Formosan languages explained

Formosan
Acceptance:geographic
Ethnicity:Taiwanese Aborigines (Formosan people)
Region:Taiwan
Familycolor:Austronesian
Child1:East Formosan
Child2:Northwest Formosan
Child3:Western Plains
Child4:Atayalic
Child5:Bunun
Child6:Tsouic
Child7:Rukai
Child8:Puyuma
Child9:Paiwan
Iso5:fox
Glotto:none
Map:Formosan languages en.svg
Mapcaption:Families of Formosan languages before Chinese colonization, per . Malayo-Polynesian (red) may lie within Eastern Formosan (purple).The white section is unattested; some maps fill it in with Luiyang, Kulon or as generic 'Ketagalan'.[1]

The Formosan languages are a geographic grouping comprising the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, all of which are Austronesian. They do not form a single subfamily of Austronesian but rather up to nine separate primary subfamilies. The Taiwanese indigenous peoples recognized by the government are about 2.3% of the island's population. However, only 35% speak their ancestral language, due to centuries of language shift.[2] Of the approximately 26 languages of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples, at least ten are extinct, another four (perhaps five) are moribund,[3] [4] and all others are to some degree endangered.

The aboriginal languages of Taiwan have great significance in historical linguistics since, in all likelihood, Taiwan is the place of origin of the entire Austronesian language family. According to American linguist Robert Blust, the Formosan languages form nine of the ten principal branches of the family,[5] while the one remaining principal branch, Malayo-Polynesian, contains nearly 1,200 Austronesian languages found outside Taiwan.[6] Although some other linguists disagree with some details of Blust's analysis, a broad consensus has coalesced around the conclusion that the Austronesian languages originated in Taiwan,[7] and the theory has been strengthened by recent studies in human population genetics.[8]

Recent history

All Formosan languages are slowly being replaced by the culturally dominant Taiwanese Mandarin. In recent decades the Taiwan government started an aboriginal reappreciation program that included the reintroduction of Formosan first languages in Taiwanese schools. However, the results of this initiative have been disappointing.[9]

In 2005, in order to help with the preservation of the languages of the indigenous people of Taiwan, the council established a Romanized writing system for all of Taiwan's aboriginal languages. The council has also helped with classes and language certification programs for members of the indigenous community and the non-Formosan Taiwanese to help the conservation movement.[10]

Classification

Formosan languages form nine distinct branches of the Austronesian language family (with all other Malayo-Polynesian languages forming the tenth branch of the Austronesian).

List of languages

It is often difficult to decide where to draw the boundary between a language and a dialect, causing some minor disagreement among scholars regarding the inventory of Formosan languages. There is even more uncertainty regarding possible extinct or assimilated Formosan peoples. Frequently cited examples of Formosan languages are given below,[11] but the list should not be considered exhaustive.

Living languages

LanguageNo. of
dialects		DialectsNotes
Amis5'Amisay a Pangcah, Siwkolan, Pasawalian, Farangaw, Palidaw
Atayal6Squliq, Skikun, Ts'ole', Ci'uli, Mayrinax, Plngawanhigh dialect diversity, sometimes considered separate languages
Bunun5Takitudu, Takibakha, Takivatan, Takbanuaz, Isbukunhigh dialect diversity
Kanakanavu1moribund
Kavalan1listed in some sources as moribund, though further analysis may show otherwise
Paiwan4Eastern, Northern, Central, Southern
Puyuma4Puyuma, Katratripul, Ulivelivek, Kasavakan
Rukai6Ngudradrekay, Taromak Drekay, Teldreka, Thakongadavane, 'Oponoho
Saaroa1moribund
Saisiyat1
Sakizaya1
Seediq3Tgdaya, Toda, (Truku)
Thao1moribund
Trukutrv1
Tsou1
Yami/Tao1also called Tao. Linguistically, not a member of the "Formosan languages", but a Malayo-Polynesian language.

Extinct languages

LanguageNo. of
dialects		DialectsExtinction date & notes
1 Mid-20th century
3? Babuza, Takoas, Favorlang (?). Late 19th century. Ongoing revival efforts.
Kulon1 Mid-20th century
Pazeh2Pazeh, Kaxabu2010. Ongoing revival efforts.
1 Mid-20th century
2? Papora, Hoanya (?).
Siraya2? Siraya, Makatao (?). Late 19th century. Ongoing revival efforts.
Taivoan1 Late 19th century. Ongoing revival efforts.

