# Rukai language

Rukai is a Formosan language spoken by the Rukai people in Taiwan. It is a member of the Austronesian language family. The Rukai language comprises six dialects, which are Budai, Labuan, Maga, Mantauran, Tanan and Tona. The number of speakers of the six Rukai dialects is estimated to be about 10,000. Some of them are monolingual. There are varying degrees of mutual intelligibility among the Rukai dialects. Rukai is notable for its distinct grammatical voice system among the Formosan languages.

## Classification

Paul Jen-kuei Li considers Rukai to be the first language to have split from the Proto-Austronesian language. Below are the estimated divergence dates of various Formosan languages from Li (2008:215).
* Proto-Austronesian: 4,500 BCE
* Rukai: 3,000 BCE
* Tsouic: 2,500 BCE (split into Tsou and Southern Tsouic around 1,000 BCE)
* Most other splits: 2,000 to 0 BCE
* Western Plains: 1,000 CE
Classifications by various scholars repeatedly find that Rukai is one of the, and often the, most divergent of the Austronesian languages. It is therefore prime evidence for reconstructing Proto-Austronesian. Ross (2009) notes that to date, reconstructions had not taken Rukai into account, and therefore cannot be considered valid for the entire family.

## Dialects

Rukai is unique for being the only Formosan language without a focus system.
Tanan Rukai is also the Formosan language with the largest consonant inventory, with 23 consonants and 4 vowels having length contrast. Tanan Rukai also makes an animate/inanimate instead of a personal/non-personal one as most other Formosan languages do.
Mantauran is one of the most divergent dialects. Li (2001) classifies them as follows:
* Rukai
** Mantauran (萬山 Wanshan, also 'oponoho): 250–300 speakers
*** Maga–Tona
**** Maga (馬加 Majia)
**** Tona (多納 Duona)
*** Budai–Tanan (Rukai Proper)
**** Budai (霧台 Wutai)
**** Tanan (大南 Danan; also Taromak)

## Geographic distribution

According to Zeitoun (2007:4), there are a total of 6 Rukai dialects spoken in 12 different villages.
Rukai Villages by Dialect :
| Dialect | Autonym | Village | Township |
| Tanan | Taromak | Tunghsin 東興 | Peinan Township, Taitung County |
| Labuan | Laboa(n) | Tawu 大武 | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Labuan | Talamakao | Chinye | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Budai | Vedrai | Wutai 霧臺 | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Budai | Kucapungan | Haocha 好茶 | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Budai | Adiri | Ali 阿禮 | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Budai | Kalramomodhesae | Chiamu 佳暮 | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Budai | Kinulan | Chulu 吉露 | Wutai Township, Pingtung County |
| Maga | Teldrɨka | Maolin 茂林 | Maolin Township, Kaohsiung County |
| Tona | Kongadavane | Tona 多納 | Maolin Township, Kaohsiung County |
| Mantauran | 'oponoho | Wanshan 萬山 | Maolin Township, Kaohsiung County |
Together, Maga, Tona, and Mantauran are also known as the "Lower Three Villages." Rukai have also recently in Sandimen Township and southern Sanhe Village, Majia Township, where there are many Paiwan. Sanhe Village is also where the Budai Rukai originally lived in before they relocated to Wutai Township in the mid-1900s.

## Phonology

Most Rukai dialects have four vowels and retroflex and interdental consonants.
Budai Rukai has four vowels, /i ə a u/. Words ending phonemically in a consonant add an echo vowel, one of /i ə u/, which unlike morphophonemic vowels is often lost in derivation. /ə/ is used when the last vowel of the stem is /a/.
Budai Rukai consonants :
| | | Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | | n | | | ŋ |
| Stop | voiceless | p | | t | | | k |
| Stop | voiced | b | | d | ɖ | | g |
| Affricate | Affricate | | | t͡s | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | | θ | s | | | |
| Fricative | voiced | v | ð | | | | |
| Trill | Trill | | | r | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | | l | ɭ | j | |
Due to influence from Paiwan and Chinese, younger speakers sometimes pronounce /ð/ as [z], and in Tanan Rukai, younger speakers may merge /θ/ into /s/.
In Mantauran Rukai, the voiced stops have spirantized: *b to /v/, *d and *ɖ to /ð/, and *g to /h/.
The following table displays the consonant inventory of Mantauran Rukai, with written representations that differ from their IPA representations given in angle brackets (Zeitoun 2007):
Mantauran Rukai consonants :
| | Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | m | | n | | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | |
| Stop | p | | t | | k | ʔ ⟨’⟩ |
| Affricate | | | ts ⟨c⟩ | | | |
| Fricative | v | ð ⟨dh⟩ | s | | | h |
| Trill | | | r | | | |
| Approximant | | | l | ɭ ⟨lr⟩ | | |
* 4 vowels, written a, i, e, o

