Grammatical Categories in the New Hebrides: A Preliminary Study of Linguistic Psychology in Malekula)

Extract

Although it is generally admitted that European and extra European grammatical categories do not absolutely coincide, one very rarely sees the grammar of a native language worked out on the clear recognition of this fact. The following paper is intended to illustrate the differences in grammatical thought between English and one language of the New Hebrides. It is not intended to be a full study of that language, but only to indicate what seems to be the mental outlook of the people who speak it. The language in question is that of Achin, one of a group of small islands off the north-eastern coast of Malekula in the northern New Hebrides. The material which has formed the basis of this study I owe to the kindness of Pastor A. G. Stewart, of the Seventh Day Adventist Mission.