Ura, a minority language spoken in Papua New Guinea, appears to be a candidate for eventual extinction, with an estimated 1,900 speakers, very few (if any) of them monolinguals. Any language is a unique vantage point from which to see humanity and our world in its various facets, and preserving endangered languages seems at least as worthy a pursuit as the many efforts globally at saving endangered species of flora and fauna. Also of great importance is the revitalisation (or first-time facilitation) of identity, esteem and dignity for speakers with regard to their language (and, inseparably, culture). This thesis gives an overview of the sociolinguistic context of Ura, followed by a description and analysis of the phonology of Ura, and then addresses of some of the morphophonology. Features explored include vowel centring and harmony, phonologically and morphophonologically conditioned epenthesis, and diachronic and synchronic alternations. The final chapter provides practical application of the issues discussed as they would relate to an Ura dictionary, and includes samples of the suggested wording and format of introductory notes and entries. It is hoped that what is currently in progress or completed in the Ura language in terms of records, translation, literacy and linguistic analysis (of which this thesis is a part) will facilitate and support progress towards strength and vitality that will not perish.

How do religious and political elites in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands see the modern state? This thesis addresses this question. The thesis shows that these two countries do not fit with the ideal structure of the modern state provided here. This is despite the state building efforts of Australia as the two countries largest aid donor. It shows that there are a number of ways that the state can be seen by elites. Amongst both groups of elites can the state can be seen by some as something for the security and betterment of the population. It can be seen as a structure to oppose by some religious groups. Other religious leaders see the state as a partner for the development of both countries. Political elites can see keeping the state weak as being beneficial to finance its operations. Some leaders see the state as an item of capture. It finds that though religious leaders have generally good intentions for the state, they are limited in their authority and influence. The thesis also finds that though political elites are much more important than religious elites in shaping the state, their role is limited by and tied to the people. It finds that the two societies are extremely fragmented and competitive with many differing interests. This leads to the state being seen as an item of competition. This competition does not create the conditions that the state as a structure depends on to reach its ideal form. It concludes that for the state to succeed in both countries there needs to be a shift in attitude towards it.

Internet message boards are a medium by which educated Papua New Guineans who are living outside of Papua New Guinea (PNG) maintain ties to one another and to their home country. One of the languages that they use on these message boards is Tok Pisin (TP), an English-based creole spoken in PNG that has changed rapidly in theapproximately 120 years since its creation as a pidgin.Romaine (1992) suggests that decreolization by means of new changes toward English is occurring in the TP language. Smith (2002) disagrees and claims that there is no evidence for decreolization. This study shows that there is evidence in favor of decreolization, in particular a Matrix Language (ML) turnover (Myers-Scotton 2002), in the TP used on seven Internet message boards. This conclusion is also derived through the study of 139 letters to the editor in the TP weekly newspaper Wantok written during 2003 and 2006.In looking for English `late system morphemes,' whose existence in bilingual complementizer phrases that have TP as the ML would indicate the beginning of a ML turnover (Myers-Scotton 2002), this study counts deletion of the TP particle i as a late system morpheme.Results show that on Internet message boards, the particle i only marks the predicate in 33% of the locations where it would occur in Standard TP. In Wantok letters to the editor, i occurs 95% of the time. Internet users are more likely to be influenced by English and have less access to Standard TP. Although TP is still valued by highly educated Papua New Guineans in the English domain of the Internet to discuss personal topics and show solidarity with one another, it is not their first choice of language, and the loss of the particle i shows evidence for a ML turnover having begun in the language. One conclusion that may be drawn from this study is that planning for the future of TP by the leaders of PNG is essential to maintain TP as a community language. / Department of English

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-225). / xiv, 225 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b gene sequence comparisions were used to investigate the molecular systematics of pythons. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Adelaide University, Dept. of Genetics, 2001

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country composed of thousands of tribes, clans, cultures and customs, with well over a hundred languages and totemic groupings spread sparsely across its lands (Bonney 1986: 2) (see Map A). Today the country has a total population of four million people (NSO 1991). Before colonisation, Papua New Guinea’s indigenous settlement patterns and social organisation reflected the fragmented nature of the country’s environment, its isolation from the eastern and western centres of civilisation, and the needs of small-scale subsistence economies. Over thousands of years, Melanesian societies have been too diverse for any particular area or group to typify the country’s culture or to maintain a dominant role within government. Deviance, regulatory mechanisms and methods used by each tribe or cultural group to resolve disputes, varied according to the community’s culture and customs. At the time of colonisation the indigenous people were artificially united in one nation-state. With the introduction of Western social, political, economic and judicial systems, they were forced to live under alien dispute resolution procedures and to accept an imposed Western system of sanctions, which overlaid or supplemented the customary dispute resolution procedures. Since colonisation, a Western legal system of sanctions has been imposed on Papua New Guineans in which the colonialists have overlooked traditional, unwritten customary systems.

Thesis (D.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Environmental Biology, 2002. / Vol. [2] comprises 6 reprints of published monographs in box folder; but numbered within the publications submitted listing (90 items), and within the 3 categories identified; at the beginning of vol. 1. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Oregon State University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 359-373).

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-75).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-124).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-124).