Yami language

The Yami language (), also known as Tao (), 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 'human speech' by its native speakers. Some native speakers prefer the "Tao" name.

Classification

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 FrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen

can be heard as after labial stop consonants.

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

Consonants +Yami consonantsLabialAlveolarPalatalRetroflexVelarUvularGlottalNasalPlosive/AffricatevoicelessvoicedFricativeApproximantTrill

can also be heard as sounds when between vowel intervocalically. Sounds can be heard as sounds before .

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

+Yami pronouns Nominative Genitive Locative free bound free bound1st person singular2nd person singular3rd person singular1st person plural inclusive, , 1st person plural exclusive2nd person plural, 3rd person plural

Verbs The following list are verbal inflections found in Yami.

Dynamic intransitive (subjunctive: )

Stative (subjunctive: ) (subjunctive: )

Dynamic

(subjunctive: ) (subjunctive: ) (subjunctive: )

Transitive (subjunctive: ) (subjunctive: ) (subjunctive: )

Stative functioning as transitive (subjunctive: ) (subjunctive: )

Affixes The following is a list of affixes found in Yami.

'fellows such and such who share the same features or fate' 'even more so' 'feel such and such because...' 'ordinal number' 'multiple number' 'negation or emphatic' 'company, as ... as, abstract noun' 'and then, just now, only' 'stative verb prefix reappearing in forming transitive verbs' (reduplicated root) 'very' (reduplicated root) 'animals named after certain features' 'common noun' 'love to do such and such' 'pretend to be such and such' 'do such and such as an occupation' 'kinship relationships in a group of two or three' 'all, gradually, one by one' 'taste or look like...' 'getting more and more...' 'even more...' 'causative verb affixes' 'perfective' 'superlative' 'past' 'future (remote)' - 'present' 'future (proximal)' 'direction' 'very, too' (reduplicated root) 'amount allocated to each unit

Vocabulary

Cognates with Philippine languages EnglishYamiTagalog/Ilokano/Visayan, etc.Person (Tagalog), (Cebuano Vis., Bikol)Mother (Tagalog)Father (Tagalog), (Ilokano)Head (Tagalog), (Cebuano), (Ilokano)Yesoho (Pandan Bikol, Bikol Sentral)Friendkaibigan (Tagalog)who, (Hiligaynon Vis.), (Waray Vis.)they (Tagalog), (Waray Vis.)theirnila (Tagalog)offspring (Cebuano Vis.), (Hiligaynon Vis.), (Ilokano), (Tagalog)I (pronoun), (Ilokano)you, (Ilokano)day, (Ilokano, Bikol), (Cebuano Vis.)eat, (Ilokano), kaon (all Visayan)drink, (Ilokano)speechchirichirin (Itbayaten Ivatan), (Hiligaynon Vis., 'say'), (Waray Vis., 'say')andsaka (Bikol Sentral) (historically "saka asin")ouch, (Cebuano Vis.), (Ilokano)home, (Ilokano, Cebuano Vis.)piglet (Tagalog)goat, (Cebuano Vis.), (Ilokano)stone (Tagalog, all Visayan, etc.)town (Ilokano)one (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), (Ilokano), (Cebuano Vis.)two () (Tagalog), (Cebuano), (Ilokano), (Bikol)three , (Cebuano Vis.), (Ilokano)four (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), (Cebuano Vis.), (Ilokano)five (Cebuano Vis.), (Hiligaynon Vis.), (Ilokano), (Tagalog)six (Tagalog), (Ilokano), (Cebuano Vis.), (Hiligaynon Vis.)sevenpito (Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan)eightwalo (Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan)nine (Tagalog/Bikol/Visayan), (Ilokano) ten (Tagalog), (Ilokano), napulo (all Visayan)

Japanese loanwords EnglishYamiJapaneseAirplane (飛行機)Alcohol (酒)Battleship (軍艦)Bible (聖書)Christ (キリスト)Doctor (お医者さん)?Flashlight (電気)Holy Spirit (聖霊)Key (鍵)Medicine (薬)Monkey (猿)Motorcycle (オートバイ; 'auto bike')Police (警察)School (学校)School bag (鞄)Teacher (先生)Ticket (切符)Truck (トラック; 'truck')

Chinese loanwords EnglishYamiMandarin ChineseWine (葡萄酒)Volunteer (義工)

See also Languages of Taiwan Taiwanese aborigines Tao people Batanic languages Ivatan language

References

Sources

Yami language

Bron en licentie