Initial documentation of Na'ahai, a language of Malekula, Vanuatu
The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.
Na'ahai is an undescribed language of the southwest coast of Malakula Island in Vanuatu, spoken by less than 1000 people. There are two central aims to this project. One is to undertake initial documentation of the language, in the form of a basic grammatical sketch as well as a transcribed and translated collection of audio and video recordings of stories, songs, and dialogues. The other goal is to train community members in their own ongoing documentation of the language, in particular in the compilation of a dictionary, for which there is considerable local interest.
Primary investigator: Anastasia Riehl
Project Details
Location: Vanuatu, Melanesia, Oceania
Organiser(s):
Endangered Languages Documentation Programme
Project partner(s): University of the South Pacific
Funder(s):
Arcadia
Funding received: £5,642.00
Commencement Date: 01/2004
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