that more and more young people are choosing to live in town either Bogia or Madang. Though currently only around 5 of the population of PNG lives in urban centers, towns are the only place
where secondary school graduates can find jobs. Nubia had a plantation operated by the Roman Catholic Church. It was closed for reasons I could
not ascertain, but this accounts for the drastic difference between the projected and estimated population figures in that village.
1.5 Survey purpose and goals
The purpose of this survey was to determine the feasibility of the LRIG project as it concerns the four target language groups; Awar, Bosmun, Kayan, and Marangis. For this reason each language group will
be evaluated individually to assess whether they should be invited to join the LRIG project. To achieve the purpose of the survey there were three goals investigated in each language group:
1. Assess the vitality of the vernacular for the target group.
2. Assess the willingness of the target group to work with the other language groups which could
potentially participate in the LRIG project. 3.
Assess the interest of the target group in vernacular language development. Assessing the vitality of the target vernacular languages will allow PBT PNG leadership to more
accurately project whether the communities will benefit from vernacular language development. Many language groups in Madang Province are choosing to shift to the language of wider communication, Tok
Pisin [tpi]. It is important that, before any language development is started, the vitality of the vernacular in question is assessed. Given the nature of the LRIG project which is based on limited expatriate
involvement and small goals, the vitality of each vernacular language is not as important as if these groups were being assessed with a traditional project in mind.
The final two goals are more important to determining the feasibility of the LRIG project. The ability of the target groups to cooperate with each other and the Mbore is essential for the LRIG project
to be successful as it is currently devised. If the groups cannot work together, or with the Mbore, the LRIG project will not be able to move forward.
Also essential to the success of the LRIG project is the willingness of each target community to be involved. Given the limited role of PBT PNG, the initiative will have to be taken by each language
community. If a community has no interest in vernacular language development it cannot be involved with the LRIG project.
2 Methodology
Methodology will be discussed in terms of the three primary goals listed in the previous section. For each goal, research questions and corresponding indicators were identified. Mention will be made of the
instruments used to evaluate the indicators, followed by further discussion of survey instruments in section 2.4.
2.1 Goal 1: Assess the vitality of the vernacular for the target group
Five research questions
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were used to meet the first goal. They are listed below with corresponding indicators:
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The research questions and indicators for this goal were adapted from a previous language survey Masters, Carter, Grummitt, and Paris. I am grateful to Janell Masters for showing me how to thoroughly develop a research
question.
1. Do language use patterns suggest that language shift is occurring or likely to occur?
The presence of language shift in a community means that the community’s vernacular is not likely to be used far into the future. Three indicators show that shift is not taking place, supporting a view that
the vitality is strong: • Children are fluent in the vernacular and use it in most domains.
• Parents use primarily the vernacular to socialize their children. • The community uses the vernacular in most or all domains.
These indicators show that vitality of the vernacular is strong at the present time. The indicators were assessed using probes on a questionnaire.
2. Do intra- and extra-community attitudes evidence and support continued use of the vernacular?
A community’s language use is a reflection of its own and its influential neighbors’ language attitudes. Positive attitudes toward use of the vernacular suggest continued use of the vernacular and
strong vitality. The following indicators relate to the second research question: • The community wants their children to be fluent in the vernacular and to use it.
• From the perspective of teachers and church leaders, the community likes to help outsiders learn and use their vernacular.
• Churches use the vernacular. • Elementary schools use the vernacular.
In communities where current vernacular vitality is strong, these indicators reveal forces that would promote continued use of the vernacular in the future. The first indicator was assessed using probes on a
questionnaire. The second indicator was assessed using guided interviews with teachers and church leaders. The third and fourth indicators were assessed using a combination of the guided interviews with
teachers and church leaders, and observation in churches and schools.
3. Does the language use of immigrants support continued use of the vernacular?
Immigrants may potentially introduce outside languages to the community and be a catalyst for language shift. Therefore, to help assess vernacular vitality, the following indicators will be investigated:
• Immigrants use the vernacular with their children or are a small percentage of the population.
• The community believes emigrants who have returned to live in the community should use the vernacular.
These indicators not only suggest that immigration poses no threat to vitality, but may indicate that factors in play motivate immigrants to use the vernacular as opposed to other languages in their
repertoire. This suggests the vitality of the vernacular is strong. Assessment of these indicators was made using probes on two questionnaires—one probe on the main questionnaire, and a house-by-house
reporting instrument on the “walkabout” questionnaire.
4. Is the community’s distance from urban centers supportive of continued vitality?
This looks at opportunity for shift whereas others look at attitude often evidenced by behavior: • Travel to Madang and Bogia does not provide a majority of the community with great
opportunity to shift their language. Extremes in travel patterns to Madang and Bogia are most predictive in terms of vitality. If few
community members travel to these places and they do so rarely, there is little opportunity for language shift. If most community members travel to these places and do so often, there is great potential for
language shift. Between these extremes conclusions are harder to draw, but a description of the situation may still inform the overall assessment of vitality. This indicator was evaluated using probes on the main
survey questionnaire.
5. Do economic endeavors weaken the vernacular?
If a community feels they need to use a language other than their vernacular to become economically successful, it may favor use of that language over the vernacular. This is especially true if
they have ample employment opportunity in contexts where the vernacular is not used. These considerations lead to the following indicator:
• The need and opportunity to use a language other than the vernacular at work does not affect a large portion of the population.
A description of the community’s economic situation in regard to language use may inform our overall assessment of vitality. This indicator was evaluated using probes on the main survey
questionnaire.
2.2 Goal 2: Assess the willingness of the target group to work with the other potential
