Siraya language

Siraya
Native to Taiwan
Region Southwestern, around present-day Tainan, from Peimen to Hengchun to Tapu.
Coordinates 22°58′N 120°18′E / 22.967°N 120.300°E / 22.967; 120.300
Extinct end of 19th century; revitalization movement
Dialects
Siraya proper
Taivoan
Makatao
Language codes
ISO 639-3 fos
Glottolog sira1267[1]

(pink) Siraya

Siraya is a Formosan language spoken until the end of the 19th century by the indigenous Siraya people of Taiwan. Dialects of Siraya included Taivoa and Makatao.

Several Siraya communities have been involved in a Sirayan cultural and language revitalization movement for more than a decade. Through linguistic research and language teaching, the natives are 'awaking' their mother tongue that has been 'dormant' for a century. Today a group of Siraya children in Xinhua District of Tainan particularly in Kou-pei and Chiou Chen Lin area are able to speak and sing in the Siraya language.[2]

Dialects

The Siraya dialects (or sometimes Sirayaic languages) are:

Paul Jen-kuei Li (2009) attempted a classification.[3] However, Li (2009) found two conflicting trees:

1. Tree based on the number of phonological innovations

2. Tree based on the relative chronology of sound changes

Li (2009) considers the second tree (the one containing the Taivuan–Makatau group) to be the somewhat more likely one.

Sources

Gospel of St. Matthew in Dutch, Sinckan, and English.[4] Original Dutch and Sinckan above is from 1661 by Daniel Gravius; English in small type was added in 1888 by Scottish missionary William Campbell.

The Siraya language entered the historical record in the early 17th century when traders from the Dutch East India Company, expelled from mainland China and Chinese waters, set up a stronghold on Taiwan at Fort Zeelandia, which was in the Siraya-speaking area. During the period of Dutch rule in Taiwan, Calvinist missionaries used Siraya and Babuza (also known as Favorlang) as contact languages. A translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew into Siraya (174 pages of Siraya and Dutch text, Gravius 1661)[5][6] and a catechism in Siraya (288 pages of Siraya and Dutch text, Gravius 1662)[7] were published, and have been subsequently republished.[8] The Dutch colony was driven out in 1661 by Ming loyalist refugees from China, and Taiwan was subsequently incorporated into the Qing Empire. During the period of Qing Dynasty rule, use of Siraya receded, but some Siraya language materials survive in the form of Siraya land contracts with Chinese translations, known as the Sinckan Manuscripts. The last records were lists of words made in the early 19th century.

The Tainan Ping-pu Siraya Association is compiling the first modern-day Siraya glossary. Publication is scheduled for November 2008.

Phonology

The phonological system of Siraya is speculated by Adelaar (1997) to have the following phonemes.

Consonants (18-20 total)

b d nḡ[9]

p t k
m n ng
l, r
v z
c
[f] s x h
w y

Vowels (7 total)

Diphthongs (6 total)

Palatalization also occurs in many words.

Grammar

Siraya auxiliaries constitute an open class and are placed at the head of the verb phrase (Adelaar 1997).

Pronouns

The Siraya personal pronouns below are from Adelaar (1997).

Siraya Personal Pronouns
Type of
Pronoun		 Free Actor or
Possessive		 Topic Oblique
1s. ĭau -(m)au -koh ĭau-an
2s. ĭmhu -(m)uhu, -(m)oho -kow ĭmhu-an
3s. teni tĭn teni tĭni-än (tĭni-an)
1p. (incl.) ĭmĭtta -(m)ĭtta, -(m)eta -kĭtta ĭmittä-n
1p. (excl.) ĭmi-an -(m)ian, -(m)iän -kame mian-än (mian-an)
2p. ĭmumi -(m)umi (-)kamu ĭmumi-än (ĭmumi-an)
3p. ta neini nein neini neini-än (neini-an)

Function words

The list of function words below is sourced from Adelaar (1997).

Demonstratives

Interrogatives

Negation markers

Other words

Verbs

The following list of Siraya verb affixes is from Adelaar (1997).

Affixes

See also Proto-Austronesian language for a list of Proto-Austronesian verbal affixes.

Classifiers

Like Bunun and many other Formosan languages, Siraya has a rich set of verbal classifier prefixes.

Numerals

Siraya has a base ten numeral system with the following forms:[8]

Siraya Numerals
Cardinal Ordinal
1 saat, sa-saat nawnamu
2 ruha, ru-ruha ka-ra-ruha
3 turu, tu-turu ka-ta-turu
4 xpat, pa-xpat ka-axpat
5 rima, ri-rima ka-ri-rima
6 nom, nə-nəm ka-annəm
7 pĭttu, pĭ-pĭttu ka-pa-pĭttu
8 kuixpa ka-kuixpa
9 matuda ka-matuda, ka-ma-matuda
10 saat kĭttiän ka-sasaat kĭttiän
Examples of higher numerals
12 saat kĭttiän äb ki ruha
14 saat kĭttiän äb ki pat
30 turu kĭttiän
60 nənnəm kĭttiän
99 matuda kĭttiän äb ki matuda
100 saat ka-ätux-an
4,000 xpat ka-tunnun-an
5,000 lima ka-tunnun-an

Examples

The Lord's Prayer

Raman-jan ka ito-tounnoun kow ki vullu-vullum;
Pakou-titik-auh ta nanang-oho,
Pa-irou-au ta pei-sasou-an- oho,
Paamt-au ta kamoei-en-hou, mama tou tounnoun ki vullum, k'ma-hynna tou Naei
Ph'ei -kame wae'i k'atta ki paoul-ian ka mamsing.
Atta-ral-a ki kaeu-itting-en-hou ymiaen-an, mama ka attaral-kame ta ymiaen ki kaeu-itting-'niaen
Ka inei-kame dmyllough tou repung-an, ra haoumi-ei-kame ki littou.
Ka a'mouhou ta pei-sasou-an, ta pei-lpoug-han, ta keirang-en ki kidi tou yhkaquan myd-darynnough,
Amen

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Siraya". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  2. ↑ Musu hapa Siraya (Chinese)
  3. ↑ Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 2009. "Linguistic differences among Siraya, Taivuan, and Makatau." In Alexander Adelaar and Andrew Pawley (eds.). Austronesian historical linguistics and culture history: a festschrift for Robert Blust. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
  4. ↑ Campbell & Gravius (1888), p. 1.
  5. ↑ Gravius, Daniel (1661). Het heylige Euangelium Matthei en Johannis. Ofte Hagnau ka d'llig matiktik ka na sasoulat ti Mattheus ti Johannes appa. Amsterdam: Michiel Hartogh. OCLC 69326189.
  6. ↑ Campbell, William; Gravius, Daniel (1888). The Gospel of St. Matthew in Formosan (Sinkang dialect) with corresponding versions in Dutch and English (in Austronesian, Dutch, and English). London: Trubner. OCLC 844610148.
  7. ↑ Gravius, Daniel (1661). Patar ki tna-'msing-an ki Christang ofte. 't Formulier des Christendoms. Amsterdam: Michiel Hartogh. OCLC 846467128.
  8. 1 2 Adelaar, K.A. (1997). "Grammar notes on Siraya, an extinct Formosan language". Oceanic Linguistics (University of Hawai'i Press) 36 (2): 362–397. doi:10.2307/3622990. JSTOR 3622990.
  9. ↑ The exact phonemic value of "nḡ," as it appears in Siraya language documents, is unknown.
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