Basay language
Encyclopedia
Basay was a Formosan language spoken around modern-day Taipei
in northern Taiwan
by the Basay, Qauqaut
, and Trobiawan peoples. Trobiawan, Linaw, and Qauqaut were other dialects (see East Formosan languages
).
Basay data is mostly available from Erin Asai's 1936 field notes, which were collected from an elderly Basay speaker in Shinshe, Taipei
, as well as another one in Yilan
who spoken the Trobiawan dialect (Li 1999). However, the Shinshe informant's speech was heavily influenced by Taiwanese, and the Trobiawan informant, named Ipai, had heavy Kavalan influence in her speech.
Some function words include (Li 1999):
Trobiawan negators include (Li 1999):
Yes-no questions are marked by u ~ nu (Li 1999:657).
s.
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
in northern Taiwan
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...
by the Basay, Qauqaut
Qauqaut people
The Qauqaut are a Taiwanese aboriginal people who live primarily in Su-ao, Yilan. According to Ino Kanori, the Qauqaut people were assimilated by the Kavalan people....
, and Trobiawan peoples. Trobiawan, Linaw, and Qauqaut were other dialects (see East Formosan languages
East Formosan languages
The East Formosan languages consists of various Formosan languages scattered across Taiwan, including Kavalan, Amis, and the extinct Siraya language. This grouping is supported by both Robert Blust and Paul Jen-kuei Li...
).
Basay data is mostly available from Erin Asai's 1936 field notes, which were collected from an elderly Basay speaker in Shinshe, Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, as well as another one in Yilan
Yilan
Yilan may refer to:*Yilan County, Heilongjiang , People's Republic of China*Yılankale, a crusader castle in Turkey*Ye Yilan , Taiwanese writer*Yilan, Yanji , town in Jilin, PRC...
who spoken the Trobiawan dialect (Li 1999). However, the Shinshe informant's speech was heavily influenced by Taiwanese, and the Trobiawan informant, named Ipai, had heavy Kavalan influence in her speech.
Syntax
There are four optional case markers in Basay (Li 1999:646).- a - nominative, ligature (Shinshe dialect)
- ta - nominative (Trobiawan dialect)
- li - locative (Shinshe dialect)
- u - oblique (Trobiawan dialect)
Some function words include (Li 1999):
- pai 'future'
Trobiawan negators include (Li 1999):
- mia 'not' (Shinshe dialect: mayu 'not (yet)')
- asi 'don't' (Shinshe dialect: manai 'don't')
- (m)upa 'not to want'
- (Shinshe dialect: kualau 'not exist')
Yes-no questions are marked by u ~ nu (Li 1999:657).
Morphology
Basay verbs, like Kavalan verbs, distinguish between agent-focus (AF) and patient-focus (PF) verbs (Li 1999:650). The perfective prefixes na- and ni- are allomorphAllomorph
In linguistics, an allomorph is a variant form of a morpheme. The concept occurs when a unit of meaning can vary in sound without changing meaning. The term allomorph explains the comprehension of phonological variations for specific morphemes....
s.
| Type of prefix | Neutral | Perfective | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agentive focus (AF) | -um-, m- | na-mi- | -um- ... -a, m- ... -a |
| Patient focus (PF) | - | ni- | -au |
| Locative focus (LF) | -an | ni- ... -an | -ai |
Pronouns
The Basay pronouns below are from Li (1999:639).| Type of Pronoun |
Neutral | Nominative | Genitive | Oblique |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1s. | yaku | kaku, -ku | maku-, -aku; naku, -ak | yakuan, kuan, kuanan |
| 2s. | isu | kisu, -su | misu, -isu; nisu, -su ~ -is | isuan, suan, isuanan, suanan |
| 3s. | - | -ia | - | - |
| 1p. (incl.) | mita | kita, -ita | mita, -ita; nita, -ta | ...., ...., tianan |
| 1p. (excl.) | yami | -mi | yami, -ami; nami, -am | yamian, mian, mianan |
| 2p. | imu | kimu, -mu | -imu; nimu, -im | imuan, ...., imuanan |
| 3p. | - | -ia | - | - |
General references
- Li, Paul Jen-kuei (1999). Some problems in the Basay language. In Zeitoun, E., & Li, P. J-K., Selected Papers From the 8th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. Taipei, Taiwan: Academica Sinica.