Thao language

Thao
Thao
Sao
Thau a lalawa
Native to	Taiwan
Ethnicity	820 Thao (2020)
Native speakers	4 (2021)
Language family	Austronesian Western Plains Formosan Thao; ;
Dialects	Brawbaw; Shtafari;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ssf
Glottolog	thao1240
ELP	Thao
	Map of Formosan languages
	Thao is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Thao (/θaʊ/ thow; Thao: Thau a lalawa), also known as Sao,^[2] is the nearly extinct language of the Thao people,^[3] an indigenous people of Taiwan from the Sun Moon Lake region in central Taiwan. It is a Formosan language of the Austronesian family;^[4] Barawbaw and Shtafari are dialects.^{[citation needed]}

Name

The name Thao literally means "person", from Proto-Austronesian *Cau. It is therefore cognate with the name of the Tsou.

History

Speaking Thao was criminalised under Japanese rule of Taiwan and later the Kuomintang regime, contributing to its critically endangered status today.^[5]

A Thao-English dictionary by Robert A. Blust was published in 2003 by Academia Sinica's Institute of Linguistics.^[6]

In 2014, there were four L1 speakers and a fluent L2 speaker living in Ita Thaw (伊達邵) village (traditionally called Barawbaw), all but one of whom were over the age of sixty.^{[citation needed]} Two elderly native speakers died in December of that year, including chief Tarma (袁明智), age 75.^{[citation needed]} Four elderly L1 speakers and some semi-speakers were reported in 2021.^[1]

Phonology

Consonants

**Consonant inventory**
	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Post- Alveolar		Velar		Uvular	Glottal
Plosive	p	b			t	d			k		q	ʔ
Fricative	f	(v)	θ	ð	s		ʃ					h
Lateral Fricative					ɬ
Tap or Flap						ɾ
Nasal		m				n				ŋ
Approximant		w				l		j

Orthographic notes:

/θ ð ʃ/ are written ⟨th z sh⟩. However, /θ/ is written ⟨c⟩ in Blust's dictionary.
/ɬ/ is written ⟨lh⟩.
/ŋ/ is written ⟨ng⟩. However, /ŋ/ is written ⟨g⟩ in Blust's dictionary.
/ʔ/ is written ⟨'⟩.

Notes:

The glides /j w/ are derived from the underlying vowels /i u/ to meet the requirements that syllables must have onset consonants and to indicate stress placement accurately.
[v] is an allophone of /w/ occurring intervocalically.

Vowels

**Vowel inventory**
	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
High	(e)		(o)
Low		a

Notes:

Stress is penultimate, otherwise can be written ⟨á í ú⟩ as in "dadú", but doubling ⟨aa ii uu⟩ is also frequently used, as in "daduu".
[e] and [o] occur as allophones of /i/ and /u/, respectively, when preceded or followed either by /q/ or /r/.

Morphology

Thao has two or arguably three patterns of reduplication: Ca-reduplication, full reduplication, and rightward reduplication (which is sometimes considered to be a form of full reduplication).

Thao verbs have the following types of focus (Blust 2003:239).

Actor: -um- (present), ma- (future)
Patient: -in, -in-
Locative: -an

Syntax

Thao word order can be both SVO and VSO, although the former is derived from Taiwanese Hokkien (Blust 2003:228).

The Thao personal marker is "ti" (Blust 2003:228). Negatives include "ani" and "antu"; "ata tu" is used in "don't" constructions. The perfect is marked by "iza", the past by an infix just after the primary onset consonant "-in-" and the future by the prefix "a-". Imperatives are marked by "-í" and softer imperatives or requests roughly translated as "please" by "-uan" sometimes spelled "-wan" which can co-occur with "-í".

Pronouns

The Thao personal pronouns below are from Blust (2003:207). Note that there is only 1 form each for "we (exclusive)," "you (plural)" and "they."

