Austronesian

Aus tro ne sian |ˌôstrōˈnēZHən ˌɔstroʊˈniʒən | ▶adjective of, relating to, or denoting a family of languages spoken in an area extending from Madagascar in the west to the Pacific islands in the east. Also called Malayo-Polynesian. ▶noun this family of languages. ORIGIN from German austronesisch, based on Latin australis ‘southern ’ (see austral ) + Greek nēsos ‘island. ’

Austronesian

Austronesian |ˌɒstrə (ʊ )ˈniːʒən, -zɪən | ▶adjective relating to or denoting a family of languages spoken in an area extending from Madagascar in the west to the Pacific islands in the east. Also called Malayo-Polynesian. ▶noun [ mass noun ] the Austronesian family of languages. Austronesian languages are spoken by about 140 million people, of whom all but 1 million speak a language of the Indonesian group, which includes Indonesian, Javanese, Tagalog, and Malagasy. The other groups are Micronesian, Melanesian, and Polynesian, scattered across the islands of the South Pacific. ORIGIN from German austronesisch, based on Latin australis ‘southern ’ (see austral ) + Greek nēsos ‘island ’.