本論文探討八種阿美語方言（七腳川方言、荳蘭方言、大港口方言、迦納納方言、奇美方言、馬蘭方言、馬太鞍方言、太巴塱方言）及兩種撒奇萊雅語方言（撒固兒方言、馬立雲方言）的共時音韻系統。另外，透過比較方法（the Comparative Method）比較約一千三百個詞彙，重建原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語音韻系統與詞彙。原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語共有二十個音位，其中包含十六個輔音音位（*p, *t, *k, *ʡ, *b, *d, *z, *s, *ħ, *t͡s, *m, *n, *ŋ, *ɾ, *w, *j）及四個元音音位（*i, *u, *ə, *a）。本研究亦討論原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語十種方言的分群。
分群方面，本論文以音韻、詞彙、構詞的證據說明阿美語方言主要分為北部阿美（Northern Amis）、中部阿美（Meso Amis）及太-馬阿美（Tavalong-Fata’an）三群。北部阿美包含七腳川方言及荳蘭方言；中部阿美涵蓋了大港口方言、迦納納方言、奇美方言及馬蘭方言；太-馬阿美包含馬太鞍方言及太巴塱方言。除了阿美語的方言分群，本研究亦提供語言學上的證據，證明撒奇萊雅語與阿美語為兩個獨立的語言，隸屬原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語。
筆者亦比較白樂斯（Blust and Trussel, ongoing）所重建之原始南島語與原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語的音位與詞彙。音位方面，本研究發現阿美語及撒奇萊雅語的輔音同化現象，並非僅限於流音，而是在原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語的*d、*z、*ɾ、*n及*ŋ等音位皆可觀察到此一現象，且同化的方向不定；詞彙方面，本研究發現部分原始南島語詞彙中的*d重建有誤。此外，阿美語及撒奇萊雅語的方言間可能有借詞存在。
本論文主要有三個貢獻:(1)提出原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語音韻系統及八百多個詞彙之重建。(2)探討阿美語及撒奇萊雅語之輔音同化現象。(3)提出原始阿美-撒奇萊雅語的方言分群。


關鍵詞: 歷史語言學、南島語、阿美語、撒奇萊雅語、分群

This thesis provides a synchronic description of Amis‑Sakizaya phonology, a reconstruction of Proto-Amis-Sakizaya phonology and lexicon, and the subgrouping of its ten dialects. Around 1300 words of two Sakizaya dialects and eight Amis dialects are compared using the Comparative Method. The two dialects of Sakizaya are Sakul and Maibul. The eight Amis dialects are Cikasu’an, Nataoran, La’enu, Kalala, Kiwit, Falangaw, Fata’an, and Tavalong. There are 16 consonants *p, *t, *k, *ʡ, *b, *d, *s, *ħ, *z, *t͡s, *m, *n, *ŋ, *ɾ, *w, *j and four vowels *i, *u, *ə, *a reconstructed for Proto‑Amis‑Sakizaya.
My thesis aims to clarify the relationship between the dialects of Amis and Sakizaya by proposing a subgrouping hypothesis. To support the validity of my hypothesis, I have collected three types of evidence, including phonological, lexical and morphological evidence. The collective weight of the evidence strongly suggests that Proto-Amis developed into three primary branches, not five, as it is currently believed. The three primary branches are Proto‑Northern Amis, Proto‑Meso Amis, and Proto-Tavalong-Fata’an Amis. The Northern Amis group includes Nataoran and Cikasu’an. The Meso Amis group consists of La’enu, Kalala, Kiwit, and Falangaw. The Tavalong-Fata’an Amis group includes Tavalong and Fata’an. Apart from the subclassification of Amis dialects, subgrouping evidence also proves that Amis and Sakizaya are two distinct languages. Besides lexical differences, this thesis explores further linguistic evidence to support Sakizaya as a separate language from Amis, albeit both having been descended from Proto‑Amis‑Sakizaya.
This thesis also compares Proto-Amis-Sakizaya with the reconstructed Proto‑Austronesian etyma (Blust and Trussel, ongoing) and phonemes. From top-down inspection of the reconstructed etyma, consonant harmony is identified. Based on my observation, consonant harmony not only applies to liquids in Amis and Sakizaya; it also occurs in Proto-Amis-Sakizaya *d, *z, *ɾ, *n, and *ŋ. The directionality of the assimilation is not fixed. Furthermore, loanwords and problems with current Proto-Austronesian reconstruction are also discussed in this thesis.


