Publications
Publication details [#48423]
Baker, Brett and Ilana Mushin, eds. 2008. Discourse and Grammar in Australian Languages. (Studies in Language Companion Series 104). John Benjamins. x+239 pp.
Publication type
Book – edited volume
Publication language
English
Keywords
Language as a subject
Annotation
Discourse and Grammar in Australian Languages is the first major survey to address the issue of the effects of information packaging on Australian languages, widely known for nonconfigurationality. The papers are based on individual fieldwork and describe a wide range of Australian languages of different types, ranging from the polysynthetic languages of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley to the classical types represented by Walpiri. Topics covered include the pragmatics of information exchange, the interaction of noun class marking with polarity and referentiality, the effects of specificity on argument indexing, the discourse uses of the ergative case, the contribution of pronouns to NP reference, the interaction of tense and aspect clitics with information structure, clause-initial position, and discourse and grammar in Australian languages.