Studies in Dyirbal, Yidifl, and Warrgamay
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Edible Gender, Mother-in-Law Style, and Other Grammatical Wonders Edible Gender, Mother-in-Law Style, and Other Grammatical Wonders Studies in Dyirbal, Yidifl, and Warrgamay R. M. W. DIXON Language and Culture Research Centre James Cook University OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, ox2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective ofexcellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © R. M. W. Dixon 2015 The moral rights of the author have been asserted First Edition published in 2015 Impression: i All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2014954264 ISBN 978-0-19-870290-0 Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CRO 4 YY Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. In loving memory of Chloe Grant (1903-1974) dear friend and teacher keen of intellect resolute in character Contents List of tables, diagrams, and map xi List ofabbreviations xiii 1 Background 1 1.1 Culture 4 1.2 Jalnguy, the 'mother-in-law' style 6 1.3 Tribes, languages, and dialects 7 1.4 Phonology 12 1.5 Typological characteristics 14 Part I. Genders and Classifiers 19 2 Edible and the other genders in Dyirbal 21 2.1 Grammatical properties 21 2.2 Outline of semantics 27 2.3 Basic concepts 31 2.4 General principles 36 2.5 Summing up 41 A note concerning Lakoff's misrepresentation 43 3 Classifiers in Yidiii 44 3.1 How classifiers are used 44 3.2 Criteria for recognising classifiers 46 3.3 Semantic basis of classifiers 48 3-4 Comparing Dyirbal genders and Yidiii classifiers 58 Part II. Kin Relations and How to Talk with Them 61 4 The Dyirbal kinship system 63 4.1 The basic kin terms 64 4.2 Nyalal, the more specific or 'polite' kin terms 69 4.3 Some linguistic features 71 4.4 Rules for choosing a spouse 74 4.5 The system in practice 82 viii Contents 5 Jalnguy, the 'mother-in-law' speech style in Dyirbal 85 5.1 Orientation 85 5.2 When it was used 90 5.3 Semantic organisation 91 5.4 Nouns 96 5.5 Adjectives and time words 101 5.6 Across word classes 103 5.7 Some verbs of motion 104 5.8 Other verbs 106 5.9 Envoi 110 6 The origin of 'mother-in-law, vocabulary in Dyirbal and Yidifi. 112 6.1 The data base 113 6.2 Lexemes between dialects and between languages 118 6.3 Sources of Jalnguy lexemes 120 6.4 Dialect-internal phonological deformation 121 6.5 From an everyday style lexeme in another dialect or language 125 6.6 From another Jalnguy 127 6.7 Conclusions 136 Part III. Grammatical Studies 139 7 Comparing the syntactic orientations of Dyirbal and Yidifi. 141 7-1 The syntactic orientation of Dyirbal 141 7.2 The syntactic orientation ofYidifi. 149 7.3 Summary and explanation 154 7-4 Conclusion 157 8 Serial verb constructions in Dyirbal 159 8.1 Introductory 159 8.2 Characterisation of serial verb constructions 163 8.3 Grammatical background 164 8-4 The serial verb construction in Dyirbal 168 8.5 Grammatical properties 173 8.6 Semantics 181 8.7 Summary 185 9 Complementation strategies in Dyirbal 187 9.1 Types of clause linking 187 9.2 Complementation strategies in Dyirbal 190 9.3 The serial verb strategy 192 Contents ix 9.4 The relative clause strategy 193 9.5 The purposive strategy 196 9.6 Discussion 200 10 Grammatical reanalysis in Warrgamay 205 10.1 Making case alternations functional 205 10.2 Transitivity 208 10.3 The purposive construction 214 10A Reconstruction of historical changes in Warrgamay 218 10.5 Possible future developments 222 Part IV. Variation, Contact, and Change 225 11 Dyirbal grammar: Variation across dialects 227 1i.1 Nominals 228 11.2 Noun and verb markers, and demonstratives 236 1i.3 Pronouns and interrogatives/indefinites 238 1i.4 Verbals 243 11. 