Grammar

Verbs typically are not inflected for person or number, but do inflect for tense, mood, voice and aspect. Formosan languages are unusual in their use of the symmetrical voice, in which a noun is marked with the direct case while the verb affix indicates its role in the sentence. This can be seen as a generalisation of the active and passive voices, and is considered a unique morphosyntactic alignment. Furthermore, adverbs are not a unique category of words, but are instead expressed by coverbs.

Nouns are not marked for number and do not have grammatical gender. Noun cases are typically marked by particles rather than inflecting the word itself.

In terms of word order, most Formosan languages display verb-initial word order—VSO (verb-subject-object) or VOS (verb-object-subject)—with the exception of some Northern Formosan languages, such as Thao, Saisiyat, and Pazih, possibly from influence from Chinese.

Li (1998) lists the word orders of several Formosan languages.[12]

Sound changes

Tanan Rukai is the Formosan language with the largest number of phonemes with 23 consonants and 4 vowels containing length contrast, while Kanakanavu and Saaroa have the fewest phonemes with 13 consonants and 4 vowels.

Wolff

The tables below list the Proto-Austronesian reflexes of individual languages given by Wolff (2010).[13]

Proto-Austronesian!c=02
Pazihc=03Saisiatc=04Thaoc=05Atayalic
c=01
  • p
c=02pc=03pc=04pc=05p
c=01
  • t
c=02t, sc=03t, s, ʃc=04t, θc=05t, c (s)
c=01
  • c
c=02z [dz]c=03hc=04tc=05x, h
c=01
  • k
c=02kc=03kc=04kc=05k
c=01
  • q
c=02Øc=03ʔc=04qc=05q, ʔ
c=01
  • b
c=02bc=03bc=04fc=05b-
c=01
  • d
c=02dc=03rc=04sc=05r
c=01
  • j
c=02dc=03rc=04sc=05r
c=01
  • g
c=02k-, -z- [dz], -tc=03k-, -z- [ð], -z [ð]c=04k-, -ð-, -ðc=05k-[14]
c=01
  • ɣ
c=02xc=03l [ḷ] (> Ø in Tonghœʔ)c=04ɬc=05ɣ, r, Ø
c=01
  • m
c=02mc=03mc=04mc=05m
c=01
  • n
c=02nc=03nc=04nc=05n
c=01
  • ŋ
c=02ŋc=03ŋc=04nc=05ŋ
c=01
  • s
c=02sc=03ʃc=04ʃc=05s
c=01
  • h
c=02hc=03hc=04Øc=05h
c=01
  • l
c=02rc=03l [ḷ] (> Ø in Tonghœʔ)c=04rc=05l
c=01
  • ɬ
c=02lc=03ɬc=04ðc=05l
c=01
  • w
c=02wc=03wc=04wc=05w
