Carolinian English Dictionary

Carolinian is a member of the Trukic subgroup of the Micronesian group of Oceanic languages. This is the first English dictionary of the three Carolinian dialects spoken by descendants of voyagers who migrated from atolls in the Central Caroline Islands to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. This dictionary provides English definitions for almost 7,000 Carolinian entries and an English-Carolinian finder list. A special effort was made to include culturally important words, particularly those related to sailing, fishing, cooking, house building, traditional religion, and family structure. With this work, the compilers also establish an acceptable standard writing system with which to record the Carolinian language.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

In this volume, the emergence of English in Saipan is examined in the complex context of its colonial past. The focus lies on the influence of the American era on the linguistic outcomes in Saipan. Sociolinguistic interviews with indigenous Chamorros and Saipan Carolinians were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. A general overview of the English spoken in Saipan and detailed analyses of selected morphosyntactic features are presented. The English spoken by the local people presents an interesting transitional phase of English becoming a first language with unique local ‘island’ features. Results shed light on linguistic constraints globally and on social constraints in Saipan that motivate language variation and change locally. This volume contributes to the literature of language variation and change, lesser-known varieties of English, and the description and categorization of emerging English varieties within the canon of World Englishes.

This book analyzes the language policies that result from the promulgation of linguistic rights in the constitutions and statutes of the United States and its territories. The United States is a nation in which speakers of minority languages were conquered or incorporated and the languages spoken by them were suppressed or neglected. Since the 1960’s, the United States and its territories have seen a resurgence of claims for language recognition by minority groups representing a considerable population (Spanish in Puerto Rico and the Southwestern states, Chamorro in Guam, Chamorro and Carolinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, and Samoan in American Samoa). Also, the book studies recent developments regarding the status and use of English in the United States and some of its territories. For example, studying the effects of legal, social, educational, and political contexts on the Spanish language in the Southwestern states, and Pacific languages (Chamorro, Carolinian, and Samoan) in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, reveals that English continues to be used as the main language of communication in all these places despite continuous efforts to protect the rights of indigenous languages by their native populations. For these reasons, it is important to compare the linguistic laws promulgated in the constitutions and statutes of the United States and its territories, or the lack thereof, as a response to the demands for linguistic rights by sectors of the population who do not speak English as a first language or who may seek to maintain the use of one or more indigenous languages. The book offers insights to those in charge of drafting legislation in the area of language rights. It shows how the United States and its territories could recognize and accommodate linguistic diversity.

A pioneering volume addressing issues related to cultures, ideologies, and the dictionary. A cross-cultural and cross-linguistic study with focus on selected Western and non-Western languages. A number of in-depth case studies illustrates the dominant role ideology and other types of bias play in the making of a dictionary. The volume includes invited papers of 40 internationally recognized scholars.

Vegetables make up a major portion of the diet of humans and are critical for good health. With the world population predicted to reach 9 billion people by 2050, they will play an increasingly important role in food availability. The purpose of this book is to facilitate accuracy in communication among individuals working in agriculture and a better understand of the extent and diversity of vegetable production and utilization worldwide. Increasing global economic interdependence and trade in agricultural products makes precise communication among individuals utilizing different languages essential. There is currently a wide range of vegetables shipped around the world as seasonal, economic and other forces are shifting markets from exclusively local toward global. The text provides up-to-date scientific names, synonyms, and common names for the commercially cultivated vegetable crops grown worldwide (404 crops), in addition to information on the plant parts utilized and their method of preparation. Common names from 370 languages are presented along with information on each of the languages. The text represents an essential reference source with the information presented in a concise and readily accessible format. It allows indentifying a crop from the common name in a diverse cross-section of languages and is therefore of use to university and government researchers, libraries worldwide, agricultural organizations, agricultural scientists, embassies, international travelers, vegetable growers, shippers, packers, produce buyers, grocery store managers, gourmet restaurants, chefs, and gardeners.

This peer-reviewed collection brings together the latest research on language endangerment and language rights. It creates a vibrant, interdisciplinary platform for the discussion of the most pertinent and urgent topics central to vitality and equality of languages in today’s globalised world. The novelty of the volume lies in the multifaceted view on the variety of dangers that languages face today, such as extinction through dwindling speaker populations and lack of adequate preservation policies or inequality in different social contexts (e.g. access to justice, education and research resources). There are examples of both loss and survival, and discussion of multiple factors that condition these two different outcomes. We pose and answer difficult questions such as whether forced interventions in preventing loss are always warranted or indeed viable. The emerging shared perspective is that of hope to inspire action towards improving the position of different languages and their speakers through research of this kind.