## Grammar
### Morphology

Basic Mantauran Rukai syllables take on a basic (C)V structure, with words usually ranging from 2 to 4 syllables long (Zeitoun 2007). There are four morphological processes.
* Affixation
* Stem modification
* Reduplication
* Compounding
The following reduplication patterns occur in Budai Rukai (Austronesian Comparative Dictionary).

#### Reduplication of the noun stem

* N + RED 'a great amount'
* N(umeral or period) + RED 'lasting for a period of...'

#### Reduplication of the verb stem

* V + RED 'continuous, keep doing, do repeatedly'
* V + RED 'future'
* V (stative) + RED 'intensity, comparatively greater'
In Budai Rukai, reduplication of a bound stem can also be used to create certain basic nouns and verbs, such as 'thunder,' 'mountain,' and 'to scrape' (Austronesian Comparative Dictionary).
Based on an analysis of the Budai (Kucapungan) dialect, Rukai is said to be unusual among Formosan languages for having a dichotomous active-passive voice system, (Chen & Sung, 2005) which may include voices such agent, patient, locative, or instrumental focus. Stanley Starosta considers this to be an indication that Rukai is the first offshoot of the Austronesian language family (Zeitoun, 2007). However, this dichotomy has been challenged (Chen, 2005).
* Active / Agent Focus (AF): prefix u-/w-
* Passive / Patient Focus (PF): prefix ki-

### Syntax

Unlike most other Formosan languages, Rukai has an accusative case-marking system instead of an ergative one typical of Austronesian-aligned languages (Zeitoun 2007). There are two types of clauses in Mantauran Rukai:
* Nominal
* Verbal
Complementalization can take on four strategies (Zeitoun 2007).
* Zero strategy (i.e. paratactic complements)
* Verb serialization
* Nominalization
* Causativization
Definite objects can be topicalized in both active and passive sentences.

### Function words

Below are some Mantauran Rukai function words from Zeitoun (2007).
* la – and
* mani – then

### Word classes

Zeitoun (2007) distinguishes eleven word classes in Mantauran Rukai:.
* Nouns
* Verbs
* Pronouns
* Demonstratives
* Numerals
* Adverbs
* Phrasal elements
* Clausal elements
* Interclausal elements
* Exclamations
* Interjections

### Verbs

Below are some Mantauran Rukai verb affixes from Zeitoun (2007).
* Dynamic verbs: o-; very rarely om- and m-
* Stative verbs: ma-
* Negating prefix: ki-
* Causative: pa-
* ʔini-Ca- "(one)self"
* mati- "well"
* k-in-a ... aə "... more"
* ʔako- "barely, just"
* ka- "in fact"
* mata ... aə "certainly"

