This book builds on R. M. W. Dixon's most influential work on the indigenous languages of Australia over the past forty years, from his trailblazing grammar of Dyirbal published in 1972 to later grammars of Yidin (1971) and Warrgamay (1981). Edible Gender, Mother-in-Law Style, and Other Grammatical Wonders includes further studies on these languages, and the interrelations between them. Following an account of the anthropological and linguistic background, Part I provides a thorough examination of, and comparison between, the gender system in Dyirbal (one of whose members refers to 'edible vegetables') and the set of nominal classifiers in Yidin. The chapters in Part II describe Dyirbal's unusual kinship system and the 'mother-in-law' language style, and examines the origins of 'mother-in-law' vocabulary in Dyirbal and in Yidin. There are four grammatical studies in Part III, dealing with syntactic orientation, serial verb constructions, complementation strategies, and grammatical reanalysis. Part IV covers grammatical and lexical variation across the dialects of Dyirbal, compensatory phonological changes, and a study of language contact across the Cairns rainforest region. The two final chapters, in Part V, recount the sad stories of how the Yidin and Dyirbal languages slowly slipped into oblivion.
By:
R. M. W. Dixon
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 233mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 19mm
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9780198864202
ISBN 10: 0198864205
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 29 May 2020
Audience:
College/higher education
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
1: Background Part I: Genders and Classifiers 2: Edible and the other genders in Dyirbal 3: Classifiers in Yidin Part II: Kin Relations and How to Talk with Them 4: The Dyirbal kinship system 5: Jalnguy, the 'mother-in-law' speech style in Dyirbal 6: The origin of 'mother-in-law' vocabulary in Dyirbal and Yidin Part III: Grammatical Studies 7: Comparing the syntactic orientations of Dyirbal and Yidi 8: Serial verb constructions in Dyirbal 9: Complementation strategies in Dyirbal 10: Grammatical reanalysis in Warrgamay Part IV: Variation, Contact, and Change 11: Dyirbal grammar: Variation across dialects 12: Dyirbal dialectology: Lexical Variation 13: Compensatory phonological changes 14: A study of language contact Part V: Languages Fading Away 15: The last change in Yidin 16: The gradual decline of Dyirbal Acknowledgements References Index
R. M. W. Dixon is Adjunct Professor and Deputy Director of the Language and Culture Research Centre at James Cook University. He has published grammars of a number of Australian languages (including Dyirbal and Yidin), in addition to A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian (University of Chicago Press, 1988), The Jarawara Language of Southern Amazonia (OUP, 2004; paperback 2011), and A Semantic Approach to English Grammar (OUP, 2005). His theoretical works include Where have All the Adjectives Gone? And other Essays on Semantics and Syntax (De Gruyter, 1982), Ergativity (CUP, 1994), the three volume work Basic Linguistic Theory (OUP, 2010-12), and most recently Making New Words: Morphological Derivation in English (OUP 2014).
Reviews for Edible Gender, Mother-in-Law Style, and Other Grammatical Wonders: Studies in Dyirbal, Yidin, and Warrgamay
'This book is essential reading for every scholar of language and linguistics; it not only offers the reader a collection of inspiring analyses, but also is exemplary in making transparent its author's thinking over an entire scholarly career.' * Anne Storch, Language, Volume 93, Number 3, September 2017 *
