Also known as Malayo-Polynesian Languages. The Austronesian Languages are the largest family with over 500 members and a geographical range from Madagascar to Easter Island and Hawaii. The languages of Australia and most of New Guinea, however, are not part of this family.
The Austronesian languages are divided into an Indonesian (or Western branch) and an Oceanic (or Eastern) branch. The languages of the Indonesian branch (more than 200) are spoken in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Madagascar, and parts of Vietnam and Taiwan.
The Oceanic branch consists of about 300 languages spoken on islands throughout the Pacific Ocean. The Oceanic languages fall into three groups: Polynesian, Micronesian, and Melanesian. Well-known Polynesian languages include Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, Maori (spoken in New Zealand), and Hawaiian. They are remarkably uniform in grammar and phonology (but not vocabulary) and have rich vowel systems and few consonants. Their oral literature is extensive.
The Melanesian languages (about 200 in number) are spoken in a band of islands from New Guinea to Fiji. The Melanesian languages of New Guinea were influenced by the non-Austronesian Papuan languages.
The nine Micronesian languages are spoken in islands scattered
north of Melanesia, between the Philippines and Polynesia.
[Articles/_private/langnavbar.htm]Indonesian
- Malay/Indonesian , other languages of Indonesia (Javanese, etc...)
- Philippine languages: Tagalog, Ilocano, Bontoc, etc...
- Aboriginal languages of Taiwan (Tsou, etc...)
- Malagasy (spoken on Madagascar)
Oceanic
- Polynesian languages: Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, Tahitian, etc...
- Micronesian: Chamorro (spoken on Guam), Yap, Truk, etc...