Austronesia
Austronesia, in historical terms, refers to the homeland of the people who speak
Austronesian languages, to which
Malay,
Filipino,
Indonesian,
Malagasy, and around a thousand other languages belong. The Austronesian homeland is thought by linguists to have been
Taiwan.
The name Austronesia comes from the
Latin austrālis "southern" plus the
Greek νήσος (
nêsos) "island".
However, in present terminologies, the word Austronesia pertains to the regions where
Austronesian languages are spoken. Austronesia then covers about half of the globe, starting from
Madagascar, which is the most westerly, to
Easter Island, which is the most easterly. Austronesia as a region has four traditional divisions,
Malaysia,
Micronesia,
Melanesia, and
Polynesia.
Malaysia, also called by the names, Indonesia, Malay Archipelago, and
East Indies, was coined from the Greek words meaning 'Malay islands', referring to the
Malay inhabitants of the region.
Malaysia covers the modern nations of:
*
Indonesia, except for
Papua territory;
*
Philippines;
*
Federation of Malaysia;
*
Sultanate of Brunei;
*
East TimorAnd to a lesser extent, the
Republic of China (Taiwan).
Other islands with populations of mixed Malaysian ancestry but that are not part of the traditional Malaysia include:
Guam and the
Northern Mariana Islands.
The term Micronesia was coined in 1893 by
Jules D'Ormont from the Greek roots, meaning 'small islands'.
Politically, Micronesia is divided between eight territories:
*the
Federated States of Micronesia (sometimes referred to simply as "Micronesia", or alternatively abbreviated "FSM");
*the
Republic of the Marshall Islands;
*the Republic of
Palau;
*the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands;
*the Republic of
Nauru;
*the Republic of
Kiribati;
*the Territory of
Guam.
*the Territory of
Wake Island.
The term Melanesia was coined in 1893 by
Jules D'Ormont from the Greek meaning 'black islands', in reference to the
physiognomy of the Melanesians.
The following islands and groups of islands are traditionally considered part of Melanesia:
*
Fiji *
New Caledonia*
New Guinea, politically split between
Indonesia and
Papua New Guinea*
Solomon Islands *
Vanuatu *
Maluku, politically in
Indonesia*
Torres Strait Islands, politically in
AustraliaOther islands with populations of mixed Melanesian ancestry but are not part of the traditional Melanesian area include:
*
Nauru *
Timor, politically split between
Indonesia and
East Timor*
Tonga *
Maluku Utara, politically in
Indonesia*
Flores, politically in
Indonesia*
Sumba, politically in
IndonesiaThe term Polynesia was coined in 1893 by
Jules D'Ormont from the Greek meaning "many islands," describing the multiplicity of the islands in this area of the Pacific.
Countries and territories traditionally included in Polynesia include:
*
American Samoa (overseas United States territory)
*
Cook Islands (self-governing former territory of New Zealand)
*
Easter Island (part of Chile, called Rapa Nui in the
Rapa Nui language)
*
French Polynesia ("overseas nation", a territory of France)
*
Hawai‘i (a state of the United States)
*
Loyalty Islands (a dependency of the French territory of New Caledonia)
*
New Zealand (called Aotearoa in Māori)
*
Niue (a self-governing dependency of New Zealand)
*
Rotuma (an island in the extreme north of Fiji)
*
Samoa (independent nation)
*
Swains Island (politically part of American Samoa)
*
Tokelau (overseas dependency of New Zealand)
*
Tonga (independent nation)
*
Tuvalu (independent nation)
*
Wallis and Futuna (overseas territory of France)
In addition to these islands in this mid-Pacific ocean, Polynesia often is meant to include the
Polynesian outliers: islands that are culturally or linguistically Polynesian, but that are geographically in Melanesia or Micronesia. Most of these are small or isolated islands, like
Rennell or
Tikopia in the
Solomon Islands.
