Towards a reanalysis of Oceanic possessives

Abstract

The Oceanic languages, which constitute a major subgroup of the Austronesian language family, consist of over 400 languages spoken in Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Although the exact subgrouping of Oceanic is uncertain, Pawley (1972) provides support for an Eastern Oceanic subgroup, which consists of languages from the Southeast Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides and Banks Islands, Polynesia, and Fiji, as well as Rotuman and Gilbertese (Pawley 1972:7).