c=01
  • y
c=02yc=03yc=04yc=05y
Proto-Austronesian!c=02
Saaroac=03Kanakanavuc=04Rukaic=05Bununc=06Amisc=07Kavalanc=08Puyumac=09Paiwan
c=01
  • p
c=02pc=03pc=04pc=05pc=06pc=07pc=08pc=09p
c=01
  • t
c=02t, cc=03t, cc=04t, cc=05tc=06tc=07tc=08t, ʈc=09tj [č], ts [c]
c=01
  • c
c=02s, Øc=03cc=04θ, s, Øc=05c ([s] in Central & South)c=06cc=07sc=08sc=09t
c=01
  • k
c=02kc=03kc=04kc=05kc=06kc=07k, qc=08kc=09k
c=01
  • q
c=02Øc=03ʔc=04Øc=05q (x in Ishbukun)c=06ɦc=07Øc=08ɦc=09q
c=01
  • b
c=02vc=03v [β]c=04bc=05bc=06fc=07bc=08v [β]c=09v
c=01
  • d
c=02sc=03cc=04ḍc=05dc=06rc=07zc=08d, zc=09dj [j], z
c=01
  • j
c=02sc=03cc=04dc=05dc=06rc=07zc=08d, zc=09dj [j], z
c=01
  • g
c=02k-, -ɬ-c=03k-, -l-, -lc=04gc=05k-, -Ø-, -Øc=06k-, -n-, -nc=07k-, -n-, -nc=08h-, -d-, -dc=09g-, -d-, -d
c=01
  • ɣ
c=02rc=03rc=04r, Øc=05lc=06l [ḷ]c=07ɣc=08rc=09Ø
c=01
  • m
c=02mc=03mc=04mc=05mc=06mc=07mc=08mc=09m
c=01
  • n
c=02nc=03nc=04nc=05nc=06nc=07nc=08nc=09n
c=01
  • ŋ
c=02ŋc=03ŋc=04ŋc=05ŋc=06ŋc=07ŋc=08ŋc=09ŋ
c=01
  • s
c=02Øc=03sc=04sc=05sc=06sc=07Øc=08Øc=09s
c=01
  • h
c=02Øc=03Øc=04Øc=05Øc=06hc=07Øc=08Øc=09Ø
c=01
  • l
c=02Øc=03Ø, lc=04ñc=05h-, -Ø-, -Øc=06l [ḷ]c=07r, ɣc=08l [ḷ]c=09l
c=01
  • ɬ
c=02ɬc=03nc=04ɬc=05nc=06ɬc=07nc=08ɬc=09ɬ
c=01
  • w
c=02Øc=03Øc=04vc=05vc=06wc=07wc=08wc=09w
c=01
  • y
c=02ɬc=03lc=04ðc=05ðc=06yc=07yc=08yc=09y
Proto-Austronesian!c=02
Tagalogc=03Chamorroc=04Malayc=05Old Javanese
c=01
  • p
c=02pc=03fc=04pc=05p
c=01
  • t
c=02tc=03tc=04tc=05t
c=01
  • c
c=02sc=03sc=04sc=05s
c=01
  • k
c=02kc=03hc=04kc=05k
c=01
  • q
c=02ʔc=03ʔc=04hc=05h
c=01
  • b
c=02bc=03pc=04b, -pc=05b, w
c=01
  • d
c=02d-, -l-, -dc=03hc=04d, -tc=05ḍ, r
c=01
  • j
c=02d-, -l-, -dc=03chc=04j, -tc=05d
c=01
  • g
c=02k-, -l-, -dc=03Øc=04d-, -r-, -rc=05g-, -r-, -r
c=01
  • ɣ
c=02gc=03gc=04rc=05Ø
c=01
  • m
c=02mc=03mc=04mc=05m
c=01
  • n
c=02nc=03nc=04nc=05n
c=01
  • ŋ
c=02ŋc=03ŋc=04ŋc=05ŋ
c=01
  • s
c=02hc=03Øc=04hc=05h
c=01
  • h
c=02Øc=03Øc=04Øc=05Ø
c=01
  • l
c=02lc=03lc=04lc=05l
c=01
  • ɬ
c=02nc=03ñ, n, lc=04l-/ñ-, -ñ-/-n-, -nc=05n
c=01
  • w
c=02wc=03wc=04Ø, wc=05w
c=01
  • y
c=02yc=03yc=04yc=05y

