Austronesian Undressed

We examine the spread of Austronesian languages as a process that proceeded in different ways at different times, even in the same locale. We examine the many ways a language can show ‘Austronesian traits’, and confront this with the known presence of pre-Austronesian languages across Island Southeast Asia, and the inferred similarity of social processes between mainland and Island Southeast Asia. We argue that many languages which are classified as Austronesian are indeed exemplary Austronesian