Austronesian language family –Most remarkable language family in terms of distribution –Speakers live mainly on tropical islands –Ranges from Madagascar, through Indonesia and the Pacific Islands, to Hawaii and Easter Island –Longitudinal span is more than half way around the world –Latitudinally, ranges from Hawaii and Taiwan in the north to New Zealand in the south –Largest single language in this family is Indonesian — 5O million speakers –Most widespread language is Polynesian
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