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 nine separate 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
Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceiv ...
. Of the approximately 26 languages of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples, at least ten are
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
, another four (perhaps five) are
moribund
Moribund refers to a literal or figurative state near death.
Moribund may refer to:
* ''Moribund'' (album), a 2006 album by the Norwegian black metal band Koldbrann
* "Le Moribond", a song by Jacques Brel known in English as "Seasons in the Sun" ...
,
and all others are to some degree endangered.
The aboriginal languages of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
have great significance in
historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include:
# to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages
# ...
since, in all likelihood, Taiwan is the
place of origin of the entire Austronesian language family. According to American linguist
Robert Blust
Robert A. Blust (; ; May 9, 1940 – January 5, 2022) was an American linguist who worked in several areas, including historical linguistics, lexicography and ethnology. He was Professor of Linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Blus ...
, the Formosan languages form nine of the ten principal branches of the family, while the one remaining principal branch,
Malayo-Polynesian
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...
, contains nearly 1,200 Austronesian languages found outside Taiwan. 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, and the theory has been strengthened by recent studies in human population genetics.
Recent history
All Formosan languages are slowly being replaced by the culturally dominant
Taiwanese Mandarin
Taiwanese Mandarin, ''Guoyu'' ( zh, s=, t=國語, p=Guóyǔ, l=National Language, first=t) or ''Huayu'' ( zh, s=, t=華語, p=Huáyǔ, first=t, l=Mandarin Language, labels=no) refers to Mandarin Chinese spoken in Taiwan. A large majority of the T ...
. In recent decades the Taiwan government started an aboriginal reappreciation program that included the reintroduction of Formosan
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
s in Taiwanese schools. However, the results of this initiative have been disappointing.
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.
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, but the list should not be considered exhaustive.
Living languages
* Although
Yami
Yamuna is a sacred river in Hinduism and the main tributary of the Ganges River. The river is also worshipped as a Hindu goddess called Yamuna. Yamuna is known as Yami in early texts, while in later literature, she is called Kalindi. In Hindu scr ...
is geographically in Taiwan, it is not classified as Formosan in linguistics.
Extinct languages
Basic 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
The Northern Formosan languages is a proposed grouping of Formosan languages that includes the '' Atayalic languages'', the ''Western Plains languages'' (Papora, Hoanya, Babuza, and Taokas), and the ''Northwest Formosan languages'' ( Pazeh and S ...
, such as
Thao,
Saisiyat, and
Pazih, possibly from influence from Chinese.
Li (1998) lists the
word order
In linguistics, word order (also known as linear order) is the order of the syntactic constituents of a language. Word order typology studies it from a cross-linguistic perspective, and examines how different languages employ different orders. C ...
s of several Formosan languages.
*Rukai: VSO, VOS
*Tsou: VOS
*Bunun: VSO
*Atayal: VSO, VOS
*Saisiyat: VS, SVO
*Pazih: VOS, SVO
*Thao: VSO, SVO
*Amis: VOS, VSO
*Kavalan: VOS
*Puyuma: VSO
*Paiwan: VSO, VOS
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
Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify 3 ...
reflexes of individual languages given by Wolff (2010).
Blust
The following table lists reflexes of
Proto-Austronesian
Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify 3 ...
*j in various Formosan languages (Blust 2009:572).
The following table lists reflexes of Proto-Austronesian *ʀ in various Formosan languages (Blust 2009:582).
Lenition
In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonority hierarchy, sonorous. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronic analysis, s ...
patterns include (Blust 2009:604-605):
* *b, *d in
Proto-Austronesian
Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify 3 ...
** *b > f, *d > c, r in Tsou
** *b > v, *d > d in Puyuma
** *b > v, *d > d, r in Paiwan
** *b > b, *d > r in Saisiyat
** *b > f, *d > s in Thao
** *b > v, *d > r in Yami (extra-Formosan)
Distributions
Gallery
Information
Li (2001) lists the geographical homelands for the following Formosan languages.
