This consonant system is quite similar to the ancestral Proto-Austronesian (PAN) system, but is characterized by three mergers: The Proto-Austronesian vowels *a, *i, *u, *e (*e representing /ə/) and final diphthongs *ay, *aw, *uy, *iw remained unchanged.
[2] In a study from 2016, Roger Blench[4] has raised doubts that there was actually a single unitary Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language.
Rather, Malayo-Polynesian expansion across the Luzon Strait consisted of multi-ethnic crews rapidly settling across various locations in maritime Southeast Asia, as suggested by both archaeological and linguistic evidence.
There was also a Malayo-Polynesian migration to Hainan; Blench (2016) notes that both Hlai and Austronesian peoples use the foot-braced backstrap loom as well.
Below are selected animal and plant names in Proto-Malayo-Polynesian from the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary.