Anuta's Position in the Subgrouping of Polynesian Languages
1971; Polynesian Society; Volume: 80; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2230-5955
Autores Tópico(s)Multilingual Education and Policy
ResumoIn assessing the historical relationships of the Outlier languages of Polynesia, Pawley noted that only Anuta (ANU) among the group of poorly documented Outlier languages remained linguistically an almost completely unknown quantity.(2) The same is true generally of the island and its people, Firth's short article apparently being the first and only scientific account of their culture.(3) This account he based on discussions with Anutan people in Tikopia in 1928-9 and 1952, and a one^day visit to Anuta in 1952. In it he documented a traditional claim by the Anutans of fairly recent settlement from Tonga(4) on which basis they are often held to be composed almost wholly of Tongans with a sprinkling of people from Uvea.(5) It was from this article that such linguistic data as were available had to be drawn; Pawley, for instance, singled out three lexical items which he believed suggested close relation ship or contact with Tonga or East Uvea.(6) Bayard, in a similar assessment of cultural and linguistic relationships among the Outliers, also concluded from the evidence in this article that Anuta was almost certainly settled from Tonga 300 or 400 years ago, with secondary settlement and continued contact from Tikopia.(7) Thus the possibility existed that this speech community, though probably heavily influenced by Tikopian (TIK), might provide another member for the Tongic (TO) subgroup, at present consisting of only two certain members, Tongan
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