Historical Linguistics and Philippine Hunter-Gatherers

Abstract

This paper addresses several topics with reference to Philippine hunter-gatherer groups that are relevant to an understanding of their relationships with non-hunter-gatherer groups and their significance for historical linguistics. Section 1 first provides a discussion of the demographic ranges of the extant Negrito groups. In section 2, different views as to the time depth of the prehistoric relationship of Negrito groups with in-migrating Neolithic Austronesian speakers to the Philippines will be evaluated. Section 3 then deals with the patterns of their relationship with farmers, specifically the competing patterns of close association with and avoidance of farmers, as revealed from the types of linguistic relationship that hold between the two groups, and in section 4 evidence for retention of a non-Austronesian substratum in the languages of Negrito groups will be discussed. Finally, in section 5, the coastal/seafaring Negritos of northeast Luzon and the linguistic influence they have had on farmer populations of the area will be described.