ABSTRACT
As we noted in Ch. 1, § 1, the Oceanic languages constitute a subgroup within the Austronesian language family. Figure 1.1 in Chapter I shows how the Oceanic subgroup fits into the Austronesian family tree; that is, it shows the external sub grouping of Oceanic. Our purpose in this chapter is to give an overview of the present status of research into the internal subgrouping of Oceanic. The subgroups listed here form the basis of the subgrouping information used in the language listing in the appendix.
