Pacific Languages

Download or read book Pacific Languages written by John Lynch and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost one-quarter of the world's languages are (or were) spoken in the Pacific, making it linguistically the most complex region in the world. Although numerous technical books on groups of Pacific or Australian languages have been published, and descriptions of individual languages are available, until now there has been no single book that attempts a wide regional coverage for a general audience. Pacific Languages introduces readers to the grammatical features of Oceanic, Papuan, and Australian languages as well as to the semantic structures of these languages. For readers without a formal linguistic background, a brief introduction to descriptive linguistics is provided. In addition to describing the structure of Pacific languages, this volume places them in their historical and geographical context, discusses the linguistic evidence for the settlement of the Pacific, and speculates on the reason for the region's many languages. It devotes considerable attention to the effects of contact between speakers of different languages and to the development of pidgin and creole languages in the Pacific. Throughout, technical language is kept to a minimum without oversimplifying the concepts or the issues involved. A glossary of technical terms, maps, and diagrams help identify a language geographically or genetically; reading lists and a language index guide the researcher interested in a particular language or group to other sources of information. Here at last is a clear and straightforward overview of Pacific languages for linguists and anyone interested in the history of sociology of the Pacific.

Download or read book Pacific Languages written by John Lynch and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1998-03-01 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost one-quarter of the world's languages are (or were) spoken in the Pacific, making it linguistically the most complex region in the world. Although numerous technical books on groups of Pacific or Australian languages have been published, and descriptions of individual languages are available, until now there has been no single book that attempts a wide regional coverage for a general audience. Pacific Languages introduces readers to the grammatical features of Oceanic, Papuan, and Australian languages as well as to the semantic structures of these languages. For readers without a formal linguistic background, a brief introduction to descriptive linguistics is provided. In addition to describing the structure of Pacific languages, this volume places them in their historical and geographical context, discusses the linguistic evidence for the settlement of the Pacific, and speculates on the reason for the region's many languages. It devotes considerable attention to the effects of contact between speakers of different languages and to the development of pidgin and creole languages in the Pacific. Throughout, technical language is kept to a minimum without oversimplifying the concepts or the issues involved. A glossary of technical terms, maps, and diagrams help identify a language geographically or genetically; reading lists and a language index guide the researcher interested in a particular language or group to other sources of information. Here at last is a clear and straightforward overview of Pacific languages for linguists and anyone interested in the history of sociology of the Pacific.

Download or read book Pacific Languages in Education written by France Mugler and published by [email protected]. This book was released on 1996 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This collection of articles and interviews explores policy, practice and attitudes relating to the use of Pacific languages in education systems of most Pacific Island countries and territories, from pre-school to tertiary level. It records history ; it deals with current attitudes and prejudices ; and it focuses attention on perceived problems with the medium of education in many parts of the region."--Back cover

Download or read book Language Planning and Policy in the Pacific written by Richard B. Baldauf and published by Multilingual Matters. This book was released on 2006 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume covers the language situation in Fiji, The Philippines and Vanuatu explaining the linguistic diversity, the historical and political contexts and the current language situation including language-in-education planning, the role of the media, the role of religion, and the roles of non-indigenous languages. The authors are indigenous and/or have been participants in the language planning context.

Download or read book New Mana written by Matt Tomlinson and published by ANU Press. This book was released on 2016-04-13 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘Mana’, a term denoting spiritual power, is found in many Pacific Islands languages. In recent decades, the term has been taken up in New Age movements and online fantasy gaming. In this book, 16 contributors examine mana through ethnographic, linguistic, and historical lenses to understand its transformations in past and present. The authors consider a range of contexts including Indigenous sovereignty movements, Christian missions and Bible translations, the commodification of cultural heritage, and the dynamics of diaspora. Their investigations move across diverse island groups—Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Hawai‘i, and French Polynesia—and into Australia, North America and even cyberspace. A key insight that the volume develops is that mana can be analysed most productively by paying close attention to its ethical and aesthetic dimensions. Since the late nineteenth century, mana has been an object of intense scholarly interest. Writers in many fields including anthropology, linguistics, history, religion, philosophy, and missiology have long debated how the term should best be understood. The authors in this volume review mana’s complex intellectual history but also describe the remarkable transformations going on in the present day as scholars, activists, church leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs take up mana in new ways.

Download or read book The Pacific Islands written by Brij V. Lal and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 710 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An encyclopaedia of information on major aspects of Pacific life, including the physical environment, peoples, history, politics, economy, society and culture. The CD-ROM contains hyperlinks between section titles and sections, a library of all the maps in the encyclopaedia, and a photo library.

Download or read book Languages of the Pacific Islands written by Hiroko Sato and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introductory textbook on languages of the Pacific Islands was first compiled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2013-2014. The target audience is undergraduate students with no prior coursework in linguistics and little knowledge of the Pacific Islands. All chapters have been refereed and revised. The current edition includes new chapters on Hawaiian and early Polynesian pidgins.