Tsou language
| Tsou | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Taiwan |
| Region | Alishan |
| Ethnicity | Tsou |
|
Native speakers
|
2,100 (2002) |
|
Austronesian
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | tsou1248 |
(yellow) Tsou
|
|
Tsou is a divergent Austronesian language spoken by the Tsou people of Taiwan. Tsou is a threatened language; however, this status is uncertain. The speakers are located in the west central mountains southeast of Chiayi, Alishan area in Taiwan. The language is not written, so it can only be passed by folk songs and folk tales.
Tsou has traditionally been considered part of a Tsouic branch of Austronesian. However, several recent classifications, such as Chang (2006) and Ross (2009) dispute the Tsouic branch, with Tsou more divergent than the other two languages, Kanakanabu and Saaroa.
The dialectal variation of Tsou is not great. There are four recorded dialects, Tapangu, Tfuea, Duhtu, and Iimcu, of which Tapangu and Tfuea are still spoken. Iimcu is not well described. The grammar of the other three dialects is nearly identical, and phonological variation is marginal: In certain environments, Tapangu /i/ corresponds to Tfuea and Duhtu /z/ or /iz/, and Duhtu had /r/ for Tfuea and Tapangu /j/. (Actually, older speakers were recorded to vary between [r] and [j], but at that point the dialect was moribund.)
The Tsou language is spoken in the following villages (Li 1979, Zeitoun 2005). All of the villages are located in Alishan Township 阿里山鄉, Chiayi County 嘉義縣 except for Mamahavana 久美 (Jiumei), which is located in Hsinyi/Xinyi Township 信義鄉, Nantou County 南投縣. Both the native Tsou names and Chinese names are given.
Tapangu (Tapaŋʉ)
Tfuea (Tfuya)
Duhtu (Luhtu)
Iimucu - extinct
The description of Tsou phonology below is from Wright & Ladefoged (1994).
Tsou has six vowels, /i ɨ u e o ɑ/. Vowel sequences occur, including sequences of like vowels (/ii/ etc.), but these are separate moras rather than long vowels or diphthongs. Vowels, especially back vowels, are centralized when flanked by voiceless alveolar consonants (/t, ts, s/). This may involve a central offglide, so that /o/ is pronounced as a diphthong [öə̯] or [ɵə̯] in this environment.
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