Writing System: Tsou does not have a traditional indigenous writing system, but in modern times, it is written using the Latin alphabet. Orthography for Tsou includes markers for tone and glottal stops, essential for distinguishing meaning in the language. Specific conventions vary depending on the standardization process, but the system accounts for Tsou’s phonemic inventory and unique phonological features.
Grammar: Tsou grammar is characterized by its ergative-absolutive alignment, which contrasts with nominative-accusative systems found in English. It employs a focus system that marks the syntactic and pragmatic roles of nouns, such as actor focus, patient focus, and locative focus. The basic word order is Verb-Object-Subject (VOS), but this can vary due to discourse and pragmatic considerations. Additionally, Tsou makes extensive use of affixes to mark tense, aspect, and mood.
Phonology: Tsou’s phonological system includes consonants such as /p, t, k, ʔ, b, d, ɡ, m, n, ŋ, s, ʃ, h, l, r, w, j/ and vowels /i, e, a, o, u/. Tsou is notable for its use of glottal stops and ejective consonants, which are distinctive phonetic features. Tone is also an integral aspect of Tsou, affecting meaning at the word level.
Lexicon: The Tsou lexicon is rooted in the Austronesian language family, reflecting shared vocabulary with related languages. Tsou has also incorporated loanwords from Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and other neighboring languages due to historical contact and colonization. Despite these influences, efforts are ongoing to preserve and revitalize indigenous Tsou vocabulary, especially for traditional cultural and ecological terms.
Endangered Voices Initiative 