Pacific Linguistics

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LibCat

Use LibCat, the library's catalog, to search for resources by Keyword, Title, or Author.

The ‘Browse By Subject’ search option (in the menu at the top of the LibCat page) can also be used to find materials about a specific subject and/or geographic location.

Below, find a few examples of subject headings that may relate to your research topic. You can copy and paste into the "Browse by Subject" option available in the menu bar at the top of LibCat. (Replace Place with a broad place description, e.g., Hawaiʻi, Oceania, Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga, etc.)

• Pacific linguistics
• Pacific area Languages
• Language and culture
• Language and languages
• Language and languages Study and teaching
• Native language and education Case studies
• Indigenous peoples--Education
• Endangered languages Pacific Area
• Languages in contact Pacific Area
• Language revival Pacific Area
• Sociolinguistics Pacific Area
• Indigenous peoples Education. Oceania
• Oceanic Languages
• Austronesian languages
• Papuan languages
• Indo-European languages

Subject headings for specific languages are constructed as follows: keyword + language. See samples searches below.

• Chuukese language
• Fijian language
• Hawaiian language
• Samoan language
• Tahitian language

Online Dictionaries

• A Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language
• Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
• Kiribati-English Dictionary
• Māori Dictionary
• Marshallese-English Online Dictionary
• Nauru Dictionaries & Word Lists
• Pohnpeian-English Online Dictionary
• Polynesian Lexicon Project Online (POLLEX): Comparative Dictionary of Polynesian Languages
• Sikaiana Dictionary

Online Resources: Language Documentation and Conservation

Ethnologue Ethnologue contains information on 7,105 known living languages.

The Endangered Languages Project Catalog of the most endangered languages of the world. Also includes an interactive map.

DOBES: Documentation of Endangered Languages Includes language documentation data about languages around the world that are in danger of becoming extinct. Also includes an interactive map.

Polynesian Lexicon Project Online (POLLEX) Provides a comparative dictionary of Polynesian languages

Kaipuleohone via ScholarSpace This site includes the digital language archive collections of the University of Hawai’i.

Everytongue.com

Nauran language resources

Kiribati (Gilbertese) Language Resources

Sikaina Archives (website)

SIL: Language and Culture Archives Includes over 40,000 resources that document and describe different languages and cultures

Linguist List: International Linguistics Community Online Provides information on language and language analysis.

Samples of Books in Print: General

Online Resources: Interactive Maps

Ethnologue: Browse by Language Name

Browse our eBook Collections

Mookini Library provides access to many ebooks from any device with Internet. Many of the ebooks can be found in LibCat or by using the ebook links below.

Access for students, faculty and staff:

Samples of Ebooks: General

Library Databases for Journal Articles

The following is a list of suggested databases that you can use to find journal articles related to Pacific Linguistics.

• Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) (UH Hilo access)
  Over 9,000 full-text journals (about 8,000 peer-reviewed); PDF content for some dating back as far as 1887; searchable cited references provided for more than 1,500 journals.
• AnthroSource (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
  Full-text access to select publications of the American Anthropological Society.
• Dissertations and Theses from ProQuest (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
  Online access to full text of doctoral dissertations and graduate theses from universities around the world, including all campuses of the University of Hawaiʻi.
• ERIC: Education Resources Information Center (EBSCO) (UH Hilo Access)
  Sponsored by the US Department of Education, the national bibliographic database of education literature. When provided by ERIC, there are links to the ERIC full text or links to other sources such as publisher websites or DOIs.
• Hawaii Pacific Journal Index (HPJI) (Free access for all users.)
  Index of scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers published in or about Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Coverage: all subject areas. Dates: back to the 1890s.
• JSTOR (UH Hilo access)
  Access to select full-text academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in multiple disciplines. Archived journal coverage is from first issue of each title, but usually does not include current content. Spring 2025: some patrons have reported that JSTOR is very slow to display search pages and results - please be patient.
• Project MUSE (UH Hilo access)
  Full-text of more than 100 journals in the humanities and social sciences as well as hundreds of full-text ebooks from university presses.
• PsycNET (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
  An index to literature in psychology. Contains the full text of articles and books from the publications of the American Psychological Association, entries from the Encyclopedia of Psychology, and citations to journals, books, reviews, and dissertations from other publishers.
• Sociology Collection (Licensed for UH Hilo users only)
  Access to Sociological Abstracts in combination with other databases covering the international literature in sociology and social services, along with related fields. Provides abstracts, indexing and full-text coverage of journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and more, including full-text from hundreds of leading sociology journals.

Choose the link associated with your institution to access the complete list of databases available to you.

Access complete list of databases for University of Hawaii at Hilo Students, Faculty, or Staff.

Access complete list of databases for Hawaiʻi Community College Students, Faculty, or Staff.

Loans from Other Libraries

If we don’t have access to the book or journal article you’re looking for, you can request the article through our Loans from Other Libraries service. Not all items can be obtained. Fees and restrictions may apply. Watch this short video to learn more.