Nhanda: An Aboriginal Language of Western Australia (Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications)

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Nhanda

Oceanic

Linguistics

Special

Publication

No.

30

Nhanda An Aboriginal

Language

ofWestern

Juliette Blevins

University

of Hawai'i Honolulu

Press

Australia

2001 University of Hawaii Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ?

65 4 3 2 1

06 05 04 03 02 01

of Congress

Library Blevins,

Data

Cataloging-in-Publication

Juliette.

Nhanda

:an aboriginal language of Western Australia

? p. cm.

(Oceanic

linguistics

special

/ Juliette Blevins. ; no.

publication

30)

Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8248-2375-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) I. Title.

II. Series.

PL7101.N49B54 499M5?dc21

2001 2001027742

Camera-ready

copy

for

supervision

University

of Hawai

'i Press

books

was

this book of

the

series

are printed

on

prepared editor.

acid-free

under

paper

the

and meet

the

guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.

Printed by Data Reproductions

Contents viii

List of Tables. Preface.ix Acknowledgments.xi Abbreviations.xii Plate.xiv Map.xv

1 The Language

CHAPTER 1.1

and Its Speakers

1.2

Linguistic Type.1 Tribal and Language Names.2

1.3

Dialects.3

1.4 1.5

Territory and Surrounding Languages.5 Present Situation.7

1.6

Past Investigations.8

CHAPTER

2 Phonology

2.1

Consonants.10

2.2

Vowels.17

2.3

Syllable

2.4

Stress.24

2.5

Length

10

Structure and Phonotactics.18 and theMinimal Word.29

2.6

Conditioned Alternations.30 Morphologically 2.6.1 Base-final Vowel Umlaut.30

2.6.2

Denasalization.32

2.6.3

Nasal Dissimilation.32

2.7

Loan Word

2.8

Historical

2.8.1

Phonology.35

Phonology.36 Initial Consonant Loss.37

2.8.2

Word-initial

2.8.3

Fortition.39

Lenition.38

v

1

Contents

2.8.4 2.8.5 2.8.6

Origins of the Voicing Contrast.40 The Origins of Glottal Stop.41 The Fate of Initial Apicals.43

CHAPTER

45

3 Morphology

3.1

Parts of Speech.46 Nominal Morphology.47 3.2.1 Case Suffixes.47

3.2

3.2.1.1

Ergative/absolutive.47

3.2.1.2

Specific-accusative.49

3.2.1.3

Instrumental.50

3.2.1.4

Locative.52

3.2.1.5

Allative.54

3.2.1.6

Ablative.55 Dative.57

3.2.1.7

3.2.2

Number

Suffixes.58

3.2.3

Derived Nomin?is.60

3.2.4

Nominal

Derivational

3.2.4.1

Comitative.62

3.2.4.2

Privative.64

3.2.4.3

Similative.65

3.2.4.4

Proprietive.65

3.2.4.5

Revealing

-gayi.66

3.2.4.6

Modifying

suffix

3.2.4.7

Modifying

suffix

3.2.4.8

Augmentative

3.2.4.9

Modifying

3.2.4.10

Modifying

-jada

'cherished,

-lada

'long'.68

suffix

Compounding.70

3.2.7

Reduplication.71 Demonstratives

3.2.8

Bound Nomin?is.74

-buraada

Pronouns.76

3.3.2

Bound

3.3.2.1 3.3.2.2

'skinny,

thin'.70

and Interrogatives/Indefinites.72

Pronouns.76 Free

beloved'.67

suffix -bardu 'poor, pitiful'.70

3.2.5

3.3.1

dear,

-barta.69

3.2.6

3.3

Suffixes.62

Pronouns.79

Object bound pronouns.79 Oblique bound pronouns.81 vi

Contents

3.3.2.3

Subject clitics.84

3.3.2.4

Summary

and

discussion.86

3.4

Verb Morphology.89 3.4.1 Verb Structure.89

3.4.4

Structure and Conjugation Irregular Verbs.95 Verbal Inflectional Suffixes.100

3.4.5

Verbal Derivational

3.4.2 3.4.3

3.4.5.1

Inchoative

Suffixes.106

-ba.106

3.4.5.2

Causative

3.4.5.3

Reciprocals

3.4.5.4

Reflexive

3.4.5.5

Directional

3.4.5.6

Poorly attested verbal suffixes.113

3.4.6

-nda.107

with

-yu/-yana.112

Verbs.115

Compound

Adverbs.115

3.6

Interjections.117 Affix Order.118

4 Syntax

CHAPTER

-jadi and related forms.109

-nyinda.112

3.5

3.7

120

4.1

Simple Sentences.120

4.2

Constituent

4.3

Constituency

4.4 4.5

Constituency within Verb Phrases.130 Relative Clauses, Subordinate Clauses

4.6

Coordination.133

4.7

Yes/No

4.8 4.9

Class.89

Argument

Order.124

within Noun Phrases.129

and Complements.130

Questions.135 of Syntax Imperatives.136 Focus Marking.137

Lexicon.139 Nhanda-English.140 List of Affixes.152 Names

of Languages,

English-Nhanda

People,

and Places.153

Finder-list.155

Bibliography.167 vii

List of Tables Table

1-1.

Nhanda

dialects.4

Table

1-2.

Probable Nhanda

with

placenames

consonant phonemes.10

Table 2-1.

Nhanda

Table 2-2.

Obstruent

Table 2-3.

Nhanda

syllable

Table 2-4.

Nhanda

intervocalic

contrasts.13

voicing

types.18 consonant

clusters.20

Table 2-5.

Distribution

of intervocalic glides.22

Table 2-6.

Differences

in homophonous

Table 2-7.

-nggu suffixes.34

Initial apical correspondences.44

Table 3-1.

Derived

nomin?is with agentive

Table 3-2.

Nhanda

inflected demonstratives.73 nominative

Table 3-3.

Nhanda

Table 3-4.

Nhanda

Table 3-5.

Nhanda

Table 3-6.

Summary of bound pronouns.86 in some central WA

Bound pronouns

Table 3-8.

Nhanda major conjugational

Table 3-9.

NH-class

Table 3-10.

Y-class

verbs.92

Table 3-11.

D-class

verbs.94

Table 3-12.

Nhanda

verbs

'come' and 'go'.97

Table 3-13.

Nhanda

verbs

'take' and 'tell'.98

Table

Nhanda

reflexes

Nhanda

case marking.120

Table 4-1.

-caa.61

pronouns.76 pronominal case forms.76 possessive noun phrases.77

Table 3-7.

3-14.

-waa .7

languages.88

classes.91

verbs.92

of Pama-Nyungan

vin

monosyllabic

verbs

..100

Preface I first set foot in Australia in July 1992 to take up a position at the University of Western Australia. Finally, after years of dreaming about describing an unknown language, I had the time and resources to devote to the task. Despite the fact that I had just moved from central Texas, where the indigenous Tonkawa language had been dead for many years, Iwas not prepared for what I was to learn about Aus? tralian Aboriginal languages over the next few months. Of the 250 or so Aboriginal languages once spoken inAustralia, two-thirds are extinct or moribund. Coastal languages were usually the first to go, with set? tlement patterns matching patterns of extinction. InWestern Australia, the former home of approximately 110 Aboriginal languages, 45 were presumed extinct, and another 30 were on the verge of extinction. Wajuk, the original language of Perth, was dead. Nyungar, the language of the southwestern tip of the continent, was the language of Eucla, had disappeared with barely a trace. Wit gone. Miming, jaari, once spoken north of Wajuk, was now a ghost language. And the list went on. I had come to a land of linguistic devastation. Several Western Australian in languages had only the briefest descriptions the published literature. One of these was Nhanda. My first inquiries regarding Nhanda met with disappointment: Mrs. Mary Morgan, the last reported fluent speaker of Nhanda, But maybe Drury,

Mrs.

had died some time ago. Iwas too late.

not. The Yamaji Language

Morgan's

Ryder, could speak Nhanda, Ryder lived inNorthampton, sette

recorder,

bus North.

Mrs.

granddaughter.

a notebook,

Centre had heard from Mrs. Violet

Drury

said

that her mother,

Mrs.

Lucy

and that she was starting to transcribe her words. Mrs. and was interested inmeeting with me. I threw a cas? and

a

change

of clothes

in a bag,

and

hopped

on

the next

In Geraldton,

Imet Doug Marmion, then director of the Yamaji Lan? we and to drove guage Centre, together Northampton tomeet Mrs. Ryder. She was on a her front sitting porch, enjoying light breeze. We started to talk, and used the few Nhanda

Lucy

nodded

words and

we said:

knew: 'e'e,

ku'arlu 'e'e. Just

'good',

apa

at that moment,

'water'.

we

Were

someone

drove

saying a car

it right? into

the

driveway and hit the fence: Ciiga! Lucy called out, as she giggled to herself. Ciiga, I repeated, as we all laughed. "Lucy, what does ciiga mean?" My work on Nhanda had begun. Working with the last known speaker of a language can bring great joy and fulfillment, and at the same time, great pain and frustration. Lucy and I have wor? ried equally about the correctness of all that follows, and the errors that might remain. All I can say is that we have done our best.

July 2000 IX

Juliette B levins

Acknowledgments

This work has received generous support from AIATSIS in the form of Research 1994/308 and 1995/309 and from the University ofWestern Australia Fac? Arts in the form of Travel Grants for 1994 and 1995. Writing of this work of ulty was also supported by the 1996 University of Western Australia Stanford

Grants

Women's

Fellowship.

Sincere thanks to the staff and friends of the Yamaji Language Centre inGer aldton for their friendship and technical support and for fostering interest in this work from its inception to the final stages. Thanks also to Barry Alpher, Peter Aus? tin, Barry Blake, Alan Dench, and Bob Dixon for comments on early chapter and

drafts,

for

continuing

to share

their

with

work-in-progress

to Ken Hale

for the copy of his fieldnotes, and for his words after reading a first draft of the entire manuscript.

me.

Many

thanks

of encouragement

Merci beaucoup to St?fany Jack for making the long journey with me to in June 1998 when I returned toAustralia to check the grammar, and Northampton for taking such good care of Molly, (little) Lucy, and Becky during that time. Special thanks to my family, all the Levins and Blevins, whose love nour? ishes all I do. Continuing thanks tomy husband Jim, for encouraging me to pursue my dreams, and for giving me the technical support to see them realized. To my dearest

mother,

who

was

with

me

when

this

project

began,

and

is now

with

me

in

spirit, thank you for all you have taught me. thanks go toMrs. Lucy Ryder, my Nhanda teacher, and to her Violet family, especially Drury and Doug Ryder, for their friendship and help. Thank you, Big Lucy, for your hard work, your patience, and your trust. My

greatest

Lucyjadatha, inyanha

ngayi

walganyjanunygu.

XI

Abbreviations abs

absolutive

past

acc

accusative

path

AGT

past

tense

path

locative

past

imperfective

agentive

Pimpf

all

allative

PL

AMB

ambulative

poor

augmentative

poss

'belonging' derivational suffix

ppERF

past

pr?s

present

?ug

bel by

locative

proximate

priv

CAus

causative

RECip

cher

'cherished' derivational suffix

REFL

coll

rev

collective comitative

sim

DAT

dative

spacc

dir

directional

stuff

du

dual

el

elative

foc

lp 2p

iPL

ergative

fut

future

Hab

habitual

imp inch

imperative inchoative

instr

instrumental

irrealis

loc

locative

LOC2 long neg

'long' derivational

NFUT

non-future

nom

nominative

npast

non-past

part

participle

possessive perfective

privative reciprocal reflexive derivational

'revealing'

similative specific

accusative

'stuff' derivational

suffix

first person free pronoun second

person

free

pronoun

first person plural bound pro?

isGDo

first person singular direct object bound pronoun

isgobl

first person singular oblique bound pronoun

isgsubj

first person singular subject bound pronoun

2SGDO

old locative

negative

suffix

noun

focus

irr

'poor' derivational

suffix

com

erg

plural

particle

2obl suffix

second

person

singular

direct

object bound pronoun second person oblique bound pronoun

2sgsubj

second

3PLD0

ject bound pronoun third person plural direct object bound pronoun

30BL

third person oblique bound pronoun

person

singular

sub?

of Dialects

Abbreviations BAD

and Languages

Badimaya Central Nhanda

pNYY

proto-Nyungo-Yuulngic

C

pP

proto-Paman

GRY

Gariyarra

pPN

proto-Pama-Nyungan

GUP

Gupapuyngu

P/L

KNJ

Kaantju

P/Y

Pintupi/Luritja Pitj antj atj ar a/Yankuny tjat

MAL NHA

Malgana Nhanda

S

jara Southern Nhanda

NY

Nyungar

PIN pMAN

Pintupi proto-Mantharta

pNhK

proto-Nhanda-Kartu

pNPN

proto-Nuclear-Pama-Nyun

Umpila Wajarri

WJK

Wajuk Y conjugation

Y YN YS

gan

pNY

UMP WAJ

class

Northern Yinggarda Southern Yinggarda

proto-Nyungic

in Lexicon

Abbreviations ADV

adverb

AO

01dfield(1865)

D

D conjugation class Bates (n.d. 85)

Waj sth

Wajarri

DB Eng INT

English

loan

s.o.

(??)

IRR

interjection irregular verb

I/I

interrogative/indefinite

ko

kind of

LOC

locational nominal

N

nominal

NH

NH conjugation Nyungar loan

PN PRO RTG V

class

O'Grady (1966) proper noun pronoun Golds worthy verb

someone

guess at phonemic on

earlier

form

transcrip?

tions (?)

Hale (1960)

Ny OG

something

based

KH

loan

( 1886b)

xni

conjugation class undeter? mined due to paucity of inflected forms

"\

PLATE: Mrs. Lucy Ryder (center), with her great-grandnieces, Rhianna Couzens (left) and Nicole Couzens (right)

i

YINGGARDA

HathelmPool

Tamala Station

\\*

WAJARRI

MALGANA

*%\

Yallalong

j

Gcc Gic Outcamp ?* >N

//

KalbarriII

Coolcalalya

?ADIMAYA

1 ^

NHANDA PortGregoiA*

IndianOcean

NoItharnpton

^

?Nabawa j

\ Geraldton T

Mullewa

<-/ Morawa

Dongara

o I_L

50

100

150

I

I

NANA-KARTl

W1TJAAR1

H?iiR'ver

WAJDUK MAP: Nhanda

and its neighbors

The Language and Its

1

Speakers

Nhanda is a language of Western Australia, once spoken along a coastal strip 20-100 kilometers wide from present-day Geraldton north to the Murchison River. Nhanda is one of the least studied Aboriginal languages ofWestern Austra? is unique among languages on Nhanda the verge of extinction. lia and is currently consonant in this area in displaying evidence of initial loss, a voicing contrast in obstruents, a distinctive glottal stop, a tripartite system of bound pronominals, a verbal

contrast

conjugation

between

and

unaccusative

and

unergatives,

an

incipi?

ent case-marking system where intransitive subjects, transitive subjects and direct objects all have distinct case markers. Presently, Nhanda is spoken by a handful of at most.

people

1.1 Linguistic

Type

Typologically, Nhanda resembles many languages classified as Pama-Nyungan. At the phonological level, it has a small segment inventory, with three basic vowels and

and

/i,u,a/ laterals

at

apico-alveolar,

consonants.

26

The

of

articulation:

apico-postalveolar,

and

six

points

consonant

system

labial, velar.

contrasts

lamino-dental, include

Glides

/w,y/ along with a rhotic glide and glottal stop. Most words due

to historical

sonorant

initial-consonant

fortition,

an obstruent

and

subsequent

contrast

with

The Nhanda spective,

and

pan-Australian

are vowel-initial.

in obstruent

clusters,

and

Due

to

is now

there

stems, followed by zero or is no evidence of productive include nomin?is, verbs, adverbs, or syntactic differences between

consist of single or compound and/or inflectional suffixes. There

words

more derivational prefixation in the language. Lexical categories and particles. There are no clear morphological nouns and adjectives which together constitute nouns

the

contrast.

voicing/length

Nhanda

assimilation

nasals,

are vowel-final,

words

many

dropping,

stops,

lamino-palatal,

appears

bound

system of bound pronouns to be

the class of nomin?is.

Free pro?

pronouns.

unique

within

is very unusual from an areal per?

Australia.

Bound

pronouns

are

of

three

types, signifying subject function, direct object function, and oblique function for function for nomin?is. The verbs, and this last class also marking possessive 1

CHAPTER

verbal

I

class

conjugation

is also

system

remarkable.

are

There

two main

conjuga?

tion classes, referred to here as Y and NH. The determination of conjugation class is based on argument structure and the semantics of the verb: with only a few exceptions, if a verb is unaccusative, it conjugates in the NH class, and otherwise, in the Y class. Australian

Many

languages case

nominative/accusative

taking

a mixed

show and

case

with

system,

non-pronominals

taking

pronominals

ergative/absolu

tive case. This system appears to be in the process of extension inNhanda. In addi? tion to this split, non-pronominal direct objects can also occur with the accusative case

marker,

is not

this marking

though

noun on

the noun

Within

phrase.

marking

the accusa?

instances,

or definiteness

specificity

case

phrase,

In some

obligatory.

tive marker appears to be associated with

occur

may

on

of the object all

or

elements

one.

just

1.2 Tribal and Language Names is the name of the language and (other spellings are Nanda, Nhanta) once the coastal north of Geraldton and south of Shark people living along strip This in sources as Amangu, Eaw, is also known Bay. language nineteenth-century

Nhanda

Jau,

and

Watchandi,

the

and

Wilunya,

are

people

sometimes

referred

to as

the

Champion Bay Tribe. Two of the language name terms appear to be based on in Nhanda, and were probably used by neighboring groups. Eaw is directionals a likely rendering of Nhanda i'u 'south', while Watchandi (also spelled Wadjandi, Wadyandi, Watchandie, Watjandee, Watjanmay, Watjandi, Watjanti, Wattandee, Wattandi) appears to be derived from Nhanda wacu 'west'. Wilunya may be a form

derived 'none,

of

nothing',

the

root wilu

given

on words for 'no'. And Amangu of Nhanda

arnmanu

Jau

'sea'.

the common

'man,

person',

could

be

a way

language-naming

practice

(also spelled Amandyo) probably

taken

of writing

Nhanda

in Australia

ya'u based

is a southern dialect form from

originally

Goldsworthy's

'a Blackfellow'. (1886b:316) Champion Bay wordlist which includes amangoo more south in the district final where vowel loss is (Further Dongara prevalent, Bates (n.d. 85) shows ammong 'man', confirming the existence of a velar nasal in the final syllable. Compare Western Desert arnangu 'person'.) Tindale

(1974:249) includes Buluguda (Bulugurda), Damala (Thaamala) and Daguda (Thaagurda) as local groups of Nhanda in the Hamelin Pool area. The ending -gurda is theMalgana comitative suffix, and given their location, Buluguda and Daguda are likely local groups of Malgana. Nhanda people in the Northamp? ton area

certainly

refer

to all

of

these

groups

as

Malgana,

and

this

classification

is

consistent with Playford (1996:212), where theMalgana-Nhanda boundary is sit? uated close to Gee Gie, about halfway between theMurchison River and Tamala Station.

2

and

The Language

Its Speakers

1.3 Dialects Very little is known about Nhanda dialects, though comparison of my own data with earlier sources suggests at least three dialect groups. The northernmost group (and the language/dialect described here) is referred to as Nhanda, and was spoken in and around the mouth of theMurchison River, north to Gee Gie Outcamp, and inland along theMurchison. The central group was referred to asWatchandi, and north to the spoken in and around present day Port Gregory and Northampton lower Murchison. And the southern dialect Amangu (also known as Amandyo, Nhaaguja, Njaagurdi, and Nyaakurti) was reportedly once spoken from Geraldton (Champion Bay) south to Hill River and inland toMullewa. source is Oldfield (1865). Though Oldfield's The most useful Watchandi Watchandie was collected in and around Murchison House Station soon after its establishment in the 1850s, it seems representative of a dialect intermediate between

and Amangu.

Nhanda

For

the word

example,

for

rock'

'stone,

in

is wur'a

shows both forms Nhanda, and andu in Amangu, while Oldfield's Watchandie attested. Watchandie is also intermediate between Nhanda and Amangu in terms of final vowel loss. Amangu, likeWadjuk and Nyungar to the south, has under? gone regular final vowel less

has more vowel

loss. Watchandie

loss than Nhanda,

but

than Amangu.

Amangu is attested in only a few wordlists Foley (1865), and Bates (n.d. 85). Superficial two

principal consonants

phonological

sound (e.g.,

differences The

between

southern

changes. > w, *r > 0) which *p

including Goldsworthy

dialect

are

long

the dialects shows

or fortis

(1886b),

appear to reflect

lenition in north

of and

post-tonic central

dia?

lects, and also shows more final vowel loss which is sporadic in the central dialect, and absent in the northern dialect. However, initial consonant-drop, distinctive glottal

stop,

a

complex

bound

pronoun

system,

and

unique

free

pronouns

unite

the

three dialects and distinguish them from surrounding languages. In Table 1-1 words from the northern dialect described in this grammar are compared with (orthographic) forms from the central Watchandi dialect described by Oldfield (1865), and a southern dialect from the Dongara district in Bates (n.d. 85). While most isoglosses group either north and central or central and southern dialects, some exclude the central dialect, like those for wana 'digging stick' and abarla 'child'. Based onWatchandie as described inOldfield (1865), which contains sev? eral

dozen

sentences,

there

are

no

obvious

Watchandie and Nhanda. The conjunction lect, but occurs in the southern dialect.

syntactic

differences

between

kala 'and' is absent in the northern dia?

this grammar, unmarked Nhanda forms are from the northern Throughout dialect spoken around the mouth of the Murchison River. Where other dialect forms are discussed they are annotated as central (C) or southern (S).

3

Table

dialects

1-1. Nhanda

Gloss

Central

Southern

agu

ago

aagoo

'mother'

ama

amo

amma

'father'

uthu

ot-tho

oothoo

'dog'

ibi

e-bee

ebbee

'breast'

Northern

ear

wurtka

oka

wooka

yma

e-na

eena

ngayi

8m

ngai

nymi

nee-nee

nyinnee

nyarlu

ne-a-lo

innaloo

gwa-lo

goaloo

'good'

e-a-ca-ta

yajja

'digging'

e-u-a

meenung

'South'

wy-ro

waiooroo

'bad'

e-ra-to

yabbaroo

'North'

e-rim-ba

nyelle

ku'arlu i'ajata

idalu idinba milu

mee-loo

'foot'

you

erdungoo

eye

watch-

u

weeloo

wo-ra,

an-do

andoo

'stone, water

'West'

apa

ap-pa

mara

ma-ra

maa

'hand'

maru

maow

'dark'

wip-pa

wanna

'digging

abbala

'child'

wal-a-ta

'uncle'

wana abarla pu

een-der-ie

pipi

wa

rock'

ow

'star'

indiya

?-de-a

arnmanu

au-man-o

ammong

man,

warla-tha

wal-a-ta

kaggooreetha

'my head'

mutha

moo-tha

moodha

bat-tje

tharti yawarda-barta urda-barta

indawong

bai]a

wa

dart

stick'

person

'coolamon' 'back' 'big kangaroo'

yo-er-do-bat oord'bat

very

angry

and Its Speakers

The Language

1.4 Territory and Surrounding

Languages

territory appears to stretch along the coast of central Western Australia, and up to the possibly from as far south as the Hill River, through Champion Bay, and If River. Watchandie Amangu are central sandplains north of theMurchison at as least as late as the then and southern dialects of Nhanda, suggested above, and inland areas, coastal mid to late nineteenth century, Nhanda tribes inhabited at points. Thieberger (1993:90) extending east as much as a hundred kilometers River. How? suggests that the language was mainly spoken south of theMurchison ever, points north of theMurchison figure prominently inNhanda stories, and two elder Nhanda were quite certain that the territory extended north towards Tamala to the bend at Coolcalalya. Points all along Station, and East along theMurchison north and south, have Nhanda names and stories the mouth of the Murchison, associated with them, and present day Kalbarri, known inNhanda asWudumalu,

Nhanda

was clearly part of the Nhanda territory, with many fresh-water springs named, a including those below the high tide line. One story, associated with JibiWujayi, a sandlark that went into a of on the tells of North shore the Murchison, point tunnel there and came out about 20-30 miles away at Nhanganyja Spring. I follow Playford (1996:212) in situating the northern boundary of Nhanda country close to Gee Gie Outcamp, about half-way between theMurchison Station. North of this boundary was Malgana country.

River and Tamala

The map (p. xv) shows approximate locations of Nhanda and surrounding languages. As already mentioned, Nhanda country borders Malgana to the North, with the boundary close toGee Gie Outcamp, about halfway between theMurchi? son River and Tamala Station (Playford 1996:212). North of Malgana country is Yingkarda territory. South of Dongara, one finds Wajuk, the northern limit of the Nyungar

It is unclear

dialects.

extent of Nhanda group reported wicaa

means

what

languages

were

spoken

between

the

southern

(the Amangu dialect) and the northern extent of Wajuk. One in this area are theWitjaari (Tindale, 1940). The Nhanda word

'far

out,

a

long

way

off,

further

out';

it seems

possible

then

that

Wicaa-ri is the Nhanda name for the language/group beyond the southern bound? ary of their territory. Northeast of Nhanda isWajarri country. It is also unclear what languages were spoken between the eastern extent of Nhanda and the west? ern extent of Badimaya (Dunn 1982, Thieberger 1993). Nana-karti orWidi (Bates and Perks (1886) n.d. 81, n.d. 84) is reported near Carnamah and Gullewa, describes Cheangwa. The name 'Cheangwa' looks like a Nhanda word: Jianga is the name of a place near theMurchison where there is a big thicket, and to this may be added the common Nhanda comitative suffix -waa (see Table 1-2 below). Intermarriage is reported between Nhanda andMalgana, and Nhanda andWajarri, and there appear to be loanwords inNhanda from both of these languages. Nhanda is quite different from surrounding languages both in terms of sound and morphosyntax. Nhanda has a distinctive glottal stop, patterns, morphology,

5

I

CHAPTER

of regular initial consonant loss, both of which are absent in neigh? boring languages. It has also undergone fortition and assimilation, resulting in an incipient voicing contrast, which is also absent in neighboring languages. Free pronouns differ from those of neighboring languages, as does the tripartite system of bound pronouns. Finally, the verb conjugation system differs markedly from those of Wajarri (Marmion 1996), Yingkarda (Dench 1985), and Badimaya no Mrs. mutual (Dunn, 1982). Ryder reported intelligibility (aside from scattered and evidence

lexical items) between Nhanda and Malgana, Nhanda and Wajarri, and Nhanda and Yingkarda. There appears to have been more intermarriage between the than other groups, and more reported bilingualism for Nhanda and the Malgana two

these

languages.

from placenames supports the view that the Nhanda could have at one time had territory extending as far south as the Hill River, and several hundred Evidence

inland.

kilometers in placenames.

