This monograph is not only the first comprehensive grammar of Papapana (a previously
undocumented and under-described endangered language) but the first full reference grammar of
any Oceanic language of Bougainville Papua New Guinea despite this region displaying
considerable linguistic innovation and language contact phenomena with numerous typologically
significant features. This book describes Papapana on various levels including phonology
morphology and syntax in noun phrases and the verb complex and syntax at the clause- and
sentence-level. Throughout the grammar the described phenomena are related to the current
research on typological and Oceanic linguistics. Typologically unusual features of Papapana
include multiple reduplication inverse-number marking in the noun phrase and postverbal
subject-indexing. The book also describes the sociolinguistic and historical context within
which Papapana is spoken and highlights linguistic changes resulting from language contact. The
monograph fills an important gap in terms of grammatical descriptions of Bougainville Oceanic
languages and makes a significant contribution to the field of Oceanic linguistics and to
future comparative linguistic and typological research.
