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book: A Grammar of Paluai
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A Grammar of Paluai

The Language of Baluan Island, Papua New Guinea
  • Dineke Schokkin
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2020
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Pacific Linguistics [PL]
This book is in the series
Volume 663 | Pacific Linguistics [PL]

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 / Editor information

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

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    I
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    Acknowledgements

    VII
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    Contents

    IX
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    List of Figures

    XIX
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    List of Tables

    XXI
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    Conventions and abbreviations

    XXIII
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    1. The language and its context

    1
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    2. Phonology

    8
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    3. Word classes I: open classes

    57
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    4. Word classes II: closed classes

    118
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    5. The noun phrase

    164
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    6. Predicates I: verbal predicates

    175
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    7. Predicates II: non-verbal and copula predicates

    225
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    8. Grammatical relations and valency

    238
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    9. Serial verb constructions

    272
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    10. Speech act distinctions and polarity

    302
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    11. Clausal relations and clause combining

    324
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    12. Pragmatics and discourse practices

    362
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    Appendix I. Recordings metadata

    393
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    Appendix II. Texts

    395
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    References

    423
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    Subject Index

    429
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    Author Index

    433
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 24, 2020
eBook ISBN:
9783110675177
Hardcover published on:
February 24, 2020
Hardcover ISBN:
9783110675139
Paperback published on:
January 31, 2022
Paperback ISBN:
9783110777772
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
25
Main content:
434
Illustrations:
14
Coloured Illustrations:
1
Tables:
900
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110675177
eBook ISBN: 9783110675177
Hardcover ISBN: 9783110675139
Paperback ISBN: 9783110777772
Keywords for this book
Paluai; Austronesian; Grammatical Description; Papua New Guinea
Audience(s) for this book
Researchers, Students in Austronesian Languages, Languages and Cultures of Papua New Guinea, Linguistic Typology
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