LINGUIST List 12.3026

Tue Dec 4 2001

Books: Grammars

Editor for this issue: Richard John Harvey <richardlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Malcolm Ross, Grammars: A Grammar of Limilngan

A Grammar of Limilngan: A Language of the Mary River Region,
Northern Territory, Australia
by Mark Harvey

Prices are in Australian dollars (one Australian dollar is
currently equivalent to about US$ 0,52).

_______________________________________________________________

A Grammar of Limilngan: A Language of the Mary River Region,
Northern Territory, Australia

Mark Harvey, PL 516

This grammar provides a description of Limilngan, a previously
undescribed and now extinct language of northern Australia.
Australian languages generally show a high degree of structural
similarity to one another. Limilngan shows some of the common
Australian patterns, but in other areas it diverges significantly from
them. It has a standard Australian phonological inventory, but its
phonotactic patterns are unusual. Some heterorganic clusters such as
/kb/ are of markedly higher frequency than homorganic clusters such as
/nd/. Like a number of Australian languages, Limilngan has many
vowel-initial morphemes. However, historically these result from
lenition and not from initial dropping as elsewhere in Australia.

Like many northern languages, it has complex systems of both
prefixation and suffixation to nominals and verbs. Prefixation
provides information about nominal classification (four classes),
mood, and pronominal cross-reference (subjects and objects).
Suffixation provides information about case, tense, and aspect.
Limilngan differs from most Australian languages in that a
considerable amount of its morphology is unproductive, showing complex
and irregular allomorphic variation.

Limilngan is like most Australian languages in that it may be
described as a free word order language. However, word order is not
totally free and strictly ordered phrasal compounding structures are
significant (e.g. in the formation of denominal verbs).
2001
ISBN 085883 461 8 AUS $44.55 International $40.50

_______________________________________________________________

Orders may be placed by mail, e-mail or telephone with:

Publishing, Imaging and Cartographic Services (PICS)
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies The Australian
National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia Australia
Tel: +61 (0)2 6125 3269 Fax: +61 (0)2 6125 9975

mailto://Jo.Bushbyanu.edu.au

Credit card orders are accepted.

For our catalogue and other materials, see:

http://pacling.anu.edu.au (under construction)

_______________________________________________________________

Other enquiries (but not orders) should go to:

The Publications Administrator Pacific Linguistics Research
School of Pacific and Asian Studies The Australian National
University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia

Tel: +61 (0)2 6125 2742 Fax: +61 (0)2 6125 4896

mailto://jmanleycoombs.anu.edu.au
 
_____________________________________
Dr Malcolm D. Ross
Senior Fellow
Department of Linguistics
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Australian National University
CANBERRA ACT 0200