The Papuan Languages of New Guinea

Cambridge Language Surveys

by William A. Foley

This introduction to the descriptive and historical linguistics of the Papuan languages of New Guinea provide an accessible account of one of the richest and most diverse linguistic situations in the world. The Papuan languages number over 700 (or 20 per cent of the world's total) in more than sixty language families. Less than a quarter of the individual languages have yet been adequately documented, and in this sense William Foley's book might be considered premature. However, in the search for language universals and generalisations in linguistic typology, it would be foolhardy to neglect the information that is available. In this respect alone, the present volume, systematically organised on mainly typology principles, is particularly timely and useful. In addition, the processes of linguistic diffusion are present in New Guinea to an extent probably paralleled elsewhere on the globe. The Papuan Languages of New Guinea will be of interest not only to general and comparative linguists and to typologists, but also to sociolinguists and anthropologists for the information it provides on the social dynamics of language content.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Alfia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One always hears about the extraordinary linguistic variety that exists in the New Guinea area, along with claims of there being hundreds of language families. Although this book was written back in the 1980s, it provides a good introduction to Papuan cultural practices that impact language practices, and a solid overview of what Papuan languages generally have in common structurally (SOV, postpositions, ergativity, very cool and complex verbal morphology, etc.). Foley makes it clear that Papuan languages share quite a bit in terms of their morphosyntax, and that a traditional comparative method focusing on core vocabulary is of limited value when applied to Papuan languages. The section on archaeology and genetic studies is probably outdated, but I suspect the linguistic analysis has progressed to the point of, if not positing fewer language families, then at least understanding the possible processes by which the varieties developed, which Foley gives a shot at at the end of the book. Looking through the website of Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea though, it appears that people are still hung up on comparing Swadesh lists, albeit now using statistics. In any case, this was a very interesting book with helpful maps and examples.