A description of Ngiyamba:, the language of the Wana:ybuwan people of central western New South Wales
Date
1977
Authors
Donaldson, Tamsin
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Abstract
In the opinion of the remaining speakers of rigiyamba: this study was
undertaken at least twenty years too late. Its central aim is to be as
detailed and comprehensive as is now possible.
Discussion of the phonology concentrates on those areas which posed
most difficulties for orthographic representation. Some of this discussion
is of wider interest, providing fuel for theoretical argument (the interpretation
of diphthongs and certain long vowels as deriving from underlying
vowel-glide-vowel sequences) , and supplying precise exemplification of a
feature common to the phonological systems of many Australian languages
(severely restricted contrast among laminal consonants).
The organisation of the remainder of the study is mainly morphological,
except for Chapter 8, which consists largely of cross references drawing
together in a syntactic perspective material introduced elsewhere. The
linguistic description is exhaustive in the limited sense that some account
is given of every bound morpheme encountered, not only of its formal
properties out also of its semantic and/or syntactic function,
A close investigation is made of the role of various features met
with in other Australian languages, such as the enclitic pronoun system
and the complex array of 'aspectual' and other verbal suffixes.Some topics are given special attention, notably compound verbs, which
occur in apposition to other verbs and act as verb-classifiers; particles,
both free and enclitic, whose functions are fully illustrated in discourse;
and finite subordinate clauses.
Grammatical points are frequently illustrated by reference to the
texts and songs in the appendices, which have been chosen not only for
this purpose but for their intrinsic interest. The morpheme-by-morpheme
analysis of texts and other examples is complete, and any difficulties
readers experience in their interpretation should be clarified by reference
to sections of the grammar indicated by the interlinear glosses.
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DOI
10.25911/5d723d60d19ed