Pantar Island Project: Documenting Two Endangered Papuan Languages, Western Pantar and Nedebang

FAIN: FN-50030-08

Gary Holton
University of Hawaii (Fairbanks, AK 99775-7500)

This project will support follow-up field work and final write-up for two endangered Papuan (non-Austronesian) languages of Pantar Island, eastern Indonesia: Western Pantar and Nedebang. Primary data, including a corpus of aligned text and audio/video recordings, will be archived and accessible via the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Languages and Cultures, following best practice recommendations of the Electronic Metastructure for Endangered Languages Data project. Publications to be produced include: a reference grammar of Western Pantar; a sketch grammar of Nedebang; and a tri-lingual dictionary of Western Pantar. The work builds on initial exploratory fieldwork conducted in 2004 with support from an NSF Small Grant for Exploratory Research and continued field work in 2006-2007 supported by a DEL fellowship. The resulting documentation will broadly impact linguistic science, providing crucial typological data from a little-known part of the world's linguistic landscape. Furthermore, through close collaboration with indigenous language workers and the development of national language (Indonesian) reference materials, this project will contribute to the continued maintenance and appreciation of Pantar languages. (Edited by staff)

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