- published: 09 Dec 2011
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Tsat (also known as Utsat, Utset, Huihui, Hui, or Hainan Cham, Chinese: 回辉语/回輝語 Huíhuīyǔ) is a language spoken near Sanya, Hainan, China by the Utsuls. Tsat is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian group within the Austronesian language family, and is related to the Cham languages, originally from the coast of present-day Vietnam. Today, the language is spoken by 4,500 people in Yanglan (羊栏) and Huixin (回新), two villages on the outskirts of Sanya, Hainan.
Unusually for a Malayo-Polynesian language, Tsat has developed into a solidly tonal language, probably as a result of areal linguistic effects and contact with Chinese, Hlai/Li, and the other tonal languages of Hainan.
Hainan Cham tones correspond to various Proto-Chamic sounds.