The

Nhanda

Oldfield,

comitative

-waa

suffix

writing

is common

with'

'having,

in the mid-nineteenth

makes

century,

the

same

observation: In the composition

the names

of

of places,

wa

the particle

(var?

in possession iously transformed) signifying of containing, &c, is very general as a termination, being added to some word denoting a characteristic of the locality. (Oldfield 1865:291) a pair of hills on the North

For example, named

Bilhidawaa

and

where

Junawaa,

bilhida

are

side of the lower Murchison and

'spear'

are Nhanda

'axe'

juna

stems. These two hills were places where much fighting took place. Maluwaa is the name of a shady spot just down the river from present-day Murchison House; malu

is the Nhanda as evidence

used

inWestern

guage

word

settlement

Australia

What

'shade'.

meaning

of Nhanda

is that,

a comititave

has

allows as far as

these I am

placenames no other

-waa. What

suffix

to be lan?

aware,

is peculiar

is that

analysable place names with -waa have been found quite far from the coastal region between Geraldton and Gee Gie Outcamp (see, for example, the location of Mullewa

and Morawa

in Table One adding

the

the map,

Some

p. xv).

archaic

comitative

suffix

to a verb

feature

where

of

the

stem:

language.

Other

stems. For instance thanindi

these

is

'mallee

ngalu-waa,

placenames

'Tenindewa' fowl'

are

placenames

listed

is that they are formed by wula-waa,

is attached only to nomin?is,

the comitative

formed on borrowed thanindi-waa,

of

structure and glosses.

interesting feature of some of these names

modern Nhanda, an

on

1-2 with proposed Nhanda morpheme

inWajarri,

with

In

yangga-waa.

so that this could be -waa

appear

to be

is likely an anglicization though

this

stem

of

could

tan-een-due 'rail' (Oldfield 1865:294). 'Bindangwah' appears also beWatchandie to be based on the Nyungar verb bindang 'smell'; though cognate percentages are higher between the southern dialect of Nhanda and Nyungar than central or north? ern dialects, bindang does not occur in any Amangu wordlist. A placename clearly of relatively recent origin is 'Damperwah Hills', likely from the English 'damper' 6

Nhanda

1-2. Probable

Table

Gullewa Mine

with

placenames

karla-waa malu-waa

'shade-coM'

Morawa

mara-waa

'hand-coM'

Mt. Muggawah

muga-waa

'deep-com'

NoogawaWell

muga-waa

'deep-coM'

nguba-waa

Billawa Well

pirlu-waa

'boomerang-coM'

Tutawa Well

thudu-waa

meat-coM

Lake

Nullewa

Eulawa Well Ullerwah

Soak

Yangewah

wigi-waa

'froth-coM'

wur

'rock-coM'

a-waa

ngalu-waa

'drinking-coM'

wula-waa

crying-coM

wula-waa

crying-coM

yangga-waa

pounng-coM

Pool

-waa

'blood-coM'

Nabawa

Urawa Rocks

Speakers

'fire-coM'

Mullewa

Wee Wah Dam

Its

Gloss

Nhanda

English

and

Language

The

plus the Nhanda comitative. Of course, it is always possible thatNhanda trackers, far from home, were responsible for many of these names. But the wide distribu? in of the Nhanda placenames tion, adoption by locals, and unique morphosyntax 1-2 could

Table

be

Unfortunately, country, dating

though middens

many deposits

indicative

of

their

status.

ancient

very little archeological

work has been carried out inNhanda

at the University

archeologists in Malgana

country,

inNyungar

country.

of Western

excavations

along

Australia the upper

are Murchison,

currently and

1.5 Present Situation Presently

there

are

no more

than

a few

speakers

or

semi-speakers

of Nhanda

remaining. The present grammatical sketch relies to a great degree on the patience, memory, dedication, and hard work of Mrs. Lucy Ryder of Northampton, Western in 1992. Mrs. Ryder was born on Australia who began teaching me Nhanda Murchison Station in 1919. She was brought up speaking Nhanda at home with her mother, Mrs. Mary Morgan, and her maternal grandmother, Jilinha (aka Jilba), and learned English from others on the station. Mrs. Ryder continued to use English through most of her life, until her mother became old. At this point, Mrs. Morgan, who spoke English well, reverted toNhanda and itwas this language that 7

I

CHAPTER

spoke in looking after her elderly mother until her passing. Though Mrs. Ryder's memory of the language is not complete, a comparison of her speech with Gratte's (1967) recordings of her Uncle Watty Barker speaking Nhanda, suggests that her pronunciation of Nhanda is native, and that phonetic, phonological, mor? phological, and syntactic nuances of the language are very much intact. The late Mrs. Pearl Whitby also contributed Nhanda words to this study. Two descendants of Angeline Kelly, aNhanda speaker of Mary Morgan's generation, may also have Lucy

of

knowledge

the

her

language:

daughter, Phyliss McMahon eldest sister).

son,

of Perth

Jack

Brand,

of Carnarvon,

(Mrs. McMahon's

mother

and

her

grand?

isMr. Brand's

From late 1992 until late 1995, the bulk of material in this sketch was col? lected from Mrs. Ryder during three- to four-day trips to her home inNorthampton and surrounding Nhanda country every few months. We were also able to work together during her annual visits to Perth. In June 1998,1 spent an additional three weeks with Mrs. Ryder checking a draft of this sketch and vocabulary. Most of the work was by elicitation. However, in remembering episodes from her childhood, Mrs. Ryder would often come out with spontaneous sentences and short dialogues which were direct quotes. Copies of my fieldnotes and tapes are held by AIATSIS, and by the Yamaji Language Centre inGeraldton. The risks of working with a single speaker on a moribund language are numerous.

I beg on

language

1.6 Past

the

to take

reader

the verge

of

this work

for what

it is: a sketch

grammar

of

a

extinction.

Investigations

is very little past work on Nhanda. A collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century wordlists, including Foley (1865), Oldfield (1886), Goldswor and Bates 36, 37, 85), are quite useful in establishing the geo? (n.d. (1886a,b), thy of Nhanda and range graphical significant dialect differences. Foley (1865) and are short wordlists of variable quality, only useful once (1886a,b) Goldsworthy There

one is already familiar with the language. Oldfield (1886), a short wordlist, is more not at all of of and later the his sketchy, representative in-depth knowledge language, exhibited in his 1865 article. Bates (n.d. 36, 37, 85) are of variable qual? ity, but useful in showing the southern extent of the Nhanda dialect chain, and identifying a further set of placenames with likely Nhanda origins. For example, kattabee 'girdle of opposum hair' from Bates (n.d. 85) appears to be the origin of Cataby, a town on the Brand Highway a good 150 kilometers south of Dongara, where

this wordlist

was

collected.

Other more recent wordlists include Brandenstein (1965, 1973), Gratte (1967), and Drury (1989). Brandenstein (1965) and Gratte (1967) contain Nhanda words and customs described by Watty Barker, while Brandenstein (1973) is a 8

The Language

and

Its Speakers

containing some basic Nhanda vocabulary. Drury's (1989) notes on sessions with her provide phonemic transcriptions of basic vocabulary, based short wordlist, Mrs.

mother,

Lucy

Ryder.

Oldfield (1865) has a wealth of information on Nhanda language and culture. Despite its lurid tone and racist statements, this article is the only source portray? ing Nhanda language and customs as they might have been in pre-European con? tact times. Oldfield describes many cultural details, including myths of the their ways of gathering and preparing food, their annual Spring cor? Watchandie, robor?e, and certain initiation practices. He also includes several shorts songs and a brief grammatical description, along with a fairly extensive wordlist, dozens of verbs,

conjugated

and

a

of

variety

short

phrases.

Mrs.

Ryder

was

able

to confirm

common

and unique aspects of Nhanda culture recounted by Oldfield including: the association of thunderstorms and particular thickets on the banks of the Murchison with innga 'ghosts'; the extraction of pulya 'magical essence' from the body by violent rubbing and gripping of the stomach; the burial of corpses in a avoidance by newly mar? squatting position, with the knees bent; mother-in-law ried men;

as part of male initiation rites 1959); and techniques for digging up ajuga, the native species of yam

the absence of subincision/circumcision

(v. O'Grady (Dioscorea hastifolia).

and Voegelin is based on O'Grady (1966), which O'Grady, Voegelin, Hale and (1957-58), (1960), (1966), provides a brief description of O'Grady case Nhanda, suffixes, and full and bound pro? including phoneme inventory, nouns. Most of this material is based on 1960 sessions with Jack Councillor. Jack Councillor's language differs in significant ways from Lucy Ryder's, and appears to represent the central dialect of Nhanda. In O'Grady's fieldnotes, it is noted that Mr.

Councillor

some

of

significant

was

a

the discrepancies differences

as well as Nhanda, so of Malgana speaker are due to mixing of the two languages. are noted, where in the text. relevant,

it is possible In any

case,

that all

based on my

own fieldwork include: Blevins and Marmion 1995); Yamaji Language Centre (1998); and Blevins (1998, 1999, to on Blevins and Marmion sound (1994) reports appear). changes which have occurred in the history of the language, while Blevins and Marmion (1995) focuses on the phonemic status, distribution, and origins of Nhanda glottal stop. The Yamaji Language Centre (1998) publication, Nhanda Wangganhaa, is an Publications

(1994,

illustrated primer, with basic vocabulary in English and Nhanda, and description of the practical orthography. Blevins (1998) argues against the hypothesis put forth by Gerritsen (1994) that there has been a Dutch influence on the Nhanda lan? guage. Blevins (1999) is a recent assessment of potential genetic relationships between Nhanda and neighboring languages, while Blevins (to appear) includes Nhanda in a survey of Australian languages having undergone initial consonant loss. Where analyses or facts differ between earlier publications and the present grammar,

this work

should

be

taken

as more

9

accurate

and

comprehensive.

2

Phonology

The sound patterns of Nhanda differ inmany ways from those of surrounding lan? guages. Nhanda differs from languages to the East and South in having a voicing or length contrast in stops. Nhanda is also the only Western Australian language outside of the Kimberley to have a distinctive glottal stop. Finally, Nhanda has a wealth

of vowel-initial words, which are rare in neighboring languages. To understand and state descriptive generalisations pertaining to the sound system of Nhanda, it is necessary to consider a number of phonological patterns in some detail.

2.1 Consonants The consonant phonemes graphic the velar to write

symbols. nasal, glottal

and

the

are used

to write

lamino-palatal

lamino-dentals,

nasal

and

and

lateral,

bi?

labial

2-1. Nhanda

lamino

dental

consonant

apico

apico

alveolar

post alveolar

th

rt

dh

rd

lamino

palatal

stop/flap nasal

lateral

glide

apico-post-alveolars, an is used apostrophe

phonemes

stop voiced

ortho?

stop.

Table

voiceless

are shown in Table 2-1 using Nhanda

of Nhanda

Digraphs

ny lh

iy

(yh)

10

velar

glottal

Phonology

symbols which Orthographic with their IPA equivalents th

Nhanda

do not have standard IPA values are listed below

lh

nh

dh

yh

rd

Nhanda

IPA

f,d

Nhanda

ny

IPA

velar

nasals,

iy

d,d3

t,tj

rn-g or n-g clusters need to be distinguished

In the rare cases where with

ng

1

IPA

these

will

be written

as rn.g

and n.g

from forms

In non-Nhanda

respectively.

the data which include an apico-alveolar tap, flap, or trill Iwill write this as rr,? common orthographic symbol used for this sound in other Australian languages. nasal

Homorganic

bols,

clusters

stop

are written

that the lamino-dental

except

cluster

apico-post-alveolar

is written

as combinations

cluster

is written

rnd

rnrd).

(not

of nasal

ndh

and

(not nhdh)

stop

sym?

and the

is listed under labials, it is, in fact, a labio-velar glide. The Though lamino-palatal glide /yh/ is found in only a single word in the database: kurlayhi 'river red gum'. This sound is produced with both palatal and laminai approxima? tion; the tongue body is in the same position itwould be for lyl, but the blade of the tongue is flat and approaches the front of the hard palate and teeth. The lamino-palatal obstruents /c,j/ tend to be realized as postalveolar or pre-palatal /w/

stops or affricates. flexion

can

The apico-alveolar

be weak

or

imperceptible.

series is generally The

apico-alveolar

retroflex, though retro vs.

apico-postalveolar

stop contrast is a weak one in distributional and perceptual terms. While there are minimal or near-minimal pairs for all manners of articulation, as shown in (1), the contrast in stops is sometimes fully neutralized, and can vary with compensatory lengthening of a preceding stressed lal vowel. (i) THE APICAL CONTRAST

atpi

'light, 'tie'

parduda

'turkey'

paduda

'dress,

artpa

burn'

frock'

purndu

'back'

pundu

'rain'

warla

'head'

walajadi

'thunderstorm'

mara

'hand'

madi

'sore, wound'

Some examples of variation in the phonetics of apico-postalveolar stops are given in (2). In (2i), where a retroflex stop is preceded by a stressed lui in an open syl? lable, there is little variation. In (2ii) where a retroflex stop is preceded by a stressed lal in an open syllable, retroflexion can be lost, with lengthening of the preceding vowel. In (2iii) where a retroflex stop is preceded by lil, there is often 11

2

CHAPTER

neutralization to an apico-alveolar stop. Finally, in all other positions (i.e., after stressed /a,u/ in closed syllables, and after unstressed /a,u/), there is free variation a retroflex

between (2)

stop.

apico-alveolar

stops

in apico-postalveolar

Variation

111.

and

'daughter'

[?C?A] [j?clu]

maria

'clay, mud'

[mal a], [maila]

mardala

'clouds'

[macJalA], [m?idoU]

wirdaa

'leg'

[w?'c|a:], [w/da:]

atpirda

'a lie'

[?tpicja], [?tpida]

kuwirtpa

'funny'

IV.

urda

'wild,

yurdu

angry'

[kw?'tpa], [kwftpa] burn'

artpa

'light,

wurtka

'ear'

magurda

'dream;

matharda

'sick'

[?tpa], [?tpa] [w?tka], [w?tka] [magu?a],

photo'

[m?guda]

[matac?a], [matada]

The laminai contrast is illustrated by the pairs in (3). Voiceless stops in are longer than corresponding voiced stops (see Section 2.5). The Nhanda lamino-dental dh is often produced without voicing, but still contrasts in length with th which is never voiced. (3) The laminal

contrast 'alone'

pathu

'inch-stuff'

-ba-cu

'Shark Bay' 'friend'

Kadhaagurdu

yajalu

anha

'that one'

wanya

'ko tree'

pulha pulya

'many'

kurlayhi balayi

'river red gum' 'watch out!'

'magic'

contrast are provided in Near-minimal pairs illustrating the voicing Table 2-2. Voicing is contrastive intervocalically for stops at all points of articula? tion (i). The origins of this voicing contrast are discussed in Section 2.8. In pre consonantal position (iii) there are only two words in the language which show a voicing

contrast,

and

both

are

of non-Nhanda

origin.

The placename Kajitgurdu, also known as Kajitgura, is likely of Malgana gin,

showing

(cf. Nhanda

Malgana comitative

comitative

suffix

-gurdu

which

is common

ori?

in placenames

-waa.)

The word badgutu 'bread' is from English tion of Moore (1842:iv):

12

'very good', based on the descrip?

Phonology

the part of the settlers generally there existed the most friendly disposition toward the aborigines, which was evinced

On on

suitable

every

by

opportunity,

the offer

of bread,

"very

good."

And

this

thus,

term,

"very

was

good",

accompa?

that it was

nied by the imitation of eating, with an assurance

almost

the

first English phrase used, and became the name by which bread was, for a long time generally known amongst the natives of Australia.

Western

and Presumably the word was borrowed as *barrgudu (as it occurs inMalgana), > two then underwent fortition (see Section 2.8) words, badgutu. Outside of these all obstruent clusters inNhanda are voiceless throughout. 2-2. Obstruent

Table i./V V

voicing

iii./

ii. /##

'water' apa 'child' abarla

contrasts C

'many' pulha 'little corella' buli

'wild carrot'

matha

'Shark Bay'

Kadhaagurdu 'navel'

citu

Kajitgurdu

'a long

ciidi

badgutu

'placename' 'bread'

'return'

thartiyamardida kucidu

time'

'kingfish' ciidi

kujidu

'hungry' 'vomit'

nhaka

'look-PREs'

kabarla

nhaga

'look-iMp'

Gabagaba

jida

In word-initial in the native

vocabulary

'long ago' 'larrikin girl' 'puppy' 'Red Bluff

(Table 2-2 ii), where apical consonants

position at all,

voicing

the medial

are

found

for

labials,

do not occur velars,

and

contrast

is due to regular lamino-palatals. voicing sound change (Section 2.8), there is good reason to believe that the voiced obstruents which occur in word-initial position are the result of borrowing, and that all word-initial obstruents inNhanda were originally voiceless allophones of However,

while

contrasts

intervocalic voiced obstruents. This is supported by three observations. First, frozen reduplications like thugudhugu 'dust', pijibiji 'caterpillar', and puruburu have initial voiceless stops corresponding to intervocalic voiced allophones. 'fog' are when words fashion, an Secondly, pronounced slowly, in a syllable-by-syllable intervocalic voiced stop will usually surface as voiceless. These two facts suggest that Ibl regularly surfaces as [p] at the beginning of a phonological word, where in slow speech, phonological words are defined by pause. Finally, there are very few words with initial voiced obstruents. Gabagaba, the Nhanda placename for Red 13

2

CHAPTER

(cf. Nyungar gabbar 'wide'), is the only g-initial word I have found to date. with initial /b/ fall into three basic classes as shown in (4): (4i) clear or likely borrowings; (4ii) placenames; and (4iii) possible borrowings. Assuming in (4ii) are not of Nhanda origin, a voicing contrast for initial that the placenames bilabial stops becomes suspect as well.

Bluff

Words

(4) /b/-INITIAL WORDS Loans 'bread'

badgutu

(from English 'very good' 'large black goanna' (cf. WAJ bangara)

bangara

bardi

'edible witchetty grub' (cf.WAJ bardi) 'big red kangaroo' (cf.WAJ bigurda)

bigurda

11.

bimarda

'watersnake'

bugu buli

'buttocks,

Proper

(cf. WAJ ass'

'anus')

nouns

Babajidangga

side of Coolcalalya)' Rocks' Gregory Bookah spring' (other

'placename 'placename,

Buku

'placename,

(5)

bugu

'slender-billed corella' (cf.WAJ buli)

Burungin

Possible

111.

bimarra)

(cf. WAJ

loans

bunyadi

'blow

bunyja

'suck'

out,

put out'

(cf. NY

(cf. NY

bunan

bunan

'hole')

'hole')

/J/-INITIALWORDS i.

Loans jangara

'featherfoot'

juna

'short axe' fighting';

(cf. P/L,

P/Y

jangara) 'short club used juna; WJK juna 'a woman's stick') hitting jurna

(cf.NY

WAJ

in

Proper nouns

ii.

JibiWujayi Jidamarda Jilba Jilinha

'placename' 'Gidamarra

Junadawaa

spring' cf. NY

'proper

name',

'proper

name'

jilba

'Spring'

'placename'

With the palatals the situation is similar, as illustrated in (5). Placenames and proper names constitute the majority of /?/-initial words (5ii). Of these Jilba is clearly

non-Nhanda,

undergone

since

there

fortition to become

are

no

native

words

with

/lb/

clusters,

all

having

/tp/ (v. Section 2.8). Apart from proper nouns, there

14

Phonology

is only jangara, which appears to be a loan from Western sible loan from Wajuk (5i). To

summarize,

the entire

cluster

for Nhanda

is contrastive

voicing

tion. In the native vocabulary, voicing is voiceless,

and

in intervocalic

stops

posi?

in obstruent clusters where

is noncontrastive

it is also

and juna, a pos?

Desert,

noncontrastive

in nasal-stop

clusters,

where the entire cluster is voiced. In word-initial position, obstruents are typically voiceless and can be viewed as allophones of the voiced series, with only a handful of exceptions, most of which are probable loans or proper names. Nevertheless, because there is a voicing contrast in the language intervocalically, I have chosen orthographic conventions which distinguish voiced and voiceless obstruents in all after positions. In other words, despite the fact that voicing is non-contrastive a etc. I will remark is in order the write mb, nd, rnd, nasals, Finally, regarding pho? netic correlates of the voicing contrast inNhanda. Though pairs like apa 'water' and abarla 'child' show a clear voicing contrast for the bilabial stops, these conso? nants also differ dramatically in length. At least in intervocalic post-tonic position, the phonological opposition could well be looked at as one of length, with gemi? nate

stops

redundantly

and

voiceless,

voiced.

non-geminates

However,

the exten?

sion of this opposition to word-initial position suggests that voicing is contrastive, and this is the analysis adopted throughout. Notice thatNhanda lacks a contrast between Idl and an apico-alveolar rhotic (rr), with

Idl being

variously as an apicoalveolar stop or tap/flap. and Voegelin 1966 have no contrast between Idl and /rr/ /rr/, but fail to recognize a voicing contrast for stops else? realized

(O'Grady, Voegelin, either. They propose where.) I could just as well have chosen /rr/, a flap, as underlying with [d] as an allophone. The only reason for not doing this is the historical fortition of *d>t, which parallels *b>p, * g>k in the relevant environments.) The two allophones [r] and [d] are generally in free variation intervocalically, with the stop more common in

post-tonic

Nhanda's

and

position, closest

neighbors

the are

more

tap/flap

claimed

to have

common a contrast

elsewhere. between

Three Idl and

of

/rr/,

an

apico-alveolar trill or tap. Wajarri (Marmion 1996), Yingkarta (Austin 1992), and Nyungar (Moore, 1842) are all described as contrasting these two sounds intervo? (1996) presents several minimal pairs forWajarri, but Yamaji calically. Marmion Centre (1994) shows some variation between d and rr: compare Wajarri Language mirra-

'call

out'

with

midaguru,

'rainbird'

mirraguru

(cf. Nhanda

mida-

'sing

out').

The Yingkarta data shows no minimal or near-minimal pairs, so the contrast must remain suspect. On the other hand, all reported Mantharta and Kanyara languages of the Southern Pilbara lack a Idl vs. /rr/ contrast. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Nhanda consonant system in the Western Australian context is the existence of a phonemic glottal stop. The only positions inwhich glottal stop is distinctive inNhanda are intervocalically (6) and after the rhotic glide Ixl (8). But even in these positions, the functional load of dis? tinctive glottal stop is very low, and there is only a single trueminimal pair, mar'u

15

2

CHAPTER

'rainbird' vs. maru 'night, dark'. As detailed in Section 2.8, intervocalic glottal stop has arisen historically from glides homorganic with a preceding or following vowel. It is for this reason that the pairs in (6) are meant to demonstrate a contrast between an intervocalic (invariant) glottal stop and a corresponding glide. (6) Intervocalic ya u nhaawu

stop

glottal

(invariant) none 'why, what

for'

fine'

ku'arlu

'good, 'our mother'

aguwana

ia

'dig'

piyagu

'galah'

nha'i

'see-PAST'

ngayi

'lp'

'uncle'

pi'i thiyinyu

'mosquito'

While all instances of intervocalic glottal stop in (6) are invariant, there are also morphemes where an intervocalic glide lyl or /w/ varies with glottal stop. Some of this variation is across speakers, and possibly representative of different dialects.

For as

tently

...ayi

the past

example, in Mrs.

Ryder's

tense

l-il

speech,

to a-final

suffixed but

as

...a'i

verbs

surfaces

in the O'Grady

consis? Other

corpus.

occurs within

the speech of a single individual: from Mrs. Ryder, I recorded iyu and i'u 'South'; awuga and a'uga 'stoke it up!'. Variation of this kind is shown in (7) and can be taken as further evidence of the sound change noted

variation

above. (7)

involving

Variation

glottal

stop

Gloss

Variants awuga,

a'uga

'stoke

iyu,

i'u

'South'

thartiyayi,

thartiya'i

'came

ajayi,

aja'i

'bit'

it up!'

back'

Also discussed in Section 2.8 is the evolution of glottal stop from intervo? calic rhotic glides. Examples in (8) contrast intervocalic Ixl with intervocalic 1x1. There are no other IxCI clusters inNhanda. (8) POST-RHOTICGLOTTAL STOP 'rainbird'

mar'u maru

'night,

war'a

'bad'

mara

'hand'

phoneme

syllable boundaries,

on

'haze'

puru wur'ada

'black,

-buraada

The analysis of Ixl as a consonant is based

'buttocks'

ur u

dark'

two

observations.

'thin,

black

person'

skinny'

cluster rather than a glottalized In slow

speech,

where

pauses

a syllable break (indicated by '.') is placed between 16

rhotic unit can mark

the rhotic

Phonology and the following glottal stop: [waj.?a] or [waj'.?a]3 'bad', [wua.?a] or [wuj\?a]3 'stone', etc. Also, primary stressed vowels are typically lengthened in open sylla? bles. However, stressed vowels preceding Ixl are not lengthened. One other word with an invariant intervocalic glottal stop is the interjection 'e'e 'yes'. This is the only native Nhanda word with a distinctive lei vowel quality; it is also pronounced with heavy laryngealization throughout, and with slight glid? ing of the initial vowel from high tomid. I suspect that this word derives from *'i'i, and that laryngealization has given rise to vowel lowering. Malgana has an identi? cal word for 'yes', andMoore's (1842:47) dictionary of Nyungar has the following /-/

entry:

'yes;

of assent;

sign

'.

gutturally...

pronounced

2.2 Vowels has the simple three-vowel system /i u a/ with contrastive length. In these vowels are close to the cardinal vowels stressed positions, [i u a]. In unstressed positions, short vowels are centralized, and vary in quality depending in part on the quality of adjacent consonants. For example, unstressed lal can be

Nhanda

realized as [a] or [a] finally, as [3]medially, when

instance

between

velar

are partially

Vowels

are

vowels

Minimal

twice

nearly

as

and near-minimal

(9) Vowel

length

as

short

'wild'

urdaa

'directly'

indaji

'ribs'

indaacu

'big'

-wa

ISGSUBJ

cidijidi ciidi

a

'yesterday'.

consonants. steady-state

Long quality.

'large intestine' 'horse'

malu

'shade'

'willy wagtail' 'a long time'

minda

'house'

miinda

'light'

arndiya arndii

nguutu

aluu

have

[V], for

pairs illustrating the length contrast are shown in (9).

COM

ngutu

by retroflex and

vowels,

[jirgxngs]

contrast

urda

-waa

long

in yugangga

followed

retroflexed when

as even higher

and sometimes as

consonants,

'smell-PREs' 'smell-ppERF'

'that.erg'

vowel length is found in initial, medial, and final syl? Morpheme-internally, lables. The vowels in English monosyllables tend to surface as long in English loans, independent of their long/short or tense/lax status in English (e.g., ciipu 'sheep', Long

kuuki vowels

the comitative

'cook', are

found

/-waa/,

etc.)

