A Grammar of Paluai

Dineke Schokkin

Dineke Schokkin

A Grammar of Paluai

The Language of Baluan Island, Papua New Guinea

In: Pacific Linguistics [PL], 663

De Gruyter Mouton | 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110675177

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Contents

About this book

This is the first comprehensive description of Paluai, an Oceanic Austronesian language spoken on Baluan Island in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. Based on extensive field research, the grammar covers all linguistic levels, including phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, while paying particular attention to pragmatics and discourse practices.

This is the first comprehensive description of Paluai, a language from the underdescribed Admiralties subgroup, a first-order branch of Oceanic (Austronesian). Paluai is spoken on Baluan Island in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea, by two to three thousand people.

The grammar is based on extensive field research by the author and covers all linguistic levels. After a general introduction of its socio-cultural context, the language's phonology is discussed, followed by two chapters on its parts of speech, divided by open and closed word classes. Following chapters address topics such as the structure of the noun phrase, verbal and non-verbal clauses, grammatical relations, serial verb constructions, mood, negation and clause combining. The final chapter provides an in-depth discussion of pragmatics and discourse practices relevant to Paluai, illustrated through two narrative texts that are included integrally at the end of the book.

This grammar is of interest to scholars working on Austronesian languages, particularly those of the New Guinea region, and those working on linguistic typology. It is also relevant to those interested in the history, languages and cultures of this region more generally.

Author information

Dineke Schokkin, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	I
Acknowledgements Free access PDF PDF	VII
Contents Free access PDF PDF	IX
List of Figures Free access PDF PDF	XIX
List of Tables Free access PDF PDF	XXI
Conventions and abbreviations Free access PDF PDF	XXIII
1. The language and its context Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
2. Phonology Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	8
3. Word classes I: open classes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	57
4. Word classes II: closed classes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	118
5. The noun phrase Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	164
6. Predicates I: verbal predicates Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	175
7. Predicates II: non-verbal and copula predicates Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	225
8. Grammatical relations and valency Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	238
9. Serial verb constructions Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	272
10. Speech act distinctions and polarity Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	302
11. Clausal relations and clause combining Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	324
12. Pragmatics and discourse practices Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	362
Appendix I. Recordings metadata Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	393
Appendix II. Texts Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	395
References Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	423
Subject Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	429
Author Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	433

A Grammar of Paluai

The Language of Baluan Island, Papua New Guinea

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