The Representation of Indigenous Languages of Oceania in Academic Publications

Abstract

Of the estimated 7117 languages in the world, approximately 1500 (21%) are indigenous to the Pacific. Despite composing approximately one-fourth of the world’s linguistic diversity, the representation of these languages in academic publication is scant, even in periodicals focused on Pacific Island studies. We investigated 34 periodicals that focus on research in Oceania. We report on (1) journal names; (2) how many are currently in circulation; (3) how many accept submissions in Indigenous Pacific languages; (4) what percent of the most recent articles were actually in Indigenous languages of the Pacific and (5) which languages those were. Five of the 34 journals allowed submissions written in Indigenous Pacific languages. Three of the five journals specified Hawaiian as an accepted language of publication; one Sāmoan and one Tahitian and any other Indigenous language of Polynesia. We were able to collect data on four of the five journals, which averaged 11% of recent publications in an Indigenous language. None accepted submissions in Indigenous languages from the Pacific outside of Polynesia.