For

in several and

more

on

common

the non-past

loan

word

suffixes, (NH-class)

17

phonology, including /-nhaa/.

see

Section

the agentive

2.7. l-caaf,

2

CHAPTER

a

For

the

example,

ama

vowel:

preceding

the rhotic Ixl in derived environ?

length is found before

vowel

Predictable ments.

-ra

clitic

third-person possessive amara [ama:Ja]

induces

'her father',

'father',

agu

on

lengthening 'mother',

agura

'hermother', etc. Length ismost noticeable with a, and less so for i and [aguua] u. Vowels in this context appear to be intermediate between (underlyingly) long and

short

vowels.

Vowel

length

also

on

to occur

tends

u

stressed

in an open

sylla?

the contrast consonant, nearly neutralizing by an apical-alveolar I have written words like vowels in this and short position. Though long

ble followed between uuduu

'grass,

straw',

might be possible

'ko fish,

puudardi

bream',

to treat these as underlying

etc.

with

long

tonic

vowels,

it

short vowels.

With the exception of the single word /'e'e/ 'yes', the mid vowels /e,o/ are found only in English loans: coopu 'soap'; Wagawey 'Walkaway'. As mentioned in is aberrant /'e'e/ also above, being pronounced with significant phonetically vowel

laryngealization.

2.3 Syllable Structure and Phonotactics Nhanda syllable types are shown in Table 2-3. Syllables may be open or closed, and vowel or consonant initial. Vowel-initial syllables are limited to word-initial closed those by nasals and obstruents. position. Closed syllables include 2-3. Nhanda

Table CV

cvc

nya.rlu mi. lu

VC

CV: eye

ya.wa.rda

'kangaroo'

a.ba.rla

'child'

i.bi

'breast'

u.thu

'dog'

pun. du i.din.ba

'moon'

cit.ka.da

'echidna'

war.'a

V:

CV:C

rain

man

im.ba

'gum,

types nguu.ti ma.tii

'wet' 'took'

kan.baa.gu

'devil'

aa.ti.ku

'regardless'

uu.duu

'grass'

miin.da.ga arn.ngaan.di

'light it!' 'Eastern people'

'bad'

arn.ma.nu

at.pii

syllable

V:C

sap' 'tie-PPERF'

nhaan.dha

'see-fut'

uun.da.du

'kangaroo skin pouch'

The large number of vowel-initial words inNhanda is due to historical loss of word-initial consonants, as discussed in detail in Section 2.8. Examples in (10) show vowel-initial words in Nhanda which correspond with consonant-initial words in neighboring Wajarri and Malgana.

18

Phonology

loss

consonant

(io) Word-initial

Nhanda

baja- 'bite'

aja- baja-n-

uthu

baba apa

baba

bibi ibi

bibi'breast'

dhudhu

dhudhu

like wuthada

Words

Gloss

Malgana

Wajarri

'two',

'water'

'dog'

wumbu

'urine',

and wuna

'faeces'

are w-initial

and contrast with truly u-initial words like uthu 'dog'and uku- 'to fall down'. Vowel-initial words sometimes surface phonetically with a preceding glottal stop, and occasionally with initial breathiness or [h]. The glottal stop ismost common in phrase medially, between vowels, but is also heard in utterance-initial position with

variation

I treat

breathiness.

these

laryngeals

as

as

epenthetic,

they

are never

contrastive. Laryngeal epenthesis is stated informally in (11); the inserted glottal [h] is stop serves as an onset to the formerly onsetless syllable. Utterance-initially, an uncommon

of glottal

variant

free

stop.

epenthesis (ii)Laryngeal 0 ?> ? / wordt ~y (optional; domain = phonological As a result of historical consonant loss inword-initial

phrase)

position, Nhanda con? In underlying forms with /w,y/-initial words. trasts underlying vowel-initial vowel-initial forms, there is variation between zero and glottal stop, as a result of (11). wuna

'sea',

yani

'stump'.

wana

'faeces',

As

in many

the three vowels

forms include /w,y/ before

glide-initial

Underlying wilu

other

'digging

stick',

Australian

yina

languages,

'foot',

yurnda

word-initial

'thigh,

/i,u,a/: hips',

homorganic

sequences /wu/ and /yi/ vary freely between [wu], [u] and [ji], [i] respectively. This appears to be due to the perceptual similarity of the homorganic segments in languages where the initial glides have very little in the way of artic Indeed, in Nhanda, I often heard /wu/-initial words as ulatory approximation. a long vowel uu; only after confirming that the word could not beginning with a begin with phonetic glottal stop, could I conclude that it was not underlyingly glide-vowel

initial. Though I am inclined to think of the variation in homorganic sequences in phonetic terms, these alternations could be stated in glide-vowel terms of the phonological rules in (12). vowel

( 12) Initial Glide-deletion a. w ?> 0 /Word[ _ u (optional) b. y -> 0 /Word[ _ i (optional) In

sum,

there

are

two

those that are underlyingly undergone

glide-deletion

sources

for

surface

vowel-initial

words

in Nhanda:

initial, and those which are glide initial, but have vowel-initial words like ibi 'breast', (12). Underlying vowel

19

CHAPTER

2

have surface variants with and without glottal stop ([?ibi], [ibi]) but never surface with homorganic glides (*[jibi]) while underlying glide-initial words like yina 'foot' have surface variants with and without the initial glide ([jina], [ina]) but do not surface with initial glottal stop (*[?ina].) Within a constraint-based model of phonology, these patterns follow straightforwardly. Glottal stop is inserted to sat? isfy the syllable onset constraint. Words with underlying initial glides already sat? isfy the onset constraint, and therefore do not undergo glottal stop insertion. In Nhanda, any segment can occupy the syllable onset position in intervo? calic position. In the native vocabulary, syllable codas are limited to voiceless obstruents,

nasals,

and

glides

/w,r/.

consonant

intervocalic

Occurring

are

clusters

shown in Table 2-4, where N is a nasal stop, T is an oral stop, R is a rhotic, L is a lateral, W is a glide, NjCj indicates a homorganic nasal-stop cluster, and clusters in parentheses occur in only one or two lexical items and are suspect for indepen? dent

reasons.

All

homorganic

clusters

nasal-stop

occur,

though

as already

noted,

voicing is not distinctive for obstruents in post-nasal position: in this position, all obstruents are phonetically voiced. In addition, apical and lamino-palatal nasals and stops can be followed by peripheral stops /b,g/. Nasal-nasal clusters are more restricted with apical-peripheral clusters the only attested ones. Finally, clusters with initial rhotics are limited to the Ixl clusters already discussed. Table NiTi mb

2-4. Nhanda NT

number

*P

n-g

tk

nd

rnb

rtp

rnm

rnd

rn.g

rtk

rnng

nyj

nyg

ck

n%%

nyb

cp

pre-Nhanda of

lateral-stop

presents

comparison,

WL

LT

(lb) dg)

nng

evidence

wrl

that inherited

list of lateral-obstruent

regular fortition has occurred, where

clusters

is given

(rig) (lyb)

lateral-obstruent

in pre-Nhanda, obstruent-obstruent becoming > cutka 'arm'. Given this sound *curlga are clusters hence non-native, likely

Table 2-4. An exhaustive lect, where

RT

ndh

fortition

example,

NN

nb

Section 2.8.3 underwent

TT

consonant

intervocalic

clusters

clusters, change, the

the

for small in

parentheses

clusters from the Northern

dia?

in (13), with relevant forms for

available.

A w-initial cluster is found given the occurrence of word-final

in one word: wawrla /w/ (see below),

20

'alive, living'. However, this cluster is not problematic.

Phonology

in Nhanda

(i3)LT clusters

Jilba

loan source

Potential

Gloss

Nhanda

proper

name

NY

jilba 'Spring'

milgi

'milk'

English milk

marulybidi

'jet black'

P/L maru

WAJ parlba 'ankle'

'ankle'

parlba

'bark (of dog)'

parlgutpa

P/L warlgurrba

draw'

walga

'write,

warlgabur'u

'whitefluff

WAJ,

P/Y

WAJ

warlga

NH

Wilgurdu

'placename'

mandulba

'ko plant'

munggulba

'ko plant'

thalba

fixes

phrase,

perfective

'comitative'

-gurdu

and

across

the

inNhanda. Across word boundaries within within

boundaries

morpheme

non-iden?

the word,

and

/-a/

present.

The

of

resolution

clusters

vowel

with

these

suf?

is shown in (14). of

V-V

V

S tern-final

under + l-il

verbal

suffixation

pperf

+

l-al

ii

iya

ii

uwa

Examples

+ l-il pperf

+ l-al

i'a-

1 ayi

1 aa

atpii

atpiya

'dig'

atpiawu-

There athu-

'tie' 'light

are 'cook,

is athura.

addition

PRES

awuwa

a fire'

only

PRES

aa

ayi

athu-

+

the only clusters are broken up by epenthetic glides. Word-internally, are l-il Y-class inflectional suffixes the verbal triggering glide-epenthesis

(14) Resolution

and

'circle'

'red ochre'

phonological

suffixes

'write'

walga-

puru'mist'

MAL

There are no vowel clusters

past

noise'

'barking

'heel'

wilgi

tical V-V

'black'

widi 'black'WAJ ;

two

burn'. However,

u-final These this

in the entire

verbs verbs

do

verb

also

to regular athuga, suggesting

not has

pattern an

data-base, together. irregular

awuThe imperative

shown present

above, tense

athuraga,

of in

that the present tense athura is formed by

21

2

CHAPTER

the addition of the third-person singular indirect object suffix -ra. For this reason, I take the general pattern to be that exhibited by awu-. The

concerning

generalizations are

sequences

then

as

in a.-c.

stated

word-internal

heteromorphemic

below.

Across

word

boundaries,

vowel

the general?

izations are the same, but one finds the additional strategy of splitting any vowel sequence with a glottal stop, as expressed in d. below. a. When two vowels are identical, they merge into a tautosyllabic long vowel. (This is only true of the Northern dialect; in the Central dialect, identical vowels can be split by an epenthetic glottal stop.) b. When both vowels are high, the first assimilates a long high vowel. c. When

one vowel

homorganic d. When

a.-c.

are not

above

insert glottal stop between Table

an epenthetic

is high, and the other is non-high, the high vowel is inserted.

with

strategies

to the second, deriving

across

employed

a word

glide

boundary,

adjacent vowels.

2-5. Distribution

of intervocalic glides V indicates attested, 0 unattested, and ~ variation between and glottal stop in particular lexical items. Context

glide

w

y

u_a u_i V

V

In cases where an intervocalic glide has been lost historically, the resulting with either long vowels or vowel-glide sequences. forms behave as monosyllables with Examples contrasting disyllabic VGV sequences include: wut.paw 'magpie' (<*wutpawu, (< *matkawu, *atpi'i)

cf. pi'i

*wutpa'u) *matka'u)

cf. kuwirtpawu cf

nhakawu

'for the funny 'looking

for';

one'; at.pii

mat.kaw

'kurarra

tree'

'lie-PAST'(<*atpiyi,

'uncle'.

Intervocalic glides /w,y/ and glottal stop are in near complementary distribu? tion. I attribute this to the sound change, discussed in Section 2.8.5, where 22

Phonology

post-tonic intervocalic glides /w,y/ changed to glottal stop. Synchronie distribu? tion of post-tonic intervocalic glides is summarized in Table 2-5. Note that wher? ever there is variation between a glide and glottal stop, it is always in a context where the quality of the glide (lyl or /w/) is determined by the post-tonic vowel. I have not found (invariable) distinctive glottal stop outside of post-tonic position in Nhanda.

the native vocabulary there are rigid constraints on word-initial and no apical consonants are found (with the consonants. Word-initially, there is not recent In of addition, as already mentioned, English loans). exception a clear voicing contrast in word-initial position, and there is no contrast between and vowel-initial words. Finally, laterals and the rhotic Ixl axe glottal-stop-initial unattested word-initially. This leaves /b, m, w, dh, nh, j, ny, y, g, ng/ as the class of Within

word-final

consonants within the native vocabulary, where the voiced attested word-initial are realized as voiceless in this position. Word-initially, both laminai series freely occur before all three vowels, and there is no strong preference for lamino-palatals before HI (cf. Dixon 1970), except in the nasals where word-initial

obstruents

nhi...

is

NH-class

unattested.

The

suffix.

verbal

...nhi...

Word-internally, sequence

-nhii

occurs; is also

*ngi...

absent

is

the

past

word-initially,

tense though

it occurs freely word-medially. consonants

Word-final and

here,

'kurrara

are tree';

wut.paw

For

that O'Grady, however,

ny,

south within

Voegelin, one

their

rare in the Northern

of words

1.3,

outside

of

'dizzy';

kurinyguriny

in Section

noted

prevalent as one moves then

are extremely a handful

'magpie';

as

However,

sage'.

in only

found

and Voegelin (1966) is a semblative example

mat.kaw

placenames:

'kangaroo

ngu.tu.lung vowel

word-final

the Nhanda

dialect described

loss

sau? more

becomes

dialect chain. It is not surprising report suffix

word-final

ny,

-ngu'uny,

which

'.

d, and I have

been unable to elicit. This bears a suspicious resemblance to theWajarri sembla? tive suffix -nguny (Marmion 1996:52). They provide no examples of /d/-final words, though O'Grady's 'three', which (1966) wordlist includes one: marngud could

be

'three'.)

a dialectal Word-final

form

of Nhanda

glottal

stop

marnngurdu occurs sporadically

'three'

fixes, but also regularly after the following inflectional respondences in (northern) Nhanda as shown below:

O'Grady

Present work

(1966)

mankurr suf?

inflectional

many

suffixes, with regular cor?

Gloss

non-past

-nha' -nhaa

IMPERATIVE

-k? -ka'

the

Yingkarda

-nhii past

-nhi'

For

(cf

after

two NH-conjugation

appears to have undergone

tense

suffixes,

-nhii

and

-nhaa,

the

loss of glottal stop with compensatory 23

northern

dialect

lengthening

of

2

CHAPTER

vowel. The regular imperative suffix is slightly different. The final the central dialect corresponds to secondary stress in the northern in glottal stop dialect. As detailed in Section 2.4 below, all long vowels inNhanda attract stress. It is possible that the imperative also underwent compensatory lengthening, with the preceding

> *-k?a

*-ka'

>

vowel

-k?. Though

been

has

length

lost,

stress

secondary

remains.

However, this is unlikely, as final secondary stress appears to be associated with imperative verbs whether or not they include the -ka suffix (see Section 3.4.2 and Section

one moves

As

3.4.3).

final

south,

loss

vowel

more

becomes

and

prevalent,

so the inventory of final consonants increases. The southern Amangu dialect ' at shows word-final /ng rn n 1w d rt k/. Com? n.d. 85) Dhongara (Bates reported pare Nhanda thalanyu 'tongue', with a greatly reduced final vowel, to Amangu yallain; ox Nhanda augmentative suffix -barta (again with a greatly reduced final to Amangu

vowel)

-bat.

2.4 Stress forms, main stress is on the initial syllable, with secondary odd-numbered syllables, though never on the final syllable, syllable is closed or contains a long vowel. The alternating

In monomorphemic stress on following the final

unless

pattern within

strong-weak bear

stress

secondary

than other vowels,

of

phemes

are

vowels

in word-final two

or more

shorter

begin

than

a new

stressed

stress

on

domains

their

own.

by

another

stress

monomoraic otherwise

domain;

a monomoraic

When

times forms part of the preceding suffix,

stress domain. then

the

string

a monomoraic

suffix

and

vowels

domain,

rules apply within each stress domain. Monomoraic stress

are

vowels

longer

con?

lengthening of post-stressed

In morphologically

position.

moras

stressed

Primary

position.

and there is often perceptible

unstressed

sonants;

particularly

is broken up by long vowels, which

the morpheme

in non-initial

often

centralized,

forms, mor?

complex and

the monomorphemic

suffixes generally do not form suffix

is word

of monomoraic is unstressed,

it some?

final,

If it isword medial

and followed

suffixes and

forms

a

presumably

unfooted.

Stress patterns for monomorphemic words are shown in (15), with stress pat? terns for multimorphemic words exemplified in (16). An acute accent marks pri? mary

stress,

marked

and

a grave

accent

marks

secondary

on the first half of the digraph,

stress;

stress

though it is realized

on

long

vowels

is

through the entire

vowel. Notice

that

adjacent

stresses

may

occur

due

to the presence

of

a

long

vowel,

provided that the first stress is primary and the second is secondary: urd?a, ind?acu, etc. Though not synchronically transparent, the four-syllable words listed in (15) all likely have bimorphemic origins.

24

Phonology

(i5)Nhanda #of as

stress

patterns

Surface

in monomorphemic Gloss

stress

'ant'

minga

p?'i

'uncle'

y?tka

'coals'

ng?utu

'horse'

urd?a

'directly,

?uduu

'grass'

abarla

'child'

k?'arlu

'good'

ng?utiyu

'pregnant' 'ribs'

k?rliipu

'bullock'

?ndaacu

'big'

k?nbaagu

'little devil'

y?gangga

'yesterday'

ng?tulung

'kangaroo 'crooked,

sausage' bent'

m?rniwidi

'red'

M?nimaya

'Northampton'

th?mbirlidi

'stubborn'

In the list of multimorphemic since,

soon'

?ndaji

k?rdagali

outside

of

suppletive

words

irregular

words verb

in (16), no two syllable words are given, forms,

all attested

disyHables

are mono?

morphemic.

I have yet to determine criteria for the inclusion of monosyllabic suffixes in nouns stress the domains: compare preceding ergative y?warda-lu 'kangaroo' and ?rnmanu-lu 'man'. My preliminary hypothesis is that the ergative form of 'man' is semi-lexicalized (one could write /arnmanu=lu/) and, therefore that the mono? syllabic suffix is included in the preceding stress domain. If this is the case, then many plural forms with -nu must be treated in the same way, as semilexicalized, since the plural suffix is regularly included in a preceding stress domain. Limited support for this hypothesis came when I attempted to elicit plural forms of nouns which are typically interpreted as plural without the plural suffix, like /kurlanu/ 'bush potato(s)'.

The plural form was k?rlaninu, without

penult.

25

secondary

stress on the

2

CHAPTER

#of as

in multimorphemic

patterns

stress

( 16) Nhanda

Surface

Gloss

stress

uthi-nu

'dog-PL' 'talk-PREs'

w?ngga-nhaa

woman-ERG-PL

ny?rlu-nggi-nu

'tired-INCH-NFUT'

p?nda-ba-nhii y?warda-lu

'kangaroo-ERG'

abarla-lu

'child-ERG'

abarla-w?a

'child-coM'

?rnmanu-lu

'man-ERG'

?rnmani-nu

'man-PL'

y?wardi-nu

'kangaroo-PL'

?thu-thada

'dog-Du'

ny?rlu-bagaa

'woman-BEL'

?rnmanu-li-nu

man-ERG-PL

k?cidu-nd?-yi

'hungry-CAUS-ppERF'

kucidu-b?-nh?a

'hungry-iNCH-NPAST'

piji=b?ji-w?a

'mangy-coM'

y?warda-thada

'kangaroo-Du' 'head-bald'

w?rla-p?tkili

Notice

abarla-bag?a

'child-BEL'

p?lha-barta-nggu

'magie-?ug-all'

k?'arlu-nd?-yi-nha

'gOOd-CAUS-PPERF-ISGDO'

k?'arlu-nda-gula -bi ngg?la p?yarda b? nh?i-nygu p?yarda

'gOOd-CAUS-AMB' 'sorry-iNCH-AMB'

agu-j?da-w?na

'mother-CHER-iPL'

andadi-j?da-w?na

granny-CHER-iPL

nguti-j?da-ndha-w?na

'swim-PART-FUT-IPL'

ciiga-nd?-yi-w?na-na

'shame-CAUS-PPERF-IPL-COLL'

that

lable immediately because

of

words

in forms

like

preceding

the morpheme

'S0rry-INCH-N0NFUT-20BL'

abarla-w?a,

ny?rlu-bagaa,

the long vowel boundary.

However,

and

is unstressed. in forms

the

abarla-bag?a,

In abarla-w?a with

the

syl?

this is

'belonging'

suffix -bag?a, the first syllable of the suffix is never stressed (compare monomor? phemic urd?a 'directly, soon'.) The stress rules in (17) account for this by leaving this syllable unfooted, as opposed to assigning stress, and then eliminating it via a destressing rule. Though -bag?a is the only disyllabic suffix with a light syllable 26

Phonology

followed directly by a heavy syllable, there is evidence against a regular destress ing rule, whereby a light syllable with secondary stress is destressed when imme? diately followed by a heavy syllable with secondary stress. Consider forms like kucidu-b?-nh?a 'starting to get hungry'; though the inchoative suffix -ba is a light syllable, it is not destressed in this context. In fact, the inchoative -ba is the only monomoraic suffix which can constitute a foot on its own. I account for this with rule (17ii) below. Compare exceptional stress on inchoative -ba with the Panyjima causative -ma (Dench 1991:134-35) which also unexpectedly attracts stress when flanked by bimoraic

stress domains.

The patterns exemplified in (15) and (16) can be generated by defining stress domains in terms of morpheme structure, properly defining heavy syllables which attract stress, and assigning trochees across the word from beginning to end. Hence, for Nhanda we have the following definitions: a. Stress domain:

a minimally

bimoraic morpheme plus any following monomoraic suffix which is not itself followed by a

(semi-lexicalized) monomoraic

a sequence

suffix;

of monomoraic

suffixes.

b. Heavy syllable (H): a syllable containing a long vowel; or a word-final closed syllable. All other syllables are light (L). c. Quantity sensitive trochee: a foot of the form (HL), (LL), or (H), where the foot-initial syllable is stressed. The definition

of heavy

syllable is complicated stress: ngutul?ng secondary

with

closed

syllables Thidhandh?n, a placename. vowel

loss

from

of final

'kangaroo sausage' and the first word is likely the result of

Diachronically,

it seems

Synchronically,

*ngutulungV.

by two examples

that

a

syllable-final

conso?

nant bears weight, and can constitute the second weak beat of the trochee, but only inword-final position. This is the mirror image of the situation in Central Alaskan Yupik where CVV syllables are heavy everywhere, but CVC syllables are heavy in word-initial Given

only.

position

in a.-c.

the definitions stress

the attested

(17)Metrical

above,

the metrical

rules

stress

rules

will

generate

for Nhanda

a. Within each stress domain, assign quantity sensitive to right respecting any lexical stress. b.

in (17)

patterns.

trochees from left

If inchoative /-ba/ is stray, build a unary foot on it.

c. Assign main

stress to the word-initial

The unexpected

stress on inchoative /-ba/ has already been noted. The regu?

lar imperative

suffix

/-ga/

also

has

a

peculiar

syllable.

status

with

respect

to stress,

as men?

tioned earlier. Though it is a light syllable, it acts as if it were heavy, attracting (secondary) stress in word-final position. In addition, in positions where one 27

2

CHAPTER

expects secondary stress on a preceding syllable (like the inchoative lable is stressless. Some examples of this pattern are shown in (18). in some imperative verb forms (i 8) Stress

-ba) the syl?

'get up!'

?ga-ga

?tpi-ga'tie (it)!' 'throw

wanyja-g?

(it) away!'

'go through!'

w?ja-ga ada-ma-g?

'snatch

aya-ma-g?

'ask (him)!'

(it)!'

'listen!

w?nyji-da-ga

'smack

warli-da-g?

(him)!'

c?ndi-ba-g?

'be quiet!'

calya-ba-g?

'cheer up !

'

Recall that the central dialect shows imperative /-gaV, which presumably, as a closed syllable, attracts (secondary) stress in word-final position. However, in no no mor? is final and in this the northern dialect, there vowel length glottal stop pheme. In order to account for the stress facts, I suggest the imperative l-gal be to the strong position of an iambic foot. This association

lexically associated that a preceding

ensure

moraic weak

unstressed

an odd-numbered

(in particular,

syllable

will

mono?

suffix or the inchoative -ba) is stressless, since it will be taken in as the terminal of the iamb. (There is only one verb with a stem-final long vowel

in the corpus:

widaa-

in this

variable

'spear',

paradigm;

with

imperative

cf. widaayi,

widayi

widag?.

However,

vowel

length

was

'spear-pperf'.)

stress is also found in two placenames: Kadh?agurdu 'Shark Exceptional and I Bay' (cf. Malgana Gadharrgurdu), B?bajidangga 'Bubbasherdonga (Well)'. assume that these words are marked with stress in the lexicon. Since both place names are clear loans, lexical stress may be related to the stress pattern of the source

form.

Stress does not consistently words.

pound

For

instance,

distinguish

compound

'whiteman,

ng?nda-mini

words

whitefella'

from non-com? is a compound

of

'light, shiny', but the stress pattern is identical to a form ngunda like ngunda-th?da 'two faces', where the bound dual suffix -thada is affixed to the stem. See Section 3.2.5 where compounds are defined by independent phonolog? ical and syntactic features. InVjGV2 sequences where G = {w,y}, the glide is often elided, with the two vowels coalescing into a single long syllable. Where V! is stressed, the single derived syllable is stressed as well. For example, the first-person singular pronoun 'face' and mini

ng?yi can be pronounced up!'

as

as [n?ij]; th?yidi 'snake' as [taijcli]; and ?wuga

[aiwga].

28

'stoke it

Phonology

2.5 Length and theMinimal Word I suggested earlier that the voicing contrast inNhanda might be viewed as a length contrast, and that the contrast between /p th t rt c k/ and /b dh d rd j g/ is one of long (geminate) versus short obstruents respectively. Under this analysis, voicing is unspecified underlyingly and filled in by the default rules in (19): (19) Default

rules

for obstruent

voicing

i.

If [-sonorant]

is geminate,

ii.

If [-sonorant]

is word-initial,

iii.

Elsewhere,

a [-sonorant]

then it is [-voiced]. then it is [-voiced].

is [+voiced].

Under this analysis, in intervocalic position, the contrast between what I write as /p th t rt c k/ and /b dh d rd j g/ is really a length contrast: /p th t rt c k/ are linked to two timing slots each, and /b dh d rd j g/ to only one timing slot each. Rule (19i) specifies that a long obstruent, or a sequence of two short obstruents (where the feature [-sonorant] is assumed to be doubly linked), will be realized as voiceless. Rule (19ii) specifies that short obstruents in word-initial position are realized as voiceless. And rule (19iii) specifies that elsewhere, an obstruent is realized as voiced. This analysis, where the underlying 'voiceless' series are treated as long in /p th t rt c k/ and in obstruent segments, allows for the collapse of voicelessness clusters. It provides a straightforward account of the lack of a native voicing con? trast word-initially: like all consonant clusters, are prohibited geminates, The also mirrors the historical word-initially. analysis origins of the voicing con? trast,

as described

in Section

2.8.4.

The

major

problem

with

the analysis

is that

the

incipient voicing contrast due to loans with word-initial voiced consonants cannot be represented. If one wanted tomaintain the analysis using rules (19i-iii) above, loan words with initial voiced consonants could simply be represented with under? lyingly specified initial voiced obstruents. The

discussion of stress in Section 2.4 highlights the foot structure of In general, the word is parsed into minimally bimoraic and maximally disyllabic trochees. Inmany Australian languages, constraints on minimal or opti? mal foot size translate into constraints on word size, since every prosodie word must constitute at least one foot. This is true inNhanda as well, where theminimal Nhanda.

prosodie word is bimoraic and typically disyllabic. We can formalize vations as follows: Minimal constitute

these obser?

