Kavalan (Kbalan)

Kavalan is an East Formosan language spoken in Hualien (花蓮縣), Yilan and Taitung (臺東縣) counties (宜蘭縣) in eastern Taiwan. According to a survey carried out by the Council of Indigenous Peoples (原住民族委員會) in 2012, there were 1,295 speakers of Kavalan, half of whom used the language regularly, and the majority of whom were other 60 years old. Other sources report that there are only a few elderly speakers of Kavalan.

Kavalan is also known as Cabelang, Cabbalan, Kalewan, Kibalan, Kaliawan or Kvalan. Speakers of Kavalan call themselves and their language Kbalan, which means "people living in the plains".

Efforts are being made to revitalise Kavalan with lessons in some schools, and projects to document the language. A Kavalan dictionary was published in 2006.

Kavalan alphabet and pronunciation

Kavalan alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

Download an alphabet chart for Kavalan (Excel)

Sample text

Tabayu Xabayaka m-sukaw.
Anem-ku nanam-su.
Masang ma-sulun-ita kiala tu tamun.
Ma-patay-ti-isu, m-uxing-ti-iku m-sukaw.
M-sukaw-ti anem-ku.
Sayzi m-ziux-ti puxux na paxin.

Source: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/噶瑪蘭語

A video in and about Kavalan

Information about Kavalan | Numbers

Links

Information about the Kavalan language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavalan_language
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/噶瑪蘭語 http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/21711/1/jaas026007.pdf
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/1354/2/06hsiehsmall.pdf
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ckv

Formosan languages

Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kanakanavu, Kavalan, Paiwan, Pazeh, Puyuma, Rukai, Saaroa, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Seediq, Tsou

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

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