Terry Crowley. 1990. An illustrated Bislama–English and English–Bislama dictionary. Vila: Pacific Languages Unit and the Vanuatu Extension Centre of the University of the South Pacific. vii + 478 pp. Softcover.

A dictionary's thousands of words paint a group portrait of a living language's most salient, and also most irregular, creative, quirky, and anachronistic individual components. Many--no doubt most--dictionaries are studies in still life. This one is Pieter Bruegel's Peasant Wedding in a rapidly changing Vanuatu setting. What breathes life into this dictionary is the author's decision to include many social, historical, and local variants of established words, as well as many of the latest borrowings and creations newly established in town and likely soon to spread to the countryside (pp. 4–9).

Crowley's book is "especially dedicated to the Republic of Vanuatu on the tenth anniversary of its independence on July 30 1990." His primary goal is to reflect the tremendous growth in its vocabulary since Bislama was established as the national language of Vanuatu (p. ii). The most comprehensive dictionary before this one (Camden 1977) was published just before the period of most rapid change and reflects predominantly rural vocabulary. The appearance of this updated and expanded dictionary is as much a milestone for Bislama as Mihalic's (1971) dictionary was for Tok Pisin. Unlike Mihalic, however, Crowley makes no attempt to define a standard for the language. But he does hope to provide a foundation for an eventual, standard-setting, comprehensive, monolingual Bislama dictionary (pp. iii, 4). (Such a dictionary would be most welcome for Tok Pisin as well.)

Like Mihalic, Crowley begins with a grammatical sketch (pp. 11–37) and ends with specialized vocabulary lists (pp. 457–476). Crowley lists only plant and animal species names, but adds a potentially useful list of common local acronyms. The bulk of the work is really two dictionaries: The Bislama–English section (pp. 38–262) contains well over 7500 entries [end page 49] arranged under 4000 or more headwords (p. 4), and the English–Bislama section (pp. 263–456) contains about 6250 entries (p. 10).

The Bislama–English dictionary both refines and expands upon the work of Camden (1977). Among the refinements are many revised definitions. For instance, Camden's ligim ‘vegetables’ appears in Crowley as legim ‘green vegetables (especially those grown for sale in market)’; Camden's limonad ‘lemonade’ appears as limonad ‘fizzy soft drink’; and Camden's loto [obs] ‘car’ appears as loto [arch] ‘truck’ More commonly kamiong. Crowley has also added more structure to many entries by numbering different senses of a single headword and by more clearly delineating subentries. This is a necessary step on the path from bilingual wordlist to full-fledged monolingual dictionary, but is also sure to generate many (hopefully productive) quibbles about categories. For instance, the phrase eksesaes miting (n) [arch] [ecc] ‘meeting allowing Christians to practise their understanding of Christianity’ is listed under

eksesaes² (n) exercise book Sometimes buk raet.

The only other option is

eksesaes¹ (n) [sport] training, exercise Also trening 2. (vi) train, exercise Also tren, trening, praktis.

Neither headword seems quite appropriate without a broader definition.

Another desirable feature of a full-fledged dictionary would be etymological information, at least where known. Crowley provides none. It would be relatively easy to provide etymologies for most of the words of French and English origin, but more difficult for those of local origin because of the larger number of closely related likely donor languages.

Most of the new words in this dictionary fall into several broad categories: taxonomic terms; slang and offensive terms; and vocabulary related to modern life, primarily sports and civic activities. The first category accounts for most of the illustrations, but the latter two categories are what bring this dictionary to life.

The taxonomic terms are gleaned from specialized works published since 1976. (References are listed on pp. 477–478.) The illustrations referred to in the book’s title are black-and-white line drawings taken either from those same works or from standard English dictionaries. They are thickest under the Ns, where words of local origin are also thickest--for the same reason that words of French origin are thickest under the Ls. (Over three quarters of the entries under N begin with na.)

Few readers would likely disagree with the author's criteria for labelling [end page 50] certain entries as offensive [off]. In fact, some may be offended that such words appear at all, and in relatively large numbers at that. Suffice it to say that this dictionary contains enough hardcore vocabulary to translate into Bislama any rabis buk ‘pornographic book’ or rabis kaset ‘pornographic video’ likely to make the rounds in Vanuatu.

The criteria for labelling euphemisms [euph] seem much more haphazard. For instance, rabis sik (n) [euph] ‘venereal disease’ is so labelled, but sik nogud (n) ‘venereal disease’ and rabis buk are not. Similarly, the unlabelled gras nogud (n) ‘pubic hair’ is certainly a desexed euphemism when compared to male-specific gras blong kok (n) ‘man's pubic hair’ Also kokgras, and to its female-specific equivalent. Nothing prevents slang terms from also being euphemisms, yet neither go long postofis (vp) [sl] ‘defecate’ nor saenem jek (vp) [sl] ‘go to the toilet’ are marked as euphemisms, while the venerable go long bus (vp) [euph] ‘defecate’ is. It is easy to imagine that urban go long postofis will endure as a euphemistic equivalent of rural go long bus.

