The Prehistory of Oceanic Languages

A Current View

Bibliographic Data

ID20063521
AuthorsAndrew Pawley, M Ro (0000-0003-1601-6739), Malcolm Ross (0000-0001-6046-6492)
Year2006
Publication date2006-09-01
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherANU Press (PUBLISHER • AU)
DOI10.22459/a.09.2006.03
OpenAlexW2238667115
ISBN9780731521326
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited6

The paper sketches the linguistic comparative method and reports on current results of its application to the Oceanic group of Austronesian languages. We give a brief account of the culture of Proto-Oceanic speakers as it is revealed by language, then outline our present view of Oceanic subgrouping, explaining what this implies about the location of Proto-Oceanic and the dispersion of Oceanic speakers into the Pacific. We examine patterns discernible in this dispersion, and address the question of why the languages of Melanesia have changed more than others. 'name' 'stone' 'rain' 'woman' 'paddle' 'turtle' 'full' *qasan (c) *patu *qusan *papine (b) *pose *pou *ponuq POc Types of vessel: large sailing canoe; outrigger canoe (generic) *waga small outrigger canoe (?) or canoe hull

Archaeology · Geography · Linguistics · Prehistory · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Philosophy · Geology · Oceanography

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