Yami language

Yami
Cizicizing No Tao
Native to	Taiwan
Ethnicity	Yami
Native speakers	3,800 (2006)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian (Philippine?) Batanic Yami–Itbayat Yami
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tao
Glottolog	yami1254
Linguasphere	31-CAA-a

Yami (Chinese: 雅美), also known as Tao (Chinese: 達悟語), is Malayo-Polynesian language. It is a member of the Ivatan dialect continuum spoken by the Yami people of Taiwan. It is spoken on Orchid Island, 46 kilometers southeast of the main island of Taiwan. Yami is known as ciriciring no Tao, or "human speech," by its native speakers.

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:

Consonants (in Yami script)

• Stops: ⟨p, b, t, d, k, g, '⟩
• Fricatives: ⟨v, s, h⟩ (⟨s⟩ is retroflex)
• Nasals: ⟨m, n, ng⟩
• Liquids: ⟨l, r⟩
• Affricates: ⟨c, j⟩ (palatal affricates)
• Trills: ⟨z⟩ (alveolar trill)
• Glides: ⟨w, y⟩

Vowels

• ⟨a, e, i, o⟩ (e is a mid-central vowel)

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

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 (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	Filipino/Ilokano/Tagalog, etc.
Person	tao	tao
Mother	ina	ina
Father	ama	ama
Head	oo	ulo
Yes	nohon	oho (opo)
Friend	kagagan	kaibigan
who	sino	sino
they	sira	sila
their	nira	nila
offspring	anak	anak
I (pronoun)	ko	ko, -ko (Ilokano)
you	ka	ka, -ka (Ilokano)
day	araw	araw, aldaw (Ilokano)
eat	kanen	kain, kanen (Ilokano)
drink	inomen	inumin, inomen (Ilokano)
speech	ciriciring	chirichirin (Ivatan, itbayaten), siling (Hiligaynon, say), siring (Waray-waray, say)
and	aka	saka
ouch	Ananay	Aray, Araray (Cebuano), Annay (Ilokano)
home	vahay	bahay, balay (Ilokano, Cebuano)
pig	viik	biik (piglet)
goat	kadling	kambing, kanding (Cebuano), kalding (Ilokano)
stone	vato	bato
one	ása	isa, maysa (Ilokano)
two	dóa (raroa)	dalawa, duha (Cebuano), dua (Ilokano)
three	tílo	tatlo, tulo (Cebuano), tallo (Ilokano)
four	ápat	apat, upat (Cebuano), uppat (Ilokano)
five	líma	lima
six	ánem	anim, innem (Ilokano), unom (Cebuano)
seven	píto	pito
eight	wáo	walo
nine	síam	siyam, siam (Ilokano)
ten	póo	sampu, sangapulo (Ilokano)

Japanese loanwords

English	Yami	Japanese
Airplane	sikoki	hikouki (飛行機)
Alcohol	saki	sake (酒)
Battleship	gengkang	gunkan (軍艦)
Bible	seysio	seisho (聖書)
Christ	Kizisto	kirisuto (キリスト)
Doctor	koysang	o-isha-san? (お医者さん)
Flashlight	dingki	denki (電気)
Holy Spirit	seyzi	seirei (聖霊)
Key	kagi	kagi (鍵)
Medicine	kosozi	kusuri (薬)
Motorcycle	otobay	ootobai (オートバイ; auto bike)
Police	kisat	keisatsu (警察)
School	gako	gakkō (学校)
School bag	kabang	kaban (鞄)
Teacher	sinsi	sensei (先生)
Ticket	kipo	kippu (切符)
Truck	tozako	torakku (トラック; truck)

Chinese loanwords

English	Yami	Mandarin Chinese
Wine	potaw cio	pútáojǐu (葡萄酒)

See also

• Languages of Taiwan
• Taiwanese aborigines
• Tao people
• Batanic languages
• Ivatan language

References

• Rau, D. Victoria, and Maa-Neu Dong. 2006. Yami texts with reference grammar and dictionary. Taipei: Academia Sinica.
• 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) [1] [2], National Taiwan University Press [3], June 25, 2012 (Chinese) (English) ISBN 978-986-03-2519-5

External links

• Yami wordlists at the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: language.psy.auckland.ac.nz/austronesian/language.php?id=254, language.psy.auckland.ac.nz/austronesian/language.php?id=335
• Online Yami language course, Providence University, Taiwan
• Yami Language Documentation Project Website