Reviving Siraya: A Case for Language Engineering
Date
2013-12
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawaii Press
Volume
7
Number/Issue
Starting Page
212
Ending Page
234
Alternative Title
Abstract
Siraya is a language once spoken in Southwest Taiwan, which is being revived. Some Siraya data is inconsistent, requiring strategies as to how it will be implemented. I discuss some of these strategies in support of the revival attempt. The following issues deserve attention:
1. Siraya phonology includes a schwa (ə), although it is ignored in the original orthography. The choice here is between keeping this orthography and ignoring schwa, or re-establishing schwa and changing the orthography.
2. Siraya had maintained part of the original Proto Austronesian voice system. However, this system was losing some voice oppositions and was being re-aligned when Siraya was still spoken. Two approaches are possible: keeping the original Siraya voice system, or adapting to the tendencies to change, which were strong but had not yet taken their full course.
3. Siraya had at least three dialects, two of which are particularly useful for revitalization. In order to build a lexicon for a revitalized Siraya, should the vocabulary of these dialects be combined without further ado? Or should the words from one dialect phonologically be adjusted to the other? Is there a cause for revitalizing various dialects?
4. Siraya had “anticipating sequences”, whereby a formal part (an initial consonant, a syllable, or two syllables) of the lexical verb is prefixed to the adverbial head. Anticipating sequences abound in one dialect but are absent in the other. As it is a rather complicated and irregular feature, should it be taught in modern Siraya classes? And if so, how should it be taught: in all its complexity, or in a somewhat simplified version? Or can it be ignored without causing too much structural imbalance to the grammar?
Description
Keywords
Siraya, Taiwan, Language Revitalization
Citation
Adelaar, Alexander. 2013. Reviving Siraya: A Case for Language Engineering. Language Documentation & Conservation. 7: 212-234.
Extent
23
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 3.0 Unported
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 3.0 Unported
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.