F03Linguistic Status Differentiation in Polynesian Societies
The project, led by Svenja Völkel, investigates linguistic human differentiation according to status in the stratified societies of Polynesia, based on the central distinction between “chiefs” ('eiki in Tongan, ariki in Māori) and commoners.
Status as a highly relevant dimension of differentiation in Polynesia
The complex hierarchical structures at the societal and family level are primarily derived from genealogy and are often accompanied by extreme forms of distancing (taboos). Status differences are established and made visible in many layers of meaning through various semiotic registers, including sitting arrangements, gift-exchange practices, clothing, and language.
Linguistic status differentiation
The project investigates which referential and indexical means (such as names, kinship terms, descriptives, personal pronouns, status-differentiating speech styles and honorific registers) are used to process status asymmetries and taboo relations linguistically. It is also of interest to what extent linguistic status differentiation interacts with non-linguistic practices of differentiation (e.g. physical and linguistic avoidance of contact, spatial arrangement and addressing sequence).
Developments in different Polynesian languages
With sub-studies on Tongan (a Western Polynesian language with honorific registers) and Māori (an Eastern Polynesian language without honorific registers), the project examines status-differentiating language in contexts with varying degrees of stratification and against the backdrop of diverging social developments and colonial histories. The synchronic comparison with other Polynesian languages (Uvean, Niuean, Samoan, Tahitian) also provides insights into diachronic developments of the emergence and disappearance of positional differences across Polynesia.