# Yami language

The Yami language (Chinese: 雅美語), also known as Tao (Chinese: 達悟語), is a Malayo-Polynesian and Philippine language spoken by the Tao people of Orchid Island, 46 kilometers southeast of Taiwan. It is a member of the Ivatan dialect continuum.
Yami is known as ciriciring no Tao 'human speech' by its native speakers. Native speakers prefer the 'Tao' name.

## Classification

Yami is the only native language of Taiwanese indigenous peoples that is not a member of the Formosan grouping of Austronesian; it is one of the Batanic languages also found in Batanes province of northern Philippines, and as such is part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian.

## Phonology

Yami has 20 consonants and 4 vowels:

### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i | | |
| Mid | | ə | o |
| Open | | a | |
* /o/ can be heard as [ʊ] after labial stop consonants.
Iraralay Yami, spoken on the north coast, distinguishes between geminative consonants (e.g., opa 'thigh' vs. oppa 'hen' form one such minimal pair).

### Consonants

Yami consonants :
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Retroflex | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | | ŋ | | |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | | k | | ʔ |
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiced | b | | d͡ʒ | ɖ | ɡ | | |
| Fricative | Fricative | v | | | ʂ | | ʁ | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | l | j | ɻ | w | | |
| Trill | Trill | | r | | | | | |
* /k ʁ/ can also be heard as sounds [q ɦ] when between vowel /a/ intervocalically.
* Sounds /n l ʂ/ can be heard as sounds [ɲ ɮ ʃ] before /i/.

## Grammar
### Pronouns

The following set of pronouns is found in the Yami language.
Yami pronouns :
| | Nominative | Nominative | Genitive | Genitive | Locative |
| | free | bound | free | bound | Locative |
| 1st person singular | yaken | ko | niaken | ko | jiaken |
| 2nd person singular | imo | ka | nimo | mo | jimo |
| 3rd person singular | iya | ya | nia | na | jia |
| 1st person plural inclusive | yaten | ta, tamo, takamo | niaten | ta | jiaten |
| 1st person plural exclusive | yamen | namen | niamen | namen | jiamen |
| 2nd person plural | inio | kamo, kanio | ninio | nio | jinio |
| 3rd person plural | sira | sia | nira | da | jira |

### Verbs

The following list are verbal inflections found in Yami.

#### Dynamic intransitive

* -om-/om- (subjunctive: N-)
* mi-
* ma-
* maN-
* maka-
* maci-/masi-/macika-/macipa-

#### Stative

* ma- (subjunctive: a-)
* ka- ... -an (subjunctive: ka- ... -i)

#### Dynamic

* pi-
* pa-
* paN- (subjunctive: maN-)
* paka- (subjunctive: maka-)
* paci- (subjunctive: maci-)

#### Transitive

* -en (subjunctive: -a)
* -an (subjunctive: -i)
* i- (subjunctive: -an)

#### Stative functioning as transitive

* ma- (subjunctive: a- ... -a)
* ka- ... -an (subjunctive: a- ... -a)

### Affixes

The following is a list of affixes found in Yami.
* icia- 'fellows such and such who share the same features or fate'
* ikeyka- 'even more so'
* ika- 'feel such and such because...'
* ika- 'ordinal number'
* ipi- 'multiple number'
* ji a- 'negation or emphatic'
* ka- 'company, as ... as, abstract noun'
* ka- 'and then, just now, only'
* ka- 'stative verb prefix reappearing in forming transitive verbs'
* ka- (reduplicated root) 'very'
* ka- (reduplicated root) 'animals named after certain features'
* ka- ... -an 'common noun'
* ma- ... -en 'love to do such and such'
* mapaka- 'pretend to be such and such'
* mapi- 'do such and such as an occupation'
* mi-/mala- 'kinship relationships in a group of two or three'
* mika-/mapika-/ipika- 'all, gradually, one by one'
* mala- 'taste or look like...'
* mipa- 'getting more and more...'
* mipipa- 'even more...'
* mapi-/mapa-/pa- ... -en/ipa- 'causative verb affixes'
* ni- 'perfective'
* ni- ... na 'superlative'
* noka- 'past'
* noma- 'future (remote)'
* sicia- 'present'
* sima- 'future (proximal)'
* tey- 'direction'
* tey- 'very, too'
* tey- (reduplicated root) 'amount allocated to each unit

