This course will examine the so-called Papuan languages, which are the 800 or so languages of Melanesia and surrounding areas (from Timor to the Solomon Islands) which do not belong to the Austronesian family - and which are famed as coming from the most linguistically diverse region on earth. These 800 languages belong to perhaps 45 distinct language families and, in around 1% of the world's land area, exhibit a degree of genetic and typological diversity found for the whole of Eurasia. The course will serve both to initiate students into the descriptive and comparative typological study of the Papuan languages and to consolidate and advance their understanding of the principles of language analysis and linguistic theory based on the data from the Papuan languages. It will run along two tracks: (i) a language-specific track, where we will gain in-depth familiarity with one Papuan language (choice will vary from year to year), and (ii) a broad survey of the nature of Papuan languages and the special analytic challenges that they raise for all areas of linguistic science, from phonetics/phonology through morphosyntax and semantics to studies of multilingualism, typology and the mechanisms that create linguistic diversity.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Recognise linguistic characteristics and analyse problems raised by Papuan languages, the most significant publications tackling these issues, and their genetic and typological diversity
- Analyse raw linguistic data from Papuan languages
- Create an in-depth, synthetic analysis of how one Papuan language works, with the ability to parse, analyse and understand texts in the language with the help of a glossary
- Evaluate their own linguistic analysis of a Papuan language within its broader typological, theoretical and/or historical context
- Collaborate with other students in the selection and analysis of data for a project on a given variety
Indicative Assessment
- Two data analysis problems (each 1000 words equivalent) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Analysis of a short text (1000 words equivalent) (15) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Research Project (4000 words equivalent) (55) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
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Workload
The total workload for this course is 130 hours including in class time and independent study.Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Course materials will be provided on wattle.Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
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Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1341 | 01 Jan 2026 | TBA | TBA | 31 Mar 2026 | In Person | N/A |