Word Constraint: A prosodie word in Nhanda must a foot, where feet are minimally bimoraic.

The minimal word is important in suffixal allelomorph (see Section 3.2.1), where minimal words and non-minimal words take different forms of the erga tive/instrumental

case

suffix.

29

CHAPTER

2

word may also play a role in a limited vowel-deletion process there is presently only one example. The Nhanda word kuwirtpa 'funny' is often pronounced as kwirtpa, with an initial Cw cluster. I analyze this as /kuwirtpa/ due to the fact that a vowel is heard when this word is pronounced in slow speech. The only other attested word with an initial CVwi sequence in The minimal

for which

rule ismade as general as possi? is piwi 'mudlark'. If the vowel-deletion minimal word constraint. Similar it will the is since violate blocked, ble, *pwi inWajarrri and Nyangumarta, and only rules of vowel deletion are evidenced or to correct base forms. The trimoraic generalization appears to be longer apply that obstruent-glide clusters are tolerated word-initially, provided that theminimal

Nhanda

word

is not

constraint

violated.

2.6 Morphologically

Conditioned

Alternations

are three sets of alternations in Nhanda that are morphologically condi? tioned: final vowel umlaut; denasalization; and nasal cluster dissimilation. None of these processes is obviously phonologically natural, and they are highly selec? tive in terms of their morphological conditioning.

There

2.6.1 The and

Vowel

Base-final morpheme pronouns

(see

Umlaut

serves

/-nu/

3.2.2

for

as

the

further

regular

marker

discussion).

of On

plurality suffixation

on

common

of

-nu,

the

nouns imme?

diately preceding vowel surfaces as [i], independent of its underlying form. Exam? ples are given in (20). (20a) shows umlaut of stem-final vowels for nouns and pronouns, while examples of umlaut of inflectional suffixes preceding the plural are shown in (20b). The alternations in (20) must be specific to the plural mor? forms with the past imperfective suffix pheme /-nu/, since parallel phonological /-nu/

show

artpanu fire)';

no 'was

of base-final

umlauting burning'

from

artpa-

vowels: 'burn';

a'unu

ajanu 'was

'was

biting'

lighting'

from from

'bite'; ajaa'u(a 'light

etc.

There are two plausible analyses of the alternation exemplified in (20): one con? could assume underlying /-inu/ for the plural and suggest a morphologically ditioned rule of vowel deletion to delete the preceding vowel; or one could simply stipulate the change

in vowel quality preceding

the plural morpheme.

I have chosen the second analysis for several reasons. First, with the excep? tion of two verbal suffixes, all suffixes inNhanda are consonant initial. Second, in there are no other cases of vowel deletion across a morpheme boundary Nhanda; as shown earlier, when two distinct vowels meet, a glide is inserted to break

up

the vowel

cluster.

30

Phonology

with

umlaut

(20) Base-final

suffixation

Gloss

Plural

Singular

'child-PL'

abarli-nu

abarla

b.

/-nu/

'house-PL'

minda

mindi-nu

ala

ali-nu

thayidi

thayidi-nu

'that one-PL' 'snake-PL'

ngayi

ngayi-nu

nyarlu

nyarli-nu

uthu

uthi-nu

'dog-PL'

kurlanu

kurlani-nu

'bush potato-PL'

nyarlu-nggu

nyarlu-nggi-nu

'woman-ERG-PL'

abarla-lu

abarla-li-nu

'child-ERG-PL'

mindi-nggu

mindi-nggi-nu

milu-ra

milu-ri-nu

ngunda-ra

ngunda-ri-nu

'face-30BL-PL'

abarla-tha

abarla-thi-nu

'Child-ISGOBL-PL'

'lp-PL' 'woman-PL'

'house-ALL-PL' 'eye-30BL-PL'

Finally, two more circumscribed cases of umlaut, discussed directly, cannot be handled by amorphologically conditioned rule of vowel deletion. I therefore pro? pose the rule in (21). base-final umlaut (21) Plural V ?> i/_ ] nu]pL In addition to (21) which operates on all morphemes /-nu/,

is triggered

umlaut

the ambulative

by

suffix

/-nggula/

preceding on

two

the plural suf?

preceding

fixes: the verbal inchoative /-ba/, and a non-productive locative /-ngga/. (For ngg/g alternations in the ambulative, see Section 2.6.3.) In both cases, the umlauting vowel can be viewed as stem final. Examples are given in (22). (22)

umlaut

Stem-final

Verb stem

with

suffixation

/-nggula/

Ambulative

Gloss

calya-ba

calya-bi-nggula

'happy while

ciiga-ba

ciiga-bi-nggula

'shamed

while

going going

panda-ba

panda-bi-nggula

'getting

tired along'

inda-ba

inda-bi-nggula

'getting

big

ida-ngga

ida-nggi-gula

'climbing

Other stem-final vowels do not alternate when gula

'going

fire'

from

along a'u-

cutting' 'stoke

up';

from

arda-

arlibanggula

'cut';

31

along

along'

along'

along'

the ambulative

a'unggula

'going

along'

'going lending'

is suffixed: ardang along from

the

stoking

up

arliba-

'lend'.

CHAPTER

2

Notice

in this last example that the phonological string /ba/ precedes the ambula? tive, but as it is not an instance of the inchoative, umlaut is absent. I propose the rule in (23). base-final

(23) Ambulative

umlaut

V ?"> i/_ ]{lNCH,L0C2} (ng)gula]AMB 2.6.2

Denasalization suffix /-nu/ surfaces as [wu] when

The past imperfective in a preceding from

ecating' from

are

There

syllable.

/wunara-nu/

two

attested

This

wunarawu

wumburawu a rule

to be

appears

the rhotic glide Ixl occurs

examples:

and

'defecate-ppERF',

'urinate-ppERF'.

/wumbura-/

only

'was

'was

def?

urinating',

of/n/-denasalization,

triggered by the rhotic glide in the preceding syllable. However, it does not apply when the third-person possessive suffix l-xal is followed by the plural /-nu/. In this in (20b), the surface string is always ...rinu, with base-final case, as exemplified umlaut and no denasalization. is Interestingly, the environment for denasalization the one place where nasal dissimilation vening

(detailed in 2.6.3) can occur over an inter?

syllable.

2.6.3 Nasal Dissimilation Nasal

dissimilation

below).

This

vowel,

where

alternation

has been described

alternation the

involves

typically

second

cluster

loses

for many

Australian

sequential

nasal-stop

its nasal

component.

(see

languages

a

across

clusters

the

Schematically

is: ...NCVNC...->

...NCVC....

Across

languages,

there is variation

whether

or not

or both

one

which dissimilation

clusters

in terms of the productivity

must

be

homorganic,

and

of the rule,

the domain

across

occurs. InNhanda,

nasal dissimilation is limited to four mor? to stems (with /-lu/ suffixed bimoraic /-nggu/

the ergative/instrumental allomorph for longer stems); the locative suffix /-nggu/, which shows no such allo morphy ; the ambulative suffix /-nggula/; and the locative path suffix /-nggalu/ (see Section 3.2.l[d]). (Historically, it is likely that nasal dissimilation had its origins in a single morpheme *-nggu which served as ergative, instrumental, and locative.) In (24), column I shows the target suffixes of dissimilation in non-dissimilation phemes:

forms. Nasal dissimilation in contexts, while the column II shows dissimilated Nhanda is triggered only by preceding homorganic NC clusters (written as NjCj). Non-homorganic

NC

clusters

as

in thurnba,

wunyba,

etc.

do

not

trigger

dissimila?

tion. The one exception to this generalization is parnba 'hard ground', which gers dissimilation on following locative suffixes (see Section 3.2.1 [d]).

trig?

In (24) dissimilation applies across a single intervening vowel, while in (25) aVrV string separates the trigger and target of dissimilation, where Ixl is the rhotic

32

Phonology

to test glide. No words with VwV or VyV between relevant clusters could be found whether dissimilation would apply as well in these contexts. (24) Nasal

across

dissimilation

a single

Gloss

I

vowel II

Gloss

ergative/instr mambu-gu

'bone-ERG'

kumdi-gu

'club-ERG'

'dove-erg'

minyju-gu

'purse-ERG'

yani-nggu

'stump-LOc'

mambu-gu

'bone-Loc'

parlu-nggu

'hill-LOC'

kurndi-gu

'club-Loe'

parnba-gu

'ground-LOc'

nyarlu-nggu

'woman-ERG'

yini-nggu

'name-ERG'

thurnba-nggu locative

path

locative parlu-nggalu

'hill-PATH'

urndu-galu

'back-PATH'

yuthu-nggalu

'thicket-path'

parnba-galu

'ground-PATH'

'dance-amb'

anyja-gula

'shove-AMB'

'put-AMB'

ingga-gula

'give-AMB'

wumba-gula

'hide-AMB'

ambulative anhi-nggula a ij -nggula wunyba

nggula

'whistle-AMB'

dissimilation

(25) Nasal

across

VrV

wanyja-ra-gula

'throw-30BL-AMB'

wumbu-ra-gula

'urinate-30BL-AMB'

wunangga-ra-gula

'laugh-30BL-AMB'

Though itmight appear that a rule of nasal dissimilation can be simply for? mulated to target any morpheme beginning with /-nggu.../ this is not the case. The allative suffix /-nggu/ is homophonous with target morphemes, but, as shown by the examples in (26) it does not undergo nasal dissimilation. (26) NO

DISSIMILATION

yatka-ndha gO-NPAST

He's going yatka-ndha go-NPAST He's

going

OF/-nggu/ALLATIVE

minda-nggu h0USe-ALL

to the house. mangga-nggu nest-ALL to the nest.

33

2

CHAPTER

is stated in (27).

The rule I propose cluster

(27) Nasal

??

Nj

0

dissimilation loc,

...]{erg/instr,

/NjCjf-consl^Cj

This rule states that in a sequence of homorganic any

of

number

[-consonantal]

clusters separated by

nasal-stop or glides),

vowels

(i.e.,

segments

path,amb}

where

the

second

cluster is initial in the ergative/instrumental, locative, locative path, or ambulative the nasal of the second cluster deletes. Table 2-6 summarizes the morphemes, between differences the -nggu suffixes in morpho-phonological homophonous Nhanda.

Table

suffixed tominimal-word undergoes

in homophonous

2-6. Differences

base only

nasal dissimilation

-nggu suffixes

-nggu erg/instr

-nggu LOC

-nggu ALL

yes

no

no

yes

yes

no

As noted by Dixon (1980:216-18) and McConvell (1988), nasal-cluster dis? rules are found in Aboriginal languages across Australia, and do not appear to be confined to any particular genetic grouping or geographic region. similation

with

Languages

similar

dissimilation

nasal-cluster

rules

include:

Arabana

(Hercus

(Austin 1981); Gooniyandi 1990:98); Kalkatungu 1994); Diyari (McGregor (Blake 1979); the Ngayarda languages Panyjima (Dench 1991:135), Ngarluma, and Yinyjiparnti (Wordick 1982:33); and the Ngumpin languages Gurindji, Jam, Mudbura, and Ngarinyman (McConvell 1988). Interestingly, however, none of the languages bordering Nhanda (Malgana, Wajarri, Yingkarda, Nyungar) shows this nor

feature,

do

the Kanyara

and Mantharta

languages

which

intervene

between

in Panyjima and the Ngayarda dissimilation languages. Nasal-cluster effects allomorphs -ngga 'locative' and -nggu 'agentive' (both suffixed tominimal word bases only) which alternate with -ga and -gu respectively when preceded by

Nhanda

a

homorganic

cluster.

nasal-stop

Unlike

Nhanda,

Panyjima

has

no

other

-NC-ini

so that the rule can be generalized to all lexically derived NjCjVNjC? there is an even more general sequences. In Yinyjiparnti (Wordick 1982:33-35) rule of nasal-cluster dissimilation which applies to any derived NCV(R)NjCj tial suffixes,

sequence, where the second NC cluster is homorganic and peripheral, and the ini? tial NC cluster need not be homorganic. In Nhanda NC-initial pronominal clitics -nyja 'throw

2SGSubj,

Panyjima -mba

-rnda

off-FUT-2SGDo'

does

2SGD0

do

which

not

dissimilation:

undergo as

translates

the clitic -mba does not dissimilate. undergo

nasal

dissimilation.

34

'he'll

throw

wanyjayatpa-ndha-mda you

off.

But in Yinyjiparnti

Similarly,

in

the topic clitic

Phonology

2.7 Loan Word Phonology A fair number of English loans have been taken into Nhanda since European con? tact. All English borrowings are marked (Eng.) in the vocabulary. A discussion of these loans is revealing, as it highlights certain aspects of Nhanda sound patterns which are inviolable, and others which are not absolute. One inviolable constraint appears to be the consonant inventory. No new consonant phones appear in the loan vocabulary. English sibilants [s,z J] axe typ? ically realized as palatals /c,j/, while labiodental fricatives [f ,v] are realized as include capa 'supper'; cijici 'scissors'; nayapu bilabial stops /p,b/. Examples 'knife'. English vowels are normally matched with their closest Nhanda phoneme, as

in pibarlu

occurs:

'paper';

coopu

'soap',

cat'.

'pussy

puci

of

extension

However,

vowel

also

phones

'Walkaway'.

Wagaweyi

In Section 2.5 a minimal word constraint was proposed for Nhanda, stating bimoraic and disyllabic. This constraint pervades not that words are minimally Two additional phonotactic the native vocabulary, but loan words as well. only constraints that extend from the native vocabulary to loans are that words in the Northern dialect may not end in consonants clusters

are barred

in syllable

other than /ng, w/, and that consonant

onsets.

In order to satisfy theMinimal Word Constraint (page 29), vowels of English are realized as long inNhanda, independent of their length/tense? monosyllables ness specification in English. English monosyllables with short/lax vowels which have been borrowed 'grog',

Nhanda

include:

'gun', Nhanda

I assume

kiraaku.

that

kaanu;

the final

vowels

'whip', Nhanda wiipu; in these

words

are

and

inserted

to eliminate

illicit word-final consonants (and possibly simultaneously to render forms What is is remarkable that these word-final epen? monosyllabic disyllabic). thetic vowels (and apparently the initial epenthetic vowel in kiraaku) do not 'count' for the purposes of theMinimal Word Constraint. If they did, we would expect alizations

unattested are:

*kanu, ciipu

*wipu,

'sheep',

*kiraku. coopu

Other

'soap',

borrowings kuuki

'cook',

indicating naata

and

these 'note'.

gener? One

other possibility to consider is that vowel length in these loans is simply the inter? pretation of English stress inNhanda. That is, English stressed vowels are consis? tently realized as Nhanda long vowels. But this is disconfirmed by loans like capa 'supper' and cijici 'scissors', which have initial short vowels inNhanda. I conclude then that vowel length inmonosyllabic English source words is a consequence of theMinimal Word Constraint. Fleshing out this analysis will allow for a straightforward account of further generalizations concerning English loans. Let us imagine that a word like English as Nhanda /wip/. Syllabification of this 'whip' is at some level phonemicized a a monomoraic with final consonant yields /wi.

/, syllable unsyllabified (angled brackets indicate extrasyllabic Word Constraint, vowel lengthening

elements). In order to satisfy theMinimal occurs, yielding /wii.

/; finally, final 35

2

CHAPTER

vowel epenthesis applies to allow syllabification of the stray consonant, giving the surface form wiipu. Now consider the loans milgi 'milk' and wampu 'swamp'. like other two vowel forms show initial don't these English lengthening Why are as us that the In this let words case, imagine phonemicized monosyllables? results in /mil./ and /wam.

/. /milg/ and /wamp/. Initial syllabification Recall from the discussion of stress in Section 2.4 that word-final closed syllables count as heavy inNhanda. Therefore, no vowel lengthening occurs, as these forms are already bimoraic, and satisfy theMinimal Word Constraint. Epenthesis occurs, as in other C-final source words, to syllabify the final stray consonant. Interestingly, although the phonotactic constraints against word-final conso? nants appear to hold in loans, this is not true of at least one constraint on word-ini? in the tial consonants. Recall that apical consonants do not occur word-initially Nhanda native vocabulary. However, there are apical-initial English loans: damba nani

'damper'; dle';

'nanny

goat';

naata

'note

(of money)';

nayapu

'knife';

niilu

'nee?

'tea'.

tiyi

I have found no loans with source words ending in [n,w]. Unfortunately, cannot I determine whether the different treatment of word-final and Therefore, consonants

word-initial

to syllable-

is related

could be that final-vowel epenthesis ating a general constraint inNhanda on

the

formed

other

hand

in Nhanda.

tial evidence active

one

are

tolerated

since

Alternatively,

versus

feature-based

It

constraints.

applies to any word-final consonant, instanti? against word-final consonants; initial apicals, words

consonant-initial

the apical-initial

that the constraint against word-initial

loans

could

apicals

are be

well generally as poten?

taken

is not a synchronically

in Nhanda.

2.8 Historical

Phonology

has been classified as a Kartu language by O'Grady et al. (1966) on the list of 100 lexical items. The basis of cognate densities based on a Swadesh-type Kartu subgroup is usually taken to include Badimaya, Malgana, Nhanda, Wajarri, and Yingkarta. However, Blevins (1999) demonstrates thatNhanda differs in sig?

Nhanda

nificant structural ways from other Kartu languages, and suggests had a long period of independent development.

thatNhanda

has

Nhanda historical phonology is treated in Blevins and Marmion (1994) and Blevins (1999). Nhanda has undergone a number of sound changes which are not shared by any other purported Kartu language, but which do regularly reflect Proto-Pama-Nyungan (pPN) or Proto-Nhanda-Kartu (pNhK) forms, where this second grouping likely includes other Nyungic languages. Here I summarize the main sound changes in the history of Nhanda. These sound changes are responsi? context. ble for some of the striking features of Nhanda within the Pama-Nyungan Page numbers

in square brackets refer to O'Grady 36

and Tryon

(1990).

Phonology

Loss

2.8.1 Initial Consonant As mentioned to two

distinct

earlier, Nhanda of

patterns

has many vowel-initial consonant

initial

loss.

can be traced

words. These

In one,

the

sound

is con?

change

ditioned by the phonetic properties of the consonantal target; in another, initial an utterance-initial speech dropping is viewed as the result of grammaticization of pattern typical of many Australian languages (Blevins, to appear). The first sound change involves loss of word-initial bilabial stops. Because to pre-Nhanda did not have a voicing contrast in initial position, this rule applied as and illustrative b. rule here The written the single bilabial stop word-initially, data are given in (28). In reconstructed forms and comparative data, the voiced stop symbols are used in languages where there is no obstruent voicing contrast. There is also internal evidence for this sound change. Compare the augmentative suffix

-barta meaning

a lot' with

'big, many,

the free

nominal

artarda

a lot'.

'many,

*b > 0/ ##_ (Pre-Nhanda) 'Vtr bite, sting'[220]; pNhK *baja- 'to bite': NHA aja-;WAJ pPN *baja-2 MAL BAD baja; bajani; YS baja-lanyi 'to drink'; YN baja-;

(28)Initial

b-LOSs:

'to eat'.

baja-lanyi

pPN *bal-lu 'that+ ERG' [210]; pNhK *bala '3sg deictic pronoun': NHA WAJ bala; BAD nabala 'something'.

ala;

pPN *bal-nya 'that+ ACC [210]; pNhK *banha '3sg deictic pronoun': NHA anha; WAJ banha; BAD banha. pNhK *baba 'water':NHA apa;WAJ, MAL, YS baba. pPN *bamdi- 'Vtr smell, sniff [251]; pNhK *barndi- 'to smell': NHA YS

barndi-;

WAJ

BAD

barndi-;

arndi-;

bandiya.

pPN *birri 'nail, claw' [84]; pNhK *birri 'nail':NHA

idi;WAJ birri; YS birri

'fingernail'.

pPN *buma 'tohit' [127]; pNhK *bumabuma-nha;

BAD

'tohit (w/ hand)': NHA uma-; WAJ

'hit-FUT'; MAL

buwa

YN

bumbarnu;

bumarra-lanyi.

The rule in (28) suggests that initial bilabial obstruents weaken directly to zero, without first leniting to *w .This is supported by the existence of w-initial forms inNhanda which reflect *w-initial proto-forms as in (29). (29) Nhanda

retention

of

initial

*w

'speak':NHA, WAJ, YS, YN, BAD wangga; MAL

pKM, pNhK *wanggawanggi-. pPN

*warla MAL

pKM,

pNhK

'water, warla *warra-

egg,

head':

warla

NHA

'head,

egg'', WAJ

warla

'egg'

;

'egg'. 'sing': NHA

wada-;

WAJ

warra-;

YS

warra-lanyi.

pKM, pNhK *wigi 'saliva, foam': NHA wigi; WAJ wirrgi, wilhgi wigi; YN wigi.

37

'wet';YS

2

CHAPTER

The

only

Amangu

to this scenario is Goldsworthy's bit of counterevidence (1886b) 'bark (of tree)', which may be a writing of purtpi, corresponding

poopi

to Nhanda

wurtpi,

'skin'.

urtpi

In addition to the regular loss of *b, initial consonants were lost through gen? eral phrase-initial dropping. I suggest that the variable rule in (30), which charac? terizes modern Nhanda, existed in Pre-Nhanda as well. Rule (30) states that consonants have a tendency to be dropped after pause, i.e., at the beginning of an utterance or phonological phrase (Blevins, to appear). C-loss (30) Utterance/Phrase-initial *C > 0/ //_ (Pre-Nhanda)

(variable)

As a result of (30), words which regularly occurred in utterance/phrase-ini? tial position, could be reanalyzed as vowel initial. Kinship terms (used as voca? tives), the word 'dog' (used to call a dog), as well as terms of endearment and deictics are typically phrase initial in their vocative/deictic ('sweetheart'), functions, where they occur as single-word utterances. This is precisely the class of words that have been reanalyzed as V-initial through the operation of rule (30). Examples are given in (31). (31)

Initial

in common

C-loss

pPN

mother';

'brother-in-law';

WAJ

*kantharri

pNhK

single-word

'mother's

"kami

utterances

pNhK

BAD

garni;

'grandmother,

'father's

*kami

father':

NHA

ami

'grandparents'

garni

sisters':

grandmother's

NHA

WAJ,

anthadi;

YN, YS kantharri pPN

'father'

*maamang

*mama

[80]; pNhK

'father': NHA

ama; WAJ,

YN,

YS, MAL mama 'sweetheart,

pNhK*martu-ngu tungu;

MAL

martiji

spouse': 'married

NHA

artungu;

WAJ,

YN,

YS

mar

woman'

pNhK, pMAN *thuthu 'dog (tame)': NHA BAD, YS thuthu

uthu; WAJ, MAL, YN

tuthu;

pNhK *yaku 'mother':NHA aku,WAJ yagu The majority of vowel-initial words inNhanda are the result of the two sound changes (28) and (30). However, there are some vowel-initial words that call for additional explanations. For instance, atpi- 'tie' inNhanda appears to be cognate with

Proto-Kartu

*garrbi-,

Proto-Mantharta

radic instance of initial g-loss. While still call for additional explanations.

2.8.2 Word-initial

*garrbi-ru,

examples

and

could

illustrate

of this sort are not numerous,

a spo?

they

Lenition

In addition to the rules of word-initial consonant loss just discussed, two diachro lenitions are evidenced inNhanda. First, there is weakening of *j nic word-initial to y with conditions as spelled out in (32a,b). The post-vocalic in conditions

38

Phonology

(32a,b) block lenition in earlier forms of Nhanda words like citkada 'echidna' (cf. Wajarri jiri 'prickle') and cutka 'arm' (cf.Wajarri jurlga 'upper arm'). of initial palatals (32) Lenition a. *j > y / ## _ in (Pre-Nhanda) pPN *jinang 'foot' [91]; pNhK *jina 'foot':NHA yina;WAJ, BAD, YS, YN, MAL ji?a. > _ b. *j y/ ## urC (Pre-Nhanda) pNhK *jurnda 'thigh':NHA yurdu; WAJ pNhK *jurdu 'sister': NHA yurdu; WAJ A second process, shown in (33), weakens before high back vowels that themselves are not atals

and

jurdu. jurdu. velar stops to homorganic glides followed by high consonants (pal?

velars).

(33) Lenition

of

*k > w/

initial

velars

[_ u X

(where X is not a palatal or velar consonant)

pPN *gumbu 'urine,bladder'; pNhK *gumbuYS, YN, BAD gumbu. pPN *guna guna;

'faeces':NHA wuna; WAJ

'faeces'; pNhK *guma YS

yurna

'rotten'

'urine':NHA wumbu; WAJ,

MAL ;

gurna; BAD

gunda.

'heart':NHA wurdudu; WAJ, BAD, pPN *gurdu 'heart';pNhK*gurdu=rdu YS gurdurdu. pNhK, pMAN *gurda '(older) brother': NHA wurda; WAJ, MAL, YN, YS gurda; BAD gurra. pNhK, pMAN YN

*gurlga 'ear':NHA wurtka; WAJ, BAD gurlga; MAL

gulga;

to'.

'hear,listen

gurlgari-nyi

pNhK, pKM *gudharra 'two':NHA wuthada; WAJ,YS,YN, MAL gudharra; BAD gudharra, gudha. The constraint on the postvocalic consonant in (33) is necessary because of forms like Nhanda kucidu 'hungry' (cf. BAD gulyjirr), and kulyuru 'wet' (cf. YN gulyi-rri-nyi

'swim'),

where

an

initial

*g

is maintained

before

a

u-palatal

sequence.

the rule to all initial *gu sequences not followed by high conso? By generalizing nants, the Nhanda dative suffix -wu (presumably from pPN purposive *-gu) can also be viewed as exemplifying this sound change. For a summary of Australian languages, including Nhanda, that have under? see Blevins (to gone both initial consonant loss and initial consonant weakening, appear).

2.8.3 Fortition There is good comparative evidence that lateral-obstruent and rhotic-obstruent clusters in Pre-Nhanda have undergone fortition, becoming voiceless stops. As discussed in Section 2.3, Nhanda has no rhotic-obstruent clusters, and only a few 39

2

CHAPTER

lateral-obstruent

anomalous

clusters

obstruent-obstruent

but

clusters,

com?

are

mon. The rule of sonorant fortition is given in (34) with comparative data support? ing this sound change. fortition

(34) Sonorant

>

*[+son,-nas] pNhK

*jurlga

V_[-sonorant]

[-sonorant]/

'arm': NHA

cutka

'arm; elbow';

WAJ

'upper

jurlga

arm;

elbow'; MAL

jungga. pNhK *gurlga 'ear':NHA wurtka; WAJ, BAD gurlga; MAL 'hear,

gurlgari-nyi

listen

gulga; YN

to'.

