Social keywords in postcolonial Melanesian Discourse: Kastom 'traditional culture' and tumbuna 'ancestors'
Date
2017
Authors
Priestley, Carol
Levisen, Carsten
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Abstract
In postcolonial Melanesia, cultural discourses are increasingly organised around
creole words, i.e. keywords of Bislama (Vanuatu) and Tok Pisin (Papua New
Guinea). These words constitute (or represent) important emerging ethnolinguistic worldviews, which are partly borne out of the colonial era, and partly out
of postcolonial ethno-rhetoric. This chapter explores the word kastom ‘traditional culture’ in Bislama and pasin bilong tumbuna ‘the ways of the ancestors’
in Tok Pisin. Specific attention is paid to the shift from “negative “ to “positive”
semantics, following from the re-evaluation of ancestral practices in postcolonial
discourse. Social keywords in postcolonial discourse form a fertile ground for
understanding how speakers in Melanesia conceptualise the past as a vital part
of the present.
Description
Keywords
Bislama semantics, Tok Pisin semantics, ethnolinguistics, postcolonial discourse, sociality, kastom, tumbuna
Citation
Collections
Source
Type
Book chapter
Book Title
Cultural Keywords in Discourse
Entity type
Access Statement
License Rights
Restricted until
2099-12-31