East Formosan Languages - Sirayaic Languages

Sirayaic Languages

The Sirayaic languages are:

• Siraya — spoken in the coastal area of Tainan Plain.
• Taivuan — spoken mostly in the inland of Tainan Plain to the north (just west of Southern Tsouic territories).
• Makatau — spoken in Kaohsiung and Pingtung Prefectures to the south (just west of Paiwan territories).

Paul Jen-kuei Li (2009) attempted a classification of the three Sirayaic languages Siraya, Taivuan, and Makatau.

However, Li (2009) found that there were two conflicting trees.

1. Tree based on the number of phonological innovations

• Sirayaic
  • Taivuan
  • Siraya–Makatau
    • Siraya
    • Makatau

2. Tree based on the relative chronology of sound changes

• Sirayaic
  • Siraya
  • Taivuan–Makatau
    • Taivuan
    • Makatau

Li (2009) considers the second tree (the one containing the Taivuan–Makatau group) to be the somewhat more likely one.