One Man is an Island: The Speech Community William Marsters Begat on Palmerston Island

Visitor's stories about Palmerston Island usually begin the same way. A sailor approaches the island, after several days at sea. The sky is blue and bright. The island lies low and green with palm trees. The white sand shines, as do the faces of the hospital Palmerston Islanders meeting the boat... This is all very well, and it was my experience too, but repeating it renders Palmerston Island an object of study viewed through the eyes of the outsider. While this perspective is the only one I can take, I would prefer to begin with Palmerston Islanders' own words to welcome you into their story, in particular, a poem by Mariana Powell, a Palmerston Islander by descent who grew up on Rarotonga, but speaking Palmerston English with her mother and sister. Mariana is one of the few people who regularly writes in Palmerston English, and she has devised her own spelling system to represent the sounds of the language.