5 Particles 246 11.6 Clitics, universal affixes, and interjections 248 12 Dyirbal dialectology: Lexical variation 250 12.1 Lexical variation across the dialects of Dyirbal 250 12.2 Semantic variation 254 13 Compensatory phonological changes 259 13.1 Introduction 259 13.2 Changes in root forms 261 13.3 Changes relating to nominal morphology 265 13.4 Changes relating to verbal morphology 267 13.5 Exceptions to the rules 271 13.6 Genesis and diffusion 275 13.7 Conclusion 278 14 A study of language contact 279 14.1 Introduction 279 14.2 Demonstratives and related items 281 14.3 Tense systems 281 14.4 Pronoun systems 283 14.5 Initial rhotic 285 14.6 Contrastive vowel length 287 14.7 Conclusion 297 x Contents Part V. Languages Fading Away 301 15 The last change in Yidifi 303 15.1 Introduction 303 15.2 Semi-speakers 304 15.3 Nominal inflection 306 15.4 Root reassignment 308 15.5 Other variations 311 15.6 Conclusion 312 16 The gradual decline of Dyirbal 314 16.1 The first hundred years after the European invasion 314 16.2 The situation in 1963 316 16.3 Work from 1977 until 1984 319 16-4 Work from 1986 until 1992, and beyond 323 Appendix: Semi-speakers 327 Acknowledgements 331 References 332 Index 339 List of tables, diagrams, and map Tables i.1 Basic system of consonants 12 i.2 Marking of core syntactic functions in the Girramay dialect of Dyirbal 16 2.1 Outline of members of the four genders in Dyirbal 28 4.1 Gender membership for basic kin terms 69 4.2 Dual kinship terms 72 5.1 Only specific terms in Ev, just a generic term in Ja 98 6.1 Some corresponding Ev and Ja forms across N, M, and J dialects of Dyirbal 113 6.2 Word-internal phonological deformation 122 6.3 Simplifying a consonant cluster 123 6.4 Adding a syllable 124 6.5 Direction of borrowing for Ja lexemes 135 7.1 Marking of core syntactic functions in Dyirbal 142 7.2 Marking of core syntactic functions in Yidiii 149 7.3 Contrasting syntactic orientations for Dyirbal and Yidi:fi 154 8.1 A sample of adverbals in Dyirbal 160 9.1 Functions of common argument within a relative clause complementation strategy 194 9.2 Functions of common argument within a purposive complementation strategy 198 9.3 Verbs expecting complementation strategies 202-3 10.1 Marking of core syntactic functions in Warrgamay 209 10.2 Verbal suffixes in the Warrgamay proper dialect 210 10.3 Sample of verbal suffixes in the Girramay dialect of Dyirbal 216 11.1 Examples of ergative/instrumental and locative inflections in M, W, and N 234 1i.2 Paradigm of 1st and 2nd person dual and plural pronouns 240 xii List oftables, diagrams, and map 12.1 The meanings of malan 254 12.2 Terms for 'cloud: 'sky', and 'rain' 256 12.3 Terms for stars 257 12.4 Terms for 'fish (generic)', 'black bream', and 'ground' 258 13.1 Change (a) relating to land r 271 13.2 Change (a) relating toy 272 14.1 Tense systems in Ja:bugay and Yidiii 282 14.2 Summary of tense systems in Ja:bugay, Yidift, and dialects of Dyirbal 283 14.3 Subject forms of pronouns in proto-Ja:bugay-Yidift, in Ja:bugay and in Yidift 284 14-4 Possibilities for words commencing in a rhotic 286 14.5 Status oflong vowels between languages and dialects 288 14.6 Roots and case inflections of nouns in Yidift 292 14.7 Similarities between forms in the N dialect of Dyirbal and in Yidift 295 Diagrams 3.1 Scope and function of classifiers in Yidifi 50 4.1 The Dyirbal kinship system showing spouse's relatives through affinal links 75 4.2 The Dyirbal kinship system showing all relatives of father through consanguineal links 76 4.3 The Dyirbal kinship system, showing all relatives of father through consanguineal links, with generations along a diagonal and potential marriage partners lined up horizontally 78 4.3 1 Extension of diagram 4.3 to also include grandparents' younger siblings of the opposite sex, and their children 79 4-4 Grandparent's elder sibling of the opposite sex 80 4.3 11 Extension of diagram 4.3' to also include grandparents' younger and older siblings of the opposite sex, and their children 81 9.1 Types of clause linking 188 Map i.1 Map of languages and dialects 8 List of abbreviations Dialects of Dyirbal (section i.3.1) A Gambil-barra Jirrbal N Ngajan G Girramay p 'Mourilyan' Mamu ] Jabun-barra Jirrbal (Jirrbal) u Gulngay L Walmal w Wari-barra Mamu (Wari) M Dulgu-barra Mamu (Mamu) y ]irru Dialects of Yidifi (section i.3.3) c coastal Yidifi t tableland Yidifi g Gunggay w Wanyurru/Majay Language styles Ev everyday language style Ja Jalnguy avoidance language style Kin terms (chapter 4) M, mother; F, father; B, brother; Z, sister; S, son; D, daughter; W, wife; H, husband; Sib, sibling; Ch, child; Sp, spouse; e, elder; y, younger;~, female ego; c), male ego.