| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
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| Research Abstract |
In this research project, we have investigated indigenous languages in New Caledonia and the surrounding area, with the purpose of recording sounds, texts and stories, describing grammars, and compiling dictionaries. Specifically, we have looked at Neku and Tinrin, the two Oceanic languages spoken in the southern part of the main island of New Caledonia, Apart from the official language French, twenty-eight indigenous languages belonging to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian language family are spoken in the main island of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. These indigenous languages are greatly endangered, the majority of them having less than 1000 speakers.
Neku and Tinrin, spoken only by around 200 speakers, have been little investigated until recently, with Tinrin Grammar (Osumi 1995) as the only publication to date on the grammar of Tinrin. The research done in this project is a significant contribution to Oceanic linguistics in providing several new linguistic discoveries and filling gaps in comparative linguistics, in addition to shedding light on, and describing the least-investigated languages of New Caledonia.
Osumi carried out fieldwork in Ouaoue and Noumea in 2004,2005 and 2007, collecting linguistic data and recording vocabulary and texts while living with a Neku family. Some descriptive and socio-linguistic research was also carried out in Vanuatu, Bougainville Island, and West New Britain, PNG, by fellow-investigators. Translating a Tinrin dictionary and grammar from English into French is also in progress.
Articles and books published, and papers presented at conferences during this project are listed in 11.
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