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Bulletin — February 2017
Language and CuLture researCh Centre College of Arts, Society and Education — James Cook University PO Box 6811, Cairns, North Queensland, 4870, Australia Director: Distinguished Professor A.Y.Aikhenvald; Deputy-Director: Professor R.M.W. Dixon [email protected] [email protected] Bulletin — February 2017 The Language and Culture Research Centre (LCRC) is nested within the College of Arts, Society and Education (Dean, Professor Nola Alloway) and works in association with the Cairns Institute (Director, Professor Stewart Lockie) at James Cook University. Overview Now in its ninth year, the Language and Culture Research Centre maintained — and indeed enhanced — its stature as a leading international centre for the inductive study of linguistic typology. We are the only linguistics research centre (or department) in the world all of whose PhD students are producing a theoretically-informed grammatical description of a previously undescribed (or poorly known) language. The Directors were awarded another Discovery Project from the Australian Research Council on 'The integration of language and society'. Co- investigators are Dr Nerida Jarkey of the University of Sydney, Professor Maarten Mous, from the University of Leiden, and Professor Anne Storch, from the University of Cologne. This is in addition to the continuing Australian Laureate Fellowship, plus other ARC Discovery and Linkage grants, and also a competitive grant received under the Universities Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme. LCRC currently has three Post-Doctoral Research Fellows working on languages from South America. Two new Research Fellow positions will shortly be advertised: one for five years to work in any area of languages of the tropics, and to assist with the supervision of PhD students, and another for two years to work on a language from Papua New Guinea. -
Abstract of Counting Systems of Papua New Guinea and Oceania
Abstract of http://www.uog.ac.pg/glec/thesis/ch1web/ABSTRACT.htm Abstract of Counting Systems of Papua New Guinea and Oceania by Glendon A. Lean In modern technological societies we take the existence of numbers and the act of counting for granted: they occur in most everyday activities. They are regarded as being sufficiently important to warrant their occupying a substantial part of the primary school curriculum. Most of us, however, would find it difficult to answer with any authority several basic questions about number and counting. For example, how and when did numbers arise in human cultures: are they relatively recent inventions or are they an ancient feature of language? Is counting an important part of all cultures or only of some? Do all cultures count in essentially the same ways? In English, for example, we use what is known as a base 10 counting system and this is true of other European languages. Indeed our view of counting and number tends to be very much a Eurocentric one and yet the large majority the languages spoken in the world - about 4500 - are not European in nature but are the languages of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. If we take these into account we obtain a quite different picture of counting systems from that of the Eurocentric view. This study, which attempts to answer these questions, is the culmination of more than twenty years on the counting systems of the indigenous and largely unwritten languages of the Pacific region and it involved extensive fieldwork as well as the consultation of published and rare unpublished sources. -
Manual for Alphabet Design Through Community Interaction for Papua New Guinea Elementary Teacher Trainers
Manual for Alphabet Design through Community Interaction for Papua New Guinea Elementary Teacher Trainers Catherine Easton and Diane Wroge Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA This work is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike license. You may freely copy, distribute and transmit this work and you may also adapt the work under the following conditions: 1) You must attribute the work to the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). 2) You may not use this work for commercial purposes. and 3) If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. September 2002 Trial Edition November 2002 First Edition June 2012 Second Edition SIL – Ukarumpa Eastern Highlands Province Papua New Guinea Table of Contents Purpose ......................................................................................................................................1 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................1 What is an alphabet?..................................................................................................................2 The Alphabet Principle........................................................................................................2 Which sounds need to be written?.................................................................................2 Types of symbols...........................................................................................................3 -