Blust

The following table lists reflexes of Proto-Austronesian *j in various Formosan languages (Blust 2009:572).

Language!c=02
Reflex
c=01Tsouc=02Ø
c=01Kanakanavuc=02l
c=01Saaroac=02ɬ (-ɬ- only)
c=01Puyumac=02d
c=01Paiwanc=02d
c=01Bununc=02Ø
c=01Atayalc=02r (in Squliq), g (sporadic), s (sporadic)
c=01Sediqc=02y (-y- only), c (-c only)
c=01Pazehc=02z ([dz]) (-z- only), d (-d only)
c=01Saisiyatc=02z ([ð])
c=01Thaoc=02z ([ð])
c=01Amisc=02n
c=01Kavalanc=02n
c=01Sirayac=02n

The following table lists reflexes of Proto-Austronesian *ʀ in various Formosan languages (Blust 2009:582).

Language!c=02
Reflex
c=01Paiwanc=02Ø
c=01Bununc=02l
c=01Kavalanc=02ʀ (contrastive uvular rhotic)
c=01Basayc=02l
c=01Amisc=02l
c=01Atayalc=02g; r (before /i/)
c=01Sediqc=02r
c=01Pazehc=02x
c=01Taokasc=02l
c=01Thaoc=02lh (voiceless lateral)
c=01Saisiyatc=02L (retroflex flap)
c=01Bashiic (extra-Formosan)c=02y

Lenition patterns include (Blust 2009:604-605):

Distributions

Information

Li (2001) lists the geographical homelands for the following Formosan languages.[15]

southwestern parts of central Taiwan; Yushan (oral traditions)

Choshui River

Chianan Plains

Hsinyi (信義鄉) in Nantou County

Ailiao River, near the foot of the mountains

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2009-08-06 . Táiwān yuánzhùmín píngpǔ zúqún bǎinián fēnlèi shǐ xìliè dìtú . zh:臺灣原住民平埔族群百年分類史系列地圖 (A history of the classification of Plains Taiwanese tribes over the past century) . 2017-03-04 . blog.xuite.net . zh.
  2. News: Sui . Cindy . 2010-07-14 . Taiwan Seeks to Save Indigenous Languages . en . BBC News .
  3. Zeitoun . Elizabeth . Yu . Ching-Hua . 2005 . The Formosan Language Archive: Linguistic Analysis and Language Processing . International Journal of Computational Linguistics and Chinese Language Processing . en . 10 . 2 . 167–200 . 10.30019/ijclclp.200507.0002 . 17976898.
  4. Book: Li . Paul Jen-kuei . Kavalan Dictionary . Tsuchida . Shigeru . 2006 . Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica . 9789860069938 . Taipei . en,zh . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503191457/http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/UploadFiles/MonoFullText/Kavalan-fulltext-1130-backup.pdf . 2021-05-03 . dead.
  5. Book: Blust, Robert . Selected Papers from the Eighth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics . 1999 . Academia Sinica . 9789576716324 . Zeitoun . Elizabeth . Taipei . en . Subgrouping, Circularity and Extinction: Some Issues in Austronesian Comparative Linguistics . Robert Blust . Li . Jen-kuei.
  6. Diamond . Jared M. . 2000 . Taiwan's Gift to the World . Nature . en . 403 . 6771 . 709–710 . 10.1038/35001685 . 10693781 . 2000Natur.403..709D . free . 4379227.
  7. Fox. James. Current Developments in Comparative Austronesian Studies. ANU Research Publications . Symposium Austronesia, Pascasarjana Linguististik dan Kajian Budaya Universitas Udayana . Bali . 19–20 August 2004 . 677432806.
  8. Trejaut . Jean A . Kivisild . Toomas . Loo . Jun Hun . Lee . Chien Liang . He . Chun Lin . Hsu . Chia Jung . Li . Zheng Yuan . Lin . Marie . Penny . David . 3 . 2005 . Traces of Archaic Mitochondrial Lineages Persist in Austronesian-Speaking Formosan Populations . PLOS Biology . en . 3 . 8 . e247 . 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030247 . 1166350 . 15984912 . free.
  9. Sociolinguistic Survey Report for the Tona and Maga Dialects of the Rukai Language . Huteson . Greg . 2003 . SIL International . SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2003-012 . Dallas, TX . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20130905141336/http://www-01.sil.org/silesr/2003/silesr2003-012.pdf . 2013-09-05 . dead.
  10. News: Hsu . Jenny W. . 2010-06-07 . Aboriginal Language Classes Open to Public . en . Focus Taiwan . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021424/http://www.galdu.org/web/?odas=4584&giella1=eng . 2014-11-29 . galdu.org.
  11. Yuánzhùmínzú yǔyán shūxiě xìtǒng jiànyì xiūzhèng bǎnběn bàogào . Yuánzhùmínzú yǔyán yánjiū fāzhǎn zhōngxīn . 2018 . zh . zh:原住民族語言書寫系統建議修正版本報告.
  12. Li, Paul Jen-kuei. (1998). "Táiwān nándǎo yǔyán 台灣南島語言 [The Austronesian Languages of Taiwan]." In Li, Paul Jen-kuei. (2004). Selected Papers on Formosan Languages. Taipei, Taiwan: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica
  13. Book: Wolff, John U. . Proto-Austronesian Phonology with Glossary . 2010 . Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications . Ithaca, NY . en.
  14. There are several outcomes of *g as onset or coda of the final syllable.
  15. Li . Paul Jen-kuei . 2001 . The Dispersal of the Formosan Aborigines in Taiwan . Languages and Linguistics . en . 2 . 1 . 271–278 . 2020-06-02 . 2020-08-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200808011144/http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/Docments/Journals/j2001_1_15_4392.pdf . dead .

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