A dictionary of Buin,
a language of Bougainville
Laycock, Donald C., edited
by Masayuki Onishi
PL 537
Don Laycock was a man of many
interests but in the last two decades of his life his largest
project was the compilation of a dictionary of Buin, a Papuan
language spoken in southeastern Bougainville. When Don realised
in 1988 that he was terminally ill he thought carefully about
the things he wanted to achieve during the months that remained
to him. Academically, the most important was to ensure that
his Buin dictionary was close to completion, so that it could
be published after he had gone. He made as great an effort
as his strength allowed and came very close to achieving this
goal. During his last days Don asked his colleagues to make
sure that the Buin dictionary was published, and they agreed.
Publication has taken longer than expected, mainly because
the detailed work of editing the dictionary draft required
someone who had the necessary expertise and who also was able
to give extended chunks of his time to the project. That person
was Masayuki Onishi, who had worked on Motuna, a neighbour
of Buin. Masa has worked voluntarily on the manuscript for
seven years, assisted by Don's wife Tania and daughter Melany.
Masa adopted an overriding principle that this should be Don's
work, not his. And so we publish the last book from a wonderful
colleague.
2003 ISBN 0 85883 511 8
xxvii + 355 pp
Prices: Australia AUD$79.20 (incl.
GST) Overseas AUD$72.00
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