Paiwan is a native language of southern Taiwan. It is spoken as a first language by the ethnic Paiwan, a Taiwanese indigenous people, and historically as a second language by many people in southern Taiwan. Paiwan is a Formosan language of the Austronesian language family. It is also one of the national languages of Taiwan.

Dialects

Paiwan variants are seen divided into the following dialect zones by Ferrell. This classification were thought to be corrected by Cheng 2016 as below: Note: A village unnoted of Vuculj/Ravar is by default placed under Vuculj here.

Phonology

Kuljaljau Paiwan has 23–24 consonants ( is found only in loanwords, and is uncommon) and 4 vowels. Unlike many other Formosan languages that have merged many Proto-Austronesian phonemes, Paiwan preserves most Proto-Austronesian phonemes and is thus highly important for reconstruction purposes. The four Paiwan vowels are. is written ⟨e⟩ in the literature. In Northern Paiwan the palatal consonants have been lost, though this is recent and a few conservative speakers maintain them as allophonic variants (not as distinct phonemes). is robust, unlike in other Paiwan dialects where its status is uncertain, as it derives from *q. Younger speakers tend to pronounce as. Fricative is characteristic of Mudan village; elsewhere is Southern Paiwan it tends to be a trill, though it still varies. Word-initial *k has become.

Grammar

Pronouns

The Paiwan personal pronouns below are from Ferrell (1982).

Function words

Paiwan has three construction markers, which are also known as relational particles. Other words include: Affixed adverbials include: Interjections include the following:

Verbs

Paiwan verbs have 4 types of focus. The following verbal affixes are used to express varying degrees of volition or intent, and are arranged below from highest to lowest intention. Paiwan verbs can also take on the following non-derivational suffixes.

Affixes

The Paiwan affixes below are from the Kulalao dialect unless stated otherwise, and are sourced from Ferrell (1982). The following affixes are from the Tjuabar dialect of Paiwan, spoken in the northwest areas of Paiwan-occupied territory (Comparative Austronesian Dictionary 1995).