Austronesian
adjective
Aus·tro·ne·sian
ˌȯ-strə-ˈnē-zhən 
ˌä-,
-shən
: of, relating to, or constituting a family of languages spoken in the area extending from Madagascar eastward through the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago to Hawaii and Easter Island and including practically all the native languages of the Pacific islands with the exception of the Australian and Papuan languages
Examples of Austronesian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Highlighting Austronesian languages in the Pacific Ocean region, the series is supported by TAICCA’s development fund as part of the Creative Content Development Program, as well as a script fund from the New Zealand government.
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Sara Merican, Deadline, 31 July 2024
The original inhabitants, whose descendants now make up a small minority in Taiwan, were Austronesian tribes who ruled themselves in a number of chiefdoms.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
Other musical devices on stage on Saturday will represent the rich Austronesian history of seafaring, when early islanders took instruments with them in outrigger canoes for the long journey following the currents from Taiwan to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Micronesia.
—The Arizona Republic, 7 Feb. 2024
In late November, experts discovered that Pingtan Island was home to Austronesian people, also called Malayo-Polynesian, around 3,000 to 7,500 years ago.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 28 Dec. 2023
The language of Madagascar belongs to yet another, non-African category, the Austronesian language family.
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2023
They are believed to be associated with the diaspora of Austronesian speaking peoples.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Aug. 2023
The Negritos of Malaysia are somewhat different, but note that one of the populations exhibits Austro-Asiatic, but not Austronesian, admixture.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2011
Sara Merican, Deadline, 31 July 2024
The original inhabitants, whose descendants now make up a small minority in Taiwan, were Austronesian tribes who ruled themselves in a number of chiefdoms.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
Other musical devices on stage on Saturday will represent the rich Austronesian history of seafaring, when early islanders took instruments with them in outrigger canoes for the long journey following the currents from Taiwan to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Micronesia.
—The Arizona Republic, 7 Feb. 2024
In late November, experts discovered that Pingtan Island was home to Austronesian people, also called Malayo-Polynesian, around 3,000 to 7,500 years ago.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 28 Dec. 2023
The language of Madagascar belongs to yet another, non-African category, the Austronesian language family.
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2023
They are believed to be associated with the diaspora of Austronesian speaking peoples.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Aug. 2023
The Negritos of Malaysia are somewhat different, but note that one of the populations exhibits Austro-Asiatic, but not Austronesian, admixture.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2011
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Austronesian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Austronesian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Austronesian. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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