Taivoan language

Taivoan or Taivuan, is a Formosan language spoken until the end of the 19th century by the indigenous Taivoan people of Taiwan. Taivoan used to be regarded as a dialect of Siraya, but now more evidence has shown that they should be classified as separate languages.[2] The corpora previously regarded as Siraya like the Gospel of St. Matthew and the Notes on Formulary of Christianity translated into "Siraya" by the Dutch people in the 17th century should be in Taivoan majorly.[3]

Taivoan
Rara ka maka-Taivoan
Pronunciation	[taivu'an]
Native to	Taiwan
Region	Southwestern, around present-day Tainan, Kaohsiung. Also among some migration communities along Huatung Valley.
Ethnicity	Taivoan
Extinct	end of 19th century; revitalization movement
Language family	Austronesian East Formosan Sirayaic Taivoan–Makatao Taivoan
Writing system	Latin (Sinckan Manuscripts), Han characters (traditional)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	map
ISO 639-3	tvx
Glottolog	taiv1237[1]
Linguasphere	30-FAA-bb
(pink) Taivoan
Coordinates: 23°06′N 120°27′E

Since the January 2019 code release, SIL International has recognized Taivoan as an independent language and assigned the code tvx.[4]

Classification

The Taivoan language used to be regarded as a dialect of Siraya. However, more evidences have shown that it belongs to an independent language spoken by the Taivoan people.

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 a Rukai language), from Tarroequan to Taivoan, and from Taivoan to Cannacannavo[5][6].

"...... 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[7][8]:

	PAn	Proto-Siraya	Siraya			Taivoan			Makatao
			UM [note 1]	Gospel [note 2]	Kongana [note 3]	Tevorangh [note 4]	Siaurie [note 5]	Eastern [note 6]	Kanapo [note 7]	Bankim
1	*asa	*saat	sa-sat	saat	sasaat	caha'	sa'a	caca'a	na-saad	saat
2	*duSa	*ðusa	sa-soa	ruha	duha	ruha	zua	raruha	ra-ruha	laluha
3	*telu	*turu	tu-turo	turo	turu	toho	too	tatoo	ra-ruma	taturu
4	*Sepat	*səpat	pa-xpat	xpat	tapat	paha'	sipat, gasipat	tapat	ra-sipat	hapat
5	*lima	*rǐma	ri-rima	rima	tu-rima	hima	rima, urima	tarima	ra-lima	lalima
6	*enem	*nəm	ni-nam	nnum	tu-num	lom	rumu, urumu	tanum	ra-hurum	anum
7	*pitu	*pitu	pi-pito	pito	pitu	kito'	pitoo, upitoo	tyausen	ra-pito	papitu
8	--- *walu	*kuixpa ---	kuxipat ---	kuixpa ---	pipa ---	kipa' ---	--- waru, uwaru	rapako	--- ra-haru	tuda
9	--- *Siwa	*ma-tuda ---	matuda ---	matuda ---	kuda ---	matuha ---	--- hsiya	ravasen	--- ra-siwa	---
10	---	*-ki tian	keteang	kitian	keteng	kaipien	---	kaiten	ra-kaitian	saatitin

In 2009, Li (2009) further proved the relationship among the three languages, based on the latest linguistic observations below:

	PAn	Siraya	Taivoan	Makatao
Sound change (1)	*l	r	Ø~h	r
Sound change (2)	*N	l	l	n
Sound change (3)	*D, *d	s	r, d	r, d
Sound change (4)	*k *S	-k- -g-	Ø Ø	-k- ----
Morphological change (suffices for future tense)		-ali	-ah	-ani

Some examples include:[7][9]