Languages with Longer Words Have More Lexical Change Søren
Languages with longer words have more lexical change Søren Wichmann and Eric W. Holman 1. Introduction: Aims and data1 The findings to be presented in this paper were not anticipated, but came about as an unexpected result of looking at how the application of a version of the Levenshtein distance to word lists compares with cognate counting. We were interested in the degree to which the two correlate. The results of this investigation are intrinsically interesting and will be presented in the following section 2, but even more interesting is our finding that differ- ences between counting cognates and measuring the Levenshtein distances vary as a function of average word lengths in the word lists compared. This observation will occupy the remainder of the paper, with section 3 devoted to establishing the sta tis tical significance of the observation across language families, while section 4 establishes the significance within language groups, and section 5 discusses competing explanations. First we briefly explain the specific version of the Levenshtein distance used and the concept of cognate identification. In numerous previous papers, beginning in Holman et al. (2008a), the present authors as well as other members of the network of scholars partici- pating in the project known as ASJP (or Automated Similarity Judgment Pro gram) have applied a computer-assisted comparison of word lists in order to derive a measure of differences among languages. Our method consists in comparing pairs of words to determine the Levenshtein distance, LD, which is defined as the number of substitutions, insertions, and deletions necessary to transform one word into another. -
A Grammar of the Dom Language a Papuan Language of Papua New Guinea
A Grammar of the Dom Language A Papuan Language of Papua New Guinea TIDA Syuntaroˆ i Table of Contents Acknowledgements xiii Abbreviations xv Maps xvii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Geographical and demographic background . 1 1.2 Socio-linguistic setting . 1 1.2.1 Tribes and clans . 3 1.2.2 Names and Naming . 4 1.3 Linguistic background . 5 1.3.1 Genetic relationships . 5 1.3.2 Typological profile . 6 1.3.3 Papuan context . 7 1.4 Previous work . 7 1.5 Present study . 8 Chapter 2 Phonology 9 2.1 Vowels . 9 2.1.1 Minimal pairs . 9 2.1.2 Lengthening . 9 2.1.3 /e/ . 9 2.1.4 [1] and /i/ insertion . 10 2.1.5 /i/ . 11 2.1.6 /o/ . 11 2.1.7 /u/ . 12 2.1.8 /a/ . 12 2.1.9 Sequence of vowels . 12 2.2 Consonants . 13 2.2.1 Minimal pairs . 13 2.2.2 Prenasalisation and gemination . 13 2.2.3 Obstruents . 14 2.2.3.1 /p/ . 14 2.2.3.2 /b/ . 14 2.2.3.3 /k/ . 14 2.2.3.4 /g/ . 14 ii Table of Contents 2.2.3.5 /t/ . 15 2.2.3.6 /d/ . 15 2.2.3.7 /s/ . 15 2.2.3.8 /r/ . 15 2.2.3.9 /l/ and /L/........................... 16 2.2.3.10 /s/, /t/ and /l/ . 17 2.2.3.11 /c/ and /j/ . 18 2.2.4 Nasals . 19 2.2.4.1 /n/ . 19 2.2.4.2 /m/ . -
A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Amio-Gelimi Language Area
DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2013-017 ® A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Amio-Gelimi Language Area Juliann Spencer, Sara Van Cott, and Bonnie MacKenzie A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Amio-Gelimi Language Area Juliann Spencer, Sara Van Cott and Bonnie MacKenzie SIL International® 2013 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2013-017, September 2013 © 2013 Juliann Spencer, Sara Van Cott, Bonnie MacKenzie, and SIL International® All rights reserved 1 Abstract In October of 2009 SIL conducted a survey of the Amio-Gelimi language, located in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. Amio-Gelimi is listed as Lesing-Gelimi [let] in the sixteenth edition of the Ethnologue and belongs to the East Arawe subgroup of Austronesian languages. The goals of the survey were to determine language and dialect boundaries and evaluate language vitality. Research was conducted through group interviews in each village in the language area, interviews with leaders of institutions in the area, collection of wordlists and observation. The findings of the survey indicate that Amio-Gelimi has two dialects and is spoken in four villages to the east of Gasmata: Amio, Kaskas, Atui and Poronga. Amio and Kaskas belong to the Amio dialect, while Atui and Poronga belong to the Gelimi dialect. The vitality of the Amio-Gelimi language is currently high. 2 Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Language location 1.2 Language name and classification 1.3 Population 1.4 Goals 2 Methodology 2.1 Tools 2.2 Sampling 2.3 Critique 3 Language and dialect boundaries 3.1 Previous research 3.2 -
Bariai Steve and Carol Jean Gallagher Part 1: Sociolinguistics