'ko tree, used formaking digging

pNhK *malga 'hard, strong':NHA matka sticks';WAJ malga.

pitkili 'bald, shiny';WAJ bilygili 'swamp';

pNhK *bilygili 'bare, shiny': NHA BAD bilygi 'clean'.

pNhK *yirrga 'coals':NHA yitka; WAJ yirrgaru, yirrgalyi 'charcoal'; YS yir rgalyi; YN yigaru. pNhK

was Nhanda ther

'tie'; pMAN

*garrbi-

'tie': NHA

*garrbi-ru

YS

atpi-;

garrbi-lanyi.

Though all the words in (34) involve fortition of a post-tonic liquid, fortition not limited to this prosodie position in Nhanda. Consider the following where

words,

on

obstruent

'funny';

'wink';

milutpa-

In all of

'meanwhile'.

clusters,

word:

in the prosodie

ijanatpa-

presumably 'send

these

cases,

along';

'wipe';

thadatpathe

string

of

the same

pa

'cough';

kanggatpa-

wurtkatpa-

origin,

'sleep'; with

corresponds

occur

far?

kuwirtpa

wutkatpacadi

modern

Nhanda

-ba, a verbalizer.

It is possible that sonorant fortition and post-tonic lengthening/devoicing of in which stop closure obstruents (see Section 2.8.4) were related developments arose,

or was

increased

following

vowels.

stressed

of the Voicing Contrast

2.8.4 Origins

The obstruent voicing contrast discussed in Section 2.1 and Section 2.5 appears to have arisen from two distinct processes. In the first case, the fortition rule in (34) was followed by total assimilation between adjacent obstruents, resulting in gem? inate voiceless total assimilation (35) Total

stops, which then contrasted with non-geminate rule is stated in (35).

assimilation

in obstruent

clusters

voiced

stops. The

(in progress)

[-son] [-son] There

is evidence

ation of Nhanda witku,

wiku

'belly';

that this sound change was still in progress with the last gener? speakers. Variation occurs inmany obstruent clusters including: wicka,

wika

'fish';

and

of the Nhanda words with non-alternating

40

yitka,

yika

'coals'.

intervocalic

Unfortunately,

voiceless

many

stops lack cog

Phonology nates in neighboring languages. But where there are cognates, they support the For analysis. example, compare Nhanda kucidu 'hungry' with Badimaya gulyjirr. In this case, the historical sequence would be *guljirru > *gutcidu > guccidu = Nhanda

kucidu.

A

second

source

post-tonic gemination, ately follows the main

or geminate intervocalic voiceless obstruents is a consonant short becomes when it immedi? whereby long of

stress vowel. It is difficult to specify other triggering fac? tors, though the comparisons in (36) suggest that gemination in this environment forms. may reflect vowel length in Proto-Pama-Nyungan (36) POST-TONIC GEMINATION *baba 'water':NHA

pPN *bAyba'water'[259]; pNhK, pMAN MAL, YN, YS baba.

apa;WAJ,

pPN *yaaju 'west' [92]: NHA wacu; KNJ aajul; UMP iijul;GRY yaju 'east'. pPN *gaajung 'son, child' [100]:NHA aaci 'little boy, little fella'. As discussed in Section 2.1, word-initial due to borrowing.

2.8.5 The Origins

of Glottal

contrastive voicing

is limited, and likely

Stop

As

already exemplified, glottal stop has phonemic status in Nhanda, though it appears to carry a low functional load. The variation shown in (7), and the com? plementary distribution detailed in Table 2-5 suggest that intervocalic glottal stop has arisen from the loss (or weakening) of intervocalic glides in homorganic or Rules sequences. (37i,ii) involve slight modifications glide/vowel vowel/glide of those in Blevins (37) Glide

and Marmion

(1995), based on additional data.

weakening

i.

iy

> il

Vyi > V?i Vwu > V?u

ii.

?w > ul

This historical change is viewed as a two-step process: first, the loss of glide fea? tures in surface iy/yi and uw/wu sequences; and then the spell-out of the 'feature? less' glide as glottal stop. The sound changes in (37i,ii) are posited primarily on the basis of internal reconstruction. Interestingly, most forms with contrastive glottal stop lack cog? nates inmost West Australian languages. The only possible exception isNhanda ku'arlu

'good',

kuwa

from

presumably

'yes', Wajuk

and Nyungar

*ku'arlu, kwa

'yes',

where and

Wajarri

kwaba

and

Badimaya

show

'good'.

A

second origin of glottal stop is the reflex of *rC clusters (r, the rhotic or intervocalic rhotic glides. The proposed sound change is shown in (38) glide), with supporting potential cognate sets. This sound change is triggered by *w{?,?}r

ments,

sequences,

i.e.,

tonic

CVC

and results in post-glottalization

sequences

of

[-consonantal,

+back]

seg?

of the rhotic, giving rise to rhotic-glottal 41

2

CHAPTER

stop clusters. If the rhotic is originally followed by a consonant, that consonant is realized as a glottal stop. The only Nhanda rhotic-glottal stop cluster that cannot is that inmar'u 'rainbird', which contrasts be accounted for by this development with

maru

'dark'.

(38)POST-RHOTIC GLOTTALIZATIONINPRE-NHANDA *w{?,?}r(C)

>w{?,?}r? *warbu

Pre-Nhanda

'afternoon

*wurbara

Pre-Nhanda

wurrbarla; Pre-Nhanda

Warlpiri

Pre-Nhanda

dark': NHA

Arrernte

wur'ara;

garrbu

sunset'. P/L

urrberle;

yurrpurlu.

'stone': NHA

*wurga

'sun'; Panyjima towards

'afternoon

garbala

'black,

war'u

NHA

'sun, sunlight':

sun'; WJK

Jiwarli

wur'a;

'big rock'.

wurrgara

*wuru 'buttocks':NHA wur'u; P/L wurru (nyinangu) *warra

Proto-Paman

murru

WAJ

'haunches';

'fat in emu

'bad'[36];

muru

rear'; NY

Pre-Nhanda

'buttocks'.

'bad': NHA

*wara

war'a;

NY

warra. 'tie'; Proto-Mantharta

pNhK*garrbi-

'tie': NHA

*garrbi-ru

atpi-;

YS

garrbi-lanyi.

The sound changes in (38) are similar to those proposed by O'Grady (1976) for Umpila, a Paman language. In Umpila Proto-Paman *r (glide) descends as Umpila glottal stop and Proto-Paman *lb and *rb descend as r'. Closer toNhanda country,

Moore

(1842:viii)

scribed

as

as follows:

rh-r,

describes

certain

intervocalic

tran?

in Nyungar,

rhotics

In some few words h will be found interposed between two r's, as inMarh-ra (the hand) Warh-rang this is the (three). When case, the first r is to be aspirated. This is an attempt to explain in letters a sound which hearing and practice alone can enable any one

to understand

and acquire. This

obscure

indistinct

sound...

One can be fairly certain thatMoore's use of the term 'aspirated' in this context refers to aspiration, and not glottalization, since elsewhere (p. 47), in describing the interjection i'i 'yes', he describes it as being pronounced 'gutturally'. Clearly, a distinction breathiness

is being made on

the one

hand,

between and

contrasting

states: aspiration

laryngeal

on

or creakiness

laryngealization

the other.

or

Inter?

estingly, this aspiration of rhotics inNyungar occurs only between back vowels, and only occurs in post-tonic position. A complete list of intervocalic rh-r roots is given in (39). Some of these words may have Nhanda cognates. from Moore Compare, Nyungar

for warh-ro

example, 'knoll,

Nyungar hillock'with

marh-ra Nhanda

42

'hand' wur'a

with

Nhanda

'rock,

stone'.

mara

'hand',

or

Phonology

rh-r

(39) Nyungar

Gloss

1842

Moore

'a scar; any mark

barh-ran

'small

dtarh-ra

of a wound' the barb of a spear'

sort of knife;

gurh-ra

'Macropus

mahr-rok

'yesterday'

marh-ra

'the hand'

morh-rogodo

'tomorrow'

murh-ro

'charcoal'

warh-rang

'three'

warh-ral

'whirlwind'

warh-ro

'a knoll,

the brush

caeruleus,

a hillock,

kangaroo'

an acclivity'

The interest of these forms is in the parallelism of development of a possible laryn? geal specification in a similar environment to that proposed for Nhanda in (38). For Nyungar, the sound change in (40) could be proposed. rhotic

(40) Nyungar

aspiration

*{?,?}R{a,u} > {?,?}Rh{a,u} developments of intervocalic rhotics inNhanda are similar to those in and Nyungar, I am unaware of any evidence suggesting that these sound Umpila are changes historically related. While

2.8.6 The Fate of Initial Apicals Word-initial no

initial

apical apicals

consonants have

been

are not

or Proto-Kardu.

Proto-Ngayarda,

found

reconstructed Initial

in the native for

apicals,

Nhanda

however,

and

vocabulary Proto-Mantharda,

Proto-Kanyara, have

been

reconstructed

roots and the development of these initial for a number of Proto-Pama-Nyungan apicals has been taken as important evidence for subgrouping among Australian languages (Dixon, 1980; Evans 1988; Hendrie 1990). In Table 2-7 I list possible Nhanda cognates of some of Hendrie's (1990) posited protoforms with initial apicals ('+' indicates a slight alteration of his protoform based on additional comparative evidence). It should be noted thatHen? drie's

reconstructions

are

speculative,

and

are

not

the

result

of

rigorous

use

of

the

comparative method. Nevertheless, adding Nhanda data to these sets should aid future historical work. The most notable aspect of these potential correspondences isNhanda w < *t. Other possible reflexes of initial apical consonants are zero and alveopalatal

c.

43

Table Hendrie

2-7.

Initial

apical

Nhanda

1990

correspondences Gloss

pPN *taakun

wagu=rla

pNYY *tala!

wala-ka-ba

scavenge

wala-jadi

'storm

clouds'

warndu

'throat,

neck,

wardu-mba

'whirlwind'

warduwardu

'ko tree with

wadula

'long,

witpa

'sweat'

wurnda

'shield'

pNYY *tala2 pNYY *tantu pPN

*tarra

pNY *tartu *tawa

pNYY

pNPN *tiyi (PIN tiitiirr-pa) * pNY

turna

pPN *tiika pDN *tilti * +pPN tiling

'hole

in ground'

?ga

'stand up'

icici-ba

'hurt, be painful'

ili

'dry'

atpi

pNYY *larra

arda

'cut, split,

pPN

idaji

'tooth'

utudu

'earth,

pNYY

*rurra

(GUP

rurrurr)

'tie'

catka

'burned,

pPN

calya

'glad,

citka=da

'echidna'

*ralyang

to chop'

sand,

pPN *lalka

+pNPN *tirrkang

pods'

tall'

pNYY *titi (PIN titirr-pa)

*rirrang

gullet'

dried

happy'

ground' out'

3

Morphology

In this section I describe word structure inNhanda. It is useful inNhanda to draw a distinction between phonological words and morphological or syntactic words. are words defined the in (41). Phonological by properties words

phonological

(41) Defining

a. A phonological

word can be delimited

b. A phonological

word has exactly one main

c. A phonological

word must obey theMinimal Word Constraint.

by pause. stress.

d. A phonological word is the domain of the default rule that spells out unmarked word-initial obstruents as voiceless. e. A phonological

is the unit identified by the native speaker as a

word

'word'.

words are lexical categories and are the minimal concatenative Morphological units in phrase formation; they may consist of bare stems, they may be the ouput of word-formation or they may be processes (suffixation and/or compounding), clitics.

In Nhanda,

as

in many

other

Pama-Nyungan

languages,

a single

phonolog?

ical word may consist of two morphological words, and a single morphological word may be divided into two phonological words. For example, the word 'what-DAT-2SGSUBj'

nh?a-wu-nyja

is

a

single

phonological

word

by

criteria

(41a,b,c,e). Yet, both nh?awu 'why' and the second singular subject clitic -nyja define distinct morphological words (in fact the pronoun could be considered a noun On the other hand, a single morphological word inNhanda syntactic phrase). like w?rla-p?tkili

'bald' (literally 'head-bald'), a compound, appears to contain two there are two main stresses in this case (though w?rla-pitkili phonological is another possible pronunciation), and the second word begins with a voiceless stop (41d). Of course, in the majority of cases, the phonological word and mor? phological word coincide inNhanda, but it is important to keep in mind that this need not be the case. words:

Word languages. word

structure inNhanda Suffixation

formation.

Nominal

has much

and compounding stems

can

appear

in common with other Pama-Nyungan are the only two productive types of as words,

while

bare

verb

stems

gen?

erally do not appear alone and must be inflected. Two properties of Nhanda word structure set it apart from neighboring lan? guages. First, it has unique verbal inflectional paradigms, including distinctive 45

CHAPTER

3

forms for irregular verbs. Second, Nhanda has three distinct sets of bound pro? nouns or clitics. Each set encodes a different grammatical function and has a dif? host. A discussion of bound pronouns is included in this ferent phonological are clearly subparts of the phonological word. elements since these chapter

3.1 Parts of Speech If parts of speech are defined by grammatical egories are defined for Nhanda:

criteria alone, then the following

includes open-class common nouns, (semantic) adjectives, Nomin?is: closed class of demonstratives and interrogatives/indefinites.

cat?

and the

personal free and bound pronouns, proper nouns (but see below).

Pronouns:

Verbs: includes words with tense/aspect includes

Adverbs:

non-inflecting

and

manner,

locational,

temporal,

adverbs thatmodify

gorematic

inflections. syncate

phrases.

includes non-inflecting words with special discourse functions. Interjections are always initial in the intonational phrase, and form indepen? dent phonological phrases.

Interjections:

are

Nomin?is Section

those and

3.2.1

words Section

that can

take and

3.2.2,

nominal

the basic that

take

case

ergative/absolutive

in

described

inflections

marking

the when functioning as subject/object of transitive verbs respectively. Within class of nomin?is there is a small class of bound nominal stems that only occur in derived forms. These are discussed further in Section 3.2.8. All nomin?is can be the

element

sole

a noun

within

phrase;

all can

take

case

nominal

marking;

all

can

as predicate nomin?is; all can modify other nomin?is within the noun all can occur with the comitative suffix -waa (which might otherwise and phrase; which mark proximity from the be seen as adjective forming). Demonstratives, can most and interrogatives/indefinites profitably be viewed as subclasses speaker, of nomin?is, as they take the same range of case inflections. The major difference function

these

between

tives/indefinites, as other

suffixes

two classes of nomin?is is that demonstratives and interroga? as closed class items, do not take the same range of derivational nomin?is.

For

this

reason,

are discussed

they

in separate

tions. Though nomin?is and pronouns have identical external distribution of heading noun phrases, these parts of speech can be distinguished

subsec?

in terms by case

frames.

can be distinguished from nomin?is in functioning within a case-marking system. However, the pronominal dual suffix

Most pronouns nominative/accusative -thada

complicates

pronouns a

couple

of

since

this picture,

are bound pronouns spontaneous

ergative

forms

that are described

utterances

illustrating

46

also

occur.

A

special

class

of

in Section 3.3.2. There are only

the use

of proper

nouns

in the

syn

Morphology I have suggest that proper names function within

tax. The few examples inative/accusative

of

system

case-marking

since

pronouns,

they

the nom? take

obligatorily

-nha in direct object position. However, in elicited data, proper names as subjects of transitive verbs were judged grammatical both with and without the ergative case suffix, undermining a definitive classification. Due to the scarcity of data, nouns

proper

are not

discussed

further.

Verbs are distinguished from other word classes by a distinctive set of deri? and inflectional suffixes. There are two major open verb classes in Nhanda, distinguished by radically different conjugations. One class ismade up primarily of unaccusative verbs (verbs with single arguments that function as deep objects), while the other consists mainly of unergative verbs (transitive or intran? sitive verbs with deep subjects). vational

Adverbs are distinguished from all other categories by their failure to inflect. Adverbs typically modify verbs, verb phrases, or sentences. Finally, the class of interjections includes words that typically stand on their own as complete utterances. They are also invariant, but differ from adverbs in function. Quite often they have a very specific discourse lacking any modifying function,

and

affect.

express

3.2 Nominal Morphology Generally, case

frames.

sentences,

nomin?is

can be distinguished occur

Nomin?is are

and

in ergative

the only

tional suffixes described

from pronominals and can

that

category

absolutive occur

cases

with

the

in Nhanda in simple full range

by their transitive of deriva?

in Section 3.2.4.

3.2.1 Case Suffixes Case

marking

on

common

nouns

is always

ergative/absolutive.

Proper

nouns

are

rare in the corpus outside of placenames, making it difficult to identify case frames in simple transitive and intransitive sentences. In addition to the basic ergative and absolutive cases, nomin?is often take what looks like the (pronominal) accusative suffix -nha in direct object position. The distribution of this suffix suggests a strong association with specificity: where a specific object is designated, -nha can be used, but it is ungrammatical with nonspecific referents. Because this suffix is obviously

related

to accusative

-nha

and

only

surfaces

on

direct

object

nomin?is,

I have included it as a case inflection. 3.2.1.1 Ergative/absolutive In simple intransitive and transitive clauses, case in Nhanda is erga? marking tive/absolutive. This means that the case of the subject of an intransitive clause is identical to the case of the object of a transitive clause; both take the absolutive 47

CHAPTER

case.

3

The

a transitive

of

subject

clause

forms of absolutive

The phonological

has

a

case

unique

referred

to as

'ergative'.

and ergative case suffixes are as follows:

Absolutive:

unmarked

Ergative:

~(ng)gu following minimal

(bimoraic) word stems

-lu elsewhere

their syntactic nomin?is are morphologically Absolutive unmarked, mirroring status as unmarked elements within the nominal paradigm. Ergative nomin?is are marked by two basic allomorphs: -nggu for bimoraic stems, and -lu for longer stems.

I was

to elicit

unable

an

suffix

ergative

on a consonant-final

stem.

O'Grady,

Voegelin, and Voegelin (1966) report -tu/-rtu allomorphs of the ergative, but no (1966). examples are given, and none were found in Hale (1960) or O'Grady Recall that -nggu dissimilates to -gu when preceded by a homorganic NC cluster (Section 2.6.3). As a result of the bimoraic word minimum, nguutu 'horse' and maaca and

are disyllabic

which

'boss', maaca-lu.

but

illustrating

Examples

trimoraic, ergative

occur and

in the ergative case absolutive

as

nguutu-lu

marking

are

case (.abs) is marked in absolutive and elsewhere, glosses for clarity, despite the fact that forms are morphologi? morph-by-morph it is left cally unmarked. Where absolutive case is not the subject of discussion, unmarked. As shown in (42g), case marking may occur on all nomin?is within the given

noun

in (42). Here

or, as

phrase,

in (42h),

(42) Ergative/absolutive a.

pundu

b.

c.

gO-DIR.NFUT

woman-ERG

kangaroo.ABS

woman

nyarlu-nggu

saw

man-ERG The man

badgutu bread

poor-ERG

poor woman

arnmanu-lu

see-PAST

the kangaroo.

munda-gu

woman-ERG

d.

nha-'i

yawarda

The

one.

marking

is coming.

nyarlu-nggu

The

only

yatka-yu

rain.ABS Rain

on case

stole

wur'a rock.ABS shoved

a rock

some

wumba-yi Steal-PPERF

bread.

anyja-tii shove-PAST

wagurla-nggu hole-LOC

into the hole.

48

Morphology

e.

wirda-tii-nha

nguutu-lu horse-ERG The

f.

sgdo

kick-PAST-1

horse

me.

kicked

ala

wardumba

yatkayu

that.ABS

whirlwind.ABS

gO-DIR.NFUT

That

is coming.

whirlwind

arnmanu-lu

kurndi-waa-lu

unhi-nha

man-ERG

club-coM-ERG

hit-1

g.

The man

with

indaacu

h.

big

the club

SGDO

hit me.

uthu-nggu

aja-ndha-wana-na

dog-ERG

bite-FUT-IPL-COLL

The big dog's going to bite all of us. 3.2.1.2

Specific-accusative

Like many

other Australian take

nomin?is

case

tive/accusative

languages, Nhanda case

ergative/absolutive

The

marking.

marking, accusative

has a split ergative system where and

show

pronominals

pronominal

case

nomina?

marker

(see

Section 3.3) is -nha. This same case marker occurs optionally on nominal direct objects that are specific or definite. As in other languages with cognate specificity markers, the association of -nha with pronouns and proper names has led to its as

grammaticization

a

marker.

specific

In Nhanda,

however,

this

marking

is

restricted to direct objects, and could be viewed as the beginning of an incipient triadic ergative/absolutive/accusative case marking system. It is for this reason that

I refer

as

to this morpheme

the

'specific-accusative'.

Examples are given in (43). Parentheses indicate that the sentence is gram? matical with and without the specified morpheme. An asterisk inside the parenthe? ses indicates the sentence is ungrammatical with the an designated morpheme; asterisk outside

the parentheses the designated morpheme.

marking

(43) Specific-accusative a.

nha-'i

nyarlu-nggu

yawarda-(nha)

woman-ERG

kangaroo-sPACC

The b.

indicates the sentence

woman

saw

nyarlu-nggu woman-ERG The

woman

was

see-PAST

the kangaroo.

aya-nu

arnmanu-(nha)

wur'a-wu

ask-PiMPF

man-sPACC

money-DAT

asking

the man

for money.

49

is ungrammatical

without

CHAPTER

c.

3

uthu-nggu

ala-kanu

abarla-(nha)

aja-a

dog-ERG

that-FOC

child-sPACC

bite-PRES

That dog is biting the boy. [KH:63] d.

wur'a-(*nha)

arliba-ga-nha sgdo

lend-iMP-1 Lend

e.

nyarlu-nggu

abarla-*(nha)

woman-ERG

child-sPACC

woman

down

The

f.

money-sPACC

some money.

me

quieted

cindi-nda-yi quiet-CAUS-ppERF the baby.

inggaa-nha

abarla-*

give.IMP-ISGDO

child-sPACC

(nha)

Give me the baby ! g.

inggaa-nha

yawarda-(nha)

give.IMP-ISGDO me

Give

Though

kangaroo-sPACC

the kangaroo!

tory. The occurs

on

(43g),

where

3.2.1.3

generally

there

optional,

were

a

like (43e,f), where Lucy Ryder judged the suffix as obliga?

generalization only a human nominal

pare, for example,

was

marking

specific-accusative

handful of examples

covering (abarla

(43f) where

the object

these 'child';

the object

is non-human,

and

sentences ardu

is that

'spouse';

nyarlu

the

specific 'woman').

marker Com?

is human, and -nha is obligatory, the

same

suffix

and

is optional.

Instrumental

case is used to mark an instrument used in performing the action denoted by the verb, including a body part (44d), or an object not normally used as an instrument (44e). The phonological forms of the instrumental case suffix are as follows: Instrumental

Instrumental:

-(ng)gu following minimal -lu elsewhere

Examples

are provided

in (44).

50

(bimoraic) word stems

Morphology

case marking

(44) Instrumental a.

i'a-yi

ngayi

wana-nggu

wagurla

digging stick-iNST

dig-ppERF hole

lp

I dug a hole with a digging stick. b. ngayi

c.

d.

a bone.

with

yams

ardama-nhaa

ngayi

cut-NPAST

lp

I'm

bone-iNST

dig-ppERF ajuga

lp I dug

ajuga mambu-gu

i'a-yi

yadiwa-lu axe-iNST

stump

to cut the stump with

going

unhi

yani

an axe.

mara-nggu

hit

hand-iNST

[He] hit [him]with [his] hand. e.

unhi-nha

yawarda-lu

hit-1 sgdo

kangaroo-iNST/ERG

[He] hit me with

f.

arnmanu-lu

unhi-nha

man-ERG

hit-1 sgdo The man

g.

a kangaroo./

hit me

with

arda-nu

yadiwa-lu

Chop-PPERF

axe-iNST

The

kangaroo

hit me.

yawarda-lu kangaroo-iNST a kangaroo.

[He] was chopping [it]with an axe. The instrumental suffix is identical in form to the ergative suffix, and has the same allomorphy. These two cases are distinguished by looking at the entire case frame and semantics of the sentence in question. Recall that instrumental /-nggu/, to gu when preceded by a homorganic NC cluster like the ergative, dissimilates (Section 2.6.3). In certain contexts, like (44e), it is ambiguous whether or not the in question is ergative or instrumental. In other sentences, like (44f), morpheme and instrumental cases co-occur and are disambiguated by the semantics ergative of the sentence. Instrumental arguments are typically found with transitive verbs. When

there is no overt object represented,

understood.

51

as in (44g), a direct object

is usually

CHAPTER

3

Locative 3.2.1.4 The locative case serves to mark location in space. The locative case marker suffix (see /-nggu/ shows the same nasal dissimilation as the ergative/instrumental conditioned allomorphy for the loc? Section 2.6.3), but there is no minimal-word ative. Examples of the locative case suffix are given in (45). case marking

(45) Locative a.

ngayi

nyina-nhaa

lp

sit-NPAST

I'm

b.

nyina-nhaa

mambu-gu

lp

sit-NPAST

bone-loc

sitting

marnda-gu-tha

stay-PRES

fly A

on abone.

inyjaa

wadayi

d.

fly

is sitting

on my

nyina-nhaa

[He]

buttocks-LOC-iSGOBL bum.

uthudu-nggu

sit-NPAST

e.

shade-LOC

in the shade.

ngayi

I'm

c.

sitting

malu-nggu

ground-LOC

is sitting

on

the ground.

arnmanu

madi

purndu-gu-ra

atka

man

sore

back-L0C-30BL

have.PRES

The man One

has

a sore on his back.

locative,

parnba-gu

'on

the

hard

ground',

is

unusual

in

that

a

in the locative suffix. non-homorganic NC cluster triggers nasal dissimilation Nasal dissimilation is normally triggered only by homorganic NC clusters (see Section 2.6.3). Originally I viewed parnbagu as an unanalyzable locative nominal, since

the

stem

parnba

never

occurred

without

-gu.

However,

a

further

form,

'along the hard ground', with the locative path suffix, also shows parnba-galu nasal dissimilation, suggesting that both forms are compositional. Locative -nggu is also used to derive locational nouns meaning 'where there are Ns; where Ns live', where N is the nominal base. Some examples of these loca tionals are given in (46). As with other cases of homophonous suffixes, the distinc? tion between a pure locative and a locational noun is usually clear from the context.

52

Morphology

a.

nyina-nhii

thayidi-barta-nggu

sit-PAST

snake-AUG-LOC there are

sat where

[He]

b.

of -nggu

function

(46) Locational

cabi-nggu

nyina-nhii sit-PAST

gecko-LOC

sat where

[He]

lots of snakes.

the geckos

are.

In addition to these nominal forms with regular locative case marking, there are some spatial and temporal locatives that appear to have a lexicalized locative suffix =ngga attached to a nominal stem. While all of these words have stems that in some can occur as free forms, themeaning of the suffixed form is compositional cases,

not

and

in others.

maru=ngga

these

words

takes

the

yuga

'ko clouds'

'yesterday'

cf.