	PAn	Siraya	Taivoan	Makatao
Sound change (1)	*telu	turu	toho	toru	three
	*lima	rima	hima	rima	five, hand
	*zalan	darang	la'an	raran	road
	*Caŋila	tangira	tangiya	tangira	ear
	*bulaN	vural	buan	buran	moon
	*luCuŋ	rutong	utung	roton	monkey
		ruvog	uvok, huvok	ruvok	cooked rice
		karotkot	kau	akuwan	river
		mirung	mi'un'un	mirun	to sit
		meisisang	maiyan	mairang	big
		mururau	mo'owao, mowaowao	-----	to sing
Sound change (2)	*ma-puNi	mapuli	mapuri	mapuni	white
		tawil	tawin	tawin	year
		maliko	maniku	maneku	sleep, lie down
		maling	manung	bimalong	dream
	*qaNiCu	litu	anito	ngitu	ghost
		paila	paila	paina	buy
		ko	kuri, kuli	koni	I
Sound change (3)	*Daya	saya	daya	raya	east
	*DaNum	salom	rarum	ralum	water
	*lahud	raus	raur	ragut, alut	west
		sapal	rapan, hyapan	tikat	leg
		pusux	purux	-----	country
		sa	ra, da	ra, da	and
		kising	kilin	kilin	spoon
		hiso	hiro	-----	if
Sound change (4)	*kaka	kaka	aka	aka	elder siblings
		ligig	li'ih	ni'i	sand
		matagi-vohak	mata'i-vohak	-----	to regret
		akusey	kasay	asey	not have
		Tarokay	Taroay	Tarawey	(personal name)

Based on the discovery, Li attempted two classification trees:[3]

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
    • Makatao

Li (2009) considers the second tree (the one containing the Taivoan–Makatao group) to be the somewhat more likely one.

Criticism against Candidius' famous assertion

Taivoan was considered by some scholars as a dialectal subgroup of the Siraya ever since George Candidius included "Tefurang" in the eight Siraya villages which he claimed all had "the same manners, customs and religion, and speak the same language."[10] However, American linguist Raleigh Ferrell reexaminates the Dutch materials and says "it appear that the Tevorangians were a distinct ethnolinguistic group, differing markedly in both language and culture from the Siraya." Ferrell mentions that, given that Candidius asserted that he was well familiar with the eight supposed Siraya villages including Tevorang, it's extremely doubtful that he ever actually visited the latter: "it is almost certain, in any case, that he had not visited Tevorang when he wrote his famous account in 1628. The first Dutch visit to Tevorang appears to have been in January 1636 [...]"[2]

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[6].

Li noted in his "The Lingue Franche in Taiwan" that, Siraya exerted its influence over neighbouring languages in the southwestern plains in Taiwan, including Taivoan to the east and Makatao to the South in the 17th century, and became lingua franca in the whole area.[11]

Phonology

The following is the phonology of the language:[12]

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i, y /i/		u /u/
Mid	e /e/	e /ə/
Open	a /a/		o /o/

Consonants

	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	p /p/ b /b/	t /t/ d /d/			k /k/ g /g/	' /ʔ/
Fricative	f /f/ v /v/		s /s/ z /z/		x /x/	h /h/
Sibilant				c /t͡s/ ts /t͡sʰ/
Nasal	m /m/		n /n/			ng /ŋ/
Trill				r /r/
Lateral approximant				l /l/
Approximant	w /w/				y /j/

It's likely that there were no /g/, /ts/, and /tsʰ/ in the 17th-19th century Taivoan, although Adelaar claims c preceding i or y be sibilant or affricate[13] and so could be /ts/ or /ʃ/. However, the three sounds appeared after the 20th century, especially in Tevorangh dialect in Siaolin, Alikuan, and Dazhuang, and also in some words in Vogavon dialect in Lakku, for example[14][15]:

