Dixon, R.M.W.: Australian Languages. Their Nature and Development

Abstract

Aboriginal people have been in Australia for at least 40,000 years, speaking about 250 languages. Through examination of published and unpublished materials on each of the individual languages, Professor Dixon surveys the ways in which the languages vary typologically and presents a profile of this long-established linguistic area. Language situation in Australia -- Modelling the language situation -- Overview -- Vocabulary -- Case and other nominal suffixes -- Verbs -- Pronouns -- Bound pronouns -- Prefixing and fusion -- Generic nouns, classifiers, genders and noun classes -- Ergative/accusative morphological and syntactic profiles -- Phonology -- Genetic subgroups and small linguistic area -- Summary and conclusion.