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

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 Timor

And 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.

Micronesia

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.

Melanesia

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 Australia

Other 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 Indonesia

Polynesia

The 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.