Keywords: Historical linguistics, Austronesian languages, Amis, Sakizaya, subgrouping

Abstract i
Chinese abstract iii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables viii
List of Figures xi
List of Abbreviations xii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 The Amis and Sakizaya languages 2
1.1.1 Dialects of Amis and Sakizaya 2
1.2 Research questions and goals 6
1.3 Data sources and methodology 6
1.3.1 Data sources 6
1.3.2 Data transcription 7
1.3.3 Orthographic conventions 11
1.3.4 Methodology 13
1.4 Outline of this thesis 16

Chapter 2 Literature Review 17
2.1 Studies related to Amis and Sakizaya 17
2.1.1 Journal papers and articles 18
2.1.2 Theses and dissertations 24
2.1.3 Grammars 27
2.1.4 Dictionaries and word lists 28
2.2 The development of Amis and Sakizaya in historical linguistics 29
2.2.1 Amis-Sakizaya has a closer relationship with Formosan languages 31
2.2.2 Amis-Sakizaya has a closer relationship with MP languages 36
2.3 Summary 38

Chapter 3 Synchronic Phonology of Amis and Sakizaya dialects 40
3.1 Amis and Sakizaya as two different languages 40
3.2 Phonemic inventories 42
3.2.1 Sakul Sakizaya consonants 42
3.2.2 Maibul Sakizaya consonants 43
3.2.3 Cikasu’an Amis consonants 44
3.2.4 Nataoran and Tavalong Amis consonants 44
3.2.5 La’enu Amis consonants 46
3.2.6 Kalala, Kiwit, and Falangaw Amis consonants 47
3.2.7 Fata’an Amis consonants 47
3.2.8 Sakizaya and Amis vowels 48
3.3 The phonemic status of /ʔ/ and /ʡ/ in Amis 50
3.4 The phonemic status of the voiceless velar fricative /x/ 51
3.5 Syllabic structure and stress 52
3.5.1 Sakizaya 52
3.5.2 Amis 53
3.6 Summary 54

Chapter 4 A Reconstruction of Proto-Amis-Sakizaya Phonology 56
4.1 Phonemic inventory 56
4.2 Reconstructed phonemes and their reflexes 57
4.3 The historical development of PAN phonemes in PAS 80
4.4 Consonant harmony 87
4.5 Summary 96

Chapter 5 A Reconstruction of Proto-Amis-Sakizaya Lexicon 98
5.1 Issues on lexical reconstruction 98
5.1.1 Contact between Northern Amis and Sakizaya 101
5.1.2 Problematic reconstructions 104
5.2 Loanwords from other languages 106
5.2.1 Formosan loanwords 107
5.2.2 Malayo-Polynesian loanwords 109
5.3 Summary 110

Chapter 6 Subgrouping Hypothesis of Proto-Amis-Sakizaya 111
6.1 A proposed subgrouping hypothesis 111
6.2 Evidence for a Sakizaya subgroup 113
6.3 Evidence for an Amis subgroup 123
6.3.1 Evidence for a Northern Amis subgroup 129
6.3.2 Evidence for a Meso Amis subgroup 131
6.3.2.1 Evidence for a South-Central Amis subgroup 136
6.3.2.2 Evidence for a Central Amis subgroup 139
6.3.3 Evidence for a Tavalong-Fata’an Amis subgroup 141
6.4 Summary 143

Chapter 7 Problems with Current Proto-Austronesian Reconstructions 145
7.1 The reconstruction of PAN *d 145
7.2 Problematic PAN reconstructions 151
7.2.1 PAN *w in *Sawiki ‘betel nut, areca nut’ 152
7.2.2 PAN *l in *bulaw-an ‘gold’ 153
7.2.3 PAN *ŋ in *ŋipən ‘tooth’ 153
7.2.4 PAN *N in *Nəŋ ‘look, see’ and *NəŋNəŋ ‘stare, look fixedly’ 154
7.3 Summary 155