• /g/: agang /a'gaŋ (crab), ahagang /aha'gaŋ/ or agaga' /aga'ga?/ (red), gupi /gu'pi/ (Jasminum nervosum Lour.), Anag /a'nag/ (the Taivoan Highest Ancestral Spirit), kogitanta agisen /kogitan'ta agi'sən/ (the Taivoan ceremonial tool to worship the Highest Ancestral Spirits), magun /ma'gun/ (cold), and agicin /agit͡sin/ or agisen /agisən/ (bamboo fishing trap).
• /t͡s/: icikang /it͡si'kaŋ/ (fish), vawciw /vaw't͡siw/ (Hibiscus taiwanensis Hu), cawla /t͡saw'la/ (Lysimachia capillipes Hemsl.), ciwla /t͡siw'la/ (Clausena excavata Burm. f.), and agicin /agit͡sin/ (bamboo fishing trap). The sound also clearly appears in a recording of the typical Taivoan ceremonial song "Kalawahe" sung by Taivoan in Lakku that belongs to Vogavon dialect[16].

The digraph ts recorded in the early 20th century may represent /t͡sʰ/ or /t͡s/:

• /t͡sʰ/ or /t͡s/: matsa (door, gate), tabutsuk (spear), tsakitsak (arrow), matsihaha (to laugh), tsukun (elbow), atsipi (a sole of the foot), tsau (dog). Only one word is attested in Vogavon dialect in Lakku: katsui (pants, trousers)[7].

Some scholar in Formosan languages suggest it's not likely that /t͡sʰ/ and /t͡s/ appear in a Formosan language simultaneously, and therefore ts may well represent /t͡s/ as c does, not /t͡sʰ/.

Stress

It's hard to tell the actual stressing system of Taivoan in the 17th-19th century, as it's been a dormant language for nearly a hundred years. However, since nearly all the existing Taivoan words but the numerals pronounced by the elders fall on the final syllable, there has been a tendency to stress on the final syllable in modern Taivoan for language revitalization and education, compared to modern Siraya that the penultimate syllable is stressed.

Grammar

Pronouns

The Taivoan personal pronouns are listed below with all the words without asterisk being attested in corpora in the 20th century :

Type of Pronoun	Independent	Nominative	Genitive	Oblique
1s	iau	kuri	-ku	iyaw-an
2s	imhu	ko	-ho	imhu-an
3s	*teni	*ta teni	-tin	*tini-an
1p.i	*imita	kita	*-(m)ita	*imita-n
1p.e	*imian	*kame	*-(m)ian	*imian-an
2p	imomi	kamo, kama	*-(m)omi	imomi-an
3p	*naini	*ta naini	-nin	*naini-an

Numerals

Taivoan has a decimal numeral system as following:[7][13]

Taivoan Numerals

1	tsaha'	11	saka
2	ruha	12	bazun
3	toho	13	kuzun
4	paha'	14	langlang
5	hima	15	linta
6	lom	16	takuba
7	kito'	17	kasin
8	kipa'	18	kumsim
9	matuha	19	tabatak
10	kaipien	20	kaitian
Examples of higher numerals
30	tu-tuhu kaipien
60	lo-lom kaipien
99	matuha kaipien ab ki matuha
100	ka'atuxan
4,000	paha' katununan
5,000	hima katununan

Examples

Words and phrases

Taivoan ritual song spelled in Chinese characters in Liuchongxi, Tainan.

Some Taivoan people in remote communities like Siaolin, Alikuan, Laolong, Fangliao, and Dazhuang, especially the elders, still use some Taivoan words nowadays, such as miunun "welcome" (originally "please be seated"), mahanru (in Siaolin, Alikuan), makahanru (in Laolong) "thank you", "goodbye" (originally "beautiful"), tapakua "wait a moment".[14]

Songs

Many Taivoan songs have been recorded and some ceremonial songs like "Kalawahe" and "Taboro" are still been sung during every Night Ceremony annually. Some examples are:

Kalawahe (or "the Song out of the Shrine")[17]

Wa-he. Manie, he mahanru e, he kalawahe, wa-he.

Talaloma e, he talaloma e, he kalawahe, wa-he.

Tamaku e, he tamaku e, he kalawahe, wa-he.

Saviki e, he saviki e, he kalawahe, wa-he.

Rarom he, he rarom he, he kalawahe, wa-he.