'at night,

cf. maru

in the night'

'night'

cf.

mutha=ngga

'in front'

cf. mutha

mili=ngga

'forehead'

cf. milu

'eye'

'here'

cf.

'this,

'when?'

cf. wandha-

Spatial

inya=ngga wandaa=ga-

loca?

regular

include:

'uphigh; out loud'

ida=ngga

Both

of

locatives

lexicalized

yuga=ngga

Temporal

none

Furthermore,

tive suffix -(ng)gu. These

ida-

inya

'up';

idalu

'north'

'nose'

this one' 'where?'

Finally, a suffix presumably related to the frozen locative =ngga is the loca? tive path suffix -nggalu which can be roughly glossed as 'along, through, beside'. Examples are given in (47). path

(47) Locative a.

suffix

inda-nhii climb

-nggalu

parlu-nggalu

down-PAST

hill-PATH

He climbed down through the hills. b.

marniwirri-nu

kurlayhi-nu river gum-PL The

c.

river

arnmanu man The man

red-PL

red gums

along

gali-nggalu

big-iNCH-NPAST

gully-PATH

the gully

wumba-nhaa

are getting

yuthu-nggalu

hide-NPAST is sneaking

inda-ba-nhaa

thicket-PATH through

the thicket.

53

big.

chapter

d.

3

atkada carry.PRES Carry

e.

ngayi

nose=LOC2

lp

it along

ngayi lp I used

mutha=ngga,

at the front,

I'll come

artpa-nu

parnba-galu

bum-PiMPF

ground-PATH

to burn off

yatka-ndha-yana

urndu-galu

go-NPAST-DiR.FUT

back-PATH

along

behind.

the hard ground.

Notice that -nggalu also undergoes nasal dissimilation, and that again, parnba, with a non-homorganic cluster, exceptionally triggers nasal dissimilation. This last fact suggests that the locative path suffix be analyzed as bimorphemic -ngga-lu. The suffix -ngga appears to be cognate with the locative -ngga allomorph (for minimal word stems only) in neighboring Malgana, Wajarri, Badimaya, and Yingkarta. The doublet purndu 'back' and urndu-galu 'along behind, at the back' suggests that -nggalu is inherited, since the regular rule of initial *b-loss (see Section 2.8.1) pre? dicts

'back'

*purndu

> urndu.

locative suffix -gurtku indicates a location at, alongside, or near the the location is less exact, I refer to this as the 'non-specific locative' (by). This suffix came up in answer to the question 'Where is it?'. As a result, I have no examples in sentencial contexts. Examples include: Another

nominal stem. Because

ina-gurtku

foot'

'by [your] 'on [her]

murna-gurtku

lap'

panggi-gurtku

'near the swag'

purndu-gurtku

'in back

of

[it]'

3.2.1.5 Allative The allative case suffix /-nggu/ serves tomark motion to or toward some point, and is typically used with verbs of motion (48a-e), or verbs that involve an abstract path from one point to another (48f). case marking

(48) Allative a.

ngayi

yatka-ndha

nguda-nggu

lp

go-NPAST

camp-all

I'm going

b.

to the camp.

ngayi

yatka-ndha

Munimaya-nggu

lp

go-NPAST

Northampton-all

I'm going

to Northampton.

54

Morphology

c.

ngayi

yatka-ndha

minda-nggu

lp

go-NPAST

house-all

to the house.

I'm going

d.

ngayi lp

yatka-ndha

agu-nggu-tha

go-NPAST

mother-all-i

to my mother.

I'm going

e.

sgobl

ida-nda-a

parlu-nggu

Up-CAUS-PRES

hill-ALL

[He] is climbing up the hill. f.

ngayi

nhaka see.PRES

lp

wuja-nggu hole-all

I see [him] through the hole. and locative suffixes, the allative case marker the ergative/instrumental as shown by examples like (48c). /-nggu/ does not undergo nasal dissimilation, Examples of the allative case suffix are given in (48) with verbs yatka- 'go',

Unlike

idandabase

'go up,

climb',

and nha-

with

yatka-

'go'.

occur

'look,

see'.

The

of

majority

allatives

Compass terms do not take the allative suffix, though they may allative nomin?is as shown in (49). terms

(49) Compass a.

ala that That

b.

inya this This

without

the

yatka-ndha

i'u,

go-NPAST

south

one's

going

watpa other

and

south,

allative

the other

yatka-ndha

idalu

go-PRES

north

one's

going

arnngalu,

ala

yatka-ndha

go-NPAST

east

that

go-PRES

going

east,

and

that one's

function as

suffix

yatka-ndha

one's

in the data?

going

north.

wacu west

west.

This might lead one to view compass terms as inherently locational. However, shown directly below, they do occur with the ablative suffix -ngu. 3.2.1.6 Ablative The ablative case suffix /-ngu/, exemplified in (50), marks motion some point (50a-f), or the source or origin of an event (50g).

55

as

away from

CHAPTER 3 case marking

(50) Ablative a.

ngayi lp

yatka-yu

Munimaya-ngu

go-DiR.NFUT

Northampton-abl

I've come

b. ngayi

c.

yatka-yu

idalu-ngu north-ABL

lp

gO-DIR.NFUT

I came

from

nyini

wandha-ngu

2p

Where-ABL

Where

d.

from Northampton.

ngayi

nguuda-ngu

gO-NPAST-DIR.FUT

Camp-ABL

the camp.

from

matii

ngayi

take.PAST

lp I took

the knife

away

nayapu

child-abl

knife,

from

took money

mutha-ngu

nguba

nose-ABL

blood is pouring

from

abs

the child.

take.PAST-30BL

The man

Blood

abarla-ngu

matii-ra

arnmanu-lu man-ERG

g.

gO-DIR.NFUT from?

yatka-ndha-yana

I'm coming

f.

yatka-yu?

come

do you

lp

e.

the north.

nyarlu-ngu

wur'a-ra

woman-ABL

money-30BL

the woman.

wadidi-yu Aow-dir.nfut

out

from

[his] nose.

The verb 'go' inNhanda is expressed by the stem yatka- plus inflectional suf? fixes, while the verb 'come' is formed by suffixing non-future and future direc the allative is tionals -yu and -yana to a yatka- stem (see Section 3.4.5.5). While never used with the verb meaning 'come' inNhanda, the ablative is not found with 'go'. Also, note that compass terms (50b) and other directionals (e.g., wicaa-ngu 'from far away') can occur with the ablative, though they are unattested with alla? tive

case

wandha-ngu here',

Ablative

marking.

anha-ngu

'from

where',

'from

marking as well as on

there'.

56

occurs

on

demonstrative

the

interrogative

pronouns

inya-ngu

pronoun 'from

Morphology of *-ngu are widespread in Pama-Nyungan be cognate with Badimaya ablative

Reflexes ablative

-ngu may these

Compare

with

ablative

Wajarri

and Yingkarta

-thanu,

languages. The Nhanda -ngun (Dunn 1982:46). -parndi/-parni.

3.2.1.7

Dative The dative case suffix /-wu/ has a range of semantic functions. Itmay mark: the beneficiary of an event or emotion (51a-e), as a benefactive; the possessor nomi? nal (5 If) within a possessive noun phrase, functioning as genitive case; or general oblique case for non-subcategorized case marking

(51) Dative a.

b.

apa

2p

water.ABS get water

ngayi

ngayi lp

matii

fish

lp-DU-DAT

for us

fish

two.

abarla-wu,

war'a-bardu

sorry-iNCH-PAST

child-DAT

bad-PiTY

The man

for the child,

sorry

wandha

poor

thing.

piyarda-ba-nhii

nyarlu-wu

sorry-iNCH-PAST

woman-DAT

is feeling

sorry

for the woman.

uthu-wu

where

g.

ngayi-thada-wu

piyarda-ba-nhii

arnmanu

Where

some

caught

man

f.

wicka

get.PAST

I'm feeling e.

nyarlu-wu woman-DAT

money

for the woman.

arnmanu-lu

The man

kangaroo-DAT

wur'a

man-ERG

d.

get.PRES

steal-PAST

lp

yawarda-wu

for the kangaroo.

wumba-yi

I stole money

c.

mandaa

nyini

You

indirect objects (51g), with a dative function.

thudu-ra? meat-30BL

dog-DAT is the dog's

meat?

nyarlu-nggu

aya-nu

arnmanu-nha

wur'a-wu

woman-ERG

ask-piMPF

man-sPACC

money-DAT

The

woman

was

asking

the man

for money.

The dative suffix is not limited to nomin?is; and general functions on pronouns, as described 57

it also occurs with the same form in Section 3.3. A homophonous

CHAPTER

3

causal suffix is found on verbs, indicating the reason for or purpose of an event (see 3.4.5.6), though it was never found in spontaneous speech. The dative and causal can both be derived from Proto-Pama-Nyungan purposive *-gu, given the in sound (33). regular change

3.2.2 Number

Suffixes

distinguishes singular, dual, and plural forms both for count nouns and pronominals. As far as I could tell, mass nouns like apa 'water', and ngundinu 'mucus' do not take number marking. Number marking appears to be optional; if

Nhanda

from the context, or if a number word

nominal number is understood number

on

marking

the noun

is often

Singular

unmarked

Dual

-thada

(du)

Plural (pl)

arnmanu

wangga-nhaa

man

talk-NPAST

A man

is talking.

arnmanu-thada

wangga-nhaa

man-DU Two

c.

talk-NPAST

men

are

talking.

arnmani-nu

wangga-nhaa

man-PL Some

d.

ngayi lp I was

e.

ngayi lp I saw

number-marking

is illustrated in (52).

suffixes

(52) Number

b.

The

-nu

The use of dual and plural suffixes

a.

absent.

talk-NPAST men

are talking. uthu-nha

nguti-nu Wet-PIMPF wetting

dog-SPACC

the dog.

nha-'i

indaacu

see-PAST

big

wu

thada

uthu-thada

two

dog-DU

two big dogs.

58

is used, then suffixes

are:

Morphology

f.

ingga

uthi-nu-(nha)

give.IMP

dog-PL-SPACC

Give [it] to the dogs. g.

wur'a-thada

parnba-gu

stone-DU were

There

h.

hard ground-LOC two

on

the hard

ground.

nayapi-nu

wumba-yi Steal-PPERF He

stones

stole

knife-PL

alot of knives.

The dual suffix is a reduced form of wuthada 'two'. Recall from Section 2.6.1 that the plural suffix triggers base-final umlaut on the preceding vowel:

abarla

'women';

examples

but

'child'

etc.

Number

abarli-nu

marking

'children';

is not

but

'woman',

nyarlu to animate

restricted

nyarli-nu

as

nouns,

shown

by

(52g,h).

A few Nhanda singular nouns ending in -nu may be historical collectives or nouns with lexicalized instances of the plural suffix. Synchronically, the count nouns of this type take in addition the regular plural suffix, suggesting that the root is no longer analyzed as a plural. Examples include: kurlanu, kurlaninu

mass

'bush

potato/s';

When fixes also

can

ngubanu,

'ant nest/s';

pathaninu

both be

Section

ngubaninu

ngundinu

a number

case-number

marker

snot

and

a case

or number-case, within

However,

3.7).

(cf.

'dingo/s'

'mucus,

shown

phrase,

a.

abarli-nu

nyarlu-nggu-thada

unhi

child-PL

hit.PAST

nyarlu-thada-lu

abarli-nu

unhi

woman-DU-ERG

child-PL

hit.PAST

two women

hit

the children.

alu-nggi-nu

nyarlu-nggi-nu

unhi-nha

that-ERG-PL

WOman-ERG-PL

hit.PAST-1

ali-nu-lu

nyarli-nu-lu

unhi-nha

that-PL-ERG

WOman-PL-ERG

hit.PAST-1

Those

women

hit me.

59

ngunda

SGDO

SGDO

pathanu, 'face').

the order

by the examples must nomin?is

suffixes

woman-ERG-DU

The

b.

of case and number

(cf.

are present,

order, as in (53b). (53) Free order

'blood');

nguba n.)'

marker

as

a noun

(mass

of

in (53) agree

suf? (see

in affix

CHAPTER 3

c.

minda-nggi-nu-na

nyarlu

yatka-ndha

Woman

gO-NPAST

nyarlu

yatka-ndha

woman

go-NPAST

woman

The

h0USe-ALL-PL-COLL mindi-nu-nggu house-PL-ALL to all the houses.

is going

in (53c) the occurrence of the collective (coll) clitic /-na/ following the plural suffix. The collective is closely bound to plurality, and is only found imme? diately following the plural suffix -nu, or the bound first-person plural pronoun

Notice

-wana.

-na

In all cases,

is final

in the phonological

word.

collective

only

mod?

collectives

(54) Plural a.

The

a verb phrase distributive examples of plural collec?

ifies VP-internal arguments, and could be considered marker where the plurality of event is indicated. More tives with -nu are given in (54).

nha-'i

ngayi

nyarli-nu-na

see-PAST

lp

woman-PL-coLL

I saw all the women.

b.

nha-ga-ndha

pulha-nhi-nu-na

see-iMP-3PLDO

many-sPACC-PL-coLL

Look

c.

at the whole

of

mob

them!

uthi-nggu

aja-ndha-wana-na

dog-ERG

bite-FUT-IPL-COLL

The dog is going to bite us all.

3.2.3 Derived Nomin?is The agentive suffix -caa is used productively to derive a nominal from a verb stem. Suffixed to a verb stem V, the meaning of the derived nominal is 'something that Vs, aV-er'. If the resulting noun is inanimate, it often refers to an instrument. Verb roots with corresponding derived nomin?is are shown in Table 3-1. all the examples

Though are hands

also

attested

(cf. mar?

out'

someone with off

(cf. wur'a The

cases

suffix

of

'hand')

their hands 'stone; -caa

inTable 3-1 show -caa suffixed to a verb root, there

affixation

shoot') cannot

with

to a (derived) derived

nominal

touching everything'; with occur

nominal

derived as an

independent

some sense in which words

verb

stem:

maragac?a

'a messer-upper;

and wur'a-nggawur'a-ngga-c?a word.

one's

mara-ga-'put

Nevertheless,

'shoot off, go 'a gun'. there

is

formed with this suffix fall midway between suffix? suffixes with long vowels, -caa ation and compounding. Like other monosyllabic attracts stress. the fact that it is bimoraic, are both and This, secondary consistently 60

Morphology

3-1. Derived

Table Verb stem

nomin?is

Derived

with

nominal

aja

'bite'

a]acaa

'a biter

arda

'cut'

?rdacaa

'a knife'

atpi

'tie'

atpicaa

'a policeman'

athu

'cook'

?thucaa

'a cook'

?acaa

'a digger

ngadi

ngadic?a

'a sleepyhead'

pidi

'dig' ' sleep' ' touch'

pidic?a

'a picker-upper'

wangga

'talk'

wanggac?a

'a talker

sing ' steal'

wardac?a

'a singer'

wumbac?a

'a thief

warda wumba

'shoot' wutka

(snake,

etc.)'

spider,

(echidna,

pig,

etc.)'

(e.g., TV-announcer)'

'a shooter'

snore sew

yanda

-caa

agentive

wutkac?a

'a snorer'

yandac?a

'a needle'

unremarkable

for suffixes. However, the voicelessness of the initial consonant is unexpected. Recall from Chapter 2 that underlying long (or voiceless) consonants are found only morpheme-internally within the native vocabulary. Word-initially, voiceless obstruents are the regular realization of underlyingly short (or voiced) If -caa

consonants. Table

3-1

must

as word-initial,

is viewed

be

then

However,

compounds.

derived

nomin?is

like

in

those

two

exhibit

may

compounds

main

stresses (see Section 3.2.5), but nomin?is derived via derivational suffixation may not. The conclusion I reach is that the boundary that separates -caa from the pre? ceding verbal stem is stronger than a suffix boundary, but weaker than a compound boundary.

Some support for this analysis icalization own'

of

this

word-formation

to be

appears

from

the

verb

is found in the existence process.

The

yatka-

'go',

word plus

of one seeming 'alone;

yatkajaa agentive

-caa.

The

on

lex one's

present

is no longer compositional: the word does not mean literally 'someone meaning who goes; a goer'. In addition, though the stress pattern is identical to the derived nomin?is in Table 3-1, the suffix-initial consonant is voiced. Compare the rela? tively new English words goner 'one who is dead or undone' (c. 1857) and loner 'one who avoids others' (c. 1947), which parallel Nhanda yatkajaa in different ways. Both are peculiar inEnglish since they break the regular rule of agentive -er suffixation that selects an uninflected verb stem as base. In addition, goner has the same

semantic

forms

with

verb -caa

then,

as yatkajaa, the voicelessness

root

while of

61

loner the

has

a similar

suffix-initial

In regular

meaning.

consonant

can

be

taken

CHAPTER

3

as an indication of its former word between

and

word

status, and of its current intermediate

status

suffix.

The suffix -caa could derive from pre-Nhanda *-caGa (G a glide), which in turn could be cognate with O'Grady's reconstruction *jara < pPN *jarum 'thing, artifact' (1990a:90). Though attested in only two examples, inchoative verbs with -ba may take a further suffix -cu, resulting in a derived nominal meaning 'stuff causing one toV, V

where from

is the

yarna-ba-

inchoative

verb.

'get drunk,

become

seed pods yarlinyubacu, from

two

are:

examples

the name

and

mad';

'grog,

yarnabacu of a tree with

long

liquor' yellow

'causing one to elope or run off and get married',

literally

'go courting,

yarlinyu-ba-

The

run away'.

elope,

name

The

of

the yarlinyubacu

tree

derives from the belief that if you pick one seed off of this tree, you run off and get married.

3.2.4 Nominal

Derivational

Together, Section

3.2.1 and Section 3.2.2 describe all attested nominal

suffixes.

or derived

lexical

Any

Suffixes can

nominal

(non-demonstrative)

also

inflectional take

a vari?

ety of derivational suffixes that are described here. These suffixes are organized into two groups in terms of their semantic and syntactic functions. First I introduce suffixes deriving nomin?is with a predicative function. When these are added to is typically

result

nomin?is,

the

fixes

a predicative

-gayi

with

function

and

the nominal

the comitative

include:

the proprietive

and

'revealing';

a state,

-bagaa.

Then

is used

I discuss

Suf?

predicatively.

-wTaa; the privative suffixes

with

-nyida; a nomi?

nal modifying function. These suffixes typically modify the stem to which they attach in the same way adjectives modify nouns. Suffixes with a modifying func? tion

include:

-buraada

-jada

-lada

'dear';

'long';

the augmentative

-barta;

-bardu

'poor';

and

thin'.

'skinny,

3.2.4.1 Comitative The Nhanda comitative suffix is -waa. The comitative can be glossed as 'having' or 'with', and has more or less the range of functions described by Dixon (1976) for similar suffixes inmany other Australian languages. Sentences illustrating the use of comitatives are given in (55). In (55a-d), the comitative nominal functions predicatively, either as a predicate adjective (55a-c), or as an attributive predicate (55d,i).

In (55e-f),

noun-phrase, modifying more

of

an adverbial

(55) Comitative a.

function. -waa

nyarlu

abarla-waa

woman

child-coM

The

woman

nominal has a modifying function within the noun. the head In (55g,h) the comitative appears to have

the comitative

is pregnant.

62

Morphology

b.

ardu-tha

apa-waa

spouse-1SGOBL

water-coM

catka-waa

thudu

c.

meat

burned-coM

The meat

thudu

d.

is burnt.

mindinyu-waa

meat

maggot-coM

The meat

e.

has maggots.

irdinyja

The

g.

froth-COM covered

flood

aluu

ngala-yi

that, erg

eat-pperf

He

yatka-yu

wigilidi-waa

flood

f.

is drunk.

husband

My

ate some

gO-DIR.NFUT froth was

with

thudu

coming.

puga-waa rotten-coM

meat

rotten meat.

nguutu-waa

yatka-nu

horse-coM

go-PiMPF

on horseback.

He's

gone

ala

wardumba

yatka-yu

thugudhugu-waa

that

willy-willy

go-DiR.NFUT

dust-coM

h.

The

coming

willy-willy's

In some cases, These

meanings.

nomin?is

include:

up the dust.

throwing

suffixed with

abarlawaa

'pregnant'

(cf. apa 'water, grog'); pijibijiwaa 'scaly, mangy' nest'; walga

'on

nguutuwaa 'mark,

design');

The specific meanings For

instance,

'policeman',

depending or 'rocky,

cific meanings

horseback'

(cf.

wur'awaa

nguutu

'policeman'

-waa have (cf.

abarla

taken on very specific 'child');

(cf. pijibiji 'itch from caterpillar 'horse'); (cf. wur'a

'stone;

with

context, stones'.

wur'awaa However,

could there

mean

is a sense

listed above are unmarked for these comitative

(cf.

'striped'

walgawaa money;

of these words do not rule out more general on

'drunk'

apawaa

chains').

interpretations. 'having

money',

in which

the

spe?

forms.

to the functions described above, the comitative is a common suffix in placenames, as detailed in Section 1.4. For example, a shady place just down the river from Murchison House was called Maluwaa (cf. malu 'shade'). In addition

63

chapter

3

Recall that one interesting aspect of placenames with -waa is that the comitative can be suffixed to uninflected verb stems, for example, Yanggawaa in Yangewah Pool

from

yangga-

of

Derivations

'pour').

this

sort

are

restricted

to placenames.

The linguistic origins of the Nhanda comitative suffix are not clear. I assume that the long vowel is the result of intervocalic rhotic-glide deletion, and would reconstruct pre-Nhanda *-wara. This form could be cognate with the following -bara (residual); Gidabal suffixes: Gugu-Badhun comitative -baa; Warluwara with

3.2.4.2

of

evidence

any

'one's

own'.

function.

comitative

show

bors

-wara

Arrernte

-(w)a(r)a; *-bara

And

However,

cognate

all

could

interestingly,

derive none

from

a

proto-form

of Nhanda's

neigh?

suffixes.

Privative

suffix -nyida can be glossed as 'not having' or 'without', and is a semantically negation of the comitative. Like the comitative, it is typically used in a predicative function. Sentences illustrating privatives are given in (56).

The privative

(56) Privative a.

-nyida

ngayi

ardu-nyida spouse-PRiv

lp I haven't

b.

got

a sweetheart.

wilu-nggu

apa-nyida water-PRiv

river-LOC There's

c.

ngayi lp

no water

in the river.

thudu-nyida meat-PRiv

I've got no meat.

In some cases, nomin?is suffixed with -nyida have taken on very specific These include: wurtkanyida 'ear'); meanings. 'stupid, ignorant' (cf. wurtka wur'anyida

'broke'

(cf. wur'a

'money;

stone;

these words do not rule out more general on

context,

could

wur'anyida

or 'without stones'. However, above

are

unmarked

for

these

mean

'broke,

chains').

having

no money',

there is a sense inwhich privative

The

specific

of

meanings

interpretations. For instance, depending 'having

no

the specific meanings

chains',

listed

forms.

A morphological double negative occurs in Nhanda. The nominal ya'u can 'none' be suffixed with -nyida, giving ya'unyida 'not having any', or literally 'not having

none'.

Privative suffixes in neighboring languages do not resemble the Nhanda suf? fix. Two languages of the Pilbara, Jiwarli and Tharrkari, show what appears to be a cognate

privative

suffix

-yirra.

64

Morphology

Similative

3.2.4.3

The suffix one

only

as 'similar to, resembling',

-nganu can be glossed

phrasal

nyini-thada

ngunda-thada

ngundi-nganu

2p-DU

face-DU

face-siM

Your

and was

found

in

context:

two faces

look

alike.

and Voegelin (1966:125) report a suffix -ngu(')uny, O'Grady, Voegelin, as to This suffix is limited Jack Councillor's 'similar to'. -nguuny glossed speech. Itwas not recognized by Lucy Ryder, and I have reason to doubt that it isNhanda. First, it occurs in sentences where there is apparent language mixing. following sentence from Ken Hale's (1960) field notes: inyaganu

pujikaet

Consider

the

yagu

uthu-ngu'uny

This cat is as big as a dog. [KH: 110] The word yagu means 'grown up, old' inNhanda, not 'big', though yagu is the word for 'big' in some languages of the region, e.g., Badimaya. And the pho? nological form for 'pussycat' ismore or less wholly English, with only a palatal stop substituted for [s]; compare this with typical Nhanda loans from English dis? cussed in Section 2.7 which require final vowels and do not contain non-Nhanda phonemes. Second, -nguny is the semblative suffix inWajarri (Marmion a language which Jack Councillor was said to be familiar with. When suffix

-nganu,

involving

I attempted

to elicit

exemplified

above,

the verb

arda-

similatives, or

ngunda-ri-nu

arda-a-thada

that-DU

face-30BL-PL

half-PRES-Du

3.2.4.4

two,

their faces

I consistently

met with like

constructions,

the

either

the

following,

'cut; halve':

ala-thada

Those

phrasal

1996:52),

look alike

(are two halves

of the same

pie).

Proprietive

The proprietive suffix -bagaa can be glossed as 'belonging to' and is used to indi? cate inalienable or alienable possession. It can be suffixed to nomin?is or to pro seems to be synonymous with nominals, and, when affixed to pronominals possessive pronoun forms. Proprietive nomin?is are typically used as predicate nomin?is. Some examples are given in (57). As discussed in Section 2.4, this suffix has a consistent stress contour bag?a, with no stress on the first syllable, and secondary stress on the second syllable. This stress pattern follows from the regular rules of stress assignment in (17).

65

chapter

3

(57) Proprietive a.

nyarlu-bagaa

child

woman-PROP

The

b.

-bagaa

abarla

child

uthu

abarla-bagaa

dog

child-PROP

It's the child's

c.

to the woman.

belongs

dog.

ngana-bagaa

wur'a-ra?

who-PROP

money-30BL

Whose money is it? d.

ngana-bagaa

inya

uthu?

who-PROP

this

dog

Whose dog is this? 3.2.4.5

Revealing -gayi The suffix -gayi can be glossed

a body-part

The

nominal.

adverbially. Examples (58) Revealing a.

derived

are given

as 'with N showing,

nominal

is used

either

revealing N', where N is as a

predicate

nominal

or

in (58).

-gayi

ur'u-gayi buttocks-REV with

b.

one's

buttocks

showing

ibi-gayi breast-REV with

c.

nyini 2p You're

one's

breasts

showing

nyina-nhaa

wirdaa-gayi

Sit-NPAST

leg-REV

sitting

with

[your]

legs

showing.

In contrast described modify

to the suffixes described up to this point, the nominal suffixes in the remainder of Section 3.2.4 modify the stem much as adjectives nouns. Like other non-inflectional suffixes, they are not found with

demonstratives.

66

Morphology

3.2.4.6 Modifying suffix -jada 'cherished, dear, beloved' The suffix -jada means 'cherished, dear, beloved', and is typically followed a bound pronoun, as in the examples in (59). by possessive (59)Modifying a.

