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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Yami Language
The Yami language (Chinese: 雅美語), also known as Tao (Chinese: 達悟語), is a Malayo-Polynesian and Philippine language spoken by the Tao people of Orchid Island, 46 kilometers southeast of Taiwan. It is a member of the Ivatan dialect continuum.

Yami is known as ciriciring no Tao 'human speech' by its native speakers. Native speakers prefer the 'Tao' name.

Classification

Yami and the other Batanic languages

Yami is the only native language of Taiwanese indigenous peoples that is not a member of the Formosan grouping of Austronesian; it is one of the Batanic languages also found in Batanes province of northern Philippines, and as such is part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian.

Phonology

Yami has 20 consonants and 4 vowels:

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i
Mid ə o
Open a
  • /o/ can be heard as [ʊ] after labial stop consonants.

Iraralay Yami, spoken on the north coast, distinguishes between geminative consonants (e.g., opa 'thigh' vs. oppa 'hen' form one such minimal pair).

Consonants

Yami consonants
Labial Alveolar Palatal Retroflex Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate 		voiceless p t t͡ʃ k ʔ
voiced b d͡ʒ ɖ ɡ
Fricative v ʂ ʁ
Approximant l j ɻ w
Trill r
  • /k ʁ/ can also be heard as sounds [q ɦ] when between vowel /a/ intervocalically.
  • Sounds /n l ʂ/ can be heard as sounds [ɲ ɮ ʃ] before /i/.

Grammar

Pronouns

The following set of pronouns is found in the Yami language.

Yami pronouns
Nominative Genitive Locative
free bound free bound
1st person singular yaken ko niaken ko jiaken
2nd person singular imo ka nimo mo jimo
3rd person singular iya ya nia na jia
1st person plural inclusive yaten ta, tamo, takamo niaten ta jiaten
1st person plural exclusive yamen namen niamen namen jiamen
2nd person plural inio kamo, kanio ninio nio jinio
3rd person plural sira sia nira da jira

Verbs

The following list are verbal inflections found in Yami.

Dynamic intransitive
  • -om-/om- (subjunctive: N-)
  • mi-
  • ma-
  • maN-
  • maka-
  • maci-/masi-/macika-/macipa-
Stative
  • ma- (subjunctive: a-)
  • ka- ... -an (subjunctive: ka- ... -i)
Dynamic
  • pi-
  • pa-
  • paN- (subjunctive: maN-)
  • paka- (subjunctive: maka-)
  • paci- (subjunctive: maci-)
Transitive
  • -en (subjunctive: -a)
  • -an (subjunctive: -i)
  • i- (subjunctive: -an)
Stative functioning as transitive
  • ma- (subjunctive: a- ... -a)
  • ka- ... -an (subjunctive: a- ... -a)

Affixes

The following is a list of affixes found in Yami.

  • icia- 'fellows such and such who share the same features or fate'
  • ikeyka- 'even more so'
  • ika- 'feel such and such because...'
  • ika- 'ordinal number'
  • ipi- 'multiple number'
  • ji a- 'negation or emphatic'
  • ka- 'company, as ... as, abstract noun'
  • ka- 'and then, just now, only'
  • ka- 'stative verb prefix reappearing in forming transitive verbs'
  • ka- (reduplicated root) 'very'
  • ka- (reduplicated root) 'animals named after certain features'
  • ka- ... -an 'common noun'
  • ma- ... -en 'love to do such and such'
  • mapaka- 'pretend to be such and such'
  • mapi- 'do such and such as an occupation'
  • mi-/mala- 'kinship relationships in a group of two or three'
  • mika-/mapika-/ipika- 'all, gradually, one by one'
  • mala- 'taste or look like...'
  • mipa- 'getting more and more...'
  • mipipa- 'even more...'
  • mapi-/mapa-/pa- ... -en/ipa- 'causative verb affixes'
  • ni- 'perfective'
  • ni- ... na 'superlative'
  • noka- 'past'
  • noma- 'future (remote)'
  • sicia- 'present'
  • sima- 'future (proximal)'
  • tey- 'direction'
  • tey- 'very, too'
  • tey- (reduplicated root) 'amount allocated to each unit

