The Non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern
Australia: Comparative studies of the continent's most linguistically
complex region
Nicholas Evans (editor)
PL 552
The present volume brings together
detailed comparative work on a number of non-Pama-Nyungan
languages of Northern Australia, and is the first book-length
study to span this linguistically complex region, containing
as it does perhaps 90% of Australia’s linguo-genetic diversity
in an eighth of its land area. Many papers originated at a
workshop held at the 1989 Australian Linguistics Society conference
at Monash University, but several have been written specially
for this volume. It has been said that no language changes
faster than a proto-language, and in the intervening period
a great deal of new descriptive data on non-Pama-Nyungan languages
has accumulated, as well as careful sifting of complex data,
which has led many of the authors to completely revise or
develop their arguments since the original workshop. Hence,
the delay in the appearance of the volume reflects some major
shifts in position on the part of some authors.
The introduction the main issues in comparative non-Pama-Nyungan
studies, and forms a state-of-the-art survey of the classification
of non-Pama-Nyungan languages, which have undergone substantial
changes over recent decades. It also consider the main issues
in their subgrouping, and their relation to the Pama-Nyungan
languages. The second to fourth sections then looks at issues
of subgrouping, reconstruction and areal influence that pertain
to particular non-Pama-Nyungan families or subregions. The
final sections returns to the issue of whether one can carry
the process of reconstruction back to deeper levels than the
families themselves, that is back to some level from which
all or most non-Pama-Nyungan families are descended. Overall,
the volume illustrates that - despite recent claims by some
authors - the comparative method can be successfully applied
to Australian languages. It also furnishes a number of detailed
and intricate studies of morphological reconstruction applied
to complex paradigms. 2003.
Published: 2003
ISBN 0 85883 538 X
Pages: x + 513
Prices: Australia A$99.00 (inc. GST), Overseas
A$90.00
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