-jada

agu-jada-wana mother-CHER-iPL our beloved

b.

mother

agu-jada-ra mother-CHER-30BL her dear mother

c.

ardu-jada-tha isgobl

spouse-CHERmy

d.

dear

husband

uthudu-jada-wana country-CHER-iPL our cherished

e.

country

abarla-jada-thi-nu sgobl-pl

child-CHER-1 abarli-nu

-jada-tha

Child-PL-CHER-1SGOBL my

f.

beloved

children

uthu-jada-ra Child-CHER-30BL uthu-ra-jada d0g-30BL-CHER

his dear dog A bound possessive pronoun usually follows -jada within the word, though the second variant in (59?) shows deviation from this order. As shown by the examples in (59e), the plural suffix -nu can precede or follow the -jada-initial morpheme sequence. (On the positional freedom of the plural suffix, see (53) and the discus? sion in Section 3.7.)

67

CHAPTER

3

3.2.4.7 Modifying suffix -lada 'long The suffix -lada 'long' has a clear adjectival function. Unlike is a bound

-lada

'short',

form,

and

appears

always

its opposite,

to a nominal

suffixed

suffix is very common with body parts, where the derived nominal predicative, hence the adjectival glosses in (60) below. (6o)Modifying a.

base.

purtku This

is generally

-lada

hurndi-lada tail-LONG long-tailed

b.

wirdaa-lada leg-LONG long-legged

c.

ngunyu-lada

yatka-yu

hair-LONG

gO-DIR.NFUT

The

d.

long-haired

one

is coming.

wurtka-lada ear-LONG long-eared

e.

idi-lada nail-LONG long-nailed

f.

malu-lada shadow-LONG long

g.

shadow

ngam.nga-lada stick-LONG long

stick

As

shown by (60f,g), the suffix is also found with inalienable nouns, serving a function. The simple modifying function is also found with simple modifying as with the nominal in The word wadula 'tall, tall one; body parts, (60c). subject long'

can

ula-ba-nhii

sometimes 'your

hair

be

used

is getting

with

similar

long'.

68

meaning,

as

in ngunyu-nygu

wad

Morphology

3.2.4.8

-barta

Augmentative

A common suffix with amodifying function is the augmentative -barta, which has a range of meanings including 'big; great; a lot; big bad' illustrated in (61). -barta

) (61 Modifying a.

wiku-barta stomach-AUG

big-bellied person b.

ngabu-barta fat-AUG fat person,

c.

fatso

ur'u-barta buttocks-AUG fat-as

big buttocks,

d.

s

yuthu-barta thicket-AUG

a big thicket e.

uthu-barta dog-AUG a lot of dogs

f.

thuri-barta sun-AUG a lot of

g.

sun; heatstroke

pulha-barta alot-AUG clever

h.

man,

sorcerer,

doctor

ngayi

yatka-ndha

pulha-barta-nggu

lp

gO-NPAST

alot-AUG-ALL

I'm going Like

augmentatives

with derogatory its opposite,

to the doctor.

pudi

in many

connotations. 'little',

-barta

this morpheme

languages,

is often

associated

(No 'aversive' suffix is found in Nhanda.) is a bound

69

form,

and

always

appears

Unlike

suffixed

to a

CHAPTER

3

suffix is very common with body parts, but it is also found nouns, as in (61d-g). As with other derivational suf? commonly fixes, case suffixes regularly follow -barta as in (61h). base. This

nominal

with

alienable

There are at least two instances where use

that

which

overlaps is

the comitative:

with

with

synonymous

the augmentative 'with

nguutu-barta 'horse-coM';

nguutu-waa

has an idiosyncratic

a horse,

and

on

panggi-barta

horseback', 'with

a

swag'.

When word-final, the final vowel of -barta is greatly reduced, surfacing as an schwa. In central and southern dialects, the vowel has been lost alto? bat as 'abounding in possession Oldfield (1865:291) glosses Watchandie gether.

ultra-short and

of,

gives

with

examples

the

same

range

of meanings

as

-barta.

3.2.4.9 Modifying suffix -bardu 'poor, pitiful' The suffix -bardu expresses pity, sympathy, or empathy on the part of the speaker, and is usually affixed to animate nomin?is. The sentences in (62) illustrate the sort of affect associated with (62)Modifying a.

ngayi

-bardu piyarda-ba-nhii-ra,

abarla-bardu

innga-ba-nhii

sorry-iNCH-PAST-30BL

child-piTY

dead-iNCH-NFUT

lp

I'm feeling b.

for him,

tii

uthu,

ugurda-nda-a

dog

COld-CAUS-PRES

Wet-PAST

lp I wet

sorry

ngu

ngayi

the dog,

war'a-bardu bad-PiTY Poor

this suffix:

thing was

cooled

dear

child

that died.

him off.

palgatpa-nhii, bark-NFUT barking

the poor

thuri-barta sun-AUG in the hot

sun.

3.2.4.10 Modifying suffix -buraada 'skinny, thin' is only found in the word wird?a-bur?ada This morpheme 'skinny legs, matchstick as as the single primary status The voiced of the initial well consonant, legs'. a a not this is suffixed that stress, suggest form, compound.

3.2.5 Compounding Some morphologically complex nomin?is are compounds. Some examples are in where (63), primary stress is found on both compound formatives, and the given to '+' mark the compound boundary. is used symbol

70

Morphology

(63) Compounds a. w?rla+p?tkili head-bald

bald (one) b.

ng?nda+k?'arlu face-good good

looking,

attractive

(one)

w?rdaa+k?'arlu

c.

leg-good

pretty-legged (one) d. m?tha+p?didi nose-flat big-nosed e.

(one)

p?di+?barla small-child

baby f.

w?r'a+w?ngganhaa bad-language curse words

I have classified words like those in (63) as compounds if they differ from suffixed forms in at least two of three ways: i) they are formed by morphologically free word forms, and either ii) primary stress is possible on the second formative of the compound, or iii) an initial obstruent of the second formative is voiceless. The real difficulty lies not so much in distinguishing compounds from suffixed forms, but in distinguishing true compounds from simple two-word phrases. If the order of the elements is fixed and the first word fails to inflect, I treat the form as a compound. It is not clear whether this is a productive word-formation process in Nhanda.

3.2.6 Reduplication A handful of nomin?is involve reduplication. Examples are given in (64). The '=' is used to mark the symbol reduplicative boundary, since reduplication does not

appear

to be productive.

71

CHAPTER

3

forms

(64) Reduplicated

'dizzy'

k?riny=guriny

'trouble-maker,

m?ya=maya

puru=buru

'fog, haze',

bindi=b?ndi

'horns

thugu=dh?gu

'dust'

wardu=w?rdu

cf. maya

and

itch from

nest,

'caterpillar's

p?ji=b?ji

gossip',

cf. puru

ram,

sheep)'

like a woody

tree,

it'

'light mist'

(on bullock,

'kind of

'house'

pear'

Note that three of the forms in (64) begin with labial stops. Since word-initial labial stops were lost inNhanda by the sound change in (28), these reduplicated forms may be loans. Also note that these words have the stress patterns and pho? nological domain patterns of suffixed (or prefixed) words, not compounds. Redu? plication does not appear to be productive in nomin?is. Productive reduplication is found in verbs (see Section 3.4.6), and it is also found at the lexical level to indicate intensity. For instance, in describing some? very

thing

one

far away,

say wicaa

might

wicaa

or

'far, far away';

event that happened a very long time ago, one might

an

in describing

say cidii cidii 'long, long ago'.

3.2.7 Demonstratives and Interrogatives/Indefinites Demonstrative and interrogatives/indefinites inNhanda form a special subclass of nomin?is. They follow ergative/absolutive inflection like other nomin?is, and can take all other nominal case and number markers. On the other hand, like pronouns, a closed

constitute

they

Demonstratives

ogy.

lexical and

in some

and

class,

are

interrogatives

also

cases

have

the only

morphol? that occur with

suppletive

nomin?is

the focus suffix -ganu (see Section 4.9). As absent course

in many in Nhanda

pronouns Nhanda

other Australian languages, true third-person pronouns are often function as dis? (see Section 3.3), and demonstratives for both

animate

and

roots

demonstrative

inanimate a

encode

referents.

three-way

distinction

in terms

of prox?

imity to the speaker: inya

'this'

closest

to speaker

ala

'that'

medium

distance

anha

'thatDisT'

farthest distance

from speaker from speaker

Table 3.2 lists singular, dual, and plural forms of the demonstratives core

cases,

direct object plural

forms

including

the

specific

demonstratives. of ala and

inya,

accusative,

Apart and

sive third-person bound pronoun

which

is the most

from the suppletive

the possessor/genitive

common

ergative

singular

-ngura

in the form

singular (cf.

posses?

-ra) and plural -u (cf. dative -wu elsewhere),

72

of

and the

Morphology to nominal para? with a restrictive

demonstrative

paradigm is completely regular, and identical In fact, within the database, -ngura is the only morpheme

digms. nominal

function.

possessive

Table

3-2. Nhanda

demonstratives

inflected

ABSOLUTIVE

ergative

specific

sg

ala

aluu

ala-nha

du

ala-thada

ala-thada-lu

ala-thada-nha

ala-thada-wu

ali-nu

aluundu

ala-nhi-nu

ali-nu-u

sg

inya

ilu, inya-nggu

inya-nha

mya-ngura

du

inya-thada

inya-thada-lu

inya-thada-nha

inya-thada-wu

ilurndu,

inya-nhi-nu,

inya-wi-nu

pi

pl

myi-nu

sg

anha

du

anha-thada anhi-nu

pi

before

inyi-nu-nha

anha-nggu anha-thada-lu

anha-thada-nha

anha-thada-wu

anha-nggi-nu

anha-nhi-nu

anha-wi-nu

and

anha

in two expressions:

'the day

induga

anha-ngura

after

anha yugangga

'the

tomorrow'.

roots alu and anha appear to reflect pPN *ba-lu and *ba-nha 1990b:210) after initial b-loss (28).

(O'Grady As

ala-ngura

anha-nha

yesterday'

Nhanda

dative/possessive

inya-nggi-nu

The deictic anha is used temporally day

accusative

deictic

in many

other

Australian

Nhanda

languages,

interrogatives

double

as

indefinites. For example, the question word nhaa 'what' is identical in form to the indefinite pronoun nhaa 'something'. This dual function persists in derived forms. When wandha 'where/somewhere' is made into a verb by addition of the incho? ative

suffix

base

and

-ba, can

the derived

be

stem wandha-ba-

verb as

translated

'go where?'

or

retains 'disappear

the (i.e.,

two

of the meanings to go somewhere

Intonation usually distinguishes between interrogative and indefinite meanings: question intonation often involves a pitch accent on the question word, with steady or rising pitch across the phrase, while declarative intonation is fall? nhaa 'what/something' and ing. Basic case forms for the interrogatives/indefinites are 'who/someone' in listed ngana (65). unknown)'.

(65) Basic

case

forms

for

interrogatives/indefinites

absolutive/ nominative

what/something

nhaa

who/someone

ngana

ergative

possessive

nhaa-nggu ngandu

73

ngana-bagaa

chapter

3

Both roots in (65) can occur with all other nominal case markers, with two exceptions. There is no possessive (genitive) form of the inanimate nhaa. This is unremarkable, since the role of possessor is inmany languages limited to animate nouns. Second, there is no specific accusative form for either interrogative/indef? inite. This is expected, given the non-specific semantics of these morphemes, and further supports the analysis of nominal -nha as a specificity or definiteness marker.

above that the uninflected

Notice For

many

with

examples

tive/indefinite

were

subjects

nhaka-wana-na?

and

transitive

forms are labeled absolutive or nominative. verbs,

both

unmarked

acceptable. were

nhaka-wana-na?

Ngana

and

ergative

For both

interroga?

instance,

Ngandu sentences

acceptable

'Who is looking at us?'. I assume, in cases like this, that the unmarked is nominative, and that interrogatives and indefinites are midway between subject (open class) nomin?is and pronominals in terms of their case frames. Additional are listed in (66). interrogatives/indefinites

meaning

(66)More

interrogatives/indefinites

wandha

'where/somewhere'

wandha-ra

'to where/somewhere'(allative)

wandha-ngu

'from where/somewhere'(elative)

wandha-ga-cadi

'when/sometime'

(locative2)

nhaa-barndi

'what for, why'

nhaa-wu

'what for, why'(oblique)

3.2.8 Bound Nomin?is As noted in Section 3.1, there is a small subclass of bound nomin?is occur in derived forms. These bound nominal stems could be considered tive

class

of

adjective

stem.

there

However,

are

three

arguments

that only a distinc?

against

their

adjectival status. First, apart from their boundedness, they behave in all other as other cannot nomin?is. Second, they respect modify nouns directly. Finally, certain bound like nomin?is and piyarda- 'sorry' designate 'tired' though pandasemantic qualities or states typically predicated of nouns, other bound nomin?is like

thurla-

'goodbye'

and walaka-

'scavenger'

do

not

(these

root

glosses

were

pro?

vided by Mrs. Ryder, though she insisted that they could not be used without the appropriate derivational suffixes.) For these reasons I have not classified bound nomin?is as adjectives. In fact, apart from the derivational suffixes they select, there is no basis on which

to assign categorial status to these bound forms. An exhaustive list of these bound nomin?is, in alphabetical order, along with attested derivatives, is provided in (67). The most common derivational suffix in (67) is the inchoative -ba. For discussion of this and other verbal derivational suf? fixes,

see

Section

3.4.5.

74

Morphology

(67) Bound Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

Bound

nominals

and their

derived

ca u

forms

'cunning,

joking'

ca'ubilhi

'cunning,

con'

ca'u-nda

'make

icici

'pain, hurt'

iciciba

'be painful,

a fool

(N) of s.o.'

hurt'

mika

'play, fun'

mikaba

'have fun, play'

mikanda

'play with

(V)

(V)

(V)

s.o./sth'

(V)

panda

'tired'

pandaba

'be tired' (V)

piyarda

'sorry'

piyardaba

'feel

pudhabudha

'tired, drowsy'

pudhabudhaba

'get tired, get sleepy' (V)

thada

'larrikin,

thadaba

'to become

thurla

(for s.o.)'

sorry

flirt'

'goodbye,

thurlawaa

'gone

larrikins'

away

ugurda ugurdadi

'cold'

(N) s.o./sth

for good'

ugurdanda

'cool

walaka

'scavenger'

walakaba

'scavenge'

walga

'stripe, mark'

walgawaa

'striped' (N)

walganyja

'write,

wudilu

'winded'

wudiluba

'be winded'

draw,

yarlinyu

'courting'

yarlinyuba

'go courting'

(V)

parting'

'cold'

All bound nominals are followed indicating their bound status.

(V)

off

(N)

(V)

(V)

paint'

(V)

(V)

(V)

by a dash in the alphabetical

75

vocabulary,

CHAPTER 3

3.3 Pronouns The class of pronouns personal

form is possible, Free

nominals, Pro?

pattern.

case-marking

Pronouns

The nominative Table

a nominative/accusative

include both free and bound forms. Where both a free and bound use of the free form can impart emphasis or focus.

nouns inNhanda

3.3.1

includes all personal pronouns. Unlike

inNhanda

follow

pronouns

(unmarked) case forms for Nhanda

free pronouns

Table

pronouns

are shown

in

3-3.

Recall

3-3. Nhanda

nominative

PLURAL

SINGULAR

DUAL

IP

ngayi

ngayi-thada

ngayi-nu

2p

nymi

nyini-thada

nyim-nu

that

there

are no

true

pronouns.

third-person

When

demon?

necessary,

stratives function as third-person pronouns within the discourse. Unlike surround? for distinction ing languages, Nhanda does not have an inclusive/exclusive first-person Other Table

plural

pronouns.

basic

case

forms

for

personal

pronouns

in Nhanda

are

shown

in

3-4.

Table

SG DU PL SG DU PL

3-4. Nhanda

pronominal

ACCUSATIVE

POSSESSIVE

ngayi-nha

ngayunga

ngayi-thada-nha

ngayi-thada-wu

ngayi-nu-nha

ngayi

nyini-nha

nyinunga

nyini-thada-nha

nyini-thada-wu

nyini-nu-nha

nyini-nu-nygu

case

forms ERGATIVE

ngayi-thada-lu

-nu-u

nyini

-thada-lu

With the exception of the possessive singular and plural forms, case marking is entirely regular. This is true for all other case inflections as well, which are formed by adding the appropriate case suffix to the unmarked pronominal stems in Table 3-3. A note is in order concerning dual pronouns, which, as shown in Table 3-4, have ergative case forms in addition to the nominative forms in Table 3-3. While these ergative pronominal forms constitute single phonological words, at the mor 76

Morphology

level, they can be analyzed as single words, e.g., [[ngayi]thada]N], pho-syntactic or as compounds, e.g., [[ngayi]N[thada]N]. Under the first analysis, ngayi heads the case marking. Under word, and determines nominative/accusative morphological case the second analysis, thada heads the word, and determines ergative/absolutive 'two', from which

marking (as the nominal wuthada same position.) a noun

When

the possessive

is possessed,

case

it originates, would do, in the form

of

the pronoun

option?

ally occurs with a possessed form of the noun, which includes a bound pronominal suffix (see Section 3.3.2) marking person and number properties of the possessor. The paradigm for possessive noun phrases is shown in Table 3-5. Table SG

'my head'

ngayunga

wur'a-tha

'my money'

warla-wana

'our (du) heads'

wur'a-wana

'our (du) money'

ngayi-nu-u

warla-wana

'our (pi) heads'

ngayi-nu-u

wur'a-wana

'our (pi) money'

nymunga

warla-nygu

'your

nyinunga

wur'a-nygu

'your(sg)

nyini-thada-wu

warla-nygu

'your

(du) heads'

wu

thada

ngayi-thada-wu

DU

2

As

possession.

a.

wur'a-nygu

'your

(du) money'

warla-nygu

'your

(pi) heads'

nyini-nu-nygu

wur'a-nygu

'your

(pi) money'

differences

morpho-syntactic

with

all

free

pronouns,

noun

b.

phrases

the use

between of

in context

bardi

athu-nu

mother-1SGOBL-ERG

grub

cook-PiMPF

mother

was

ngana-bagaa who-BEL Whose

cooking

grubs.

minyju-ra? purse-30BL

purse

is it?

these

It's MY

alienable possessive

and forms

indicates focus or emphasis. Compare

agu-tha-lu

My

money'

nyini-thada-wu

with the bound pronoun usually ples in (68). (68) Possessive

(sg) head'

nyini-nu-nygu

are no

There

phrases

warla-tha

ngayi

SG

noun

possessive

ngayunga

-

DU

1

3-5. Nhanda

ngayunga lsg.poss purse.

77

minyju-tha purse-isgobl

inalienable together

the exam?

CHAPTER

3

In (68a), there is no emphasis on the identity of the possessor, while in (68b), the is being questioned, and could be considered the focus of the response.

possessor

Nhanda first- and second-person servative

reflexes

pronouns ngayi and nyini appear to be con?

of Proto-Pama-Nyungan

forms

*ngay

(Koch

'lsg.nominative'

1997) and *nyin '2sg.nominative'. The only sound change that has occurred is the to satisfy the 'bulking' of these words from one to two syllables, presumably bimoraic minimal word constraint (see Section 2.5). The bulking process inserted a final empty vowel slot, which was filled by features of the preceding glide (*ngay > *ngayV > ngayi) or vowel (*nyin > *nyinV > nyini). The uninflected forms of pronominal roots are nominative singular. Duals are derived by suffixation of the regular dual suffix -thada, while plurals are formed by the suffixation of the regular plural suffix -nu. To the nominative base, -nha is added to form accusatives, and -wu to form a general (non-possessive) dative form. Again, both of these suffixes are found regularly on non-pronominals. In sum, the Nhanda pronominal system appears to retain the earliest forms of the singular

pronoun

stems.

on

overlaid

However,

these

stems

is the

innovation

of

entirely regular number marking. Where Capell (1956:100) reconstructs Common Australian *nhurra 2pl, Nhanda has an innovative form nyini-nu, from the pPN base

*nyin.

and Voegelin Though Nhanda was first classified by O'Grady, Voegelin, as a the Kartu Kartu where included (1966) Badimaya, Mal? language, subgroup gana,

Nhanda,

and Yingkarta,

Wajarri,

the

free

pronouns

of Nhanda

suggest

oth?

erwise.

and Yingkarta all show reflexes of Badimaya, Malgana, Wajarri, forms. Blevins (1999) proposes the Proto-Kartu Proto-Pama-Nyungan ergative in (69), with earlier reconstructions reconstructions (most of which are attribut? able

to Proto-Pama-Nyungan)

listed

for

comparison. pronouns

nominative/subject

(69)Proto-Kartu

Proto-Kartu lsg

*ngatha

ldu

*ngali

Earlier forms *ngathu lsg.ERG (Capell 1956) *ngali idu (incl) (Dixon 1980, Koch

lpl

*ngaNHu

2sg

*nyinta

2du

*nhupalV

*nyuntu 2sg.erg (Capell 1956) *nyin-Tu (Dixon 1980) *nhumpVlV 2du (Capell 1956)

2pl

*nhurra

*nhurra 2pl (Capell 1956)

3sg

*palu

*pa-lu 3SG [210]

3pl

*thana

*THaNa 3PL (Dixon

While

Nhanda

Proto-Pama-Nyungan

conservative

is relatively nominative

in reflecting

conservative forms

for

1997)

1980) in maintaining

singular

pronouns,

the original Proto-Kartu

is

the pPN ergative singular forms, as well as pPN irregular 78

Morphology

duals and plurals. If the possibility of borrowing can be ruled out, and if a Kartu subgroup exists, based on pronominal comparison, Nhanda does not look at all like a Kartu language. See Blevins (1999) for further comparative evidence sup? porting a long period of independent development for Nhanda in Pama-Nyungan. Pronouns

Bound

3.3.2

in having three distinct sets of bound pronouns, with distinct and distributions. One set of bound pronouns marks direct functions grammatical to is verbs. A second set marks nominal possession on nouns suffixed and object and oblique objects on verbs. A third set of bound pronouns is made up of is unusual

Nhanda

subject clitics.

first-position

3.3.2.1 Object bound pronouns Bound pronouns that function as direct objects of verbs occur immediately after the inflected verb. I will refer to these as object bound pronouns. The full set of object bound pronouns is shown in (70). bound

(70) Object

pronouns

verbal

(follow

Abbreviations

Bound pronoun

Person/number

tense/aspect

isG-nha 1du,

pl

1sgdo

-wana ipl 2SG-rnda

For

-ndha

all

both

2SGD0

unmarked

3SG 3DU, pl

son,

suffixes) used

persons,

numbers

a

3PLD0 distinction

singular/non-singular

have

distinct

bound

pronominal

is made. forms.

In the

In the second

only the singular does; dual and plural direct objects must be expressed pronouns: direct

nyini-thada-nha are unmarked. objects

and

respectively. occurs verb

nyini-nu-nha If a transitive

Third-person an without

first

per?

person,

by full singular

overt

object

noun phrase, then the bound pronoun is obligatory. Examples of this sort are given in (71). A non-pronominal subject ismarked ergative when object bound pronouns occur,

(71) Bound a.

object

The

the argument

pronouns

structure

boy-ERG man

young

(without

see-PAST-iSGDO looked

at me.

wunbi-ga-wana leave-iMP-iPL Leave

us

of

the verb

object

nha-'i-nha

wiyabarndi-lu young

b.

that

showing

two alone!

79

noun

is unaffected.

phrases)

CHAPTER

3

nha-'i-wana

aluu

c.

that, erg one

That

saw all of us.

arnmanu-lu

d.

nhaka-rnda

wuja-nggu

see-2SGDO

hole-LOC

man-ERG The man

e.

sees

you

see-PAST saw

The woman

wuthada-nha,

two,

abarli-nu

g.

child-PL

[it].

nha-'i

malya-wa NEG-ISGSUBJ

tWO-SPACC Those

the hole.

through

nha-'i

nyarlu-nggu woman-ERG

f.

i pl

see-past-

see

I didn't

-ndha

See-PAST~3PLD0

them.

mika-nda-a play-CAUS-PRES

uthu;

urdamundi

aja-ndha-ndha

dog

directly

bite-FUT-3PLD0

The children are playing with the dog; directly he will bite them. a direct object noun phrase occurs, the bound direct object pronoun

When optional.

examples

Compare

with

bound

pronouns

in (72a-c),

where

is

co-referen?

tial elements are in bold, to those without in (72d-f). In general, as suggested above, the use of a full pronoun where a bound form is possible appears to signify emphasis. of

(72) Optionality a.

inggaa-nha give, Give

b.

looking

1p-acc

see-2SGD0

at YOU.

nha-ga-ndha see-iMP-3PLDO Look

ngayi-nha

nhaka-rnda

2p-ACC-ISGSUBJ

c.

boomerang

with

the boomerang.

nyini-nha-wa

I'm

pronouns

pirlu

imp- 1sgdo ME

bound

at the mob

pulhi-nhi-nu many-sPACC-PL of

them.

80

object

noun

phrases

Morphology

d.

nha-'i

nyini

lp-ACC

saw me.

You

e.

ngayi-nha

see-PAST

2p

ngayi lp

nha-'i

nyini-nha

see-PAST

2p-ACC

I saw you.

f.

ali-nu-na

nha-'i

ngayi

see-PAST

lp I saw

them

that-PL-coLL

all.

3.3.2.2 Oblique bound pronouns A second set of bound pronouns, shown in (73), is used to mark possession on nouns, and indirect objects on verbs. I will refer to these as oblique bound pro? nouns. In the oblique bound pronouns, a singular/non-singular contrast is found in the first person only. Number is nondistinctive bound pronouns (73) Oblique Person/number

Abbreviations

Bound pronoun isg -tha

idu,

pl

used

ISGOBL

-wana ipl _nygU20BL

2SG, DU,PL 3SG, du,

in second and third persons.

pl

-ra 30BL

when

suffixed to verb, encodes

when

suffixed

to noun,

encodes

indirect object possessor

An alternative would be to recognize a set of verbal oblique bound pronouns, an

independent

syncretic

set of possessive

nominal

suffixes.

I have

found

no

and evi?

dence for two distinct pronominal sets, and hence adopt the simpler analysis. Examples with oblique bound pronouns are provided in (74). In each set of examples, the first sentence illustrates pronominal suffixation to a verb, and the second suffixation to a nominal. Oblique bound pronouns are obligatory when a full noun phrase is not present. For example, deleting the bound pronoun from (74a.i) gives nyini apa mandhaa, which translates as 'bring some water', without the dative/benefactive argument. (74) Oblique a. i

bound

nyini

apa

2p

water

You

get water

pronouns

in context

mandhaa-tha take.FUT-iSGOBL for me.

81

CHAPTER 3

.ii

abarla-lu

Steal-PPERF

child-ERG The

b.i

.ii

apa

that, erg

water

bringing

nguuti-nu

paduda-wana

rain-ERG

wet-PiMPF

dress-ipl

rain was

ngayi

wetting

our dresses.

piyarda-ba-nhii-nygu SOrry-INCH-PAST-20BL for you

sorry

(sg).

nyini-thada,

nhaa

ini-nygu?

