Oceanic Voices - European Quills

Book excerpt: "Oceanic Voices - European Quills" celebrates the linguistic historiography of two Oceanic poles. The northwest Pacific's Chamorro of Guam and the Northern Marianas was the first (16th century), and the southeast Pacific's Rapanui of Easter Island one of the last (19th century) of the Austronesian tongues to inspire linguistic investigation within greater Oceania. These pioneering efforts are honored in nine articles which document, translate, chronicle, describe and analyze the earliest relics from these two island cultures. This collection of articles reveals fundamental insights not only into earlier stages of both Chamorro and Rapanui but also into the very discipline of linguistic historiography in one of Earth's humanly richest and most fascinating regions.