| Yami | |
|---|---|
| ciciring no Tao | |
| Native to | Taiwan |
| Ethnicity | Tao |
Native speakers | about 4000 (2012)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tao |
| Glottolog | yami1254 |
| ELP | Tao |
| Linguasphere | 31-CAA-a |
Yami language is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Orchid Island in Taiwan | |
| Coordinates: 22°03′N 121°32′E / 22.050°N 121.533°ECoordinates: 22°03′N 121°32′E / 22.050°N 121.533°E | |
Yami language (Chinese: 雅美語), also known as Tao language (Chinese: 達悟語), is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Tao people of Orchid Island, 46 kilometers southeast of Taiwan. It is a member of the Ivatan dialect continuum.
Yami is known as ciriciring no Tao 'human speech' by its native speakers. Native speakers prefer the 'Tao' name.[1]
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 also found in the northern Philippines, and as such is part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian.
Yami has 20 consonants and 4 vowels:[2]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ||
| Mid | ə | o | |
| Open | a |
Iraralay Yami, spoken on the north coast, distinguishes between geminative consonants (e.g., opa 'thigh' vs. oppa 'hen' form one such minimal pair).[3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Retroflex | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k | (q) | ʔ | |
| voiced | b | d͡ʒ | ɖ | ɡ | ||||
| Fricative | v | ʂ | ʁ | (ɦ) | ||||
| Approximant | l | j | ɻ | w | ||||
| Trill | r | |||||||
The following set of pronouns is found in the Yami language.[4]
| Nominative | Genitive | Locative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| free | bound | free | bound | ||
| 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 |
The following list are verbal inflections found in Yami.[5]
The following is a list of affixes found in Yami.[6]
| English | Yami | Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan, etc. |
|---|---|---|
| Person | tao | tao (Tagalog), tawo (Cebuano Vis., Bicol) |
| Mother | ina | ina (Tagalog)[7] |
| Father | ama | ama (Tagalog), ama (Ilokano)[8] |
| Head | oo | ulo (Tagalog), ulu (Cebuano), olo (Ilokano)[9] |
| Yes | nohon | oho (Pandan Bikol, Bikol Sentral) |
| Friend | kagagan | kaibigan[what language is this?] |
| who | sino | sino, sin-o (Hiligaynon Vis.), hin-o (Waray Vis.) |
| they | sira | sila (Tagalog), sira/hira (Waray Vis.) |
| their | nira | nila[what language is this?] |
| offspring | anak | anak (Cebuano Vis.), anak (Hiligaynon Vis.), anak (Ilokano), anak (Tagalog) |
| I (pronoun) | ko | ko, -ko (Ilokano) |
| you | ka | ka, -ka (Ilokano) |
| day | araw | araw, aldaw (Ilokano), adlaw (Cebuano Vis.) |
| eat | kanen | kain, kanen (Ilokano), kaon (all Visayan) |
| drink | inomen | inumin, inomen (Ilokano) |
| speech | ciriciring | chirichirin[what language is this?] (Itbayaten Ivatan), siling (Hiligaynon Vis., 'say'), siring (Waray Vis., 'say') |
| and | aka | saka (Bikol Sentral, Calabanga variant) (historically "saka asin") |
| ouch | Ananay | Aray, Agay (Cebuano Vis.), Annay (Ilokano) |
| home | vahay | bahay, balay (Ilokano, Cebuano Vis.) |
| piglet | viik | biik (Tagalog) |
| goat | kadling | kambing, kanding (Cebuano Vis.), kalding (Ilokano) |
| stone | vato | bato (Tagalog, all Visayan, etc.) |
| town | ili | ili (Ilokano) |
| one | ása | isa (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), maysa (Ilokano), usa (Cebuano Vis.) |
| two | dóa (raroa) | dalawa (Tagalog), duha (Cebuano), dua (Ilokano) |
| three | tílo | tatlo, tulo/tuto (Cebuano Vis.), tallo (Ilokano) |
| four | ápat | apat (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), upat (Cebuano Vis.), uppat (Ilokano) |
| five | líma | lima (Cebuano Vis.), lima (Hiligaynon Vis.), lima (Ilokano), lima (Tagalog)[10] |
| six | ánem | anim (Tagalog), innem (Ilokano), unom (Cebuano Vis.), anum (Hiligaynon Vis.) |
| seven | píto | pito[what language is this?] |
| eight | wáo | walo[what language is this?] |
| nine | síam | siyam, siam (Ilokano) |
| ten | póo | sampu (Tagalog), sangapulo (Ilokano), napulo[what language is this?] (all Visayan) |
| 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) |
| Monkey | sazo | saru (猿) |
| Motorcycle | otobay | ōtobai (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') |
| English | Yami | Mandarin Chinese |
|---|---|---|
| Wine | potaw cio | pútáojiǔ (葡萄酒) |