Chapter 8 Conclusion 156
8.1 Summary 156
8.2 Limitations and future research 159

References 160
Appendix I: Reflexes of Proto-Austronesian etyma in Proto Amis Sakizaya 166
Appendix II: Comparative Amis Sakizaya word list 177

Bloomfield, Leonard. 1933. Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Blust, Robert, and Stephen Trussel. Ongoing. Austronesian comparative dictionary, web edition. Website: https://www.trussel2.com/ACD/acd-pl_pan.htm
Blust, Robert. 1999a. A note on covert structure: Ca-reduplication in Amis. Oceanic Linguistics, 38(1), 168-174.
Blust, Robert. 1999b. Subgrouping, circularity and extinction: Some issues in Austronesian comparative linguistics. Selected Papers from the Eighth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. ed. by Elizabeth Zeitoun and Paul Jen-kuei, 31-94. Symposium Series of the Institute of Linguistics (Preparatory Office), Academia Sinica, Number 1. Taipei: Academia Sinica.
Blust, Robert. 2013. The Austronesian languages (revised edition). A-PL 008. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Bril, Isabelle. 2016. Information structure in Northern Amis: A morphosyntactic analysis. Oceanic linguistics, 449-479.
Chang, Yueh-chang, Feng-fan Hsieh and Hsin-yi Chen. 2019. Emphatically lengthened segments in Siwkolan Amis: phonetics and phonology. Poster presented at ICPhS 2019, Melbourne, Australia.
Chen, Jun-nan. 2010. Study of Sakizaya culture and official recognition. Ph.D. dissertation, Institute of Ethnology, National Cheng Chi University.
Chen, Teresa. 1987. Verbal constructions and verbal classification in Nataoran-Amis. Pacific Linguistics C-85. Canberra: The Australian National University.
Chen, Victoria, Jonathan Kuo, Maria Gallego, and Isaac Stead. 2022. Is Malayo-Polynesian a primary branch of Austronesian?: A view from morphosyntax. Diachronica
Chen, Wei-shan. 2017. Phonological status of epiglottal stops, glottal stops and glides in the Northern dialect of Amis. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University.
Chen, Yi-ting. 2009. A minimalist approach to Amis voice markers. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, 2, 23-36.
Chen, Yi-ting. 2010. The Amis left periphery. Oceanic Linguistics, 49(2), 339-358.
Cheng, Chung-hua. 2017a. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Amis Cikasu’an dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Cheng, Chung-hua. 2017b. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Sakizaya Maibul dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Cheng, Chung-hua. 2018. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Amis Falangaw dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Cheng, Chung-hua. 2019. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Amis La’enu dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Cheng, Chung-hua. 2020a. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Amis Kalala dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Cheng, Chung-hua. 2020b. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Amis Kiwit dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Cheng, Chung-hua 2020c. A handbook of classified vocabulary of Sakidaya Sakul dialect. Pingtung: Hsiang-yuan Publishing. (in Chinese)
Chu, Ching-i. 2003. The lexical structures of “Amis language”—an anthropological linguistic study. M.A. thesis, National Dong Hwa University.
Chu, Ching-i. 2020. O Laleko no Sowal no Pangcah, 1st edition. Fonglin Township, Hualien County.
Council of Indigenous People. 2005. The writing system of the indigenous languages. Taipei: Ministry of Education. (in Chinese)
Crowley, Terry, and Claire Bowern. 2010. An introduction to historical linguistics, 4th edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dyen, Isidore. 1962. Some new Proto-Malayo Polynesian initial phonemes. Journal of the American Oriental Society 82(2): 214-215.
Dyen, Isidore. 1963. The position of the Malayopolynesian languages of Formosa. Asian Perspective 7(2):261-271.
Dyen, Isidore. 1965. Formosan evidence for some new Proto-Austronesian phonemes. Lingua 14:285-305.
Edmondson, Jerold A., John H. Esling, Jimmy G. Harris, and Tung-chiou Huang. 2005. A laryngoscopic study of glottal and epiglottal/pharyngeal stop and continuant articulations in Amis—an Austronesian language of Taiwan. Languages and Linguistics 6: 381-96.
Ferrell, Raleigh. 1969. Taiwan aboriginal groups: Problems in cultural and linguistic classification. Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Monograph No. 17. Taipei: Academia Sinica.