## Vocabulary
### Cognates with Philippine languages

| English | Yami | Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan, etc. |
| Person | tao | tao (Tagalog), tawo (Cebuano Vis., Bicol) |
| Mother | ina | ina (Tagalog) |
| Father | ama | ama (Tagalog), ama (Ilokano) |
| Head | oo | ulo (Tagalog), ulu (Cebuano), olo (Ilokano) |
| Yes | nohon | oho (Pandan Bikol, Bikol Sentral) |
| Friend | kagagan | kaibigan (Tagalog) |
| who | sino | sino, sin-o (Hiligaynon Vis.), hin-o (Waray Vis.) |
| they | sira | sila (Tagalog), sira/hira (Waray Vis.) |
| their | nira | nila (Tagalog) |
| offspring | anak | anak (Cebuano Vis.), anak (Hiligaynon Vis.), anak (Ilokano), anak (Tagalog) |
| I (pronoun) | ko | ko, -ko (Ilokano) |
| you | ka | ka, -ka (Ilokano) |
| day | araw | araw, aldaw (Ilokano), adlaw (Cebuano Vis.) |
| eat | kanen | kain, kanen (Ilokano), kaon (all Visayan) |
| drink | inomen | inumin, inomen (Ilokano) |
| speech | ciriciring | chirichirin (Itbayaten Ivatan), siling (Hiligaynon Vis., 'say'), siring (Waray Vis., 'say') |
| and | aka | saka (Bikol Sentral, Calabanga variant) (historically "saka asin") |
| ouch | Ananay | Aray, Agay (Cebuano Vis.), Annay (Ilokano) |
| home | vahay | bahay, balay (Ilokano, Cebuano Vis.) |
| piglet | viik | biik (Tagalog) |
| goat | kadling | kambing, kanding (Cebuano Vis.), kalding (Ilokano) |
| stone | vato | bato (Tagalog, all Visayan, etc.) |
| town | ili | ili (Ilokano) |
| one | ása | isa (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), maysa (Ilokano), usa (Cebuano Vis.) |
| two | dóa (raroa) | dalawa (Tagalog), duha (Cebuano), dua (Ilokano) |
| three | tílo | tatlo, tulo/tuto (Cebuano Vis.), tallo (Ilokano) |
| four | ápat | apat (Tagalog, Hiligaynon Vis.), upat (Cebuano Vis.), uppat (Ilokano) |
| five | líma | lima (Cebuano Vis.), lima (Hiligaynon Vis.), lima (Ilokano), lima (Tagalog) |
| six | ánem | anim (Tagalog), innem (Ilokano), unom (Cebuano Vis.), anum (Hiligaynon Vis.) |
| seven | píto | pito (Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan) |
| eight | wáo | walo (Tagalog/Ilokano/Visayan) |
| nine | síam | siyam, siam (Ilokano) |
| ten | póo | sampu (Tagalog), sangapulo (Ilokano), napulo (all Visayan) |

### Japanese loanwords

| English | Yami | Japanese |
| Airplane | sikoki | hikouki (飛行機) |
| Alcohol | saki | sake (酒) |
| Battleship | gengkang | gunkan (軍艦) |
| Bible | seysio | seisho (聖書) |
| Christ | Kizisto | kirisuto (キリスト) |
| Doctor | koysang | o-isha-san? (お医者さん) |
| Flashlight | dingki | denki (電気) |
| Holy Spirit | seyzi | seirei (聖霊) |
| Key | kagi | kagi (鍵) |
| Medicine | kosozi | kusuri (薬) |
| Monkey | sazo | saru (猿) |
| Motorcycle | otobay | ōtobai (オートバイ; 'auto bike') |
| Police | kisat | keisatsu (警察) |
| School | gako | gakkō (学校) |
| School bag | kabang | kaban (鞄) |
| Teacher | sinsi | sensei (先生) |
| Ticket | kipo | kippu (切符) |
| Truck | tozako | torakku (トラック; 'truck') |

### Chinese loanwords

| English | Yami | Mandarin Chinese |
| Wine | potaw cio | pútáojiǔ (葡萄酒) |