Acknowledgments

Undertaking this research has been a truly adventurous experience for me and it would not have been possible without the support that I received from many people and institutions. This project is part of English in Paradise?: emergent varieties in Micronesia. I would like to acknowledge financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Berner Forschungsstiftung (Bern Research Foundation) and the Center for the Study of Language and Society (CSLS) at the University of Bern. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. David Britain for the continuous support and encouragement of my project and for allowing me to grow as a research scientist. I would like to thank the rest of my research group, Dr. Tobias Leonhardt (Kiribati) and Dr. Sara Lynch (Kosrae), and researchers involved in the study of Englishes in Micronesia, Dr. Eva Kuske (Guam), Laura Mettler (Nauru), Prof. Dr. Kazuko Matsumoto (Palau), and Prof. Dr. Isabelle Buchstaller (Marshall Islands), for their collaborations and putting an emphasis on research in the geographically peripheral region of Micronesia. Furthermore, I am thankful to researchers at the English Department (University of Bern), Lucy Widmer, Sarah Grossenbacher, Dr. des. Danielle Tod, Daniela Kopp, and intern Dr. Katja Fiechter, as well as to the students in the Bachelor Seminar Englishes of the Pacific in 2015, for their invaluable help in the transcription process as well as for the extraction of linguistic features. Thank you Dr. Anja Thiel and Prof. Dr. Viveka Velupillai for your tremendous support in the copy-editing process of the book. I am also very grateful to Prof. Dr. Stephanie Hackert and anonymous reviewers for their fruitful and critical comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript and their valuable work to realize this publication. The preparation of the manuscript was kindly and generously supported by the Karl-Jaberg foundation in Bern.

I am deeply indebted to the many Chamorros and Saipan Carolinians who agreed to being recorded and willingly shared their life experiences with me. I am especially grateful to participants who let me undertake sociolinguistic interviews post-Typhoon Soudelor during a period that was incredibly difficult for them. Special thanks go to Patty Pangelinan who welcomed me at the airport when I first arrived on the island and made Saipan my new home; to Lino (Urushemeyong) Olopai who has not only been a cultural advisor and language and history expert but also a very good friend – I appreciate your help and the sharing of your immense knowledge of the island and its language; and to Yogi Singh, Sara Forti, and Ajani Burrell for their friendship and for rescuing me in Saipan when I ended up without a roof over my head after Typhoon Soudelor. I am grateful to the entire Saipan community which so extraordinarily stands as one and offered me their friendship and moral support; they have made my stay in Saipan an unforgettable and exceptional experience.

Last but not least, I want to thank all my friends for their support, for keeping me cheerful and going. Most of all, however, I would like to thank my family: my Mom, Dad, and Katja for always believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dreams. And finally, to Martin, who has been by my side throughout this project and making it possible for me to finish what I started. And to little Emil, Theo, and Levi for their many smiles and sillinesses when I needed them the most.