Ferrell, Raleigh. 1979. Phonological subgrouping of Formosan languages. In Paz Buenaventura Naylor (ed.), Austronesian studies: Papers from the Second Eastern Conference on Austronesian languages, 241-254. Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia 15. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan.
Fey, Virginia. 1986. Amis dictionary. Taipei: The Bible Society. (in English and Chinese)
Fox, Anthony. 1995. Linguistic reconstruction: An introduction to theory and method. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goderich, Andre. 2020. Atayal phonology, reconstruction, and subgrouping. Ph.D. dissertation, Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University.
Greenberg, Joseph Harold. 1957. Essays in linguistics. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Harvey, Mark. 1982. Subgroups in Austronesian. In Papers from the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, ed. by Amran Halim, Stephen A. Wurm, and Lois Carrington, 47-99. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Ho, Chia-jung. 2008. The interaction of phonology and phonetics on Sakizaya: vowels, lexical accent and sentential intonation. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University.
Ho, Dah-an. 1978. A preliminary comparative study of five Paiwan dialects. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica, 49(4), 565-681.
Hsu, Akiw Chung-wen. 2012. The study of affixes in Sakizaya. M.A. thesis, Insitute of Indigenous Affairs and Development, National Dong Hwa University.
Huang, Lillian Mei-jin. 1995. The case markers and pronominal system in Amis. The Journal of National Chengchi University, 70, 217-258.
Huang, Ya-jiun. 1988. Amis verb classification. M.A. thesis, Fu Jen Catholic University.
Imanishi, Kazuhiro. 2015. On the non-phonological status of glottal stops in Amis. Selected Papers from the thirteenth international conference on Austronesian linguistics (13-ICAL), 65-66. Academia Sinica.
Jheng, Wei-cherng Sam. 2022. The syntax of nominal modification and complex noun phrases in Siwkolan Amis. Concentric, 48(1), 70-113.
Kuo, Cheng-chuen, Li-May Sung. 2010. On the syntax of Amis comparative constructions. Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, 36(1), 25-57.
Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 1981. Reconstruction of Proto-Atayalic phonology. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology. Academia Sinica. 52, 235-301.
Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 1990. Classification of Formosan languages: Lexical evidence. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica 61(4):809-844.
Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 1991. Orthographic systems for Formosan languages. Taipei: Ministry of Education.
Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 1995. The distribution of Formosan Languages and the migration of aborigines. The First International Conference of Formosan languages. Taipei: Crane Publishing. (in Chinese)
Li, Paul Jen-kuei. 2004. Basic vocabulary for Formosan languages and dialects. Selected papers on Formosan languages, Vol. 2: 1483-1529. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
Li, Paul Jen-kuei, Shigeru Tsuchida. 2022. Subclassification of Amis Dialects. Journal of Taiwanese Languages and Literature.17(1), 93-115.
Liu, Dorinda Tsai-hsiu. 1999. Cleft constructions in Amis. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University.
Lin, Dong-yi. 2013. Interrogative constructions in Kavalan and Amis. PhD dissertation, University of Florida.
Lin, Dong-yi. 2015. The syntactic derivations of interrogative verbs in Amis and Kavalan. In New advances in Formosan linguistics, 253-289. Asia-Pacific Linguistics.
Mabuchi, Toichi. 1954. Migration and distribution of the Formosan aborigines. Minzogaku Kenkyu 18 (1):123-154.
Maddieson, Ian, and Richard Wright. 1995. The vowels and consonants of Amis-a preliminary phonetic report. UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics, 45-66.
Namoh Rata. 2019. Amis Dictionary, 2nd edition. Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc. (in Chinese)
Ogawa, Naoyoshi. 1933. Amis vocabulary. Taipei: Taiwan Government-General. (in Japanese)
Ogawa, Naoyoshi, and Erin Asai. 1935. The myths and the traditions of the Formosan native tribes. Taihoku: Taihoku Imperial University. (in Japanese)
Osthoff, Herman, and Karl Brugmann. 1878. Morphologische Untersuchungen suf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen, Vol. 1. Leipzig: S. Hirzel.
