COOL6

Sixth International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics

Emalus Campus, University of the South Pacific

Port Vila, Vanuatu

4 – 9 July, 2004

 

 

FIRST CIRCULAR

 

Due to a number of problems, the 6th International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics (COOL6) cannot be held at the Hilo Campus of the University of Hawai’i, and has been relocated to the Emalus Campus of the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The dates remain the same: Sunday 4 – Friday 9 July.

 

The conference organising team will consist of staff of the Pacific Languages Unit who are based in Port Vila, currently:

     John Lynch (lynch_j@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj)

     Robert Early (early_r@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj)

     Hannah Vari-Bogiri (bogiri_h@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj)

 

The conference website can be found on the Pacific Languages Unit’s homepage:

http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/paclangunit/homepage.htm

 

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

Papers to be presented at COOL6 will normally be allocated 20 minutes for presentation plus 10 minutes for discussion. Papers may be presented on any area to do with individual Oceanic languages or groups of languages, such as:

In addition, papers may also be presented in the following areas:

 

 

REGISTRATION

 

A pre-registration form is attached at the end of this circular. Please fill it in and email or fax it, or something resembling it, to the contacts shown on the form by 15 February, 2004 if at all possible. (We know deadlines are meant to be extended, but we will need some idea of participant numbers by then, and would also like to be able to provide participants with the abstracts before they arrive.)

 

We will be charging a registration fee of 12,500 vatu (7,500 vatu for full-time students), to be paid when you arrive. This will cover morning and afternoon tea, reception(s), and other administrative costs – though not the Conference Dinner, which will be arranged separately. (The currency is the vatu. Approximate exchange rates as of today, 7 August, 2002, are:

12,500 vatu = $US 100 = € 90 = $Aus 125 = $NZ 175

There is no difficulty with exchanging foreign currencies at the banks or money exchangers in Port Vila.)

 

On-site registration for participants will take place in the evening of Sunday, 4 July, and will be followed by a welcome reception.

 

 

TRAVEL

 

Port Vila has direct air links with Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Nadi, Nouméa and Honiara. Participants travelling from other countries would be advised to check the most economical and convenient routing. Air Vanuatu’s schedule can be found at: http://www.airvanuatu.com.au/flights.html

 

No visas are required to enter Vanuatu: an outward ticket is sufficient to gain entry for one month.

 

 

ACCOMMODATION

 

Accommodation varies from the reasonably luxurious (and expensive) to the spartan, with a reasonable middle range. At least for those travelling from Australia and New Zealand, travel agents will have a number of package deals which would probably prove more economical than booking accommodation separately. There is a list of hotels on the National Tourism Office website (http://www.vanuatutourism.com/); we will investigate costs – and special deals – closer to the time of the conference, and will make that information available.

 

 

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

 

We propose to run the conference with no parallel sessions if at all possible. We will try to run sessions on four days of the week (number of papers permitting), but will try to keep one day free for organised excursions or sightseeing, relaxation, or whatever on an individual basis.

 

Our current plan is to have registration followed by a reception in the evening of Sunday 4 July, leave Wednesday free for relaxation, and run the conference on the other four days of that week. This may vary slightly, depending on the number of paper-presenters.

 

 

PORT VILA

 

For those who have not been here, Port Vila is situated on the island of Efate on Vila harbour, surrounded by the South Efate language but in full view of the Polynesian Outlier Ifira-Mele. The city has a population of about 30,000 people, and is one of the most picturesque (and cleanest) in the Pacific. English and French are both spoken, although the most common language heard around town is Bislama, an English-lexifier creole. Being a popular tourist destination, there are numerous restaurants and cafes, as well as tour operators who can organise trips around the island, boat trips to the small offshore islands, etc.

 

July is supposed to be the cool, dry season, with temperatures in the mid-twenties during the day and dropping to 16 or 18 degrees at night (for those still using Fahrenheit, this means low sixties to high seventies). In recent years, however, the dry season has been wetter than usual. Dress is generally quite informal (though abbreviated swimwear is appropriate only on beaches).

 

Vanuatu also boasts of being the kava capital of the world. There are over 150 kava bars – called nakamal in Bislama – in Port Vila. Vanuatu kava is prepared much stronger than the Fijian variety, and is normally drunk in quiet surroundings in the late afternoon and early evening. The campus has its own nakamal, and first-timers can be assured of a gentle introduction.

 

Some useful websites about Vanuatu are the following:

National Tourism Office: http://www.vanuatutourism.com/

Weather forecasts: http://202.80.47.86/forecast/

 

 

EMALUS CAMPUS

 

The campus is home not only to the Pacific Languages Unit but also to the School of Law, the Early Childhood Education program, and the Distance and Flexible Learning Support Centre. Students come not only from Vanuatu but from a number of other Pacific countries (Solomon Is., Fiji, Marshall Is., Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tonga, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Cook Is., etc.)

 

For more information, see: http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/

 

COOL6

Sixth International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics

Emalus Campus, University of the South Pacific

Port Vila, Vanuatu

4 – 9 July, 2004

 

 

PRE-REGISTRATION FORM

 

Title and name:

 

Institutional affiliation:

 

Mailing address:

 

Fax:

 

Email address:

 

Paper title:

 

Abstract (no more than 150 words, please):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please either email to one of:

John Lynch (lynch_j@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj)

Robert Early (early_r@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj)

Hannah Vari-Bogiri (bogiri_h@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj)

 

or fax to: + 678 22633