| Siraya | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in | Taiwan | |
| Region | Southwestern, around present-day Tainan, from Peimen to Hengchun to Tapu. | |
| Coordinates | 22°58′N 120°18′E / 22.967°N 120.3°E | |
| Total speakers | (prev. extinct; revitalization movement) | |
| Language family | Austronesian
|
|
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | – | |
| ISO 639-3 | fos | |
Siraya is a Formosan language spoken until the end of the 19th century by the indigenous Siraya people of Taiwan. Taivoa and Makatao were dialects.
Several modern day Siraya communities in Taiwan have been involved in a Sirayan cultural and language revitalization movement for more than a decade. Through linguistic research and language teaching, the natives are 'awaking' their mother tongue that has been 'dormant' for a century. Today a group of Siraya children in the Shinhua township particularly in Kou-pei and Chiou Chen Lin area are able to speak and sing in the Siraya language.[1]
Contents |
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, Gravius 1661)[2] and a catechism in Siraya (288 pages of Siraya and Dutch text, Gravius 1662)[3] were published, and have been subsequently republished.[4] 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. The last records were lists of words made in the early 19th century.
The Tainan Ping-pu Siraya Association is compiling the first modern-day Siraya glossary. Publication is scheduled for November 2008.
See also
- Daniel Gravius - Siraya language scholar
Numerals
Siraya has a base ten numeral system with the following forms:[4]
| 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 |
References
- ^ Musu hapa Siraya (Chinese)
- ^ Gravius, Daniel (1661). Het heylige Euangelium Matthei en Johannis. Ofte Hagnau ka d'llig matiktik ka na sasoulat ti Mattheus ti Johannes appa. Amsterdam: Michiel Hartogh.
- ^ Gravius, Daniel (1661). Patar ki tna-'msing-an ki Christang ofte. 't Formulier des Christendoms.. Amsterdam: Michiel Hartogh.
- ^ a b Adelaar, K.A. (1997). "Grammar notes on Siraya, an extinct Formosan language". Oceanic Linguistics 36 (2): 362–397. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3622990.
External sources
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