audiences in those three different places appreciated the surtitles. It was simply, first, that Taiwanese could understand the meaning of the stage drama performed in Okinawan languages, and likewise, those inOsaka, mainly Okinawan Japanese who’ve lived there since the first generation to the present, understood through the surtitles. It was obvious for those Okinawan Japanese, Okinawan original languages were not easily understood since their mother tongue is Japanese, and the same things came out in the Hawaii performance.
The audiences of Okinawan descendants have enjoyed the original songs and dialogues through the surtitles. Though my assumption was that they should have got used to listening to Ryukyu folk songs and seen Ryukyu dances, but still it was difficult for them to follow the sung dialogues and stories without surtitles.
To sum up, audiences inTaiwan,Osaka, and Hawaii enjoyed the comedy and Ryukyu opera with surtitles.
According to Gottlieb Henrik, subtitles are defined as ‘the rendering in a different language of verbal messages in filmic media, in the shape of one or more lines of written text presented on the screen in sync with the original written message’,[1] and it’s commonly appreciated by Okinawans, too. For many filmgoers, rental DVD lovers, and Internet users, subtitles are very popular as well as dubbed versions. However most of them are Japanese subtitles and original English languages like TED, and it’s rare to access Okinawan language subtitles on the screen. However, it was familiar with us to see Japanese subtitles on the Okinawa shibai production on the air by NHK ‘Okinawan songs and dances’ programs. Occasionally NHK Okinawa has televised Okinawan traditional performing arts on TV, and Japanese subtitles are common for more than 40 years. To understand the real content of traditional Okinawan performing arts, NHK was the front runner to subtitle them not only to the majority of Japanese but to Okinawans whose comprehension of their own native languages is getting lower.
Because of that, when the National Theatre Okinawa which opened in 2004 made surtitles in Japanese for their production, it was welcomed by the theatre-going Okinawans who had less comprehension of the classic performances, and so were some guest Japanese.
Surtitles of Kumi-wudui and Okinawa shibai at the National Theatre Okinawa
According to Manabu Oshiro who was in charge of the research and project section at the National Theatre Okinawa at its opening, it was properly accepted to set up the surtitles. “It is a sort of service for those who don’t understand classic Okinawan languages used in kumi-wudui,’”so he mentioned. Of course, there were some who were against the surtitles, but Oshiro insisted that it is necessary for new audiences who visit Okinawa from various places to see Kumi-wudui. The majority of Japanese and young and middle generations in Okinawa are not used to seeing Kumi-wudui and Okinawa shibai. And the purpose of constructing the National Theatre was to increase the number of tourists, as well as the preservation, revitalization, and re-creation of traditional performing arts. The Asia- Pacific inter/cross cultural community interactions are also placed in the foundation of the National Theatre. For this purpose, all the more, multi-linguistic surtitles will be required.
Conclusion
The main issue is whether or not the procedure of surtitles is beneficial for the revitalization of Ryukyu/Okinawa languages. Certainly it’s necessary not only for those whose native languages are not Okinawan but also for more than half of the Okinawan population who cannot understand and speak their native languages. The rate of Okinawan people who are alienated from their own ancestral languages is increasing since assimilation toJapanhas somehow been accomplished linguistically within 135 years. UNESCO’s warning of the endangered-ness of Ryukyu languages in 2009 appears to have enlightened Okinawans to revitalize their indigenous languages, but in a bilingual trend, both Japanese and Shuri-Naha languages in Okinawan traditional performing arts, would coexist in Okinawa.
Also, as Shinsho Aniya who succeeds the Ryukyu kingdom’s Omoro (the oldest Ryukyu poems and its chanting) claims that surtitles should be in the original Ryukyu/Okinawa languages, and this could be an alternative challenge for the National Theatre. In the beginning, Japanese surtitles are necessary, and the next step should be further commitment to the original dialogue in Kumi-wudui. Furthermore, English surtitles are required for the global standard, too.
I’ll discuss the details at the conference.
[1]. Delia Chiaro “ISSUES IN AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION” The Routledge Companion to Translation Studies, Routledge, p.148 , 2009