### Pronouns

Below are Rukai pronouns from Zeitoun (1997). Note that Mantauran Rukai pronouns are usually bound.
Mantauran Rukai Personal Pronouns :
| Type of Pronoun | Type of Pronoun | Type of Pronoun | Topic | Nominative | Oblique | Genitive |
| 1st person | singular | singular | iɭaə | -ɭao, nao- | -i-a-ə | -li |
| 1st person | plural | exclusive | inamə | -nai | -i-nam-ə | -nai |
| 1st person | plural | inclusive | imitə, ita | -mita, -ta | -i-mit-ə | -ta |
| 2nd person | singular | singular | imiaʔə | -moʔo | i-miaʔ-ə | -ʔo |
| 2nd person | plural | plural | inomə | -nomi | -i-nom-ə | -nomi |
| 3rd person | visible | singular | ana | – | -i-n-ə | -(n)i |
| 3rd person | visible | plural | ana-lo | – | -i-l-i-n-ə | -l-i-ni |
| 3rd person | not visible | singular | ðona | – | -i-ð-ə | -ða |
| 3rd person | not visible | plural | ðona-lo | – | -i-l-i-ð-ə | -l-i-ða |
Budai Rukai Personal Pronouns :
| Type of Pronoun | Type of Pronoun | Type of Pronoun | Topic | Nominative | Oblique | Genitive |
| 1st person | singular | singular | kunaku | -(n)aku, naw- | nakuanə | -li |
| 1st person | plural | exclusive | kunai | -nai | naianə | -nai |
| 1st person | plural | inclusive | kuta | -ta | mitaanə | -ta |
| 2nd person | singular | singular | kusu | -su | musuanə | -su |
| 2nd person | plural | plural | kunumi | -numi, -nu | numianə | -numi |
| 3rd person | visible | singular | kuini | – | inianə | -ini |
| 3rd person | visible | plural | kuini | – | inianə | -ini |
| 3rd person | not visible | singular | kuiɖa | – | – | – |
| 3rd person | not visible | plural | kuiɖa | – | – | – |
Maga Rukai Personal Pronouns :
| Type of Pronoun | Type of Pronoun | Type of Pronoun | Topic | Nominative | Oblique | Genitive |
| 1st person | singular | singular | i kɨkɨ | ku-, kɨkɨ | ŋkua | -li |
| 1st person | plural | exclusive | i knamɨ | namɨ-, knamɨ | nmaa | -namɨ |
| 1st person | plural | inclusive | i miti | ta-, miti | mitia | -ta |
| 2nd person | singular | singular | i musu | su-, musu | sua | -su |
| 2nd person | plural | plural | i mumu | mu-, mumu | mua | -mu |
| 3rd person | visible | singular | i kini | kini | nia | -ini |
| 3rd person | visible | plural | i kini | kini | nia | -ini |
| 3rd person | not visible | singular | i kiɖi | kiɖi | ɖia | -ɖa |
| 3rd person | not visible | plural | i kiɖi | kiɖi | ɖia | -ɖa |

## Affixes
### Budai Rukai

The list of Budai Rukai affixes below is sourced from Chen (2006:199-203).
Prefixes
* a- 'become'
* ana- 'if'
* api- 'like', 'want'
* i- 'at', 'in'
* ki- 'to gather', 'to collect'
* ki- 'Dative Focus'
* ki- 'to dig
* ku- 'to remove'
* ku- 'Free Pronoun marker'
* ku- 'Past marker'
* la- 'Plural'
* lu- 'Future'
* ma- 'Stative Verb'
* ma- 'reciprocal'
* ma- 'dual (two people)'
* mu- 'to remove'
* mu- 'self-motion'
* muasaka- 'ordinal'
* nai- 'have done'
* ŋi- 'to move in certain direction'
* ŋi- '-self'
* ŋu- 'to ride'
* pa- 'causative'
* paŋu- 'by'
* sa- 'body parts'
* sa- 'when'
* si- 'verbal prefix'
* si- 'to wear'
* sini- 'from'
* su- 'to clean'
* su- 'belong'
* ta- 'to feel'
* taru- 'certain'
* tu- 'to mark'
* tua- 'to wash'
* θi- 'to release'
* u-/w- 'Agent Focus'
Suffixes
* -a 'imperative'
* -a 'Accusative Case'
* -ana 'still', 'yet'
* -anə 'nominalize'
* -ŋa 'completive'
* -ŋa 'close to'
Infixes
* ⟨a⟩ 'past tense; non-future'
* ⟨a⟩ 'realis'
* ⟨in⟩ 'Goal subject', 'Past time'
Circumfixes
* a⟩...⟨anə 'future state'
* a⟩...⟨anə 'nominalizer'
* ka⟩...⟨anə 'real or genuine'
* kala⟩...⟨anə 'season'
* sa⟩...⟨anə 'instrument'
* sanu⟩...⟨anə 'left-over'
* sanu⟩...⟨lə 'frequency'
* ta⟩...⟨anə 'time', 'location'
Compound (Multiple) Affixes
* la-ma- 'plural marker'
* ɭi-tara- 'have to', must'
* sa-ka- 'household'
* sa-ka-u⟩...⟨anə ; the whole'
* sa-ka-si-... l-anə the ... generation
* ta-ra- for a period of time
* ta-ra- be good at
* t-in-u⟩...⟨anə personal relation

