UH Alum Trevor Slevin’s Language Revitalization Researcher
By Jade Silva
Photos by interviewee
Trevor Slevin at his 2017 UHH commencement ceremony
Trevor Slevin, a 2017 graduate of UH Hilo’s linguistics program, never followed the path he thought he would, but he found a passion in Hilo that he now gets to pursue in Japan. At the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL,) Slevin works to revitalize Okinoerabu Ryukyuan, one of the endangered languages spoken in Japan’s Ryūkyū Islands.
Six Ryukyuan languages, all of which are endangered, are indigenous to these islands. Like Hawaiian, Ryukyuan languages are not widely spoken by younger generations, which threatens their survival. They are unlikely to survive another generation without revitalization efforts.
According to the Endangered Languages Project, “over 40% of the world’s approximate 7,000 languages are at risk of disappearing.” Researchers like Slevin work to preserve and promote these languages, hoping to reverse or slow extinction.
But this work didn’t come quickly to the linguist. After earning his degree Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages certificate at UH Hilo (UHH), he applied to teach English through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, hoping he’d be placed in Okinawa and could begin networking to find work in revitalization.
Instead, JET placed him in mainland Japan, where he worked as a language teacher for six years. This wasn’t the first time Slevin pivoted. Even his love for Ryukyuan languages came as a big, happy accident.
The California native transferred to UHH from a community college he attended in his home state. Although he always loved languages, before coming here, he thought he’d focus on Spanish–teaching English in Latin America and being a travel writer. Hawaiʻi not having many Spanish speakers meant Slevin had to change course, he recalled, gesturing a little wryly.
When he came to Hilo, being interested in culture meant he was between majoring in anthropology or linguistics. In an introductory course to the latter, a professor told him on the first day of class, “you know, with linguistics, you can get a PhD in swearing,” Slevin recalled with a laugh. “I was like, I’m in.”
“That’s where it started with linguistics, and then it snowballed,” he said. At UHH, he interacted with Okinawan exchange students and Ukwanshin Kabudan, a performing arts troupe from O‘ahu who do Ryukyuan cultural education, who taught him “how highly endangered a lot of the Ryukyuan languages are,” feeding his interest in revitalization efforts.
The way the UHH linguistics program is structured meant Slevin had a strong foundation on Indigenous languages and the Hawaiian revitalization efforts. “That definitely helped me to think about if we can perhaps apply that movement to other places [that have similar stories].”
Okinoerabu’s distinctive red soil, a hallmark of the Ryukyuan Islands.
A view of the East China Sea from a shore on Okinoerabu Island.
Although it wasn’t what he originally planned to be involved with, Slevin said, “I feel like it was kind of fate. I don’t know if I really believe in stuff like that, but it definitely worked out.”
With this sharpened passion and a long-held desire to teach English abroad, Slevin applied to the JET program, which is sponsored by the Japanese government. The program brings university graduates to Japan as English teachers; Slevin felt like it was the perfect combination of a stable job and an ‘in’ to Japan.
“Language revitalization was the passion and the hope but at the same time, I was like, what kind of job can I get with that when I graduate?” he said.
He found joy and fulfillment in JET, and recommends it to anyone looking for a way to live abroad. But finally, seven years after graduation, Slevin landed his dream position: a research job for NINJAL. In his current position, he takes research trips to Okinoerabu Island, inputs data to an online dictionary they’re making, documents the language, and promotes revitalization efforts.
"Now I’m doing the things I’d hoped to do when I graduated. Sometimes, you just gotta wait,” Slevin said.
“The lesson of my life,” he said, “is be okay with things changing. Be flexible. My entire life has been improv. Learn how to improvise.”