[An-lang] 3 new volumes (Open access): Languages of Vanuatu -- Space in Tungag -- A grammar of Wala

[Alex Francois]

dear colleagues

it is my pleasure to announce the recent publication of three new volumes
at *Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia*, an academic
e-series published with Asia–Pacific Linguistics Open Access
<http://pacling.anu.edu.au/materials/materials.html>.

All volumes are released in open access, and are free for all to download
from *the new series’ homepage*
<http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFpub_SLIM-volumes_e.htm>.
Details of the three volumes follow.

Alexandre François, Sébastien Lacrampe, Michael Franjieh; Stefan Schnell
(eds)

[image: Vanuatu] <http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFpub_SLIM-volumes_e.htm>

2015

*The languages of Vanuatu: Unity and diversity*. Studies in the Languages
of Island Melanesia, 5. Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics. 270 pp. ISBN:
9781922185235.

With an estimated 138 different indigenous languages, *Vanuatu* is the
country with the highest* linguistic density *in the world. While they all
belong to the Oceanic family, these languages have evolved in three
millennia, from what was once a unified dialect network, to the mosaic of
different languages that we know today. In this respect, Vanuatu
constitutes a valuable laboratory for exploring the ways in which
linguistic diversity can emerge out of former unity. This volume represents
the first collective book dedicated solely to the languages of this
archipelago, and to the various forms taken by their diversity. Its ten
chapters cover a wide range of topics, including verbal aspect, valency,
possessive structures, numerals, space systems, oral history and
narratives. *The languages of Vanuatu: Unity and Diversity* provides new
insights onto the many facets of Vanuatu's rich linguistic landscape.



*Contents*

1. Alexandre *François*, Michael *Franjieh*, Sébastien *Lacrampe*, Stefan
*Schnell* — *The exceptional linguistic density of Vanuatu*
2. Elizabeth *Pearce* — *Completing and terminating: On aspect marking in
Unua*
3. Peter *Budd* — *Move the *ka*: Valency and Instrumental shift in Bierebo*
4. Benjamin *Touati* — *The initial vowel copy in the Sakao dialect of
Wanohe (Espiritu Santo)*
5. Michael *Franjieh* — *The construct suffix in North Ambrym*
6. Murray *Garde* — *Numerals in Sa*
7. Alexandre *François* — *The ins and outs of *up *and *down*:
Disentangling the nine geocentric space systems of Torres and Banks
languages*
8. Cynthia *Schneider* & Andrew *Gray* — *Is it worth documenting "just a
dialect"? Making the case for Suru Kavian (Pentecost Island)*
9. Dorothy *Jauncey* — *Not just stories: The rules and roles of oral
narratives in Tamambo*
10. Nick *Thieberger* — *Walking to Erro: Stories of travel, origins, or
affection*

Karin E. Fast

[image: Vanuatu] <http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFpub_SLIM-volumes_e.htm>

2015

*Spatial language in Tungag*. Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia,
4. Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics. 250 pp. ISBN:9781922185211.

This book examines the different linguistic means used to describe or refer
to *motion and location in space in Tungag*, an Austronesian language
spoken in Papua New Guinea. The description, based on a spoken and written
corpus of about 100,000 words, includes a grammatical sketch of Tungag, in
addition to a detailed description of the linguistic means available for
talking about motion. Each of these strategies is defined and discussed in
depth, using examples from the corpus. Spatial language in Tungag is also
approached from the perspective of how these linguistic means are mapped
onto motion events, and situated in their typological context. Tungag does
not fit well into the typology which contrasts "satellite-framed" languages
(encoding manner in the main verb and path in a satellite to the verb) and
"verb-framed" languages (encoding path in the main verb and manner in a
satellite or subordinate phrase). Instead, in Tungag the combination
possibilities for different elements of a motion event are relatively free.

Jesse Lovegren, Alice Mitchell & Natsuko Nakagawa

[image: Vanuatu] <http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFpub_SLIM-volumes_e.htm>

2015

*The Wala language of Malaita, Solomon Islands*. Studies in the Languages
of Island Melanesia, 3. Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics. 243 pp. ISBN:
​9781922185143.

*Wala* (known as Langalanga in some sources) is an underdocumented Oceanic
language spoken in west central Malaita, Solomon Islands, by approximately
7,000 speakers. The present book is a sketch grammar based on a 2007 New
Testament translation published by Wycliffe Bible Translators. This work
illustrates the extent to which basic grammatical patterns of a language
can be inferred through the use of a computerized bilingual corpus, with
access neither to native speaker consultants nor to the locale the language
is used. Such an approach can be deployed either in preparation for
fieldwork, or to generate documentation in cases where fieldwork is not
feasible.

best ​​wishes,
Alex François
(Managing Editor of the S.L.I.M. series)
_________
Alex François
Directeur, LACITO-CNRS <http://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/membres/francois.htm>,
France
Australian National University
<https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/francois-a>, Canberra
Academia page <https://cnrs.academia.edu/AlexFran%C3%A7ois>
Personal homepage <http://alex.francois.free.fr/>
__________________
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/an-lang/attachments/20151011/df400d44/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
An-lang mailing list
An-lang at anu.edu.au
http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/an-lang