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The discovery of the existence of the Austronesian language family goes back to the seventeenth century, when members of the Schouten and Lemaire expedition collected a vocabulary from East Futuna (Wallis and Futuna) in the South Pacific, some of which was found later to bear a striking resemblance to Malay. However, it was not until the nineteenth century that Austronesian studies really took on a systematic flavour, particularly with the work of Dutch linguists in what is today Indonesia and that of a number of missionaries in the South Pacific. A discussion of the history of research in Austronesian linguistics is not called for here. Suffice it to say that the major advances in Austronesian studies have been made this century, beginning with the systematic comparative work of such linguists as Stresemann (1927) and Dempwolff (1934-38). Since that time there has been a great deal of systematic research carried out right throughout the vast region where Austronesian languages are spoken. 20 The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives Map 1: The geographical range of the Austronesian family.

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The Vanuatu Cultural Centre has played a central role, both in supporting and directing expatriate research in Vanuatu, and in developing a group of ni‐Vanuatu researchers, known as fieldworkers. At annual workshops, the fieldworkers are trained in basic linguistic and anthropological documentation techniques, and discuss ways to maintain and revive local practice in their own areas. The fieldworkers also advise and assist expatriate researchers. This paper outlines the work of the Cultural Centre and the work of ni‐Vanuatu researchers, focusing on the fieldworkers.