Language Classification in Sarawak: A Status Report.
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
Language Classification in Sarawak: A Status Report. |
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Author :
Paul R. Kroeger |
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Abstract:
During the past one hundred years and more, wordlists have been published for a large number of the indigenous languages and dialects in Sarawak by anthropologists, missionaries, government servants and travellers. Published accounts are full of vague and impressionistic statements to the effect that “language A is clearly related to language B”, or “A and B are merely dialects of the same language”, etc. However, little systematic work has been done on the comparison and classification of these languages. The most significant contributions to our understanding of linguistic relationships in Sarawak are found in the work of Ray (1913), Blust (1974a), Hudson (1978), and Wurm (1983). The present paper is an attempt to summarize and synthesize the results of these and other studies, in the spirit of Cense and Uhlenbeck (1958). The goal is to define what has been accomplished, what remains to be done, and what our priorities should be for further research relating to the classification of Sarawak’s indigenous languages. This study cannot claim to be exhaustive'; it is intended merely to serve as a catalyst for renewed investigation of this very important topic.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Paul R. Kroeger. (1998). Language Classification in Sarawak: A Status Report. The Sarawak Museum Journal, LIII (74): 137-174 |
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References
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