Joel Bradshaw

An Erromangan (Sye) Grammar

This volume presents a description of the language that is currently spoken on the island of Erromango, in southern Vanuatu in the southwestern part of the Pacific.

Subject Relationships within Serial Verb Constructions in Numbami and Jabem

This paper outlines the evidence for verb serialization in Numbami, an Austronesian language of Papua New Guinea, noting parallels with Jabem. The paper then focusses on subject relationships within serial verb constructions in Numbami and Jabem. These two languages allow not only the same subject and switch-subject serialization, but also verbal-subject serialization. In addition, Jabem allows a fourth possibility: ambient-subject serialization.

Serial verb constructions in Austronesian and Papuan languages (review)

Several useful surveys of research on verb serialization in Oceanic languages have appeared regularly over the past decade. Crowley (2002) focused on the history and distribution of serial verb constructions (SVCs) in a selection of languages in Melanesia, including dialects of Melanesian Pidgin. Bril and Ozanne-Rivierre’s (2004) collection filled gaps in Crowley’s survey and extended coverage to languages in New Caledonia and Polynesia (but not Micronesia), examining complex predicates beyond the boundaries of Oceanic serialization, both geographically and typologically. Aikhenvald and Dixon’s (2006) typology of serialization included coverage of three Austronesian languages (Mwotlap in Vanuatu, Toqabaqita in the Solomons, and Tetun Dili in Timor) and one Papuan language (Dumo in Papua New Guinea). Senft’s collection (2008) now reaches even farther afield, geographically as well as typologically. The lead article, by Miriam van Staden and Ger Reesink (S&R), proposes a broad typology of verb serialization in the Austronesian–Papuan contact zone of East Nusantara, which includes the Bird’s Head of New Guinea and Indonesian islands east of Bali. Their Papuan sample includes Hatam, Inanwatan, Maybrat, Moi, and Mpur in the Bird’s Head, and Tidore in Halmahera; while their Austronesian (AN) sample includes Taba in Halmahera, Alune, Buru, and Ambon Malay in Maluku, and Kambera, Leti, and Tetun Fehan in the Lesser Sundas. Other contributors offer more in-depth coverage of individual languages: Louise Baird on Keo (AN, Sumba), John Bowden on Taba (AN, Halmahera), Catharina Williams-van Klinken on Tetun Dili (AN, East Timor), David Mead and Scott Youngman on Tolaki (AN, Southeastern Sulawesi), Volker Heeschen on Eipo and Yale (Papuan, West Papua), Andrew Pawley on Kalam (Papuan, Papua New Guinea), and Gunter Senft on Kilivila (AN, Papua New Guinea). Senft’s introduction (1–15) helpfully summarizes each of the contributions. The focus on eastern Indonesia holds interest for two reasons: (a) it looks farther up the Austronesian family tree than the Oceanic subgroup, and (b) it looks at an area of longterm Austronesian–Papuan contact. The volume amasses evidence of a rich variety of verb serialization, not just in languages of the South Halmahera-West New Guinea subgroup, but also in Central Malayo-Polynesian languages farther west, and in their neighboring Papuan languages as well. Most studies of AN–Papuan Sprachbund phenomena have tended to focus on evidence that Oceanic languages in eastern New Guinea have been Papuanized to various degrees. Senft’s collection involves Papuan languages from western New Guinea and beyond that appear to have been Austronesianized to varying degrees. For instance, Papuan languages in the Bird’s Head tend to have SVO word order,

Evidence of Contact between Binanderean and Oceanic Languages

Abstract:The Binanderean languages extend from southern Morobe Province into most of Oro Province, occupying 270 km of Papua New Guinea coastline that now lacks any Austronesian languages. Nevertheless, traces of contact with Oceanic languages can be found among Binanderean languages, even in a few Proto-Binan-derean reconstructions. Binanderean influence also shows up in the Oceanic languages at either end of that coastline. This work presents linguistic and recent ethnohistorical evidence of Oceanic-Binanderean contact. In Oro Province, Oceanic Maisin has been so heavily affected that scholars once argued about whether it was basically Austronesian or Papuan. The word order of Oceanic Papuan Tip languages has also been influenced by Binanderean word order, while Binanderean Korafe shows evidence of close contact with Oceanic neighbors. In Morobe Province, Oceanic Numbami has been in close contact with neighboring Guhu-Samane, which forms a very divergent relative of Binanderean. Guhu-Samane may owe some of its divergent features to extended contact with Oceanic languages like Numbami (and perhaps now-extinct dialects of Numbami).

Serial Verbs in Oceanic: A Descriptive Typology (review)

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