Tsat, also known as Utsat, Utset, Hainan Cham, or Huíhuī (simplified Chinese: 回辉语; traditional Chinese: 回輝語; pinyin: Huíhuīyǔ), is a tonal language spoken by 4,500 Utsul people in Yanglan (羊栏) and Huixin (回新) villages near Sanya, Hainan, China. Tsat is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian group within the Austronesian language family, and is one of the Chamic languages originating on the coast of present-day Vietnam.
Tsat
Hainan Cham
Native to
Region
Ethnicity
Native speakers
4,000 (2007)[1]
Language codes
Hainan Cham tones correspond to various Proto-Chamic sounds.[3]
Hainan Cham Tonogenesis
Tone value
(Hainan Cham)
Type of tone
(Hainan Cham)
Proto-Chamic final sound
55
High
*-h, *-s; PAN *-q
42
Falling
*-p, *-t, *-k, *-c, *-ʔ
Voiceless final: voiced stop / affricate (pre-)initial[a]
*-ay, *-an[b]
24
Rising
*-p, *-t, *-k, *-c, *-ʔ
Voiceless final: default
11
Low
Vowels and nasals, *-a:s
Voiced final: voiced stop / affricate (pre-)initial[a]
33
Mid
Vowels and nasals, *a:s
Voiced final: default
Unusually for an Austronesian language, Tsat has developed into a tonal language, probably as a result of areal linguistic effects and contact with the diverse tonal languages spoken on Hainan including varieties of Chinese such as Hainanese and Standard Chinese, Tai–Kadai languages such as the Hlai languages, and Hmong–Mien languages such as Kim Mun.[4]