Reid, Lawrence A. 1982. The demise of Proto-Philippines. In Papers from the Third International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Vol. 2: Tracking the travellers, ed. by Amran Halim, Lois Carrington and S. A. Wurm, 201-216. Canberra: Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University.
Republic of China Ministry of Education. 2005 Writing systems of aboriginal languages: Retrieved from https://ws.moe.edu.tw/001/Upload/6/RelFile/6508/7828/aboriginal.pdf
Ross, Malcolm D. 1995a. Some current issues in Austronesian linguistics. In Comparative Austronesian dictionary 1, ed. by D. T. Tryon, 45-120. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Ross, Malcolm D. 2005. The Batanic languages in relation to the early history of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of Austronesian. Journal of Austronesian Studies 1/2:1-24.
Sagart, Laurent. 2014. In defense of the numeral-based model of Austronesian phylogeny, and of Tsouic. Language and Linguistics, 15(6), 859-882.
Shen, Wen-chi. 2008. Sakizaya syntax: with special reference to negative, interrogative, and causative constructions. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Taiwan University.
Shen, Wen-chi. 2018. An introduction to Sakizaya grammar, 2nd edition. Taipei: Council of Indigenous Peoples. (in Chinese)
Shibata, Kye. 2020. A reconstruction of Proto-Bunun phonology and lexicon. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University.
Starosta, Stanley. 1995. A grammatical subgrouping of Formosan languages. Austronesian studies relating to Taiwan, ed. by Paul Jen-kuei Li, Cheng-hwa Tsang, Ying-kuei Huang, Dah-an Ho, and Chiu-yu Tseng, 683-726. Symposium Series of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Number 3. Taipei: Academia Sinica.
Sung, Li-May. 2000. Nominalization in Rukai and Amis. Marian Klamer (Ed.), Proceedings of Afla VII, Department of Linguistics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. 245-258.
Ting, Pang-Hsin. 1978. Reconstruction of Proto-Puyuma phonology. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica, 49, 321-392.
Tsuchida, Shigeru. 1982. Subclassification of Amis dialects. Unpublished Ms.
Wang, Samuel Hsu. 1976. The syllable structures of Fataan Amis. M.A. thesis, Institute of English, National Taiwan Normal University.
Wei, Ting-chi. 2011. Parallellism in Amis sluicing. Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, 37(1), 1-44.
Wei, Ting-chi. 2020. Word order in central Amis. Breeze and rain: Papers in honor of Professor Raung-fu Chung on the occasion of his retirement. 155-180. 1st edition. Tapei: Crane Book Store.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 1994. Complex sentences in Amis. M.A. thesis, National Taiwan Normal University.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2003. Clausal modifiers in Amis. Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, 29(2), 59-81.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2005. Ma-verbs in Amis: A role and reference grammar analysis. In International Course and Conference on Role and Reference Grammar. Taipei.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2006a. The analysis of pa- verbs in Amis. In Streams converging into an ocean: Festschrift in honor of professor Paul Jen-kuei Li on his 70th birthday, ed. by Henry Y. Chang, Lillian M. Huang, and Dah-an Ho, 279-321. Taipei: Academia Sinica.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2006b. Verbal classification, case marking, and grammatical relations in Amis. The State University of New York at Buffalo. Ph.D. dissertation.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2007. “Voice” markers in Amis: a role and reference grammar analysis. Language and Linguistics, 8(1), 95-142.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2011. Noun phrase conjunction in Amis. Language and Linguistics, 12(1), 109-139.
Wu, Joy Jing-lan. 2018. An introduction to Amis grammar, 2nd edition. Taipei: Council of Indigenous Peoples. (in Chinese)
Yan, Zhi-kuang. 1992. Syntactic structure of Amis: A study of participants and events. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Cheng Chi University. (in Chinese)
Yeh, Shih-chi. 2003. Syllabification and reduplication in Amis. M.A. thesis, Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University.
Zeng, Siqi. 1991. The grammar of Amis, Taiwan. Beijing: Central Institute for Nationalities Press. (in Chinese)