Saisiyat language
| Saisiyat | |
|---|---|
| SaiSiyat | |
| Native to | Taiwan |
| Ethnicity | 7,900 |
Native speakers | 4,750 (2002)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xsy |
| Glottolog | sais1237 |
| ELP | Saisiyat |
 | |
Saisiyat (sometimes spelled Saisiat) is the language of the
Distribution
The language area of Saisiyat is small, situated in the northwest of the country between the Hakka Chinese and Atayal regions in the mountains (Wufeng, Hsinchu; Nanchuang and Shitan, Miaoli).
There are two main dialects: Ta'ai (North Saisiyat) and Tungho (South Saisiyat). Ta'ai is spoken in Hsinchu and Tungho is spoken in Miao-Li.
Usage
Today, one thousand
Orthography
- a - [ä]
- ae - [æ]
- b - [β]
- e - [ə]
- ng - [ŋ]
- oe - [œ]
- s - [s/θ]
- S - [ʃ]
- y - [j]
- z - [z/ð]
- ' - [ʔ]
- aa/aː - [aː]
- ee/eː - [əː]
- ii/iː - [iː][3]
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Dorsal | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n
|
ŋ | |||||||
Plosive
|
p | t |
k | ʔ | ||||||
Fricative
|
s | z | ʃ | h | ||||||
Approximant
|
w | l
|
ɭ | j | ||||||
| Trill | r
|
|||||||||
Orthographic notes:
- /ɭ/ is a retroflex lateral approximant, while /ʃ/ is a palato-alveolar fricative.[4]
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ||
| Close-mid | o | ||
| Mid | ə | ||
| Open-mid | œ | ||
| Open | æ | ä |
Grammar
Syntax
Although it also allows for verb-initial constructions,
Saisiyat's case-marking system distinguishes between personal and common nouns (Hsieh & Huang 2006:93).
| Type of Noun |
Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Possessive | Locative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Ø, hi | hi | ni | 'an-a | 'ini' | kan, kala |
| Common | Ø, ka | ka | noka | 'an noka-a | no | ray |
Pronouns
Saisiyat has an elaborate pronominal system (Hsieh & Huang 2006:93).
| Type of Pronoun |
Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Possessive | Locative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1s. | yako/yao | yakin/'iyakin | ma'an | 'iniman | 'amana'a | kanman |
| 2s. | So'o | 'iso'on | niSo | 'iniSo | 'anso'o'a | kanSo |
| 3s. | sia | hisia | nisia | 'inisia | 'ansiaa | kansia |
| 1p. (incl.) | 'ita | 'inimita | mita' | 'inimita' | 'anmita'a | kan'ita |
| 1p. (excl.) | yami | 'iniya'om | niya'om | 'iniya'om | 'anya'oma | kanyami |
| 2p. | moyo | 'inimon | nimon | 'inimon | 'anmoyoa | kanmoyo |
| 3p. | lasia | hilasia | nasia | 'inilasia | 'anlasiaa | kanlasia |
Verbs
The following are verbal prefixes in Saisiyat (Hsieh & Huang 2006:93).
| Type of Focus | I | II |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Focus (AF) | m-, -om-, ma-, Ø | Ø |
| Patient Focus (PF) | -en | -i |
| Locative Focus (LF) | -an | — |
| Referential Focus (RF) | si-, sik- | -ani |
Saisiyat verbs can be nominalized in the following ways.[6]
| Lexical nominalization | Syntactic nominalization | Temporal/Aspectual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent | ka-ma-V | ka-pa-V | Habitual, Future |
| Patient | ka-V-en, V-in- | ka-V-en, V-in- | Future (for ka-V-en), Perfective (for V-in-) |
| Location | ka-V-an | ka-V-an | Future |
| Instrument | ka-V, Ca-V (reduplication) | ka-V, Ca-V (reduplication) | Future |
References
Citations
- ^ Saisiyat at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016)
- ^ "Táiwān yuánzhùmín píngpǔ zúqún bǎinián fēnlèi shǐ xìliè dìtú" 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]. blog.xuite.net (in Chinese). 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
- ^ "Saisiyat (SaySiyat)". Omniglot.
- S2CID 144937416.
- ^ Li, Paul Jen-kuei (2004) [1998]. 台灣南島語言 [The Austronesian Languages of Taiwan]. In Li, Paul Jen-kuei (ed.). Selected Papers on Formosan Languages. Taipei, Taiwan: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
- ^ Yeh, Marie Mei-li (n.d.), Nominalization in Saisiyat, Hsinchu, Taiwan: National Hsinchu University of Education
Works cited
- Hsieh, Fuhui; Huang, Xuanfan (2006). "The Pragmatics of Case Marking in Saisiyat". Oceanic Linguistics. 45 (1): 91–109. S2CID 145322522.
- Li, Paul Jen-kuei (1978). "A Comparative Vocabulary of Saisiyat Dialects" (PDF). Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology. 49. Academia Sinica: 133–199.
Further reading
- Yeh, Mei-li 葉美利 (2018). Sàixiàyǔ yǔfǎ gàilùn 賽夏語語法概論 [Introduction to Saisiyat Grammar] (in Chinese). Xinbei Shi: Yuanzhu minzu weiyuanhui. ISBN 978-986-05-5684-1– via alilin.apc.gov.tw.
- Zeitoun, Elizabeth; Chu, Tai-hwa; Lalo a tahesh Kaybaybaw (2015). A Study of Saisiyat Morphology. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-5042-5.
External links
- Yuánzhùmínzú yǔyán xiànshàng cídiǎn 原住民族語言線上詞典 (in Chinese) – Saisiyat search page at the "Aboriginal language online dictionary" website of the Indigenous Languages Research and Development Foundation
- Saisiyat teaching and leaning materials published by the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan (in Chinese)
- Saisiyat translation of President Tsai Ing-wen's 2016 apology to indigenous people – published on the website of the presidential office
