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<DIV><FONT size=2>New publication: Mbula-English dictionary by Salme and Robert
Bugenhagen.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>SIL Papua New Guinea would like to announce the publication of
the Mbula-English dictionary. Mbula (also known as Mangap or Mangaaba-Mbula) is
an Oceanic Austronesian language currently spoken on Umboi Island in the Morobe
Province of Papua New Guinea by some 4500 people. The 742-page dictionary is
based on 25 years of fieldwork by Salme and Robert Bugenhagen. The volume
contains a vernacular introduction, an English introduction that briefly
describes the phonology, morpho-syntax, and major dialectal variations of the
language, a Mbula-English section (= the major section), an English-Mbula
finderlist, and some semantic field listings: body and plant parts and products,
colour terms, environment and geography, houses and buildings, kinship
terminology, biblical key terms, quantity classifiers, fauna and
flora.<BR><BR>The Mbula-English section of the dictionary is mainly root-based,
so most entries contain a number of sub-entries. Meanings are abundantly
illustrated with full example sentences, and much cultural information is
included. The Mbula language heavily utilizes body-part idioms, and these are
well illustrated in the dictionary. For example, the entry for <EM>mata</EM>
'eye' extends over 12 pages. And like many other languages of Papua New Guinea,
the Mbula lexicon contains many very specific verbs of hitting, cutting, and
breaking. The dictionary will be of interest to linguists interested in Oceanic
Austronesian languages, semanticists, anthropologists, and others interested in
the peoples and cultures of Papua New Guinea.<BR><BR>The dictionary is a
hardbound volume, and will sell for $30 USA plus cost of shipping, and should be
available for purchase by mid-April or the beginning of May. To order,
please contact the Book Distribution section of the Language Resources
Department of SIL Papua New Guinea, email address: </FONT><A
href="mailto:LR-bookdist@sil.org.pg"><FONT
size=2>LR-bookdist@sil.org.pg</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The dictionary is also available online at <A
href="http://www.sil.org/pacific/png/abstract.asp?id=49817">http://www.sil.org/pacific/png/abstract.asp?id=49817</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>For pictures of the authors during a recent celebration, see
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=1><A
href="http://www.sil.org/sil/news/2008/mbula-english-dictionary.htm">http://www.sil.org/sil/news/2008/mbula-english-dictionary.htm</A></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><?xml:namespace prefix
= o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2>Other dictionaries and wordlists of Austronesian
languages in PNG that have recently become available include Mapos Buang by
Bruce Hooley (over 400 pages), Bunama, Dobu, Iamalele, Maisin, Muyuw, Nehan,
Sinaugoro and Sudest. Some of these are scanned copies of existing
publications, others represent work in progress. Check the full list of all
online documents from SIL PNG at </FONT></o:p></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><A
href="http://www.sil.org/pacific/png/show_subject.asp?pubs=online&code=Linguistics"><FONT
size=1>http://www.sil.org/pacific/png/show_subject.asp?pubs=online&code=Linguistics</FONT></A></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2></FONT></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2>Comments and suggestions are always
welcome.</FONT></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2></FONT></o:p></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2>René van den Berg</FONT></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=2><A
href="mailto:r.vandenberg@sil.org.pg">r.vandenberg@sil.org.pg</A></FONT></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
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