Documenting Ririo and Papapana: the two most highly endangered Northwest Solomonic languages

Bill Palmer, University of Newcastle Australia

Project Details:

Major Documentation Project. Duration: 2010-2013. £109,788

Project Summary:

The project will document the two most endangered languages of the Northwest Solomonic region: Ririo (79 speakers, Solomon Islands), and Papapana (120 speakers, Bougainville). These languages share a linguistic and cultural history, yet represent dramatically divergent trajectories of development from their common ancestor. Despite small speaker numbers and pressure to shift to other languages, documentation is feasible, though urgent, and members of both communities are enthusiastic to actively collaborate on documenting their languages and traditions. Project outcomes will consist of sets of materials tailored for archiving, for community use, and to support future scientific research.