The verbal categories of some dialects of the Western Desert language

Abstract

We commenced this study with two objectives: firstly, to describe a set of grammatical categories that would enable the comparison of WD with neighbouring languages, and, secondly, to reflect on the nature of grammatical categories. in this chapter we will assess the extent to which we have been successful in attaining these objectives. When one considers the range of vategories, it is clear that there are several degree of comparability. at one end of the spectrum there are the categories that evince a high degree of formal and semantic isomorphism like the simple imperative, the participle and the past perfect categories. at the other end of the spectrum are categories like the Ngaany extensive aspect and the Ptpi intermittent action compounds to which they are related. In between are the forms that evince some formal or semantic isomorphism. All the verbal categories are set out in the table T6.1. This somewhat subjective separation of the categories requires some justification. This is particularly the case for the categories which we have deemed to have a medium degree of cross-dialectal isomorphism. The categories for which there is either a high or a low degree of formal and semantic isomorphism really require little further justification, their status in this regard having been established by argumentation elsewhere in this study.