Camden (1977) marked some entries as Old Bislama (O.B.) and others as Town Bislama (T.B.). In place of O.B., Crowley marks archaic [arch], obsolete [obs], and rare [rare] entries. These provide many glimpses of the evolution of Bislama from a socially restricted pidgin in minimal contact with its metropolitan donor languages into a creolized national language in much heavier contact with its donors:

marasin (n) [obs] medicine Now meresin

meri (n) [obs] woman 2. girl Also woman, gel [current in Bislama into the early twentieth century, when heard now it is perceived as a word introduced from Solomon Islands or Papua New Guinea, where it has been used continuously]

poaf (n) [rare] pepper (as a cooking ingredient) More commonly pepa

stilpepa (n) [arch] carbon paper More commonly kabonpepa [NOTE: Camden lists both variants as synonyms--JB.]

stilvoes (n) [arch] tape-recorder More commonly teprikod [NOTE: Camden lists both variants as synonyms--JB.]

wokboe (n) [arch] worker, staff More commonly wokman

Wiwi (n) [obs] French person Now Franis man

Town Bislama, however, is with one exception left entirely unmarked. By implication, Crowley considers it now an integral part of Bislama as a national language. The exceptional category is "the current slang of the trend-setting elite in the towns" (p. 6). The slang entries create vivid images of the language and lifestyle of some members of this elite: [end page 51]

kaj (vi) [sl] score, find sexual partner Sapos yu go long klab bae yu save kaj ia! If you go to a nightclub you can score! 2. (n) one-night stand

kakae bolet (vp) [sl] get shot

mekem sinema [sl] make spectacle of oneself

mekem teknik (vp) [sl] practise unusual style Man ia i stap ple futbol i mekem teknik wantaem. When that man plays football he has a very unusual style

openem eksesaes buk [sl] be in a sexually responsive position

WK (pron. daboliuke) (vi) [sl] get married [abbreviation for weding kek ‘wedding cake’]

During a period of rapid and wholesale borrowing fueled by a bilingual elite, it is often difficult to decide when a borrowed word no longer belongs just to the donor language. Crowley relies on the principle that,

if a word is used systematically in informal contexts by people with primary level education in town, then it should be treated as a genuine Bislama word. Even if such a word is not generally known in rural areas or among older generations, it is probably destined to spread in time through the effects of radio and circular migration.

This liberal principle--coupled with the decision not to define a standard--allows great latitude in incorporating new words and expressions into the dictionary. Thus we find not only the expected: kompiuta (n) ‘computer’; feks (n) ‘fax, facsimile’; and niuklia (adj) ‘nuclear’ Yumi no wantem se i gat ol niuklia samting blong faet i stap kam long Vanuatu. ‘We don't want nuclear weapons coming to Vanuatu’; but also many entries that create as vivid an image as the slang does of modern life in Vanuatu:

bringanbae (n) bring-and-buy; fundraising activity in community based organisation at which some people are asked to contribute food, garden produce, kava or alcoholic drink and members, families and friends are invited to attend and buy what is put on display Bae ol skaot oli mekem bringanbae blong olgeta long Sarere. The scouts will be holding their bring-and-buy on Saturday.

danis Teksas (vp) dance with arms around partner Taem oli ple stringban long vilej ol yangfala oli stap danis Teksas long hem. When the stringbands play in the villages, the young people dance with partners holding onto each other (rather than dancing separately). [NOTE: Also listed in Camden (1977).]

fanresing (n) activity intended to raise funds for community based organisations (e.g. walkathon, bring-and-buy, lottery, dance) [end page 52]

farmasi (n) chemist Also dragsto

fisanjips (n) fish and chips

sponsarem (vt) sponsor (in walkathon)

lotri (n) lottery, raffle Bae oli pulum tiket long lotri long en blong manis. The lottery ticket will be drawn at the end of the month. Also tombola

ninja (n) youths in gangs who terrorise and attack people Fulap man oli stap luk video mo naoia i gat ninja long ol aelan tu. Many people are watching video and now there are gangs in the islands too.

wokaton (n) walkathon

Native English-speakers may have a harder time defining the boundary between Bislama and English than between Bislama and French, while native French-speakers may have an harder time with Bislama and French than with Bislama and English. This may be one of the reasons Crowley includes (as does Camden) many words of French origin not found in Guy’s (1975) Bislama–English–French handbook:

delege (n) French district agent in colonial times [NOTE: Guy lists only teleket--JB.]

duan (n) [rare] customs More commonly kastom [NOTE: Guy lists only kastom--JB.]

