Taiwan Plains Austronesian Latin scripts and documents from the 17th to the 19th century: A bibliographical survey

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to describe the evolution, from birth to extinction, of the Latin scripts of the Taiwan Plains Austronesians, which record the Siraya, Taivoan, Makatau, Favorlang and Basay languages, based on a comprehensive bibliographical survey of the documents, surviving and lost, written in these scripts. We first discuss the background of, motivations for and process of creating the scripts. Using the Siraya script as an example, the paper demonstrates how different usage layers can affect the spelling and document format of a script. From a survey based on published Dutch and Spanish archival materials and other records from the 17th to the 19th century, we compile a total of 51 items of Plains Austronesian Latin documents. A comparison of these items reveals the text formation process of the documents. We suggest that the contribution of Daniël Gravius in the Siraya translation of the Gospels of Matthew and John and the Christian formulary may not have been significant, although he was often later credited as the author. The survey also provides clues when searching for ‘lost’ items, such as the Siraya ABC Book. In addition, we collate Plains Austronesian Latin script accounts in Chinese records. These provide strong evidence of the use of Latin script in Makatau villages during the Qing dynasty. The records also reveal that during the 18th century, there were Plains Austronesian people who knew the Latin script, called ‘teachers’. It may have originated from the schoolteachers of the Dutch colonial period. After the Dutch withdrew, these ‘teachers’ became responsible for the villages’ accounting and administrative documents. The education of Plains Austronesian children was then conducted by schools established in the Qing dynasty, with Han Chinese teachers recruited to teach the children Chinese classics.