[Mihalic] Approach by Oxford University Press

[John Burton]

Folks

Don Niles of the Institute of PNG Studies recently met the regional
representative for Oxford University Press, Ray Farrell, in Port
Moresby, and has put him in touch with me. The substance of (brief)
discussions so far is that Oxford is interested in publishing two Tok
Pisin dictionaries in the near future.

* a Tok Pisin Study Dictionary - a 'learner's style work matching other
dictionaries in Oxford's Study Dictionary series
* the Revised Mihalic - our project, a longer and more comprehensive
work

I will forward future correspondence to the list. My concerns so far are
that the efforts of all contributors are protected and acknowledged.
This particularly applies to the suppliers of specialised lists,
concordances and the like, and the previous collaborator with Mihalic,
Peter Mühlhäusler, who was very anxious at the outset that we did not
plagiarise his marked-up manuscript dating to c1979.

I have given an assurance to Mühlhäusler that we would protect his and
his wife's work and one means of doing so has been to advise him that
his publications are comprehensive enough that we have our work cut out
consulting them and that only when we have exhausted them, and of course
given source attibution in the usual way, will we turn to the
manuscript.

Although there are issues to resolve, I am very pleased that Oxford has
made this approach. I have advised that we are plodding rather than
rushing along, but that we conceive of trying to organise a conference
at Divine Word University, Mihalic last home in PNG, as the next step
after completing a first pass of the (old) headwords.

What does everybody think?

Pat Gesch - any comments?
Peter Mühlhäusler - any comments?

All the best for the festive season
John Burton