Kavalan
Kavalan is an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan, by about 70 people. Glottolog rates it nearly extinct.
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Kavalan (also known as Kvalan, Kebalan or Kbalan) was formerly spoken in the Northeast coast area of Taiwan by the Kavalan people (噶瑪蘭). It is an East Formosan language of the Austronesian family.
Kavalan is no longer spoken in its original area. As of 1930, it was used only as a home language. As of 1987, it was still spoken in Atayal territories. In 2000, this language was still reported to be spoken by 24 speakers but considered moribund.
In 2017, a study using the EDGE metric from species conservation found that Kavalan, although critically endangered, was among the most lexically distinct of Austronesian languages.
From Wikipedia · Kavalan language · CC BY-SA 4.0
Words in Kavalan
| Meaning | Word | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| father | tama | |
| eye | mata | |
| heart | anem | |
| water | zanum | |
| snow | suRena | |
| stone | bettu | |
| fish | baut | |
| bird | alam | |
| horse | kebayu | |
| snake | sikkay | |
| egg | tiRuR | |
| banana | benina | |
| apple | linggu |
Most similar languages
Vocabulary
- NgajuAustronesian26% alike
- AmisAustronesian25% alike
- DuriAustronesian24% alike
- BununAustronesian24% alike
- MaguindanaoAustronesian24% alike
- Central BontocAustronesian24% alike
Grammar
- Sarangani ManoboAustronesian89% alike
- BobongkoAustronesian88% alike
- Agusan ManoboAustronesian87% alike
- Western SubanonAustronesian86% alike
- MaranaoAustronesian86% alike
- IlongotAustronesian86% alike
Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.
Nearby languages
Elsewhere
Glottolog · kava1241 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · ckv