Yami language

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

Yami
ciciring no Tao
Native toTaiwan
EthnicityYami
Native speakers
3,800 (2006)[1]
Austronesian
Language codes
ISO 639-3tao
Glottologyami1254[2]
Linguasphere31-CAA-a
Yami
Orchid Island in Taiwan
Yami
Yami (Southeast Asia)
Coordinates: 22°03′N 121°32′E

Yami is known as ciriciring no Tao 'human speech' by its native speakers.[1]

Classification

Yami and the other Batanic languages

Yami is the only native language of Taiwanese aborigines that is not a member of the Formosan grouping of Austronesian; it is one of the Batanic languages found in the northern Philippines.

Phonology

Yami has 20 consonants and 4 vowels:[3]

Vowels

/a, ə, i, o/

Iraralay Yami, spoken on the north coast, distinguishes between geminative consonants (e.g., opa 'thigh' vs. oppa 'hen' form one such minimal pair).[4]

Consonants

Bilabial Labiodental Alveolar Palato-alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Stop voiceless p t k ʔ
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative v ʂ h
Affricate voiceless t͡ʃ
voiced d͡ʒ
Approximant l ɻ j w
Trill r

Grammar

Pronouns

The following set of pronouns are the pronouns found in the Yami language.[5]

  Nominative free Nominative bound Genitive free Genitive bound Locative
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 of Yami verbal inflections is from Rau (2006: 135).

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 list of Yami affixes is from Rau & Dong (2006: 135-136).

  • 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.
Persontaotao (Tagalog), tawo (Cebuano Vis.)
Motherinaina
Fatheramaama
Headooulo
Yesnohonoho (opo)
Friendkagagankaibigan
whosinosino, sin-o (Hiligaynon Vis.), hin-o (Waray Vis.)
theysirasila (Tagalog), sira/hira (Waray Vis.)
theirniranila
offspringanakanak
I (pronoun)koko, -ko (Ilokano)
youkaka, -ka (Ilokano)
dayarawaraw, aldaw (Ilokano), adlaw (Cebuano Vis.)
eatkanenkain, kanen (Ilokano), kaon (all Visayan)
drinkinomeninumin, inomen (Ilokano)
speechciriciringchirichirin (Itbayaten Ivatan), siling (Hiligaynon Vis., say), siring (Waray Vis., say)
andakasaka
ouchAnanayAray, Agay (Cebuano Vis.), Annay (Ilokano)
homevahaybahay, balay (Ilokano, Cebuano Vis.)
pigviikbiik (Tagalog, piglet)
goatkadlingkambing, kanding (Cebuano Vis.), kalding (Ilokano)
stonevatobato (Tagalog, all Visayan, etc.)
towniliili (Ilokano)
oneásaisa (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), maysa (Ilokano), usa (Cebuano Vis.)
twodóa (raroa)dalawa (Tagalog), duha (Cebuano), dua (Ilokano)
threetílotatlo, tulo/tuto (Cebuano Vis.), tallo (Ilokano)
fourápatapat (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), upat (Cebuano Vis.), uppat (Ilokano)
fivelímalima
sixánemanim (Tagalog), innem (Ilokano), unom (Cebuano Vis.), anum (Hiligaynon Vis.)
sevenpítopito
eightwáowalo
ninesíamsiyam, siam (Ilokano)
tenpóosampu (Tagalog), sangapulo (Ilokano), napulo (all Visayan)

Japanese loanwords

English Yami Japanese
Airplanesikokihikouki (飛行機)
Alcoholsakisake ()
Battleshipgengkanggunkan (軍艦)
Bibleseysioseisho (聖書)
ChristKizistokirisuto (キリスト)
Doctorkoysango-isha-san? (お医者さん)
Flashlightdingkidenki (電気)
Holy Spiritseyziseirei (聖霊)
Keykagikagi ()
Medicinekosozikusuri ()
Monkeysazosaru ()
Motorcycleotobayōtobai (オートバイ; auto bike)
Policekisatkeisatsu (警察)
Schoolgakogakkō (学校)
School bagkabangkaban ()
Teachersinsisensei (先生)
Ticketkipokippu (切符)
Trucktozakotorakku (トラック; truck)

Chinese loanwords

English Yami Mandarin Chinese
Winepotaw ciopútáojiǔ (葡萄酒)

See also

Notes

  1. Rau & Dong 2006, p. 79
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Yami". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. Rau & Dong 2006, pp. 79-80
  4. Rau & Dong 2006, p. 81
  5. "A grammar of Yami" (PDF): 123. Retrieved 8 June 2020. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

References

  • Rau, D. Victoria; Dong, Maa-Neu (2006). Yami Texts with Reference Grammar and Dictionary (PDF). Taipei: Academia Sinica.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Rau, D. Victoria, Maa-Neu Dong and Ann Hui-Huan Chang with Daniel E. Rau and Gerald A. Rau, Yami (Tao) Dictionary (達悟語詞典) , National Taiwan University Press , 25 June 2012 (in Chinese and English) ISBN 978-986-03-2519-5

Further reading

  • Lai, Li-Fang; Gooden, Shelome (2016). "Acoustic cues to prosodic boundaries in Yami: A first look". Proceedings of Speech Prosody 8, May 31-June 3, Boston, USA.
  • Lai, Li-Fang; Gooden, Shelome (2015). "What does the question sound like: Exploring wh-and yes/no interrogative prosody in Yami". ICPhS.
  • Lai, Li-Fang; Gooden, Shelome (2018). "Tonal hybridization in Yami-Mandarin contact". Proceedings of the 6th Tonal Aspects of Languages. pp. 1–5.
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