Bariai Steve and Carol Jean Gallagher Part 1: Sociolinguistics 1. Introduction 1.1 Background As linguists/translators with the Summer Institute of Linguistics, we (Steve and Carol Jean Gallagher) began initial language and cultural learning among the Bariai people in June 1993. As of the writing of this report, we have spent approximately twenty-three months living and working in the Bariai area, based in the village of Bambak. We selected Bambak because it was one of two villages recommended for allocation by O’Rear and Ferree (1991), and because Bambak is widely acknowledged as the original Bariai village. It is also less crowded and much cleaner than the other village suggested by O’Rear and Ferree. The Bariai language group is located on the northwestern coast of the Island of New Britain in the West New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea. All of the seven Bariai villages are coastal. See Map 1.1. The most common name for the language is Bariai, though it is sometimes referred to as Kabana by the people of the Eastern villages (Kokopo and Gurisi). The people of the Western villages feel that the term Kabana has derogatory connotations, so they insist that it should be called Bariai. The people of the Eastern villages generally do not have a problem referring to the language as Bariai. The Ethnologue code for Bariai is BCH. It is an Austronesian language of the Ngero/Vitiaz group of languages, in the Bariai Chain of languages. 123 124 Bariai Bariai Language New Britain Map 1.1 1.2 Methodology The data for this report was obtained primarily by living with and observing the Bariai people during the years 1993–1996. -
Word-Prosodic Systems of Raja Ampat Languages
Word-prosodic systems of Raja Ampat languages PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D.D. Breimer, hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op woensdag 9 januari 2002 te klokke 15.15 uur door ALBERT CLEMENTINA LUDOVICUS REMIJSEN geboren te Merksem (België) in 1974 Promotiecommissie promotores: Prof. Dr. V.J.J.P. van Heuven Prof. Dr. W.A.L. Stokhof referent: Dr. A.C. Cohn, Cornell University overige leden: Prof. Dr. T.C. Schadeberg Prof. Dr. H. Steinhauer Published by LOT phone: +31 30 253 6006 Trans 10 fax: +31 30 253 6000 3512 JK Utrecht e-mail: [email protected] The Netherlands http://www.let.uu.nl/LOT/ Cover illustration: Part of the village Fafanlap (Misool, Raja Ampat archipelago, Indonesia) in the evening light. Photo by Bert Remijsen (February 2000). ISBN 90-76864-09-8 NUGI 941 Copyright © 2001 by Albert C.L. Remijsen. All rights reserved. This book is dedicated to Lex van der Leeden (1922-2001), with friendship and admiration Table of contents Acknowledgements vii Transcription and abbreviations ix 1 Introduction 1 2 The languages of the Raja Ampat archipelago 5 2.1. About this chapter 5 2.2. Background 6 2.2.1. The Austronesian and the Papuan languages, and their origins 6 2.2.2. The South Halmahera-West New Guinea subgroup of Austronesian 8 2.2.2.1. In general 8 2.2.2.2. Within the South Halmahera-West New Guinea (SHWNG) subgroup 9 2.2.2.3. -
Papers on Six Languages of Papua New Guinea
Papers on six languages of Papua New Guinea Pacific Linguistics 616 Pacific Linguistics is a publisher specialising in grammars and linguistic descriptions, dictionaries and other materials on languages of the Pacific, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor, southeast and south Asia, and Australia. Pacific Linguistics, established in 1963 through an initial grant from the Hunter Douglas Fund, is associated with the School of Culture, History and Language in the College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University. The authors and editors of Pacific Linguistics publications are drawn from a wide range of institutions around the world. Publications are refereed by scholars with relevant expertise, who are usually not members of the editorial board. FOUNDING EDITOR: Stephen A. Wurm EDITORIAL BOARD: I Wayan Arka and Malcolm Ross (Managing Editors), Mark Donohue, Nicholas Evans, David Nash, Andrew Pawley, Paul Sidwell, Jane Simpson, and Darrell Tryon EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Karen Adams, Arizona State University Marian Klamer, Universiteit Leiden Alexander Adelaar, University of Melbourne Harold Koch, The Australian National Peter Austin, School of Oriental and African University Studies Frantisek Lichtenberk, University of Byron Bender, University of Hawai‘i Auckland Walter Bisang, Johannes Gutenberg- John Lynch, University of the South Pacific Universität Mainz Patrick McConvell, Australian Institute of Robert Blust, University of Hawai‘i Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander David Bradley, La Trobe University Studies Lyle Campbell, University of Utah William McGregor, Aarhus Universitet James Collins, Universiti Kebangsaan Ulrike Mosel, Christian-Albrechts- Malaysia Universität zu Kiel Bernard Comrie, Max Planck Institute for Claire Moyse-Faurie, Centre National de la Evolutionary Anthropology Recherche Scientifique Matthew Dryer, State University of New York Bernd Nothofer, Johann Wolfgang Goethe- at Buffalo Universität Frankfurt am Main Jerold A. -
Nomenclature Abbreviations
