A grammar of Bilua: A
Papuan language of the Solomon Islands
Kazuko Obata
PL 540
This grammar of Bilua, a revision
of the author's PhD thesis, is the first comprehensive description
of the language. Bilua is spoken on Vella La Vella island
in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. According
to the 1976 census there are about 85 vernacular languages
indigenous to the Solomon Islands. The majority of these are
Austronesian, but among them are four Papuan languages, one
of which is Bilua.
The grammar presented here is based on the dialect of the
Bilua area, which is regarded as standard by local people,
probably because Methodist missionaries who arrived early
in the twentieth century regarded it as the language of the
island. In the past, the Austronesian language Roviana was
used as a lingua franca in the region and so older people
on Vella La Vella speak Roviana as well as Bilua. However,
the role of Roviana has been taken over by Solomon Islands
Pidgin which is used in primary schools and in church ceremonies
which are central to the lives of people in Vella La Vella.
There is a high rate of intermarriage between Vella La Vella
people and people from other islands and mixed couples communicate
in Bilua, Pidgin, or one of the other Solomons languages.
Pidgin words are mixed into Bilua and sometimes people switch
from one language to another in their speech. Thus the Bilua
language is changing because of the influence of Pidgin, and,
although the population of Vella La Vella is increasing rapidly,
Bilua is endangered.
2003
0 85883 531 2 7
xx + 333 pp
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