Panga (or "the Song of Offerings")

Ho i he, rarom mahanru ho i he, rarom taipanga ho i he.

Ho i he, hahu mahanru ho i he, hahu taipanga ho i he.

Ho i he, hana mahanru ho i he, hana taipanga ho i he.

Ho i he, saviki mahanru ho i he, saviki taipanga ho i he.

Ho i he, iruku mahanru ho i he, tuku taipanga ho i he.

See also

• Taivoan people
• Sinckan Manuscripts

Notes

1. Based on the Siraya vocabulary found in the Utrecht Manuscript written in the 17th century.
2. Based on the Siraya vocabulary found in the Gospel of St. Matthew written in the 17th century.
3. Attested in Siraya's Kongana community in the early 20th century.
4. Attested among Tevorangh-Taivoan communities, including Siaolin, Alikuan, and Kahsianpoo, in the early 20th century.
5. Attested mainly in Suannsamna.
6. Attested mainly in Dazhuang.
7. Attested in Makatao's Kanapo community in the early 20th century.

References

1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Taivoan". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
2. Ferrell, Raleigh (1971). "Aboriginal peoples of the Southwestern Taiwan plains". Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnology. 32: 217–235.
3. Li, Paul Jen-kuei (2009). "Linguistic differences among Siraya, Taivuan, and Makatau". In Adelaar, A; Pawley, A (eds.). Austronesian historical linguistics and culture history : a festschrift for Robert Blust. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 9780858836013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
4. "639 Identifier Documentation: tvx". SIL International. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
5. De dagregisters van het kasteel Zeelandia, Taiwan: 1629-1662. ʼS-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff. 1986.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
6. Lee, Jui-Yuan (2015). From Single to Group: The Formation of Sideia in the 17th Century. Department of History: National Cheng Kung University.
7. Tsuchida, Shigeru; Yamada, Yukihiro; Moriguchi, Tsunekazu (1991). Linguistic Materials of the Formosan Sinicized Populations I: Siraya and Basai. Tokyo: The University of Tokyo Department of Linguistics.
8. Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen (2018-05-12). "The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary, web edition". trussel2.com. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
9. Murakami, Naojirô (1933). "Sinkan Manuscripts", Memoirs of the Faculty of Literature and Politics, Taihoku Imperial University, Vol.2, No.1. Formosa: Taihoku Imperial University.
10. Campbell, William (1903). Formosa under the Dutch: Described from Contemporary Records. London: Kegan Paul. pp. 9.
11. Paul Jen-kuei, Li (2011). Wurm, Stephen A.; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.). "The Lingue Franche in Taiwan". Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. De Gruyter Mouton.
12. Alexander, Adelaar (2014). Phonology and Spelling System Reconstruction. Siraya languages study and revival seminars.
13. Adelaar, Alexander (2011). Siraya. Retrieving the Phonology, Grammar and Lexicon of a Dormant Formosan Language. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. p. 34. ISBN 9783110252958.
14. 種回小林村的記憶 : 大武壠民族植物暨部落傳承400年人文誌 (A 400-Year Memory of Xiaolin Taivoan: Their Botany, Their History, and Their People). Kaohsiung City: 高雄市杉林區日光小林社區發展協會 (Sunrise Xiaolin Community Development Association). 2017. ISBN 978-986-95852-0-0.
15. 張, 振岳 (2010). 大庄平埔西拉雅族文物圖說與民俗植物圖誌 (Illustrations of Cultural Relics and Ethnobotany of Pingpu Siraya in Dazhuang). Hualian: Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau. pp. 8–14. ISBN 978-986-02-5684-0.
16. "高雄縣大武壟群牽戲---Kalawahe(加拉瓦嘿) 六龜興隆潘安然領唱/王樹花答唱". YouTube. 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
17. Taivoan Dance Theatre (2015). 歡喜來牽戲 (Let's Dance a Round Dance). Kaohsiung: Taivoan Dance Theatre.