Tsat language explained

Tsat
States:China
Region:Hainan
Ethnicity:Utsul
Speakers:4,000
Date:2007
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Austronesian
Fam2:Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:Malayo-Sumbawan (?)
Fam4:Chamic
Fam5:Highlands
Fam6:Northern Chamic
Iso3:huq
Glotto:tsat1238
Glottorefname:Tsat
Also Known As:Hainan Cham

Tsat, also known as Utsat, Utset, Hainan Cham, or Huíhuī, is a tonal language spoken by 4,500 Utsul people in Yanglan and Huixin villages near Sanya, Hainan, China. Tsat is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian group within the Austronesian language family, and is one of the Chamic languages originating on the coast of present-day Vietnam.

Phonology

Consonants

LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Plosivevoicelesspronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
aspiratedpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
implosivepronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Affricatepronounced as /link/
Fricativevoicelesspronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
voicedpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Nasalpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Lateralpronounced as /ink/

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Closepronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Midpronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/pronounced as /ink/
Openpronounced as /ink/ pronounced as /ink/

Tonogenesis

Hainan Cham tones correspond to various Proto-Chamic sounds.[2]

Tone value
(Hainan Cham)!c=02
Type of tone
(Hainan Cham)
c=03Proto-Chamic final sound
c=0155c=02Highc=03
  • -h, *-s; PAN *-q
c=0142c=02Fallingc=03
  • -p, *-t, *-k, *-c, *-ʔ
    Voiceless final: voiced stop / affricate (pre-)initial
    *-ay, *-an
c=0124c=02Risingc=03
  • -p, *-t, *-k, *-c, *-ʔ
    Voiceless final: default
c=0111c=02Lowc=03Vowels and nasals, *-a:s
Voiced final: voiced stop / affricate (pre-)initial
c=0133c=02Midc=03Vowels and nasals, *a:s
Voiced final: default

History

Unusually for an Austronesian language, Tsat has developed into a tonal language, probably as a result of areal linguistic effects and contact with the diverse tonal languages spoken on Hainan including varieties of Chinese such as Hainanese and Standard Chinese, Tai–Kadai languages such as the Hlai languages, and Hmong–Mien languages such as Kim Mun.[3]

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Thurgood & Li (2014)
  2. Book: Thurgood, Graham . Tonality in Austronesian Languages . 1993 . University of Hawaii Press . Edmondson . Jerold A. . Oceanic Linguistics Special Publication, 24 . Honolulu . 91–106 . en . Phan Rang Cham and Utsat: Tonogenetic Themes and Variants . Gregerson . Kenneth J. . Graham Thurgood.
  3. Book: Thurgood, Graham. From Ancient Cham to Modern Dialects: Two Thousand Years of Language Contact and Change: With an Appendix of Chamic Reconstructions and Loanwords. 1999. University of Hawaii Press. 0-8248-2131-9. 239. 2011-05-15.