In addition, they all use "seaward" as an antonym for "inland" or "highlands," indicating that these people originally lived on the coastal area of a large land area and not on small islands.
而且，南島語族普遍以「向海」做為「內陸」或「高地」的方向對稱。使用這種「海陸分明」語言的民族，應是居住在沿海地域，一邊面海，一邊有相當遼闊的腹地，而不是在海島上。