Thao Personal Pronouns
Type of Pronoun	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Agent	Patient
1s.	yaku	yakin	nak^[7]
2s.	ihu	ihu-n	m-ihu^[8]	uhu	uhu-n
3s.	thithu	thithu-n	thithu^[9]
1p. (incl.)	ita	ita-n	m-ita
1p. (excl.)	yamin	yamin	yamin
2p.	maniun	maniun	maniun
3p.	thaythuy	thaythuy	thaythuy

Other pronouns include:

minmihu - for you
panmihu - as for you
panihun - because of you
shanaihun - up to you
shaunatazihun - go to your place
shmunaihun - bring to you
nakin - for me
panyakin - as for me
pashiyakin - leave me
shanayayakin - up to me
shmunayakin - bring me

Affixes

The following affixes are sourced from Blust (2003:92-188) and adjusted to the modern spelling.

a- : only found in /kan/ 'eat'
-ak : '1st person singular (I)'
ak- ... -in : 'morning, noon, evening meals'
an- : uncertain function
-an : Verbal uses can be indicative, imperative, or adversative.
i- : prefix or clitic particle marking location
-i : imperative
-ik : patient focus (1st person singular)
-in- : perfective or completive aspect
-in : patient focus
ish- : found most with intransitive verbs (uncommon prefix)
ka- : 'to make an X', 'two times' (with reduplication)
ka- ... -an : meaning unclear
kal- : 'X told'
kalh- : 'to pile, spread'
kash- : 'intensity, repetition'
kashi- : meaning uncertain
kashi- ... -an : 'pull by the X'
kashun- : derives verbs referring to positions of the human body, or sometimes objects such as boats
kat- : 'gradually become X'
ki- : 'stand, stay'; other possible meanings as well
ki- ... -an : 'be affected with pain in the X'
kilh- : 'search for, seek'
kin- : 'to pick or gather X'
kit- ... -in : 'infested with X'
ku- : 'to perform an action with X' (when used with tools or weapons); less specific in other contexts
kun- : 'sudden or abrupt action', 'to eat the X meal', 'to do X times'; meaning unclear sometimes
la- : usually found in expressions of quantity of degree
lhin- : causative sense
lhun- : swelling-related meanings, etc.
m- : marks the genitive in 'you (2s)' and 'we (incl.)'
ma- : marks stative verbs, occasionally nouns derived from stative verbs
ma- : active verb prefix
ma- : prefix marking the future in actor focus verbs
ma- : 'tens' (used with numbers)
mak- : intransitive verbs
maka- : 'to resemble X' (people), 'produce X' (plant or animal parts), 'from/in/to X' (deictic/directional expressions)
makin- : intransitive verbs; 'Xth from the bottom' (with numerals)
makit- : 'happen gradually', 'perform X gradually'
maku- : directional sense, and is followed by /na/- (though it does not follow not in non-locative expressions)
malhi- : 'give birth to an X'
man- : generally used with dynamic, intransitive verbs
mana- : generally found with directional verbs
mapa- : 'reciprocal', 'collective action'
mash- : 'to speak X' (language), 'walk with an X' (positions or conditions of the leg)
masha- : relates to body positions, or may have a directional meaning
mashi- : comparatives (with stative bases of measurement); often synonymous with /ma/- (stative verb marker)
mat- : derives intransitive or stative verbs
mati- : locative expressions
matin- + full reduplication : 'X-ish' or 'spotted with X' (colors)
mi- : derives intransitive verbs, often with some form of base reduplication
mi- + Ca reduplication : 'do with a group of X'
mya- : used to derive various verbs
min- : derives inchoative verbs (Bunun loan?); 'become an X' or 'become like an X' (with kinship terms)
mu- : most frequently derives verbs of motion; 'go into X; enter X' (with concrete nouns that refer to structures or places capable of being entered); 'search for X' (with names of useful plants); 'do X times' (numeral bases and expressions of quantity)
mun- : intransitive verbs
-n : derives accusative pronouns from nominative bases
na- : most commonly with verbs indicating change of location; 'it's up to X'
pa- : causative of dynamic verbs (verbs with -/um/-); 'make X do Y' or 'let X do Y'; active transitive (or intransitive) verb with no causative argument/sense
pak- : 'exude X' (body fluids, other natural fluids/substances); intransitive verb prefix
pan- : 'perform X in a downward direction'
pan- ... -an : used with terms for lineal consanguines to derive the corresponding collateral terms of the same generation (e.g., 'father' > 'uncle', 'grandparent' > 'grandparental sibling')
pash- ... -an : 'place in which X is kept'
pashi- : generally causative sense (often with Ca-reduplication); 'let X do it' or 'let X have it' (with the accusative forms of personal pronouns)
pashi- ... -an : 'put X on' or 'wear X'
pat- : generally causative sense
pi- : causative verbs of location (can be paired with /i/- 'at, in, on'); may also form non-locative verbs
pya- : forms causative verbs (usually have stative counterparts with /ma/-; note that /pa/- and -/um/- are also counterparts.); simulative verb
pik- : generally causative sense
pin- : generally forms causative verbs or deverbal nouns
pish- : 'play X' (musical instruments); inchoative sense (sometimes with an implied element of suddenness); causative sense
pu- : causative or transitive counterpart of the movement prefix /mu/-, which is intransitive; 'use an X' or 'put in an X' (with names of some tools); 'send out an X' (with names of plant parts)
pu- ... -an : to wear X' (body ornaments)
pun- : 'to catch X' (animals used for food)
qata- : bodily movement, observation, and the like
sha- : directional sense ('facing', etc.)
shan-na-Ca- ... : 'it's up to X' (often with pronouns)
shau- : 'go to X' or 'arrive at X' (with bases that have an inherently locative sense or temporal sense)
shi- : appears to mark past tense (as opposed to the perfective aspect marker -/in/-)
shi- : sometimes appears with commands
shi-X-X : 'X-ish, somewhat X'
shi-X-iz: 'X times'
shu- : 'bring X' or 'take X' (with pronominal and deictic bases)
tana- : generally directional sense (from Bunun /tana/- 'prefix of direction')
tau- : 'to carry X' (with concrete nouns); 'to turn to X' (with bases having a directional meaning)
tish- : forms both transitive and intransitive verbs; often refers to results of non-deliberate actions
tu-Ca- ... : 'the odor of X'
-um- : actor focus infix
un- ... -an : 'undesirable bodily conditions or afflictions'; 'figurative extension of a physical affliction'
-un : equivalent of -/in/ 'patient focus' (borrowed from Bunun)
-wak : 1st person singular actor (apparently distinct from -/ak/)
-wan : 'X's turn (to do something)'
ya- : only comes after /mapa/- 'reciprocal or collective action'
-zan : 'X paces' (used with numerals)

