Austronesian
1
9.5
- adjective
- /ˌɔːstrəˈniːʒən/
:
austronesio
- Diamond deploys data from historical linguistics to argue that Austronesian culture, and apparently also people, spread southward into the tropics from mainland China via Taiwan.
- Austronesian languages
Examples
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For example, Gray and colleagues (2009) used this approach to locate changes in the diversification rate of a large phylogeny of Austronesian languages.
Academic text (2013) -
Indeed, there is not much doubt that Austronesian languages originated somewhere in the coastal region stretching from (tropical) South China down to Vietnam and Thailand—but not necessarily from a hearth in midlatitude China.
Academic text (1999) -
Recorded in these histories are the many musical activities of these people, possibly Austronesian aborigines, including group singing and dancing.
Academic text (2015) -
Chris Ballard, of ANU's Pacific and Asian History Division, concluded in his studies of rock art in western Melanesia that the Timorese paintings fit into a broad "Austronesian painting tradition" that shares specific techniques, colors, and motifs.
Academic text (2003) -
Recent research based on the Y chromosome of Balinese men suggests that much of their paternal gene pool derives from the Austronesian expansions from Taiwan, as the pre-Malay influence is now conceptualized.
Academic text (2018) -
The Austronesian languages include Tagalog, Hawaiian, and Malagasy.
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Many scholars study Austronesian societies to understand their rich cultural diversity.
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The Austronesian roots of the island's traditions can be seen in its festivals and rituals.
Compounds
- Specialized
A language spoken on islands in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Madagascar
Surface Forms
Morphology
Austronesian = Austronesia (transparent) = Austronesia + an
Derived by the regular adjectival/nationality suffix '-an' from the place name 'Austronesia', so the relation is straightforward.
Etymology
Austronesian comes from Austro- meaning 'south', like in Australia, and from -nesian (from Greek nesos) meaning 'island', like in Polynesia. So Austronesian literally points to the 'southern islands', which is why it describes things related to Austronesia, its people, cultures, or languages.