1 the Austronesian World
1 The Austronesian world 1.0 Introduction Many aspects of language, especially in historical linguistics, require reference to the physical environment in which speakers live, or the culture in which their use of language is embedded. This chapter sketches out some of the physical and cultural background of the Austronesian language family before proceeding to a discussion of the languages themselves. The major topics covered include 1. location, 2. physical environment, 3. flora and fauna, 4. physical anthropology, 5. social and cultural background, 6. external contacts, and 7. prehistory. 1.1 Location As its name (‘southern islands’) implies, the AN language family has a predominantly insular distribution in the southern hemisphere. Many of the more westerly islands, however, lie partly or wholly north of the equator. The major western island groups include the great Indonesian, or Malay Archipelago, to its north the smaller and more compact Philippine Archipelago, and still further north at 22 to 25 degrees north latitude and some 150 kilometres from the coast of China, the island of Taiwan (Formosa). Together these island groups constitute insular (or island) Southeast Asia. Traditionally, the major eastern divisions, each of which includes several distinct island groups, are Melanesia (coastal New Guinea and adjacent islands, the Admiralty Islands, New Ireland, New Britain, the Solomons, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands), Micronesia (the Marianas, Palau, the Caroline Islands, the Marshalls, Nauru and Kiribati), and Polynesia (Tonga, Niue, Wallis and Futuna, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Pukapuka, the Cook Islands, the Society Islands, the Marquesas, Hawai’i, Rapanui or Easter Island, New Zealand, and others).
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