Sakizaya is a
Formosan language closely related to
Amis. One of the large family of Austronesian languages, it is spoken by the
Sakizaya people
The Sakizaya (native name: Sakuzaya, literally "real man"; ; occasionally Sakiraya or Sakidaya) are Taiwanese indigenous peoples with a population of approximately 1,000. They primarily live in Hualien (formerly known as ''Kiray''), where their ...
, who are concentrated on the eastern Pacific coast of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Since 2007 they have been recognized by the Taiwan government as one of the sixteen distinct indigenous groups on the island.
History
After the of 1878, the
Sakizaya people
The Sakizaya (native name: Sakuzaya, literally "real man"; ; occasionally Sakiraya or Sakidaya) are Taiwanese indigenous peoples with a population of approximately 1,000. They primarily live in Hualien (formerly known as ''Kiray''), where their ...
hid among the Nataoran Amis. Scholars thus mistakenly categorised the Sakizaya language as a dialect of
Amis.
In 2002, the Center of Aboriginal Studies of
National Chengchi University
National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University".
The u ...
in Taiwan corrected this error when they edited the indigenous language textbooks. That year, the Sakizaya language was designated both as a Chilai and Amis sublanguage. Both are included in the family of Austronesian languages. On 17 January 2007, the Sakizaya community became the thirteenth distinct indigenous ethnic group recognised by the Taiwanese government.
A total of 985 people are registered as Sakizaya. They live primarily in the Takubuwan, Sakur, Maifor and Kaluluwan communities. Thousands of other Sakizaya are still registered as Amis, based on historic classifications. Around half of Amis politicians in
Hualien City
Hualien City (; Wade-Giles: Hua¹-lien² Shih⁴; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Hoa-lian-chhī'' or ''Hoa-liân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the ...
, the biggest city in the Amis area, are said to be ethnic Sakizaya.
Phonology
Consonants
*/ɡ/ may also occur, but is rare.
*Sounds /ʡ/ and /h/ may also be heard as
and
�in free variation.
*/ts, s, z/ are palatalized as
ɕ, ɕ, ʑwhen preceding front sounds /i, j/.
*/b/ may also be heard interchangeably as
among speakers.
*/l/ may also be heard as
when in word-final position. /d/ may also be heard as
in intervocalic position.
[Shen, Wen-chi (沈文琦), (2018)]
Vowels
See also
*
Sakizaya people
The Sakizaya (native name: Sakuzaya, literally "real man"; ; occasionally Sakiraya or Sakidaya) are Taiwanese indigenous peoples with a population of approximately 1,000. They primarily live in Hualien (formerly known as ''Kiray''), where their ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
Yuánzhùmínzú yǔyán xiànshàng cídiǎn 原住民族語言線上詞典 – Sakizaya search page at the "Aboriginal language online dictionary" website of the Indigenous Languages Research and Development Foundation
Sakizaya teaching and leaning materials published by the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan
Sakizaya translation of President Tsai Ing-wen's 2016 apology to indigenous people– published on the website of the presidential office
{{languages of Taiwan
Formosan languages
Languages of Taiwan
Endangered Austronesian languages