Abbreviations * As a prefix, indicates a proto language word /?/ glottal stop 2′ compound for 3 = 2 + 1 or rarely 1 + 1 + 1 but numeral for 4 2″ distinct numeral for 3 but 4 is a compound, usually 2 + 2, rarely 5 - 1 or 2 + 1 + 1 AN Austronesian languages BC or BCE Before Christ, that is before the Current Era taken as before the period of Christ BP Before the present CE or AD In the current era, that is after the year of the Lord (Domino/Dominum) Christ CSQ, MQ Counting System Questionnaire; Measurement Questionnaire d. dialect IMP Indigenous Mathematics Project Manus type Lean used this to refer to counting systems that used subtraction from 10 such as 7=10-3, 8=10-2, 9=10-1, often with the meaning e.g. for 7 as 3 needed to com- plete the group MC Micronesian Motu type Lean used this to refer to counting systems that used pairs such as 6=2x3, 7=2x3+1, 8=2x4, 9=2x4+1 NAN Non-Austronesian (also called Papuan) languages NCQ, CQN Noun, classifier, quantifier; classifier, quantifier, noun NQC, QCN Noun, quantifier, classifier; quantifier, classifier, noun NTM New Tribes Mission, PNG PAN Proto Austronesian PN Polynesian PNG Papua New Guinea POC Proto Oceanic QC, CQ Order of quantifier-classifier; classifier-quantifier respectively SHWNG South Halmahera West New Guinea (AN Non-Oceanic language of the Central- Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, a subgroup of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian) after Tryon (2006) SIL Summer Institute of Linguistics SOV Order of words in a sentence: Subject Object Verb SVO Order of words in a sentence: Subject Verb Object TNG Trans New Guinea Phylum Nomenclature The Australian system of numbering is used. -
C Cat Talo Ogu Ue
PACIF IC LINGUISTICS Catalogue February, 2013 Pacific Linguistics WWW Home Page: http://pacling.anu.edu.au/ Pacific Linguistics School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY See last pagee for order form FOUNDING EDITOR: S.A. Wurm MANAGING EDITOR: Paul Sidwell [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD: I Wayan Arka, Mark Donohue, Bethwyn Evan, Nicholas Evans, Gwendolyn Hyslop, David Nash, Bill Palmer, Andrew Pawley, Malcolm Ross, Paul Sidwell, Jane Simpson, and Darrell Tryon ADDRESS: Pacific Linguistics School of Culture, History and Language College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia Phone: +61 (02 6125 2742 E-mail: [email protected] Home page: http://www.pacling.anu.edu.au// 1 2 Pacific Linguistics Pacific Linguistics Books Online http://www.pacling.anu.edu.au/ Austoasiatic Studies: PL E-8 Papers from ICAAL4: Mon-Khmer Studies Journal, Special Issue No. 2 Edited by Sophana Srichampa & Paul Sidwell This is the first of two volumes of papers from the forth International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (ICAAL4), which was held at the Research Institute for Language and Culture of Asia, Salaya campus of Mahidol University (Thailand) 29-30 October 2009. Participants were invited to present talks related the meeting theme of ‘An Austroasiatic Family Reunion’, and some 70 papers were read over the two days of the meeting. Participants came from a wide range of Asian countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore and China, as well as western nations. Published by: SIL International, Dallas, USA Mahidol University at Salaya, Thailand / Pacific Linguistics, Canberra, Australia ISBN 9780858836419 PL E-7 SEALS XIV Volume 2 Papers from the 14th annual meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society 2004 Edited by Wilaiwan Khanittanan and Paul Sidwell The Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society was held in Bangkok , Thailand , May 19-21, 2004. -
Ro Ta Ipiyooto Sua Mbula Uunu, Mbula-English Dictionary
Ro Ta Ipiyooto Sua Mbula Uunu Mbula-English Dictionary By Salme Bugenhagen and Robert Bugenhagen Grateful acknowledgement is made of project funding from Wycliffe USA, Wycliffe Finland, and the Papua New Guinea Branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, which has made the publication of this dictionary possible, and will enable the speakers of the Mangaaba-Mbula language to be able to purchase copies of it at a price affordable to them. Illustrations by: James Andrew, George Aisaul, Michael Harrah, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics Papua New Guinea Branch clip art collection 275 Copies Published 2007 by The Summer Institute of LInguistics Papua New Guinea Branch ISBN: 9980-0-3330-4 Printed by: Saarijärven Offset Oy PL 19 Kirjapainontie 104 43101 Saarijärvi FINLAND Table of Contents Sua Sotaaraŋana Pa Ro Ta Ipiyooto Sua Mbula Uunu (Vernacular Preface) ..... 1 Koroŋ pakan ta re su pa ............................................................................................. 2 Zaala be parŋgalaken sua raama uunu ...................................................................... 2 Uraata ki sua .............................................................................................................. 3 English Preface ........................................................................................................ 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................