Native to China Ethnicity Utsul ISO 639-3 huq | Region Hainan Native speakers 4,000 (2007) | |
Language family Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian
Malayo-Sumbawan
Chamic
Highlands
Northern Chamic
Tsat | ||
Tsat, also known as Utsat, Utset, Hainan Cham, or Huíhuī (simplified Chinese: 回辉语; traditional Chinese: 回輝語; pinyin: Huíhuīyǔ), is a language spoken by 4,500 Utsul people in Yanglan (Chinese: 羊栏) and Huixin (Chinese: 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.
Unusually for an Austronesian language, Tsat has developed into a solidly 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.
Tonogenesis
Hainan Cham tones correspond to various Proto-Chamic sounds.