Vocabulary

Cognates with Philippine languages

English Yami Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan, etc.
Person tao tao (Tagalog), tawo (Cebuano Vis., Bicol)
Mother ina ina (Tagalog)
Father ama ama (Tagalog), ama (Ilokano)
Head oo ulo (Tagalog), ulu (Cebuano), olo (Ilokano)
Yes nohon oho (Pandan Bikol, Bikol Sentral)
Friend kagagan kaibigan (Tagalog)
who sino sino, sin-o (Hiligaynon Vis.), hin-o (Waray Vis.)
they sira sila (Tagalog), sira/hira (Waray Vis.)
their nira nila (Tagalog)
offspring anak anak (Cebuano Vis.), anak (Hiligaynon Vis.), anak (Ilokano), anak (Tagalog)
I (pronoun) ko ko, -ko (Ilokano)
you ka ka, -ka (Ilokano)
day araw araw, aldaw (Ilokano), adlaw (Cebuano Vis.)
eat kanen kain, kanen (Ilokano), kaon (all Visayan)
drink inomen inumin, inomen (Ilokano)
speech ciriciring chirichirin (Itbayaten Ivatan), siling (Hiligaynon Vis., 'say'), siring (Waray Vis., 'say')
and aka saka (Bikol Sentral, Calabanga variant) (historically "saka asin")
ouch Ananay Aray, Agay (Cebuano Vis.), Annay (Ilokano)
home vahay bahay, balay (Ilokano, Cebuano Vis.)
piglet viik biik (Tagalog)
goat kadling kambing, kanding (Cebuano Vis.), kalding (Ilokano)
stone vato bato (Tagalog, all Visayan, etc.)
town ili ili (Ilokano)
one ása isa (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), maysa (Ilokano), usa (Cebuano Vis.)
two dóa (raroa) dalawa (Tagalog), duha (Cebuano), dua (Ilokano)
three tílo tatlo, tulo/tuto (Cebuano Vis.), tallo (Ilokano)
four ápat apat (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), upat (Cebuano Vis.), uppat (Ilokano)
five líma lima (Cebuano Vis.), lima (Hiligaynon Vis.), lima (Ilokano), lima (Tagalog)
six ánem anim (Tagalog), innem (Ilokano), unom (Cebuano Vis.), anum (Hiligaynon Vis.)
seven píto pito (Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan)
eight wáo walo (Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan)
nine síam siyam, siam (Ilokano)
ten póo sampu (Tagalog), sangapulo (Ilokano), napulo (all Visayan)

Japanese loanwords

English Yami Japanese
Airplane sikoki hikouki (飛行機)
Alcohol saki sake (酒)
Battleship gengkang gunkan (軍艦)
Bible seysio seisho (聖書)
Christ Kizisto kirisuto (キリスト)
Doctor koysang o-isha-san? (お医者さん)
Flashlight dingki denki (電気)
Holy Spirit seyzi seirei (聖霊)
Key kagi kagi (鍵)
Medicine kosozi kusuri (薬)
Monkey sazo saru (猿)
Motorcycle otobay ōtobai (オートバイ; 'auto bike')
Police kisat keisatsu (警察)
School gako gakkō (学校)
School bag kabang kaban (鞄)
Teacher sinsi sensei (先生)
Ticket kipo kippu (切符)
Truck tozako torakku (トラック; 'truck')

Chinese loanwords

English Yami Mandarin Chinese
Wine potaw cio pútáojiǔ (葡萄酒)

See also

References

  1. ^ Rau & Dong 2006, p. 79
  2. ^ Rau & Dong 2006, pp. 79–80
  3. ^ Rau & Dong 2006, p. 81
  4. ^ Rau & Dong 2006, p. 123
  5. ^ Rau & Dong 2006, p. 135
  6. ^ Rau & Dong 2006, p. 135–136
  7. ^ "ACD - Austronesian Comparative Dictionary - Cognate Sets - I".
  8. ^ "amax father". ACD. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  9. ^ "quluh head". ACD. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  10. ^ "lima five". ACD. Retrieved 30 December 2022.

Sources

Further reading

Yami language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
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