Pacific Languages: An Introduction [Paperback]

John Lynch (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (March 31, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824818989
• ISBN-13: 978-0824818982
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plethora of information, June 13, 2003

By 

M. Karapcik "Mike" (Temple Terrace, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pacific Languages: An Introduction (Paperback)

I finished reading this book a few days ago, and I quickly realized that next summer I will have to read it again. The book is an overflowing fountain of information about Polynesian, Austronesian, and Papauan languages. It is written in a similar style to the Cambridge Language Survey books, though it is shorter and written in a colloquial style designed for those with only a basic knowledge of linguistics. (This is not to say the information is simplistic. Lynch starts with rather basic explanations, and then jumps into a massive amount of comparative linguistic data.)

The book also goes beyond the scope of grammar sketches. It starts with a history of the Pacific region. It then discusses commonalities of the Pacific languages. Next come chapters dealing specifically with each of the three languages families (above). He then discusses the development and current use of pidgins, including Tok Pisin, Bislama, and Hiri Motu (including where the name "Hiri Motu" comes from). Following this is material on cultural use of language: politeness registers, gender registers, kinship terms, areas of social importance, etc. Lastly, he discusses language shift, death, and revival.

Overall, this is an excellent work for anyone who has any interest in Polynesian languages. As I said, I will probably read it again next year so more information can sink in.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating survey of more than a thousand languages, June 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pacific Languages: An Introduction (Paperback)

Lynch goes where no one has gone before in attempting to cover, however briefly, the salient characteristics and historical development of something like fourteen hundred Oceanic and Polynesian languages. Most readers will never have heard of any of them, but they occupy a far-flung territory from Easter Island to Australia. Many are dying out; Lynch gives figures for the number of speakers of some languages, and these are a real revelation to those of us who speak English. Fifty speakers? Astonishing. Six speakers? How can this be? Lynch lives in Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides), and his dicussion of Bislama-the creole that the native French and English speakers of those islands use with each other in preference to either English or French-is particularly interesting. In general the linguistic diversity of the region is mind-boggling. As the only book ever to attempt such a survey, this must rate five stars, and I doubt that anyone would ever be able to do a better job.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful reference work, if lacking a little detail, May 19, 2007

By 

mianfei - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pacific Languages: An Introduction (Paperback)

As a person long fascinated by the world of languages, "Pacific Languages: An Introduction" is a most welcome read.

Focusing not only on the Austronesian languages of the Pacific proper, but also on Papuan and indigenous Australian languages, the book gives a good level of essential information for the linguistics student who is not familiar with these languages. Each grammatical point is given with examples, which are highly valuable for a student wanting to understand how these languages work/worked in practice. The examples given are written in very accessible and easy-to-read English that will suit the student wanting to gain an overview of the basics of these languages very well.

I do have some criticism, however, of the way in which there - on the whole - seems to be too much focus on a relatively small number of points about languages of the Pacific, Australia and New Guinea. In the grammar section, for instance, there often seems to be a focus on some points at the expense of others and a broader overview of points such as complex sentences and the verbal tense systems would be much better. The same is true of the phonology section, which is perhaps flawed by focusing too much on quite insignificant exceptions to general trends among the phonology of these languages. It would have been better to give as many "typical" examples as possible of sound systems of each language group. The phonology section also lacks the illustration of important contrasts that made the grammar section as good as it is.

Also, I feel there is too much focus on the use of these languages today rather than their structure. I believe what ought to be a linguistics textbook should focus much more on the actual structure of the languages.

All in all, though, even if flawed, this is a very useful reference work.