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This is a list of major and official Austronesian languages, a language family originating from Taiwan, that is widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia and Madagascar.
List of Austronesian languages. Anus. Indonesian. Fijian. Hawaiian. Javanese. Malay. Māori.
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About 5,000 unaffixed stems have been reconstructed for Proto-Austronesian, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, or Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian. Although the Indo-European languages have a far richer textual tradition, probably no language family excels Austronesian in the richness of vocabulary reconstructed through the comparative method.
The vocabulary of a language reflects the collective experience of its speakers, making reference to both their natural world and their culture. The reconstruction of vocabulary and the identification of loanwords thus can provide insight into the natural environment and culture of prehistoric language communities and the nature of their linguistic contacts.
Reconstructed vocabulary shows clearly that the speakers of Proto-Austronesian had grain crops, including rice and millet; that they lived in settled villages of houses raised on piles; that they practiced weaving on simple back looms; that they domesticated dogs, pigs, and probably chickens; and that they were in contact with the sea and its resources. Familiarity with many tropical food plants can be inferred for speakers of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian. These include the coconut, banana, yam, sugarcane, pandanus, taro, sago, and breadfruit. Of these only sugarcane, pandanus, and wild taros of the genus Alocasia can safely be inferred for Proto-Austronesian, which probably was spoken on both sides of the Tropic of Cancer.
Reconstructions for ‘boat,’ ‘sail,’ and ‘paddle’ can be attributed to Proto-Austronesian, but terminology specific to the outrigger can be assigned only to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, a language that was probably spoken somewhere in the northern Philippines in the period 3500–3000 bce.
About 5,000 unaffixed stems have been reconstructed for Proto-Austronesian, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, or Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian. Although the Indo-European languages have a far richer textual tradition, probably no language family excels Austronesian in the richness of vocabulary reconstructed through the comparative method.
The vocabulary of a language reflects the collective experience of its speakers, making reference to both their natural world and their culture. The reconstruction of vocabulary and the identification of loanwords thus can provide insight into the natural environment and culture of prehistoric language communities and the nature of their linguistic contacts.
Reconstructed vocabulary shows clearly that the speakers of Proto-Austronesian had grain crops, including rice and millet; that they lived in settled villages of houses raised on piles; that they practiced weaving on simple back looms; that they domesticated dogs, pigs, and probably chickens; and that they were in contact with the sea and its resources. Familiarity with many tropical food plants can be inferred for speakers of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian. These include the coconut, banana, yam, sugarcane, pandanus, taro, sago, and breadfruit. Of these only sugarcane, pandanus, and wild taros of the genus Alocasia can safely be inferred for Proto-Austronesian, which probably was spoken on both sides of the Tropic of Cancer.
Reconstructions for ‘boat,’ ‘sail,’ and ‘paddle’ can be attributed to Proto-Austronesian, but terminology specific to the outrigger can be assigned only to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, a language that was probably spoken somewhere in the northern Philippines in the period 3500–3000 bce.
Proto-Western Plains. Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify c. 4000 BCE – c. 3500 BCE in Taiwan.
- c. 4000 BCE – c. 3500 BCE
Robert Andrew Blust The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Austronesian languages - Reconstruction, Change, Diversity: Proto-Austronesian (PAN) probably had a verb–object–subject (VOS) word order. Four PAN affixes are commonly recognized: *Si- marked instrumental focus (abbreviated IF), *-um- actor focus (AF), *-an locative focus (LF ...
This is a revised edition of the 2009 The Austronesian languages, which was published as a paperback in the then Pacific Linguistics series (ISBN 9780858836020). This revision includes typographical corrections, an improved index, and various minor content changes. The release of the open access edition serves to meet the strong ongoing demand ...
Austronesian is the second largest language family on earth in number of languages, and had the widest geographical extent of any language family prior to the modern era. For these reasons it shows great typological diversity in word-formation processes, ranging from extremely elaborate systems of affixation in Philippine-type languages to ...
