SIL and its contribution to Oceanic linguistics1 René van den Berg SIL International Abstract:53? %/3/ %%%5%%%/ /?/%%5 paper also discusses avenues for future research and collaboration between SIL and Key words: SIL, Oceanic linguistics, collaboration Fifty years ago Arthur Capell’s article ‘Oceanic Linguistics today’ was published (Capell '*+-//3/[5 article is still worth reading, if only to get an idea of the progress made in the intervening /%678 his article by stressing the need for recording undescribed languages, collecting vernacular oral literature, doing ‘deep analysis’ of phonemic and morphological structures, as well %/3% In many respects – and this is somewhat sobering – those needs have not much changed %/ the number of languages in the Pacific is much bigger than previously estimated, while the task of describing a single language has been expanded with the need to include full In this article I discuss and evaluate the contribution of SIL to Oceanic linguistics %;;</= >?>% means presenting a personal perspective, I have tried to be objective and have taken into 3%5 /%[5[ René van den Berg //-@/ the question: to what extent has the descriptive work of SIL been informed by the various linguistic layers of linguistic research (description, documentation, typology, formal theory)? Also, to what extent can the work of SIL be expected to integrate with the work %D;E5 /=+ /J3% Although most linguists working in Oceanic languages have heard about SIL or have /3//% 3 /[/ % ・ International: members come from a variety of countries, currently over sixty, and %%% ・ Non=[: the members work as volunteers in the organisation, which is funded by % ・ Faith-based8/%/ 5=% =/3/ > engaged in traditional missionary activities such as proselytising, church planting, % ・ Focussed on language development: members are engaged in a variety of activities %5 descriptions, production of vernacular literacy materials and the translation of 3%/K</ 5/3K %% ・ Focussed on capacity-building: as an organisation, SIL is not only interested in / Consequently, an increasing emphasis is given to training events as well as to =/R SIL and its contribution to Oceanic linguistics Especially in the area of training for literacy, translation, and some basic linguistics, %>6= 5T53T<V> -XXJ Thesis 1. The language work SIL is involved in can be characterised as holistic, community-based and with a long-term focus. K= educational and a translation focus, and that ideally these three should blend effortlessly %/%/5= is evidenced by the fact that SIL members typically reside in the community for several /%5 amount of time spent in the language community depends on factors such as availability of 3=6 %Y%Q%R =/ /3 5/3>/3 %%/3/ ‘owl’, that is, an ‘ordinary working linguist’ who has been given enough training to enable [\/[ %>[/3%/ 3/57/ 63% /5/% //3[/ QR/%= >/=3/6% % SIL has been active in the Pacific since 1956, when the first agreement with the then <V/5[?/ /3//8K'*;*Y3 _/'*JX'*`X René van den Berg 5'/?>= %<V_ </8&/<V3% >/ //3 [5'5completed (all or most SIL goals have been achieved, there are no SIL members assigned to this project anymore); active%%\inactive (goals only partially achieved, %%\local programsQR programs which have emerged under the inspiration of work done by SIL in neighbouring //?5//3 %</5% =[[%K5>K5 ><V/3 /33K5>/ %%%& %/ 5/5 %/>6'6% SIL and its contribution to Oceanic linguistics TABLE 1. SIL (AND SIL-RELATED) PROJECTS IN OCEANIC (AUSTRONESIAN) LANGUAGES Completed Active Inactive Country (province) Local programs programs programs programs Indonesia (Papua) = = 1 = <V 1332 & <V =1=3 (Sandaun) <V ==1= (East Sepik) <V 26310 </ <V 21= = T</K <V 2441 Y</K <V 9312 & <V 31= 2 & <V =1=2 (Oro) <V 810=16 &K <V 31= 7 (Central) <V 4236 (Bougainville) PNG total 34 33 15 51 Solomon Islands 10 6 3 13 Vanuatu 2 11 3 1 </8 = 2 2 = Fiji, Samoa ==== & = 3 = = Polynesia 3944 Total Oceanic 49 64 27 69 In order to get a good idea of what SIL does, it may help to give two brief descriptions of some fairly typical