Amis or Ami is a member of the Formosan group or Austronesian languages. It is spoken along parts of the east coast of Taiwan by about 180,000 people, particularly between Hualien and Taitung. There are a number of different dialects of Amis, including Sakizaya and Nataoran in the north, and Tavalong-Vata'an, Middle and Southern dialects. Some dialects are divergent enough to be considered different languages. The language is known as 阿美語 (āmĕiyŭ) in Chinese.