kabine (n) toilet Also klosis, tolet, smolhaus

kaskad (n) waterfall Also lakaskad, wotafol

lae (n) garlic (Allium sativum)

pupe (n) doll Also doli 2. [sl] overdressed European woman

Many of the entries cited above contain encyclopedic information in addition to translation equivalents. This is another useful and interesting feature of Crowley's dictionary, especially in its role as a "word museum" (p. 7).

hashas (n) Hash House Harriers Oli stap ron long hashas evri Mande. They run with the Hash House Harriers every Monday. [group of people, mostly expatriates, who regularly jog on Mondays to get healthy and finish up drinking lots of beer to get unhealthy] [Note: It is unclear whether this should be pronounced has-has or ha-shas. If the latter, then orthographic sh is an unexplained aberration.]

merikanrop (n) mikania weed (Mikania micrantha) [vine which grows along the ground very quickly; so called because it was introduced by the Americans to Efate and Santo during the Second World War as a [end page 53] fast-growing camouflage to grow over hangars] Also maelminit, wande, tude

omae (n) Chinese salted plum [commonly sold by the cash register in Chinese-owned stores, often in lieu of small change]

Just as the Bislama–English portion is much more than a mere wordlist, the English–Bislama section is much more than a simple reverse finderlist. In order to aid ni-Vanuatu learning English, Crowley has added many common English words that never manage to appear in the definitions of the Bislama–English section, mostly because they have no easy translation equivalents. These words have explanatory definitions that sometimes resemble the encyclopedic information included in some of the Bislama–English definitions. Some examples among the Hs include:

Hash House Harriers (n) hashas, grup blong man we oli stap ronron evri Mande blong lukaotem gud bodi blong olgeta afta oli spolem olgeta wetem bia bakegen

hay fever (n) sik we oli nogud long flaoa o gras mo i mekem se wota blong ae i ron oltaem mo oli stap sni

headline (n) bigfala toktok insaed long nius

helpful (adj) kaen, (fasin we i) mekem gudfasin long narafala man mo i rere oltaem blong givan

henceforth (adv) stat long naoia i kam

Camden (1977) did not include an English–Bislama section in his dictionary, so this half (actually 45 percent) of the dictionary owes less to its predecessors than the first half. It is instructive, however, to compare the English words Crowley saw fit to include in 1990 to those Mihalic felt necessary two decades ago for Tok Pisin. Under the Js, for example, the following headwords are found in Crowley’s but not in Mihalic’s work: jackhammer, jack handle, jandals, jaundiced, jaw, jay-walker, jazz, jeep, Jehova’s [sic] Witnesses, jetsam, jigsaw, jog, Joint [Franco-British] Court, joker [in cards], journal [-ist(?) man blong nius], journey, judiciary, judo, jumper, junior, jurisdiction, and jury. On the other hand, Crowley omits the following words from among Mihalic’s Js: Jacaranda type tree, Japan, Japanese, jar, jeer, jelly, jersey, jet black, joiner, joinery, joy, jutting point of land, juvenile.

Bislama appears to be growing not just in vocabulary, but also in phonemic inventory. Crowley maintains that "the existence of a voicing contrast in stops is beyond dispute" (p. 27), even though it is not always consistently maintained. His position contrasts with that of Guy (1975), [end page 54] Camden (1977), and even Tryon (1987), who do not distinguish voiced from voiceless stops in their phoneme lists. Crowley also lists both /f/ and /v/ and /s/ and /c/ [= ch] as separate phonemes. The orthography used by the Kokonas Bible Translators and other church groups already distinguishes all of these (at least etymological) phonemes, even where distinctions are consistently neutralized, as voicing is in root-final position. Anticipating criticism, Crowley explains his position in a footnote (p. 32):

While some of my decisions may be criticised as being influenced by the speech of the educated urban elite, these are more likely to be the people writing Bislama in published materials. It is arguably easier for rural readers to interpret the spellings of educated writers than it would be for educated writers to try to guess how rural readers might pronounce a particular word.

One might disagree with the thesis about rural readers and educated writers, but at least Crowley consistently decides in favor of the most progressive forces shaping the language, whether the decision involves vocabulary or phonemic distinctions. I believe this bias is justified when recording a rapidly evolving national language, just as a bias toward conservatism is justified when recording a rapidly dying village language.

While there are many things to praise about this book, its typography leaves a few things to be desired. There are a fair number of typographical errors, which are especially glaring in the front matter, where the type is too large and crowded for the size of the book (15 by 21 cm., roughly 6 by 8 in.). The bulk of the work is laid out in two easily read columns per page, with headwords in boldface and entries separated by white space. Punctuation is used rather sparingly (as evident in the examples cited above) and there are no running heads at the top of each page to show the first and last headwords. (I am not aware of any word processing software that offers such a feature.)

These few quibbles aside, this dictionary provides a lively and comprehensive record of the rapid growth of Bislama and the rapid social change among Bislama-speakers during the first decade of Vanuatu’s independence.

Joel Bradshaw