Proto-Austronesian language

Proto-Austronesian
  • PAN
  • PAn
Reconstruction ofAustronesian
RegionFormosa (main island of Taiwan)
Erac. 4000 BCE – c. 3500 BCE
Lower-order reconstructions

Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify c. 4000 BCE – c. 3500 BCE in Taiwan.[1]

Lower-level reconstructions have also been made, and include Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, Proto-Oceanic, and Proto-Polynesian. Recently, linguists such as Malcolm Ross and Andrew Pawley have built large lexicons for Proto-Oceanic and Proto-Polynesian.

  1. ^ Blust, Robert; Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics (2013). The Austronesian languages: Revised Edition. Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. hdl:1885/10191. ISBN 978-1-92218-507-5.