Avaipa, a Language of Central Bougainville

Abstract

This work presents initial data from Avaipa, a previously undocumented language of central Bougainville. In the sparse literature that exists on this variety, it is anecdotally described as a mixed language. It will be demonstrated that the perception of language mixing is due to lexical borrowing, both from Papuan and from Oceanic sources, though a large-scale lexical comparison suggests a significant connection to the South Bougainville group. A tentative classification of Avaipa as a Papuan language is offered, where the language can be shown to be most closely related to the South Bougainville group, but because of the presence of certain lexical and structural features, the possibility is raised whereby Avaipa serves as a bridge to the North Bougainville group.