Topics in the grammar of Lele: a language of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea

This thesis examines topics in the grammar of the Lele language, Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Lele is spoken by ca. 4,500 people on mainland Manus Island and belongs to the little known Admiralties languages, a higher order subgroup of the Oceanic (Austronesian) language family. The methodology of language description followed the principles of the Basic Linguistic Theory (Dixon 2009a, b, 2012). The material that served as the basis of description was collected during long field stays particularly to Sapon village, from 2012 to 2014. The field research is based on the principle of immersion fieldwork, seeking a deeper understanding of both target language as well as culture through living with the language community and sharing everyday life. The thesis covers the open word classes in Lele, nouns and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, as well as closed word classes. Further topics in syntax and phrasal structure are examined. Finally, the comprehensive text collection and the dictionary attached as appendices to the thesis represent considerable contributions to the maintenance of the Lele language. These materials enhance the linguistic database available to the academic community and to native speakers