### Mantauran Rukai

The following list of Mantauran Rukai affixes is sourced from Zeitoun (2007).
* a- 'when'
* a- (action/state nominalization)
* a- 'plural'
* -a 'beyond (in time or space)'
* -a 'irrealis'
* -a 'imperative'
* -ae (state nominalization)
* a⟩...⟨ae; allomorph: ... -ae (objective nominalization; negative imperative)
* amo- 'will'
* -ane (meaning unknown; used on verbs to insult someone)
* -a-nga 'imperative' (mild requests)
* apaa- 'reciprocal causative' (dynamic verbs)
* apano- 'like to, prone to, have a tendency to'
* apa'a 'reciprocal causative' (stative verbs)
* apa'ohi- 'split (causative form)'
* -ci 'snivel'
* dh- 'invisible'
* i- 'at'
* -i 'irrealis'
* -i⟩...⟨e (marking of the oblique case on personal and impersonal pronouns)
* -ka 'predicative negation'
* ka- 'in fact, indeed, actually'
* ka⟩...⟨ae 'genuine, real, original'
* kala⟩...⟨ae 'temporal nominalization'
* kapa ~ kama- 'continuously'
* kapa ...-nga 'all, every'
* ki- 'modal negation'
* ki⟩...⟨ae 'whose'
* k⟨in⟩a⟩...⟨ae 'more and more'
* la- 'plural'
* la-ma'a- 'reciprocal'
* -lo 'plural' (demonstrative pronouns)
* m- (dynamic (finite and subjunctive) verbs; alternates with k-, p-, or Ø in its non-finite form)
* ma- (stative (finite and subjunctive) verbs; alternates with ka- in its non-finite form)
* ma⟩...⟨le (forms 'tens')
* ma-Ca- 'reciprocity' (dynamic (finite and subjunctive) verbs; alternates with pa-Ca; Ca refers to the reduplication of the first consonant)
* maa- 'reciprocity' (dynamic (finite and subjunctive) verbs; alternates with paa)
* maa⟩...⟨e (~ paa⟩...⟨e; maa- (dual reciprocal) + -e (meaning unknown))
* maaraka- 'each/both'
* maatali⟩...⟨le/lo '(a number of) floors'
* maka- 'finish'
* maka⟩...⟨le/lo (~ paka⟩...⟨le/lo) 'up to N-/for N- days/months/years'
* maka'an- (attaches only to aleve 'below' and lrahalre 'above')
* makini⟩...⟨(a)e (~ pakini⟩...⟨(a)e) 'all'
* Mali- (~ pali) 'along'
* ma'ohi (~ pa'ohi) 'split'
* m-o- (~ o-) 'holds X's ritual (where X = household name)' (attaches to household names to form dynamic verbs)
* m-o- (~ o-) 'toward'
* mo- 'anti-causative'
* m-ore (~ ore-) 'perform'
* mota'a- (~ ota'a-) 'raise'
* n- 'visible'
* -na 'still'
* naa- 'continuously'
* -nae 'place where'
* -nae 'time when'
* -nga 'already'
* -nga 'superlative'
* ni- 'counterfactuality (irrealis)'
* ni⟩...⟨a 'concessive'
* o- 'dynamic / finite / realis / active'
* o⟩...⟨e 'dress well' (derives verbs from nouns)
* o-ara- 'only' (attached to verbs)
* o-ka'a⟩...⟨le/lo (~ ko'a⟩...⟨le/lo) 'a number of recipients'
* om- (~ m- / ~ Ø) 'dynamic / finite / realis / active'
* o-tali (~ tali- / ~ toli) 'wrap up, pack up'
* o-tali (~ tali-) 'made of'
* o-tara- (~ tara-) 'a number of months / years'
* taro- (doublet form: tao-) 'group of persons in movement'
* o-ta'i- (~ ta'i-) 'precede'
* o-'ara- (~ 'ara-) 'early'
* pa- 'causative'
* pa- 'every N-times'
* paori 'stick to, think about'
* pa'a⟩...⟨ae '(what is) left'
* pe- 'forbiddance (?)'
* pi- 'local causative'
* po- 'causative of movement'
* po- 'bear, grow N' (attaches to nouns)
* saka- 'external'
* samori- 'keep on ...-ing' (attaches only to the root kane 'to eat')
* sa'api- 'prone to, inclined to'
* so- 'tribute'
* ta- (subjective nominalization)
