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Pacific Linguistics is pleased to announce the publication of the
following new books:<br><br>
Kikusawa, Ritsuko, 2002. Proto Central Pacific ergativity: <br>
<i>Its reconstruction and development in the Fijian, Rotuman and
Polynesian languages.<br><br>
</i><tt>François, Alexandre, 2002. </tt><i>Araki: A disappearing language
of Vanuatu<br><br>
</i>Bennardo, Giovanni (ed), 2002. <i>Representing space in Oceania:
Culture in language and mind.<br><br>
</i><font size=2>Please note that all prices are given in Australian
dollars. AU $1.00 = approx. US $0.57 (as at 20 June, 2002). Australian
prices include 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST). International sales are
exempt from GST. To order Pacific Linguistics books, email
ann.andrews@anu.edu.au or refer to PL's website:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.pacling.anu.edu.au/" eudora="autourl">http://www.pacling.anu.edu.au</a><br><br>
<br>
</font><b>Proto Central Pacific ergativity: <br>
Its reconstruction and development in the Fijian, Rotuman and Polynesian
languages<br>
</b><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=2>Kikusawa, Ritsuko<br>
PL 520<br>
</font><tt><x-tab> </x-tab>The
main objective of this study is to determine the actancy system
(ergativity or accusativity) of Proto Central Pacific, and to determine
how this system developed in its daughter languages, Fijian and Rotuman,
which are accusative, as well as in the Polynesian languages, some of
which are ergative. It is shown that an ergative system has to be
reconstructed for Proto Central Pacific, based on the presence of two
sets of clitic pronouns (Genitive and Nominative) used for the core
arguments of transitive constructions. A set of independent
pronouns is also reconstructed. These pronominal forms are shown to
be reflexes of Proto Malayo-Polynesian reconstructions. The process
by which the ergative parent language changed into some of its accusative
daughter languages is illustrated. <br>
</tt><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=2><x-tab> </x-tab>The
following points in this work may be of particular interest: 1) a
description of clear cases where the actancy systems change from ergative
to accusative; 2) an illustration of how syntactic, phonological,
morphological, and/or lexical changes are synthesised; 3)
typological descriptions of three Central Pacific languages, namely
Rotuman, Fijian, and Tongan, applying Lexicase Dependency Grammar;
5) a modification to the currently accepted subgrouping hypothesis for
the Central Pacific group. <br><br>
ISBN 0 85883 438 3 <x-tab> </x-tab>xxii +
213 pp.<br>
AUS $53.90 <x-tab> </x-tab>International
$49.00<br><br>
</font><b>Araki: A disappearing language of Vanuatu<br>
</b><font face="Times, Times" size=2>François, Alexandre<br>
PL 522<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Araki, an
unwritten Austronesian language belonging to the Oceanic subgroup, is now
spoken by less than a dozen people in a small islet of Vanuatu; it is
likely to disappear very soon. As the first ever publication about this
language, the present study covers all that it has been possible to
gather from it. <br>
The core of this book is a grammatical description of Araki: attention
has been paid to its phonology and morphology, the inventory of syntactic
categories, the internal organisation of noun and verb phrases, the
semantics of aspect and mood, complex sentence construction, and many
other topics which illustrate the originality of this language. A
bilingual lexicon is also provided, as well as a selection of
texts.<br><br>
ISBN 0 85883 493
6<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab>xxi
+ 353 pp<br>
AUS $69.30 <x-tab> </x-tab>International
$63.00<x-tab> </x-tab><br><br>
<br>
</font><b>Representing space in Oceania<br>
</b><font face="Times, Times" size=2>Bennardo, Giovanni (ed)<br>
PL 523<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Oceania
has traditionally been the ‘place’ in which great debates about the human
condition have been started, conducted, and sometimes resolved. The
articles in this volume prove once more the vitality of the research
conducted in this geographically vast and culturally varied area of the
world. This book contributes to the investigation of space as a knowledge
domain, in particular to the linguistic, mental and cultural
representations of spatial relationships in Oceania. It emphasises
the significance and usefulness of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural
research, and cultural area surveys. This volume is of interest not only
to cultural and linguistic anthropologists, but also to linguists and
cognitive psychologists, and to scholars and students of
Oceania.<br><br>
ISBN 0 85883 454 5 <x-tab> </x-tab>vii + 260
pp<br>
AUS $64.90 <x-tab> </x-tab>International
$59.00<x-tab> </x-tab><br><br>
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