Saaroa language
Encyclopedia
Saaroa is a Southern Tsouic language is spoken by the Saaroa, a tribe of indigenous people on Taiwan
(see Taiwanese aborigines
). It is a Formosan language of the Austronesian
family.
is becoming the main language of the Saaroa people, and many of the elders in the tribe speak Taiwanese. The shift to the Bunun language occurred when the Bunun tribe migrated into the area inhabited by the Saaroa people.
Saaroa has heavily borrowed from Mantauran Rukai
, since the Saaraa and Rukai peoples are geographically adjacent to each other.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
(see Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
). It is a Formosan language of the Austronesian
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
family.
Language evolution
In 1990, Saaroa was nearly extinct. Few children speak the language. The Bunun languageBunun language
The Bunun language is spoken by the Bunun people of Taiwan. It is one of the Formosan languages, a geographic group of Austronesian languages, and is subdivided in five dialects: Isbukun, Takbunuaz, Takivatan, Takibaka and Takituduh. Isbukun, the dominant dialect, is mainly spoken in the south of...
is becoming the main language of the Saaroa people, and many of the elders in the tribe speak Taiwanese. The shift to the Bunun language occurred when the Bunun tribe migrated into the area inhabited by the Saaroa people.
Saaroa has heavily borrowed from Mantauran Rukai
Rukai language
Rukai is the mother tongue of the Rukai, one indigenous people of Taiwan . It is a divergent Formosan language of the Austronesian languages language family. There are some 10,000 speakers, some monolingual. There are several dialects, of which Mantauran, Tona, and Maga are divergent.Rukai is...
, since the Saaraa and Rukai peoples are geographically adjacent to each other.