Quasi-affixes

kan 'step, walk'
lhqa 'live, living'
pasaháy 'to use'
qalha 'much, many'
sa (usually almost impossible to translate in most environments)

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Thao at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ Zui (2021-11-20). "Languages of Taiwan — Thao (Thau a lalawa, Sao)". The Language Closet. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ "Did you know Thao is critically endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
^ Chang, M Laura (December 1998). "Thao Reduplication". Oceanic Linguistics. 37 (2): 277–297. doi:10.2307/3623411.
^ Davidson, Helen (2021-06-09). "Healing words: Taiwan's tribes fight to save their disappearing languages". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
^ "Thao language rouses foreign interest". Taiwan Today. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan). 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
^ PAN *ni-ku
^ PAN *ni-Su
^ PAN *ni-a

References

Blust, Robert (2003). Thao Dictionary (PDF). Language and Linguistics, Monograph Series A5. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics (Preparatory Office), Academia Sinica. ISBN 957-01-4785-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2022.
Huang, Meijin 黃美金 (2000). Shàoyǔ cānkǎo yǔfǎ 邵語參考語法 [A Reference Grammar of Thao] (in Chinese). Taibei Shi: Yuanliu. ISBN 957-32-3890-X.
Jian, Shilang 簡史朗 (2018). Shàoyǔ yǔfǎ gàilùn 邵語語法概論 [Introduction to Thao Grammar] (in Chinese). Xinbei Shi: Yuanzhu minzu weiyuanhui. ISBN 978-986-05-5685-8 – via alilin.apc.gov.tw.