SIL projects, chosen somewhat randomly, focussing on what has been [%K%[ René van den Berg <V[ 5[&&=3 -DXXX3&&K% 585/3K 8>\/3&'*J`5</5 /'**J8%%[ a. Linguistics Published: ・ 8K'*`J/>/3& Language and Linguistics in Melanesia'+J'=** ・ 8K'**@&&8Phonologies of Austronesian Languages <-'=-D#</V %DX$3 ・ 8-XX;Baba ana talisi ana buki Misima dictionary>'XD=/%*XX example sentences, grammatical introduction and some semantic domains, 6% Unpublished%%$3 ・ <&'*`;\@X ・ _%&'*`;\;` ・ 5&'*`;\@* ・ /&'*`;\-* ・ &// '**+\'@ ・ &'**+\'* ・ #'*`J\-`@-'XX b. Literacy (all written in cooperation with local authors): ・ =3-%+@ ・ =%3D%DX=+X ・ =3+%DX=;X ・ ABC book: Aeiou ana bukiDJ ・ ';%'+=-X ・ ;%'-=-XEyowaa ge hogaa ‘At the garden and at the sea’; ・ +%'+=DXQ?T SIL and its contribution to Oceanic linguistics &RBobu bwabwatanaQ5RPanuwaa ‘At home’, but some %/Moti liwaniliyaQR ・ 3-%'; ・ HIV ge AIDS Wasana ana Buki_=>#3'- ・ HIV-AIDS video. ・ &-XX@/ c. Translation (in cooperation with a local team of translators): ・ _K'*`; ・ Bateli Vavaluna</5'**J+`J ・ Abatelipuna, Totagil, Yosuwa, Ludi, Daniyela ge Yona +?53 -X'X-D- ・ >%</5/-X'X[/ 58%6%/3 vernacular preschools in 30 locations (beginning in 1983, and now replaced by government schools), organising adult literacy classes, holding teacher training courses and writers’ /3%/ local church in revising and publishing a vernacular hymn book (Wona Analaa, 2007, 151 pp), and were also instrumental in sourcing funds for the establishment of a water system in %5%[ /%% shows another aspect of the work of SIL: the large number of valuable documents which / 5[/3 Y>3'-XX<5 /3KY5Y T5/3-XX@[ / a. Linguistics Published: ・ Y5KY-XX;<% 3Phonological Descriptions of PNG LanguagesD*=;+# </V%DJ$3 ・ YK5Y-XX;Seimat Grammar Essentials# </V%D`$3 René van den Berg ・ Hosai waliko ma azan ti kakai Seimat ma Inglis – Seimat -English Picture Dictionary-XX*$3''+ Unpublished: ・ =T8@-;X ・ V3>6%V T/3 b. Literacy ・ &T 3 Flashcards for Seimat classifiers (the language has some 26 numeral [ Seimat alphabet games packs for use in the following Seimat word games: ?[% Seimat board game (Seimat culturally specific to aid literacy and maths % ・ Seimat Primer Book (34 pp) ・ Seimat Spelling Activities Book (30 pp) ・ K3D` ・ >3-'-@+ ・ KK3>@;`-X ・ Story books (170 titles, about 14 pp each, 51 of these also available as Big Books), =<V8/ //353 3%/ Examples of titles: Tok sinen puluti tok pouQ53R\Amika hutui puasainQ&R\Sale ngahatiai akaik, ‘Caring for baby’; Puki kakaiak i tuah wanenQYR c. Translation ・ </5=3# -X'- 5[ as possible for use in the elementary schools, plus materials to aid the elementary teachers in their teaching of the children in the Elementary Prep, Elementary 1 and Elementary 2 SIL and its contribution to Oceanic linguistics 5% &/ Thesis 2. SIL’s agenda overlaps only partially with that of academic linguistics. As mentioned above, SIL’s agenda is broader than linguistics: it is a holistic, =%/=/ revitalisation are not the major concerns of most SIL workers, but there can be no doubt &% ?=/3/%$3/ Q%R Y3//37 what extent SIL’s agenda has integrated with the concerns of the wider academic linguistic /7/6% theoretical and typological linguistics have informed the work carried out by SIL, and also /6R/3?// these questions I will try to give a balanced picture, highlighting some of the results of our linguistic work, while at the same time not closing my eyes to possible shortcomings and R/3/@ Thesis 3. Descriptive work such as done by SIL has laid and continues to lay a solid empirical basis for theoretical, typological and historical- comparative research in Oceania. 5@#% basis of any advances in our understanding of what language is, what the human language faculty is capable of, what sounds and sound patterns are possible, which grammatical alignment systems occur, what possibilities of clause combinations are prevalent, to name [/7 %6 &grammars and grammatical studies of Oceanic languages have been 5%/ /><$% René van den Berg 8</V/'*JX& K'*`X<3K'**;&=&T '**J5/[T'**D /_#/&3 _$%5/ = ?5-% TABLE 2.