Presents the classification and distribution of the languages of North Sulawesi (Indonesia), based on the study of the phonology and vocabulary of each language and dialect.

North Sulawesi, an arm of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, is an area some 300 miles long and less than 100 miles wide, with islands extending northward from the eastern tip another 250 miles. In this relatively small land area, nineteen distinct minority languages are spoken, all of them members of the Austronesian language family. Eight languages are in the Gorontalo-Mongondow group, five in the Minahasa group, and six in the Sangihe-Talaud group.

Merrifield and Salea present the classification and distribution of these languages, basing their work on detailed study of the phonology and vocabulary of each language and dialect. Linguistic and sociolinguistic research was undertaken during visits to each subdistrict in the area. All language data were obtained from native speakers of the language being examined. The authors carried out their research under the auspices of the Summer Institute of Linguistics.