Austronesian

(redirected from Austronesian languages)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Aus·tro·ne·sian

(ô′strō-nē′zhən)

adj.

Of or relating to Austronesia or its peoples, languages, or cultures.

A family of languages that includes the Formosan, Indonesian, Malay, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian subfamilies.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Austronesian

(ˌɒstrəʊˈniːʒən; -ʃən)

adj

1. (Placename) of or relating to Austronesia, its peoples, or their languages

2. (Peoples) of or relating to Austronesia, its peoples, or their languages

3. (Languages) of or relating to Austronesia, its peoples, or their languages

(Languages) another name for Malayo-Polynesian

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Aus•tro•ne•sian

(ˌɔ stroʊˈni ʒən, -ʃən)

n.

1. a language family that includes all the non-Papuan, non-Australian languages of peoples indigenous to Oceania, the Indonesian archipelago, Taiwan, and the Philippines, as well as Malay and Chamic in SE Asia and Malagasy on Madagascar.

adj.

2. of Austronesia or Austronesian.

[1900–1905]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	Austronesian - a native or inhabitant of Austronesia Austronesia - islands of central and South Pacific (Indonesia and Melanesia and Micronesia and Polynesia) denizen, dweller, habitant, inhabitant, indweller - a person who inhabits a particular place Nauruan - a native or inhabitant of Nauru Polynesian - a native or inhabitant of Polynesia
	2.	Austronesian - the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia Austronesian language natural language, tongue - a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language Malayo-Polynesian, Polynesian - the branch of the Austronesian languages spoken from Madagascar to the central Pacific Aboriginal Australian, Australian - the Austronesian languages spoken by Australian aborigines Formosan - the Austronesian languages spoken on Formosa
Adj.	1.	Austronesian - of or relating to or characteristic of Austronesia or its people or culture

Translations

austronésien

References in periodicals archive ?

Taiwan's Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) on Friday in Taipei inked a deal with the Pacific state of the Marshall Islands on promoting Austronesian languages and cultural affairs.

Taiwan signs agreement with Marshall Islands to promote Austronesian language, culture

4000 BP are the immediate source of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of Austronesian languages of southeast Asia, Oceania, and Madagascar.

Wangga: The Linguistic and Typological Evidence for the Sources of the Outrigger Canoes of Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula

Tagalog, the widely spoken language in the country, is distant from the Austronesian languages. It is spoken widely in Central Luzon, National Capital Region, and Southern Luzon.

Finding Filipino fervor

It is also found in the the Bantu languages of Africa and the Austronesian languages of the south Pacific.

Oldest words in the world discovered by University of Reading experts; Professor Mark Pagel from Reading university has been conducting a study into ancient languages

Even a 'cheap' item will be considered valuable because of the spirit of the gift, expressed in the term 'mana,' which is used in many Austronesian languages.

Gifts vs giveaways

He contends that the technical tradition called 'stitched-plank and lashed-lug tradition', developed exclusively in Southeast Asia, is not only the archipelago's contribution to the shipping world, but also enabled the movement of populations speaking Austronesian languages into Madagascar, sailing large vessels via either the northern or southern half of the Indian Ocean.

Early Exchange Between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World

Qualitatively analyzed linguistic evidence suggests that Proto-Austronesian is the ancestral language of all Austronesian languages, that Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is a daughter language of Proto-Austronesian and the ancestor of all Austronesian languages outside Taiwan, that Proto-Western Indonesian is a daughter of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian and the common ancestor of all languages of Borneo, and so forth.

THE SUBGROUPING OF THE LANGUAGES OF BORNEO, AN OVERVIEW

Huang, Xuanfan and Michael Tanangkingsing (2005) "Reference to motion events in six western Austronesian languages: toward a semantic typology".

Expressing manner, location, and orientation in manner-only motion events in turkish sign language

Javanese is also widely used besides other Papuan or Austronesian languages in a region of just 2.7 million people.