Siraya is a Formosan language spoken until the end of the 19th century by the indigenous Siraya people of Taiwan, derived from Proto-Siraya. Some scholars believe Taivoan and Makatao are two dialects of Siraya, but now more evidence shows that they should be classified as separate languages.
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, Siraya people are learning their ancestors' language, that has been dormant for a century. Today a group of Siraya children in Sinhua District of Tainan particularly in Kou-pei and Chiou Chen Lin area are able to speak and sing in the Siraya language.Musu hapa Siraya
Dialects The Siraya language was previously thought to include three dialects:
Siraya proper — spoken in the coastal area of Tainan Plain. Taivoan — spoken mostly in the inland of Tainan Plain to the north (just west of Southern Tsouic territories). Makatao — spoken in Kaohsiung and Pingtung Prefectures to the south (just west of Paiwan territories).
However, more and more evidences have shown that Siraya, Taivoan, and Makatao are three different languages, rather than three dialects, forming the Sirayaic languages.
Documentary evidence In "De Dagregisters van het Kasteel Zeelandia" written by the Dutch colonizers during 1629–1662, it was clearly said that when the Dutch people would like to speak to the chieftain of Cannacannavo (Kanakanavu), they needed to translate from Dutch to Sinckan (Siraya), from Sinckan to Tarroequan (possibly a Paiwan or Rukai language), from Tarroequan to Taivoan, and from Taivoan to Cannacannavo."...... in Cannacannavo: Aloelavaos tot welcken de vertolckinge in Sinccans, Tarrocquans en Tevorangs geschiede, weder voor een jaer aengenomen" — "De Dagregisters van het Kasteel Zeelandia", pp.6–8
Linguistic evidence A comparison of numerals of Siraya, Taivoan (Tevorangh dialect), and Makatao (Kanapo dialect) with Proto-Austronesian language show the difference among the three Austronesian languages in southwestern Taiwan in the early 20th century:
PAnSiraya (UM) Based on the Siraya vocabulary found in the Utrecht Manuscript written in the 17th century.Siraya (Gospel) Based on the Siraya vocabulary found in the Gospel of St. Matthew written in the 17th century.Siraya (Kongana) Attested in Siraya's Kongana community in the early 20th century.Taivoan (Tevorangh) Attested among Tevorangh-Taivoan communities, including Siaolin, Alikuan, and Kahsianpoo, in the early 20th century.Makatao (Kanapo) Attested in Makatao's Kanapo community in the early 20th century. 1*asasa-satsaatsasaattsahana-saad2*duSasa-soaruhaduharuhara-ruha3*telutu-turoturuturutuhura-ruma4*Sepatpa-xpatxpattapatpahaʔra-sipat5*limari-rimarimatu-rimahimara-lima6*enemni-namnomtu-numlomra-hurum7*pitupi-pitopitupitukitora-pito8*walukuxipatkuixpapipakipara-haru9*Siwamatudamatudakudamatuhara-siwa10*puluqketeangkitianketengkaipienra-kaitian
In 2009, further proved the relationship among the three languages, based on the latest linguistic observations below: +Major differences among the Sirayaic languagesSirayaTaivoanMakataoPA Sound change (1) r Ø~h r < *l Sound change (2) l l n < *N Sound change (3) s r, d r, d < *D, *d Sound change (4) -k--g- ØØ -k----- < *k< *S Morphological change(suffices for future tense) -ali -ah -ani
Based on the discovery, Li attempted two classification trees:
1. Tree based on the number of phonological innovations Sirayaic Taivoan Siraya–Makatao Siraya Makatao
2. Tree based on the relative chronology of sound changes Sirayaic Siraya Taivoan–Makatao Taivoan Makatau
Li (2009) considers the second tree (the one containing the Taivoan–Makatao group) to be the somewhat more likely one.
Lee (2015) regards that, when Siraya was a lingua franca among at least eight indigenous communities in southwestern Taiwan plain, Taivoan people from Tevorangh, who has been proved to have their own language in "De Dagregisters van het Kasteel Zeelandia", might still need the translation service from Wanli, a neighbor community that shared common hunting field and also a militarily alliance with Tevorangh.
Sources
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, published by Daniel Gravius in 1661) and a catechism in Siraya (288 pages of Siraya and Dutch text, published in 1662) were published, and have been subsequently republished.
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 Pe-po Siraya Culture Association published a modern-day Siraya glossary in 2008, authored by Edgar Macapili.i.e.,
A paper published in 2021 reports on a translation of the Gospel of St. John into Siraya by Gravius in 1661. The discovery of this second Siraya text in the Royal Danish Library has greatly enriched modern scholarly understanding of this language.
Phonology The phonological system of Siraya is speculated by Adelaar (1997) to have the following phonemes.
Consonants (18–20 total)
Vowels (7 total) a, ä, i (ĭ), e, ə, u (ŭ), o
Diphthongs (6 total) ay, ey, uy, äw, aw, ow
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 Free Actor orPossessive Topic Oblique 1st person singular ĭau -(m)au -koh ĭau-an plural excl. ĭmi-an -(m)ian, -(m)iän -kame mian-än (mian-an) incl. ĭmĭtta -(m)ĭtta, -(m)eta -kĭtta ĭmittä-n 2nd person singular ĭmhu -(m)uhu, -(m)oho -kow ĭmhu-an plural ĭmumi -(m)umi (-)kamu ĭmumi-än (ĭmumi-an) 3rd person singular teni tĭn teni tĭni-än (tĭni-an) plural ta neini nein neini neini-än (neini-an)
Function words The list of function words below is sourced from Adelaar (1997).
Demonstratives atta, k(a)-atta 'this, these' anna, k(a)-anna 'that, those'
Interrogatives mang 'what?' ti mang 'who?' tu mang 'where' mama mang, mama ki mang, mameymang 'how?' kaumang 'why?'
Negation markers assi (also "aoussi") 'no(t)' ĭnna don't' nĭnno 'nothing' mi-kakua.. . assi ("myhkaqua ... assi") 'never' ĭnnang ("ynnang") 'refuse to, not want to; don't'
Other words ti – personal article ta – topic marker tu – locative marker ki – default relation marker tu ämäx ki – "before" tu lam ki – "together with" ka – coordinating conjunction (links verbal clauses)
Verbs The following list of Siraya verb affixes is from Adelaar (1997).
Affixes ni-: past tense ma-, m-, -m-: actor focus / orientation pa-: undergoer focus / orientation mey- ~ pey-: actor- and undergoer-oriented verbs (used with verbs describing a high degree of physical involvement) mu- ~ (p)u-: actor- and undergoer-oriented verbs (used with verbs describing a movement toward something) ma-: stative intransitive verbs; words with no apparent word-class affiliations (precategorials) paka-: causative pa-: transitive (often with causative result) ka-: expresses feeling, emotion, sensation (undergoer-oriented verbs and deverbal nouns only) -ən, -an: undergoer focus / orientation -a, -ey, -aw: irrealis -(l)ato: possibly a perfective marker
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.
mattäy- / pattäy-: "talking, saying" smaki-: "throwing, casting" sau-: "swearing, making an oath" mu-, pu-: movement into a certain direction mey- / pey-: high degree of physical involvement sa-: movement through a narrow place taw-: downward movement, a movement within a confined space
Numerals Siraya has a base ten numeral system with the following forms:
+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
See also Daniel Gravius – Siraya language scholar Sinckan Manuscripts Taivoan language
Notes
References
Further reading