Atayalic languages

Atayalic
Geographic distribution:	Northern Taiwan
Linguistic classification:	Austronesian Northern Formosan? Atayalic
Glottolog:	atay1246

The Atayalic languages are a group of Formosan languages spoken in northern Taiwan. Robert Blust considers them to form a primary branch within the Austronesian language family, However, Paul Jen-kuei Li groups them into the Northern Formosan branch, which includes the Northwestern Formosan languages.

Classification

Atayal people resides in central and northern Taiwan, along the Hsuehshan mountains. The image depicts two major dialect groups of Atayal language.

Li (1981) and Li (1982) classify the Atayalic languages and dialects as follows:

• Atayalic
  • Atayal Proper
    • Squliq Atayal
      • Squliq
      • Maspaziʔ
      • Pyanan
      • Lmuan
      • Habun Bazinuq
      • Syanuh
      • Kulu
      • ŋŋupa
      • Haga-Paris
      • Kubaboo
      • Rghayuŋ
    • C'uli' Atayal (also known as Ts'ole' Atayal)
      • Skikun, Mnibuʔ
      • Mnawyan
      • Mayrinax (includes female and male registers)
      • Mabatuʔan
      • Matabalay
      • Sakuxan
      • Palŋawan
      • Mkgugut
      • Pyahaw
      • Ryuhiŋ
      • Mtlaŋan
      • Knŋyan
  • Seediq
    • Toŋan
    • Toda
    • Truwan
    • Inago

Reconstruction

The Proto-Atayalic language was reconstructed by Taiwanese linguist Paul Jen-kuei Li in 1981. Proto-Atayalic had final voiced stops, which are preserved in the Mayrinax dialect of Cʔuliʔ Atayal. These voiced stops include *-b, *-d, *-g, and *-g'. However, they are now lost in many dialects of Atayal, Seediq, and also Pazeh (Blust 2009:615).

References

General references

• Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 1981. "Reconstruction of Proto-Atayalic Phonology." In Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 2004. Selected Papers on Formosan Languages. Taipei, Taiwan: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.