{"word_count": 171, "character_count": 1064}
In the Formosan data recorded by Ino (1998:25), Taokas and Papora, two west-coast Formosan languages, have for ‘one’ the following forms: Sinkon (Taokas) tanu, Hajyovan and Vudol (both Papora) tanu. The form occurs reduplicated in Tanatanahu and Hameyan (both Taokas): tata:anu, and as ta’a:nu in Varaval (Taokas). The base form reconstructs as *tanu (not *Canu, since Sinkon Taokas reflects *C as s: masa 'eye', sareina 'ear', samani 'to cry'; and the same is true of Papora: masa, sarina, samani: ). This is etymon #30 in the ABVD. The PAN word for ‘one’ is generally acknowledged to be *isa.To this let us compare Natauran Amis tanu ‘only, just’ (Bril, p.c., 31 March 2020). I hypothesize that the original meaning of *tanu was ‘only’, as in Amis, which in Papora and Taokas shifted to ‘only one’ and ultimately to ‘one’.ReferencesIno, Yoshinori 伊能嘉矩. 1998. 巡臺日程 Xún Tái Rì Chéng [A Formosan itinerary]. In 伊能嘉矩番語調查手冊 Ino Yoshinori fānyǔ diàochá shǒucè [Ino Yoshinori’s field records], ed. by : T. Moriguchi, pp. 13-201. Taipei: Southern Materials Center.[cite]