*
Tsou: southwestern parts of central Taiwan;
Yushan (oral traditions)
*
Saisiyat and
Kulon: somewhere between
Tatu River
The Dadu River also called Wu River, is a major rivers in Taiwan, river located in the Northwest of Taiwan Island, Taiwan. With a total length of it is sixth-longest river on the island.
Names
The Dadu River is named after a former port ne ...
and
Tachia River
Dajia River () is the fifth-longest river in Taiwan located in the north-central of the island. It flows through Taichung City for 142 km.
The sources of the Dajia are: Hsuehshan and Nanhu Mountain in the Central Mountain Range. The Dajia ...
not far from the coast
*
Thao:
Choshui River
*Qauqaut: mid-stream of Takiri River (Liwuhsi in Chinese)
*
Siraya:
Chianan Plains
*Makatau:
Pingtung
*
Bunun:
Hsinyi (信義鄉) in
Nantou County
Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...
*
Paiwan:
Ailiao River
The Ailiao River () is a tributary of the Gaoping River in Taiwan. It flows through Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County for 68.5 km.
See also
*List of rivers in Taiwan
This is a list of rivers ( or ) on Taiwan Island in the Republic of ...
, near the foot of the mountains
See also
*
Cognate sets for Formosan languages (Wiktionary)
*
Demographics of Taiwanese Aborigines
*
Writing systems of Formosan languages
The writing systems of the Formosan languages are Latin-based alphabets. Currently, 16 languages (45 dialects) have been regulated. The alphabet was made official in 2005.
History
The Sinckan Manuscripts are one of the earliest written materials ...
*
Personal pronoun systems of Formosan languages
*
Fossilized affixes in Austronesian languages
*
Proto-Austronesian language
Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify ...
*
Tsou language
Tsou () is a divergent Austronesian language spoken by the Tsou people of Taiwan. Tsou is a threatened language; however, this status is uncertain. Its speakers are located in the west-central mountains southeast of the Chiayi/ Alishan area in ...
for an example of the unusual phonotactics of the Formosan languages
*
Sinckan Manuscripts
*
Naming customs of Taiwanese aborigines
The naming customs of Indigenous Taiwanese are distinct from, though influenced by, the majority Han Chinese culture of Taiwan. Prior to contact with Han Chinese, the Indigenous Taiwanese named themselves according to each tribe's tradition. T ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
Further reading
*Blundell, David (2009), ''Austronesian Taiwan: Linguistics, History, Ethnology, Prehistory''. Taipei, Taiwan: SMC Publishing
*Happart, G., & Hedhurst, W. H. (1840). ''Dictionary of the Favorlang dialect of the Formosan language''. Batavia: printed at Parapattan.
*Li, Paul Jen-kuei (2004). "Basic Vocabulary for Formosan Languages and Dialects." In Li, Paul Jen-kuei. ''Selected Papers on Formosan Languages'', vol. 2. Taipei, Taiwan: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
*
*Tsuchida, S. (2003). ''Kanakanavu texts (Austronesian Formosan)''.
saka?: Endangered Languages of the Pacific Rim
*Zeitoun, E. (2002). ''Nominalization in Formosan languages''. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics (Preparatory Office), Academia Sinica.
External links
Ogawa's Vocabulary of Formosan Dialects 小川尚義 (臺灣蕃語蒐録)Yuánzhùmínzú yǔyán xiànshàng cídiǎn 原住民族語言線上詞典 – "Aboriginal language online dictionary" website of the Indigenous Languages Research and Development Foundation
Zú yǔ E lèyuán 族語E樂園 – Educational site maintained by Taiwan's Council of Indigenous Peoples
*
T.A.I.W.A.N. – Taiwan-Austronesion Indigenous Words and Narrations– English counterpart of Zú yǔ E lèyuán
* Map
''Formosan Languages and Yami''(PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formosan Languages
Austronesian languages
Languages of Taiwan
Endangered Austronesian languages