New SIL-PNG publication: Lote Grammar Sketch

[Rene van den Berg]

SIL-PNG is happy to announce the recent publication of the following book.

Lote Grammar Sketch by Greg Pearson with René van den Berg (Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, volume 54). 2008. Ukarumpa: SIL. vii + 160 pages.

Lote is a Western Oceanic language of the Mengen family, a small and largely undescribed subgroup in East New Britain province. This grammar sketch is the first description of Lote and is based on some twenty years of interaction with speakers of Lote. Like the other volumes in this series, it is thoroughly data-driven and covers the most important structural features of the language. Three interlinearised texts complement the description.

Lote is lexically highly innovative. Of the basic numerals (1-5, 10) only limé '5' reflects a POC etymon. Its structure is not particularly complex, with a small phoneme inventory and limited morphology. Unusual for Oceanic languages is the lack of duals in the pronouns, the absence of articles and numeral classifiers, two types of nominalisation (both involving the same morpheme -nga) and the use of ia as an oblique preposition. Of typological interest is the presence of infixing reduplication and a set of interrogative deictics, e.g. kai 'here?'

Paper copies can be obtained from lr-acpub at sil.org.pg at US$15. Postage from PNG is unfortunately rather high: $15 for Australia and $20 for the rest of the world. 

A pdf version of the book is available at http://www.sil.org/pacific/png/abstract.asp?id=50351


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