TaiwanCapital: Taipei
Population: 22.8 millions Oficial Language: Mandarin Chinese Other Languages: Min Nan (Taiwanese), Hakka and Formosan Languages. |
|
satellite map
A satellite map of Taiwan that shows the distribution of mountains on the eastside and lowlands on the westside. Source.
|
The formosan languages
Since Taiwan is considered the origin of all of the Austronesian Languages, The Formosan Languages are considered extremely important.
The Formosan Languages are completely different of the other Sinitic Languages (Mandarin, Min, Hakka) spoken in Taiwan. They belong to the family of Austronesian languages, (formosa means beautiful in Portuguese).
There were about 30 languages in 19th century but only 15 are currently spoken, by a population of 380.000 (1,7% of the island's population). The Formosan Languages are commonly divided into geographical groups, as the languages from the plains or the mountains.
Click here for an interesting presentation (in French) of Formosan Languages by linguist Elizabeth Zeitoun, Academia Sinica.
The Formosan Languages are completely different of the other Sinitic Languages (Mandarin, Min, Hakka) spoken in Taiwan. They belong to the family of Austronesian languages, (formosa means beautiful in Portuguese).
There were about 30 languages in 19th century but only 15 are currently spoken, by a population of 380.000 (1,7% of the island's population). The Formosan Languages are commonly divided into geographical groups, as the languages from the plains or the mountains.
Click here for an interesting presentation (in French) of Formosan Languages by linguist Elizabeth Zeitoun, Academia Sinica.
map of formosan languages
Distrubution of Formosan Languages of Taiwan. Paul Jen-Kuei Li, Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
|
Dispersal of taiwan aborigines
|
