The Papuanness of Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands

Mark Donohue

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    HowardMcKaughan’s work focus has been in Philippine linguistics, but he also edited the first large collection of papers on languages of New Guinea (McKaughan 1973). As such, that volume played a major role in shaping the views of a generation of linguists on what Papuan languages are like structurally. In this study I show that McKaughan’s pioneering work not only succeeded in assembling the known facts of the linguistics of the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea but also struck into the syntactic heart, of what it means to be prototypically Papuan—albeit not modally (in the sense of ‘typically’) Papuan. In order to make this claim, I shall present primary data from McKaughan (1973), and compare it with various Papuan languages of NewGuinea that were beyond the scope of his work. I shall then present figures on various structural features as they are attested in the Papuan languages, with a particular eye for the geographic distribution of the atypical, or nonmodal, features
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationPiakandatu ami Dr. Howard P. McKaughan
    EditorsLoren Billings and Nelleke Goudswaard
    Place of PublicationManila, Philippines
    PublisherLinguistic Society of the Philippines
    Pages87-93
    Volume1
    Edition1st
    ISBN (Print)9789717800264
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

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