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Austronesian
Languages
1. Austronesian languages,
formerly Malayo-Polynesian
languages, family of
languages spoken in most of 2. According to Robert Blust (1999),
the Indonesian archipelago; Austronesian is divided into several
all of the Philippines, primary branches, all but one of
Madagascar, and the island which are found exclusively in
groups of the Central and Taiwan. The Formosan languages
South Pacific much of of Taiwan are grouped into as many
Malaysia; and scattered as nine first-order subgroups of
areas of Vietnam, Austronesian. All Austronesian
Cambodia, Laos, and languages spoken outside Taiwan
Taiwan. (including its offshore Yami
In terms of the number of its
languages and of their language) belong to the Malayo-
geographic spread, Polynesian (sometimes called Extra-
the Austronesian language Formosan) branch.
family is among the world’s
largest.
