Table 1. Galeya population
Ward Households
Population
Basima
a
147 727
Duduna 89
408 Gameta
47 219
Momoawa
b
35 180
Sebutuya 166
805 Urua
c
58 284
Total 542
2,623
a
Presumably, the ward called ‘Basima’ in the census is the ward local people refer to as ‘Lau’oya’.
b
Spelled ‘Momo’awa’ in this report.
c
Spelled ‘Ulua’ in this report.
1.4 Previous research
1.4.1 Troolin and Engkvist
In October 1996 David Troolin, SIL surveyor, and Leif Engkvist, SIL linguist working in the Molima language on Fergusson Island, conducted a preliminary survey and report of the Galeya language. They
identified two dialects Basima and Galeya at an average of 75 percent lexical similarity but concluded that the two dialects were one language.
Engkvist and Troolin stressed that theirs was only a preliminary survey, as time constraints did not allow them to visit very many villages, to have any contact with mountain villages, or to fully investigate
the sociolinguistic situation of the area. More details regarding Engkvist and Troolin’s findings are given in section 2.1.2.
1.4.2 Lithgow
SIL linguist David Lithgow conducted extensive research in Milne Bay Province, particularly among the languages in the D’Entrecasteaux Islands. One of his major studies was on language shift towards Dobu,
which is a language widely spoken in the D’Entrecasteaux Islands, both as a trade language and as the main language used in churches. In his study on language change, Lithgow 1992:34 concluded that the
southern dialect of Galeya had experienced massive change toward Dobu 22 percent change in vocabulary in twenty-five years and that the northern dialect had experienced moderate 9 percent
change during the same time period. The survey team sought to continue this study on language change in order to ascertain whether change was continuing to take place see section 3.4. Articles referring to
this and other research on the Galeya language by Lithgow are listed in the references section of this report.
1.5 Sampling
1.5.1 Macro level sampling
Prior to the survey the team expected to find about a dozen main Galeya villages, ranging in size from 200 to 800 residents, as well as between 70 and 100 hamlets, containing only a few houses each. Upon
arrival in the Galeya area, it became apparent that there were no large villages, but only numerous small
hamlets, most with just a few houses. In each ward area, the team endeavoured to find the largest or most prominent hamlet
7
where sociolinguistic interviews were carried out and wordlists were collected.
8
Self-evaluation interviews, evaluating proficiency in English and Dobu, were generally done in villages that were randomly selected from a list of all of the villages in the ward, although these lists of villages
were sometimes incomplete. The number of households reported during the survey for Gameta, Momo’awa, and Ulua wards 47–48, 36, and 60, respectively were very close to the numbers reported
during the 2000 census, suggesting that the village lists used for these wards were fairly complete.
A list of all the village and hamlet names collected by the survey team is given in table 29 in Appendix A. This table lists 147 locations, but there may actually be between 160 and 180 villages or
hamlets among the six wards. Table 2 lists villages and hamlets where the survey team worked.
7
Referred to interchangeably as hamlets or villages throughout the report.
8
This often coincided with the location of a church or school.
Table 2. Village sample
Ward VillageHamlet name
Work completed
a
Survey contact
Dobu language area Budoya
WL 1 night
Duduna Boyodudu
SEQ Partial day
Duduna Duduna
SEQ, LU Partial day
Duduna Guletoto’unu
SEQ, LU, CP, R, YWL 2 nights
Duduna Mebulibuli
SEQ Partial day
Duduna Yaya
SEQ, LU, CP, R, E, WL 2 nights
Gameta Esiesiye
SEQ Partial day
Gameta Kenan
R 5 nights
Gameta Mena’i 1 and 2
SEQ Partial day
Gameta Negwara
SEQ Partial day
Gameta Sabwalae
SEQ Partial day
Gameta Seasea
SEQ, LU, CP, CU, S, WL, YWL
Partial day Lauoya
Arana SEQ
Partial day Lau’oya
Audegwasi S
Partial day Lauoya
Aumwata SEQ
Partial day Lauoya
Bedeli part of Wegiliu SEQ, WL
3 nights Lauoya
Degimwanea SEQ
Partial day Lauoya
Gaburarana SEQ
Partial day Lauoya
Legulegu SEQ
1 night Lauoya
Oluwete SEQ
Partial day Lauoya
Omwea SEQ
Partial day Lauoya
Pwasiaula SEQ
Partial day Lau’oya
Pwepwe’ura LU, R
Partial day Lauoya
Tapwana SEQ
Partial day Lau’oya
Toipwara CP, CU
Partial day Lauoya
Tomwemwa SEQ
1 night Lauoya
Wegiliu includes Bedeli SEQ, R
3 nights Bedeli Momo’awa
Apua’eha SEQ
1 night Momo’awa
Bwarawe SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Bwidowa SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Dewasiga SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Ebo’eboya SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Momo’awa Mission R, S
1 night Momo’awa
Mowai SEQ, LU, CP, E, WL
1 night Momo’awa
Nepana SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
To’apola SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Wada’aniona SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Waiwi SEQ, WL
Partial day Momo’awa
Wela’ila’i SEQ
Partial day Momo’awa
Yumwana SEQ
Partial day
Ward VillageHamlet name
Work completed
a
Survey contact
Sebutuya Bibio
SEQ, LU, CP, CU, R, YWL, WL
Multiple partial days slept at Sebutuya
Sebutuya Gugula
SEQ Partial day
Sebutuya Kokauta
LU, CP, CU, E, WL Partial day
Sebutuya Mataburia
SEQ 1 night
Sebutuya Mwakikiki
SEQ Partial day
Sebutuya Sebutuya
Create SEQ, SEQ, S 3 nights
Sebutuya Taigwana’oya
R, S, YWL at school, youth from Asadebana
2 nights Sebutuya
O’oya S
Partial day Ulua
BwanabwanaTapewari SEQ
Partial day Ulua
Dimwadimwa SEQ, LU, WL
1 night Ulua
Duduna SEQ
Partial day Ulua
Gwabegwabea SEQ, YWL
1 night Ulua
Mwa’ola SEQ
Partial day Ulua
Tutuana SEQ
Partial day Ulua
Yoridan SEQ, LU, CP, CU, R, S,
WL 1 night
a
SEQ stands for self-evaluation questionnaire, WL for wordlist, YWL for a wordlist elicited from a young person, LU for a language use questionnaire, CP for a contact patterns questionnaire, R for a religious organisations
questionnaire, CU for a culture questionnaire, E for education interview of the community, and S for education interview of school staff.
1.5.2 Micro level sampling