* ta- 'inalienability' (kinship and color terms)
* ta⟩...⟨(a)e 'place where'
* ta⟩...⟨ae 'time when'
* ta⟩...⟨n-ae (forms derived locative nominal)
* taka- 'a number of persons'
* tako- 'while'
* tala- 'container' (?; found only with the root ove'eke)
* tali- 'belong to'
* ta'a- 'with (a group of persons)'
* ta'a⟩...⟨le/lo 'measure with an extended arm' (bound numerals)
* to- 'do, make, produce, build'
* toka⟩...⟨(a)e 'use ... for, by ...-ing'
* to'a- 'use ... to, for'
* 'a- 'instrument/manner nominalizer'
* 'a⟩...⟨e 'have a lot of'
* 'aa- 'turn into'
* 'aka- 'Nth' (ordinal prefix 'a- + stative marker ka- (non-finite form))
* 'ako- (doublet form: 'ako⟩...⟨ae) 'speak (out)'
* 'ako- 'barely, a little'
* 'ako⟩...⟨le 'say a number of times'
* 'ako⟩...⟨nga 'more'
* 'ali- 'from (in time or space)' (< 'aliki '(come) from')
* 'ano- 'walk, ride, take'
* 'ano- 'unknown meaning' (only attaches to stative roots)
* 'ano-Ca- 'along/with a number of persons (in movement)' (attaches to bound numeral forms and certain other roots)
* 'ano⟩...⟨ae 'entirely, completely, cease, alleviate'
* 'ao⟩...⟨le/lo 'the Nth time' (ordinal prefix 'a- + 'o⟩...⟨le/lo 'a number of times')
* 'apaka⟩...⟨le/lo 'the Nth day' (ordinal prefix 'a- + paka⟩...⟨le/lo 'up to/for a number of days / months / years)
* 'api- 'like ... -ing'
* 'a-po- 'as a result of'
* 'apo- 'come out'
* 'asa⟩...⟨ae 'what's the use of'
* 'asi- (meaning unknown; found only once in the word 'work')
* 'i- 'passive'
* 'i- 'verbalizer' (from nouns; polysemous prefix). Semantic core of 'i-N is 'get, obtain-N', although it can also be glossed as 'get, harvest, gather, look after, bear, have for, kill, etc.'
* 'i- 'put on, wear' (derives verbs from nouns)
* 'ia-... ae 'because of, out of'
* 'ini- 'movement toward'
* 'ini- 'cross'
* 'ini- 'consume'
* 'ini-Ca- '(one)self' (reflexive)
* 'ini⟩...⟨ae 'pretend'
* 'ini⟩...⟨(-ae) 'behave like, look like' (derived from 'inilrao 'resemble')
* 'ira- 'for' (derived from 'iraki '(do) for')
* 'o- 'take off'
* 'o⟩...⟨le/lo 'a number of times' (attaches to bound numerals)
* 'o⟩...⟨le/lo 'measure' (must be followed by certain words to indicate a measure with the hand, foot, ruler, etc.)
* 'o-tali 'unpack'
The following list of Budai Rukai affixes is sourced from the Comparative Austronesian Dictionary (1995).

#### Nominal affixes

* ka⟩...⟨anə + N 'something real or genuine
* ko- + Pronoun 'nominative'
* moasaka- + N (numeral) 'ordinal'
* sa-... anə + V 'instrument, tool'
* sa- + N 'some body parts'
* ta⟩...⟨anə + N 'location, time'
* ta-ra + N 'agentive, a person specialised in...'

#### Verbal affixes

* -a- + V 'realis'
* -a + V 'imperative'
* ki- + N 'to gather, to collect, to harvest'
* ki- + V 'dative-focus, involuntary action'
* ko- + N 'to remove, to peel'
* ko- + V 'intransitive, patient-focus'
* ma- + V 'mutual, reciprocal'
* maa- + V 'stative'
* mo- + N 'to discharge, remove'
* mo- + V '(to go) self-motion, non-causative'
* ŋi- + V 'to act or to move in a certain direction or manner'
* ŋo- + N 'to ride'
* pa- + V 'causative'
* si- + V (bound stem) 'verbal prefix'
* si- + N 'to wear, to carry, to possess'
* so- + N 'to spit, to clean, to give out'
* to- + N 'to make, produce, bring forth'
* θi + N 'to release'
* w- + V 'agent-focus, verbal prefix'