About the Book

Some 800 Austronesian languages are spoken in the area extending from Madagascar to eastern Indonesia and, to the north, to Taiwan and the Philippines. They vary greatly in almost every possible respect, including the size and social make-up of the speech communities and their typological profiles. This book is designed to serve as a reference work and in-depth introduction to these languages, providing a source of basic information for linguists and other professionals concerned with this area.