Can the subaltern listen? Self-determination and the provisioning of expertise in Papua New Guinea

AbstractJ. L. Austin's influential dissection of speech acts into locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts has given rise to much scholarly attention to illocutionary acts and forces. While the perlocutionary facet of speech acts has gone largely undiscussed by philosophers and linguists, folk theories of language often attend closely to the relation between speech and its consequences. In this article, I discuss one conception of perlocutions prominent in Yopno speaking communities in Papua New Guinea that emphasizes the agentive role of listeners in mediating between speech and its outcome. This cultural conception of perlocutions, I argue, is tied to a political sensibility that stresses the self-determination and equality of adult men. The article shows how cultural conceptions of perlocutions provide insight into political values and practices, and how political concerns inform folk models of perlocutions. (Perlocutions, politics, fashions of speaking, language ideology, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea)*

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A crucible for bottom-up regionalism? The digital renaissance

Pacific Journalism Review – Te Koakoa ◽

10.24135/pjr.v26i1.1079 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 140-147 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jason Titifanue ◽

Romitesh Kant ◽

Glenn Finau

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Human Rights ◽

Papua New Guinea ◽

New Guinea ◽

Pacific Islanders ◽

Self Determination ◽

Human Rights Violations ◽

West Papua ◽

The World ◽

Social Media Platforms

Commentary: West Papua has one of the most repressive media landscapes in the world. Consequently, West Papuans have increasingly harnessed social media platforms to broadcast human rights violations committed in West Papua. Through this, Pacific Islanders around the region are increasingly leveraging social media as a political tool for showing solidarity and support for West Papuans. As a result, in recent years there has been a regional groundswell in support for West Papuan demands for self-determination, with prominent political figures such as Peter O’Neill of Papua New Guinea, and Gordon Darcy Lilo alluding to the awareness on West Papuan issues that have been raised through social media. This commentary explores how the rise of West Papua solidarity, is resulting in a heightened Pacific regional consciousness at the community level.

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Crossing the Border:

10.20850/9781534299047 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

alan e.d. smith

Keyword(s):

Papua New Guinea ◽

Necessary Conditions ◽

New Guinea ◽

Self Determination ◽

Australian Government ◽

Public Controversy ◽

Irian Jaya ◽

The Right ◽

First Time ◽

Do So

Synopsis The response of the Papua New Guinea government to the refugee influx of 1984 was conditioned by the Australian administration’s approach to border management prior to Papua New Guinea independence and by the Papua New Guinea - Indonesia border agreement. This approach is one of containment. The unprecedented scale of the refugee influx in 1984 caused a policy crisis for Papua New Guinea. Efforts to encourage refugees to return home met resistance from the refugees and caused public controversy. In 1985 when West Papuan refugees arrived in Australia for the first time, the Australian government demonstrated it's continuing commitment to the policy of containment which was reflected in its refusal to support Papua New Guinea's attempts to internationalise the issue. The refugee influx afforded Papua New Guinea a legitimate opportunity to press for the cause of the problem to be examined. But it's attempts to do so were abandoned for want of international, crucially Australian, support. A massive influx of refugees should automatically set in motion an international process to examine root causes of the influx in order to bring about the necessary conditions for voluntary repatriation. The achievement of the changes in Irian Jaya necessary to resolve the conflict between West Papuan nationalists and the Indonesian state may depend on the creation of new international measures to address the whole class of frustrated claims to the right of self-determination. What is needed is an authoritative international process through which self-determination claims can be assessed and a range of forms through which the aspirations they represent can be satisfied.

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