Languages of Papua New Guinea

A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Avau Language Area: West New Britain Province

Statement of Responsibility:
Van Cott, Sara and Juliann Spencer
Series Issue:
2015-006
Issue Date:
2015
Date Created:
2009
Extent:
79 pages
Abstract:

The SIL-PNG survey team completed a sociolinguistic survey of the Avau [avb] language, located in West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. Fieldwork was completed from 30 October–5 November 2009. The goals of the survey were to determine language and dialect boundaries and evaluate language vitality. The Avau language is spoken in ten villages, with two reported dialects, and ethnolinguistic vitality is currently high. A striking feature of the Avau language is the fact that verbs in one dialect are inflected to indicate the subject’s marital status.

Publication Status:
Published
Subject Languages:
Content Language:
Work Type:
Nature of Work:
Part of Series:
SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2015-006
Entry Number:
63679