2p-DU

what

name-20BL

are your

(du) names?

You

two, what

mandhaa-ra

ngayi

take.FUT-30BL

lp I'll

.ii

i pl

for all of us.

pundu-gu

lp

d.i

take, futwater

I'm feeling

.ii

mandhaa-wana

aluu

The

ci

money-isgobl

stole my money.

kid

He's

wur'a-tha

wumba-yi

take

wiku-ra

arda-ma-ga cut-VB-iMP Cut

open

him.

it from

stomach-30BL his

stomach!

second- and third-person oblique bound pronouns are inherently For ambiguous. example, (74d.i) can also mean Til take it from them two' or 'I'll take it from them (pl)'. When suffixed to nominals, there might appear to be a the examples in (75) third-person possessive plural form, as in (75). However, a involve combination of the third-person oblique bound pronoun and a following

Sentences

with

(nominal) plural suffix. In parallel cases where found

on

a verb,

the

verb

is simply

nominal plural suffix: wada-ga-ra!

marked

with

a third-person -ra,

'Sing it for them!'

82

as

expected,

indirect object since

-nu

is is a

Morphology

bound

(75) Oblique a.

wiku-ri-nu

arda-ma-ga cut-VB-iMP Cut

b.

stomach-30BL-PL stomachs!

their

open

cutka-ri-nu

nyarli-nu

anhi-ya,

woman-PL

dance-ppERF

wanyja=wanyja-a dance-ppERF

arm-30BL-PL

are dancing,

women

Those

suffix

plural

with

pronoun

their arms

shaking

ida=ngga up=LOC

in the air.

When a possessor noun occurs within the possessed noun phrase, the bound pronoun remains obligatory as shown in (76), where coreferential possessive pro nominals are in bold. A sentence like (76a) without the oblique bound pronoun is ungrammatical:

yurdu

*ngayunga

Whenever

ini-matka-nha.

a

possessor

noun

occurs, the possessed noun must occur with the appropriate oblique bound pro? noun. In essence, possessive (oblique) bound pronouns function as the possessive arguments of nominals, with free forms optionally doubling to express focus or emphasis.

nouns

(76) Possessor a.

ngayunga

b.

is calling

daughter

c.

stole

abarla-lu

d.

kid

Steal-PPERF stole

aluu

He

your

wur'a-wana money-1

pl

nyini-thada-wu

wur'a-nygu

2p-DU-DAT

money-20BL

(dual) money.

wur'a-yi

that.ERG

out.

(dual) money.

wumba-yi

child-ERG The

my

lp-DU-DAT our

pronouns

name-take.PRES-isGDO name

ngayi-thada-wu

Steal-PPERF

bound

ini-matka-nha

daughter-isgobl

wumba-yi

[He]

possessive

yurdu-tha

lp.poss My

with

shoot-ppERF

ala-ngura

uthu-ra

that-poss

dog-30BL

shot his dog.

Within the verbal system, however, a bound pronoun or a free pronoun may function as the sole indirect object of the verb. Where both are present, the argu? ment in question is usually focused or emphasized. Compare (77a,b) where the indirect object argument is only expressed once, and (77c) where the indirect object

is expressed

as a free

pronoun

and

83

as a bound

pronoun.

CHAPTER 3 of bound

(77) Combinations a.

nyini

apa

2p

water

You

b.

apa

2p

water

You

c.

take, fut-isgobl for me.

mandhaa

ngayi-wu

take.FUT

lp-DAT

for me.

get water

nyini

apa

ngayi-wu

2p

water

lp-DAT

You

pronouns

mandhaa-tha

get water

nyini

and free oblique

mandhaa-tha take, fut-isgobl

for me.

get water

3.3.2.3 Subject clitics The third set of bound pronouns, shown in (78), are subject clitics, and encliticize to the first phonological word in the intonational phrase. clitics to ist phonological word of phrase) (78)Subject (enclitic Person/number

Subject clitic

Abbreviations

iSG -wa 1du,

pl

used

isgsubj

-wana ipl 2SG _nyja

2SGSUBJ

3 unmarked The examples in (79) show subject clitics in first position, independent of the category of the first word of the phrase. Enclitics are found on nominal hosts (79a), verbal hosts (79b), particle hosts (79c), and interrogative hosts (79d).

a.

in first

clitics

(79) Subject yawarda-wa

innga-tii sgsubj

kangaroo-1 I killed

a

yatka-nu

th?S-EL-1 SGSUBJ

b.

dead-PAST

kangaroo.

inya-ngu-wa

I went

position

from

gO-PAST

here.

uma-nhaa-rnda-wa hit- FUT-2SGDO-

ISGSUBJ

I'll hit you.

84

Morphology

wirlu-nggu

yatka-ndha-wana go-NPAST-1 We're

c.

going

to the sea to go

malya-wa

panda-ba-nhii

NEG-ISGSUBJ

tired-INCH-PAST

I'm not

ngutijada-ndha

sea-all

pl

swim-FUT swimming.

tired yet.

wumba-yi?

malya-nyja NEG-2SGSUBJ

Steal-PPERF

You didn't steal it, did you? nhaa-wu-wa

d.

panda-ba-nhii? tired-INCH-PAST

What-DAT-ISGSUBJ

Why am I tired? wandha-ra-nyja

yatka-ndha?

Where-30BL-2SGSUBJ

gO-NPAST

Where

are you

going?

? There are no third-person subject clitic forms absence of third-person independent pronouns.

a fact that could be related to the

The absence of a subject in non-imperative forms is typically interpreted as third person singular (80a,b), but as third person plural when the verb includes the includes potential the discourse -jadi/-jada (reciprocal) suffix (80c,d). When third-person

singular

and

plural

referents,

(80e). (80) Unmarked a.

third-person

subjects

ayaka-wana-na ask-IPL-COLL

[He] is asking all of us. b.

malu-nggu shade-LOC

inyja-a stay-PRES

[He] is sitting in the shade. c.

unggi-jada-nu fight-RECIP-PIMPF

[They] were fighting. 85

reference

is ambiguous,

as

shown

in

CHAPTER

d.

3

wur'a-ndha-jada Shoot-FUT-RECIP

[They] will be shooting each other. e.

aga,

urdamundi

hey,

directly

Hey,

directly

wur'a-ndha-wana-na shoot-FUT-iPL-coLL us all.

shoot

gonna

[he's/they're]

Subject clitics are referred to inO'Grady, Voegelin, and Voegelin (1966:128) as 'disjunctive actor markers' that "close the first (or rarely the second) word of the

contour".

In

the

few

cases

a bound

where

subject

pronoun

occurs

after

second word, the first word arguably forms a distinct intonational phrase. attested cases then, subject clitics take phrase-initial words as their hosts. 3.3.2.4 Summary and discussion A summary of bound pronominals Table

is shown in Table 3-6.

3-6. Summary

of bound

DIRECT OBJECT

pronouns

SUBJECT

ISG

-nha

IDU, PL

-wana

-wana

-rnda

-nyja

2SG

oblique -tha

-nygu

2DU, PL

3DU,

-nygu

PL

Host

-ra

unmarked

unmarked

3SG

the

In all

-ndha

unmarked

1st word of phrase

verbs

nouns/verbs

First singular, second singular, and third plural forms show no syncretism across grammatical functions. First plural -wana, on the other hand serves all three gram? matical roles. There are no second plural bound pronouns apart from oblique -nygu,

which

appears

to be

an extension

of

the

singular

form.

the three sets of bound pronouns are distinct. Nominal Morphosyntactically, a are in substitution class with nominal case markers (forming part of possessives the syntactic word), and could be considered additional case suffixes. In (81a) the possessive occurs preceding the ergative suffix, in (81b) preceding the dative case suffix -wu,

and in (81 c) following

the locative case marker.

86

Morphology

(8 i )Possessive a.

bound

ardu-tha-lu

yarna-nda-yi-nha

SpOUSe-1SGOBL-ERG

Crazy-C AUS-PPERF-1

My

c.

wigi

He

mother-30BL-DAT

for its mother.

wanyja-yi

ngunda-gu-tha

throw-ppERF

spit spat

in my

SGDO

agu-ra-wu

cry-NPAST is crying

baby

suffixes

crazy.

wula-nhaa

child The

me

made

husband

abarla

b.

as case

pronouns

face-Loc-ISGOBL

face.

Oblique and direct object bound pronouns on verbs occur after inflectional tense-aspect suffixes. Ditransitive verbs like 'give', 'lend' take two direct objects. However, no examples of double direct object bound pronouns have been found and I was unable to elicit sentences like 'He'll give us them' where both objects were

as

expressed

bound

there

However,

pronouns.

are many

examples

of

the

direct object pronoun cooccurring with a second direct object nominal, as in (82a). object

(82) Double a.

constructions wur'a

arliba-ga-nha lend-iMP-iSGDO Lend

b.

me

tomorrow

c.

tharti-ya-ndha,

ayaka-wana-na

wur'a-wu

back-come-FUT

ask-iPL-C0LL

money-DAT

induga

come

He'll

money

some money.

back

wulhu-wu

I'm

nhaka-ra

ngayi

lice-DAT

see-30BL

lp over

looking

and ask us for money.

tomorrow,

him

for

lice.

I have found only one verb that appears to take both a direct object and a dative sentence

object,

and

(82b).

that

is aya-, one

Where

'ask

ayaka-

might

expect

(someone

a combination

for of

Consider something)'. -ra and -wana the only

direct object bound pronoun occurs on the verb, with a full nominal dative argu? ment.

In sentences

where

two

oblique

arguments

occur

and

both

are

expressed,

the

same is true: either both are free nominals, or one is a bound pronoun and the other a noun

phrase.

I have

single verb, as might

no

examples

be expected

of a sequence

in a sentence

87

of oblique

bound

like (82c). Compare

pronouns

on

a

this situation

chapter

with

3

allow sequences

that of nouns, which in (81b).

of obliques,

as in agu-ra-wu

'for its

mother'

Bound subject pronouns are arguably the most loosely bound of the bound pronouns. They occur following case suffixes (79a), direct object bound pronouns (79b), and oblique bound pronouns (79d), and are always final in the phonological word. (The collective -na, discussed in Section 3.2.2, has only been found to quan? tify over VP-internal arguments, not subjects.) Bound pronouns in Nhanda differ quite markedly from those of Yingkarta and from the more articulated system of Pintupi, as shown by the comparison sets in Table 3-7. For this subset of bound pronouns, the identity and Wajarri,

between Yingkarta, Wajarri, and Pintupi forms is quite striking: the only clear dif? ference is the occurrence ofWajarri first singular accusative -tha, which may be a shortened form of the free uninflected ngatha, and Yingkarta -nku, corresponding to Pintupi -ngku. Nhanda forms, however, show more differences than similarities, in particular for first-person forms. Table

3-7. Bound

in some

pronouns

Yingkarta

Wajarri

ISGSUBJ

-(r)na

I SGDO

-tha

ISGOBL

-ju

-ju,

2SGDO

-nda

-nda

2SG0BL

-n.gu

central WA

languages Nhanda

Pintupi -rna

-wa -nha

-jungu

-tha

-ju

2SGSUBJ

-nyja -nda

-rnda

-nggu

-nygu

first-person singular subject clitic -wa is unique; I know of no languages that have a bound first singular pronoun (of any case) of this form. Nhanda -nha could be related to the regular accusative suffix -nha, but in any case, it is not cognate with theWajarri orWestern Desert bound pronominal The Nhanda

Australian

forms.

Nhanda

-tha

also

stands

out

in this

set,

comparison

as

there

is no

regular

lamino-dentals and Wajarri/Yingarta between Nhanda correspondence palatals (see Blevins 1999). Apart from obvious phonological differences, amajor distinc? InNhanda, as illustrated tion in these bound pronoun systems ismorphosyntactic. above, subject pronouns are first-position clitics, while direct object bound pro? nouns

attach

to verbs,

and

obliques

to verbs

or

nouns.

it again from the impoverished system distinguishes andWajarri, and also from the regular first-position

The

enclitic

complexity

of

this

systems of Yingkarta clitic system of Pintupi.

Morphology

3.4 Verb Morphology are distinguished from other word classes by a distinctive set of and inflectional suffixes. These suffixes are described in detail below, the introduction of some general aspects of verbal morphology and

inNhanda

Verbs

derivational following

structure.

argument

3.4.1 Verb Structure verbs consist of a root followed by zero or more derivational suffixes, fol? lowed by one or more inflectional tense/aspect/mood suffixes. These inflectional suffixes are in turn followed by zero or more bound pronouns, which in turnmay be followed by the collective suffix:

Nhanda

[[[[[root]-derivation*]-inflection+]-pro*]-(coll)] For

the verb

example,

form

ciiga-nda-yi-wana-na

'he shamed

us all'

consists

of

the

root ciiga 'shame', followed by the causative suffix -nda which derives verbs from nominals, followed by the past perfect suffix -yi, followed by the first person plural bound object pronoun -wana, followed by the collective -na. The reflexive suffix -nyinda is classed together with bound pronouns, on the grounds nominal

that it always follows

3.4.2 Argument Verbs

Structure

split into two main Transitive

intransitive. lutive

inflection.

common

Class

categories with respect to case marking:

verbs

noun

and Conjugation

occur

objects

or

with

ergative

specific-accusative

common

noun

common

transitive and

and subjects noun objects;

abso? recall

that the absolutive case is unmarked. Intransitive verbs have single arguments that are expressed as absolutive subjects. Ditransitive verbs also occur in Nhanda; these verbs have ergative common noun subjects and two absolutive common noun objects. With transitive verbs, pronominal objects are marked with accusa? tive

case,

and

pronominal

first-

and

second-person

subjects

ples of each verb type are given in (83): (83a) show transitive verbs, and (83c) ditransitive verbs. (83) Transitivity a.

distinctions

uthu-tha

innga-ba-nhii

dog-isgobl

dead-iNCH-PAST

My dog died. abarla

wula-nhaa

child The

child

cry-NPAST is crying.

89

are unmarked.

intransitive verbs,

Exam?

(83b)

CHAPTER

b.

3

yugangga

arnmanu-lu

unhii

nyarlu-nha

yesterday

man-ERG

hit.PAST

woman-sPACC

The man

the woman

hit

yesterday.

wirdaa-tha

uthu-nggu dog-ERG

aja-yi bite-PPERF

leg-ISGOBL

The dog bit my leg. c.

arnmanu-lu

ingii

nyarlu-nha

wur'a

man-ERG

give.PAST

woman-sPACC

money

The man

the woman

gave

ngayi

induga

tomorrow Tomorrow

lp I'll

money.

arliba-ndha

nyini-nha

wur'a

lend-FUT

2p-ACC

money

some money.

lend you

In addition to these transitivity distinctions, we must distinguish two types of intransitive verbs. Unaccusative verbs are those inwhich the single argument of the intransitive verb is at some level the internal argument or object of the verb, though

itmay

act

in many

respects

as a surface

subject.

Unergative

are

verbs

those

the single argument of the intransitive verb is at all levels the external argument or subject of the verb. The case-marking frames of these two intransitive verb types are identical: both take single absolutive non-pronominal arguments. in which

But

the

tense/aspect

tinct. Unergative

markers verbs

for unaccusative

pattern

with

transitive

verbs verbs

and in what

unergative I refer

verbs to as

are dis?

the Y-class

class. The conjugation, while unaccusative verbs all fall into the NH-conjugation unaccusative/unergative split is supported by the behavior of derived verbs: derived intransitives with the inchoative suffix -ba, which creates prototypical unaccusative verbs, all conjugate in the NH class, while derived transitives with the causative

-nda

are

all Y-class

verbs.

The two major conjugation classes are labelled NH and Y, based on the ini? tial consonantism of the past and present tense suffixes, despite the fact that the [y] of Y-class verbs, where it occurs, is treated as epenthetic in (14) and below. The suffixes associated with these conjugation classes are shown in Table 3-8. Notice that theNH class lacks categories present in theY class. Past, present, and future tenses are distinguished in the Y class, while the NH class has only a distinction. The perfective/non-perfective past/non-past aspectual distinction present in the Y class (i'anu ajuga 'he was digging ajuga' vs. i'ayi ajuga 'he dug some ajuga') is also absent in the NH class.

90

Morphology

Table

3-8. Nhanda

major

classes

conjugational

NH PAST

-nhii

PAST PERFECTIVE PAST IMPERFECTIVE

-nu

NON-PAST

-nhaa

PRESENT

-a

FUTURE

IRREALIS

-nda-ndha

IMPERATIVE

-nda-ndha

IRREALIS

IMPERATIVE

-nggula

initial

suffixes:

-ga

AMBULATIVE

in Section 2.3 regular alternations

As detailed vowel

-ndha

FUTURE

-ga,0

AMBULATIVE

Y-class

FUTURE REALIS

past

-i and

perfective

-nggula

are conditioned tense

present

by the two -a. For

i- and

u-final verb stems, the addition of the past perfective -i results in a long vowel [i:], while suffixation to a-final verbs results in y-glide epenthesis. When present tense -a occurs

on

a-final

a

stems,

vowel

long

occurs,

an

while

epenthetic

ganic with the preceding vowel occurs after i- and u-final Y-class verbs are shown in (84).

glide

homor?

stems. Representative

(84) Y STEMS+ VOWEL-INITIAL SUFFIXES +

Stem

l-il pperf

+

l-?l

+

pr?s

/-ga/

imp

Gloss

adaadayi

adaa

adaga

'take away'

anhi-

anhii

anhiya

anhiga

'dance'

awu-

awii

awuwa

awuga

'stoke'

conditioned alternations, three minor rules Apart from these phonologically are evidenced in the inflectional paradigm: base-final vowel umlaut triggered by the ambulative on a preceding inchoative suffix (see Section 2.6.1); denasalization triggered only by stem-final ra on a following past imperfective suffix (see Section 2.6.2); and nasal dissimilation of-nggula (see Section 2.6.3). Table 3-9 shows representative inflected verbs from the NH class. The verb calyaba- is an inchoative, derived from the nominal stem calya 'glad, happy' plus the inchoative suffix -ba; pitu- 'want, eager to' is one of the few NH-class verbs that is neither verbs

are

inchoative,

intransitives,

as

nor alternating with an unergative Y-class are

all

regular

NH-class

verbs.

For

some

stem. Both NH

verbs,

including many of the inchoatives, there are two imperative forms; one, the bare stem, with final secondary stress, and another, with the regular imperative suffix -ga.When the imperative suffix is absent, secondary stress is still found on the final syllable: calyab? 'be happy!'. Conditioning factors for the two distinct imper? ative

forms

remain

unclear.

91

CHAPTER

3

verbs

3-9. NH-class

Table Stem

calvaba

pitu

PAST

calyabanhii

pitunhii

NONPAST NONPAST

IRREALIS

IMPERATIVE AMBULATIVE

calyabanhaa

pitunhaa

calyabandandha

pitundandha

calvaba (ga)

pituga

calyabinggula

pitunggula

Gloss

'be happy'

Intransitive

verbs with Table

Stem

aja

PAST PERF

and

transitives,

unergatives,

Table 3-10 shows Y-class

'want,

be eager

to'

are

ditransitives

Y-class

the full range of conjugational

3-10. Y-class

verbs

arliba

wada

ajayi

arlibayi

wadayi

PAST IMPF

ajanu

arlibanu

wadanu

PRESENT

ajaa

arlibaa

wadaa

FUT REALIS

ajandha

arlibandha

wadandha

FUT IRREALIS

ajandandha

arlibandandha

wadandandha

IMPERATIVE

ajaga

arlibaga

wadaga

aj angula

arlibangula

wadanggula

AMBULATIVE

Gloss

'bite'

Stem

wumba

amdi

awu-,

PAST PERF

'lend'

(tr)

(ditrans)

(intr)

'sing'

a u

wumbayi

arndii

awn

PAST IMPF

wumbanu

arndinu

awunu

PRESENT

wumbaa

FUT REALIS

wumbandha

arndindha

awundha

FUT IRREALIS

wumbandandha

arndindandha

awundandha

wumbaga

arndiga

awuga

wumbagula

arndigula

IMPERATIVE AMBULATIVE

Gloss

'steal'

arndiya

'smell'

(tr)

awunggula (tr)

'light,

stoke'

As inmany other languages, verbs with particular semantics to either

unaccusative

or unergative

argument

structure.

from the fact that certain verb stems can be conjugated For

example,

the verb

stem

verbs.

suffixes.

inada-

'break'

occurs

lend themselves

In Nhanda,

this

is clear

in either the Y or NH class.

in the Y

conjugation

sitive unergative verb 'break' (85a), and in the NH conjugation unaccusative verb 'break; be broken' (85b). 92

(tr)

as

the

tran?

as the intransitive

Morphology

AND

(85) UNERGATIVE a.

aluu

arnmanu-lu

that.ERG

man-ERG

That man

b.

UNACCUSATIVE

inada-

'break'

ngarnnga

inada-yi

stick

break-ppERF

inada-nhii break-PAST

bone-isgobl broke.

bone the

Similarly,

OF

the stick.

broke

mambu-tha

My

CONJUGATIONS

transitive

verb wumba-

an

has

'steal'

intransitive

unaccusative

entry

that means

'hide, duck down, sneak away'. (Note how similar this pair is to transitive steal, and intransitive steal away steal off.) There are also English intransitives that show both unergative and unaccusative conjugations. One simple is urnnga- 'fall'. Examples are given in (86) where (86a) shows the uner? example gative verb and (86b) the unaccusative. (86) a.

AND

UNERGATIVE yugungga

ngayi

yesterday

ala

I pushed

him,

umnga-nhii

house

fall-PAST

and he went

OF urnnga

fall-ppERF down.

falling

fell down.

house

As already noted, derived verbs in -ba, the inchoative, NH

while

class,

'fall'

urnnga-nu

push-ppERF this

minda

The

CONJUGATIONS

cuga-yi,

lp

Yesterday

b.

UNACCUSATIVE

verbs

with

-nda,

the

causative

suffix,

are

always fall into the consistently

Y

class.

Verbs derived from the nominal stem calya- 'happy, glad' in (87) illustrate the shift in conjugation-class

membership conjugation

(87) Predictable a.

abarla

child The

b.

class

with

two

derivational

inchoatives

suffixes. and

causatives

happy-iNCH-PAST was

happy.

ardu-tha-lu

My

these

calya-ba-nhii

baby

spouse-1

with

calya-nda-yi-nha sgobl-erg

husband

made

happy-CAus-ppERF-1 me

sgdo

happy.

A handful of verb stems whose final consonant is apical fall into a special conjugation class that Iwill label 'D'. Unlike the NH and Y classes, in the D class argument structure of the verb does not appear to determine membership. Instead, 93

chapter

3

is partly determined by the presence of final present tense -da/-ta. membership Presently, paradigms are partial for most D stems, but the fullest paradigms are set out in Table 3-11. Table

verbs

3-11. D-class

Stem

uudada

wathada

PAST

uudadii

wathadii

present

uudada

wathada

FUTURE

uudadandha

wathadandha

FUT IRREALIS

uudandandha

wathadandandha

IMPERATIVE

uudad?

wathad?

uudadanggula

wathadanggula

AMBULATIVE

Gloss

'take sth away'

'wonder'(semi-tr)

(tr)

Stem

wadada

wadadicada

PAST

wadadii

wadadicadii

PRESENT

wadada

wadadicada

FUTURE

wadadandha

wadadicadandha

FUT IRREALIS

wadadandandha

IMPERATIVE

wadad?

AMBULATIVE

wadadanggula

Gloss

'hop'

(intr)

'hopping

along'(intr)

These verbs seem to be intermediate between NH class and Y class in terms of tense/aspect distinctions. There is a past/present/future distinction, but no these verbs lack an overt imper? aspectual distinction in the past. Morphologically, ative suffix, though there is still irregular secondary stress on the final syllable of imperative forms, marked with a grave accent on the final vowel. Apart from this irregular

stress,

present

and

imperative

forms

show

syncretism.

In (88) I list all verbs that appear to instantiate part of the D-class (88) Probable

D-class

stems

acijada-

acijata-

'getting

adanyjada-

adanyjata-

'flirting'

igata-

'stand'

igadamaatijada-

paradigm.

clothes

on'

(intr)

(intr) (intr) (intr)

'crawling'

In some cases, there is a d/t alternation in the stem-final syllable with indetermi? nate conditioning factors. In these cases, both stems are listed. Some of these stems appear to incorporate frozen instances of the reciprocal suffix /-jada/ and

94

Morphology

could be participles (see Section 3.4.5.3.) They were English ing forms, as shown by the glosses.

typically

translated with

It is important to stress that not all verbs with final apical consonants fall into the D conjugation class. A near minimal pair is warlida- 'spank, slap', a regular Y-class

transitive

verb,

and

wathada-

'wonder',

a

semi-transitive

D-class

verb

illustrated in Table 3-11 above. The origins of final -da in these verbs is mysterious. This now inseparable in the parti? string was perhaps once a separable formative, found synchronically cipial

ending

-jada

<

(see

*-ja-da

Section

3.4.5.3).

3.4.3 Irregular Verbs In addition to the two major conjugation classes Y and NH, and the small class of D stems, there is a handful of verbs inwhich syncretism occurs within paradigms, where tense/aspect categories are misaligned with morphological forms, or where suppletive forms occur. All attested irregular verbs are listed in (89). They are listed alphabetically within verb classes (NH, Y, and unclassified), with all irreg? ularities noted below. (89) Irregular NH class

verbs Gloss 'stand,

igada

Unclassified be

standing'

'fall asleep'

ngadiya nyina

'sit; stay;

wangga

'talk, speak'

athu

'cook,

atka

'rub, spread'

atkada

'take'

kuya

'wail'

ngala-, nha-,

ngamma nhaka

pada wirda

Compounds

inga

'give' 'take; give' unhi

'belt,

slap'

wurtka

'tell sth to s.o.'

yatka

'go; come'

bum'

'eat, drink' 'see,

look

at'

'tear, rip' 'wait'

headed by the irregular verbs

has the same kada+yatkaetc. pattern with matka-. arda+matka-, example

'ask'

uma-,

Y class 'cut, chop'

aya

matka

stop'

arda

Gloss

conjugation One

95

exception,

in (89) are also as

yatka-, malu+nha-,

while

irregular. For ada+matka-, is noted

in the

chapter

3

text below. Predicted the vocabulary,

forms are marked with a double asterisk.

but unattested

are marked

verbs

irregular

In

TRR'.

class, there are very few irregular verbs. The verb wangga 'talk, speak' shows a perfectivity contrast for past tense forms that is not attested the NH

Within

for

other

any

verb:

NH-class

Stem

wangga

PAST PERFECTIVE

wangganhii

PAST IMPERFECTIVE

wangganhaa

NON-PAST

wangganhaa

FUT IRREALIS

wanggandandha

IMPERATIVE

wanggaga

AMBULATIVE

wanggagula

Gloss

'talk,

means

Ngayithada wangganhii can mean

'We

two were

verb that is slightly expected

ngadiyanhii.

The

verb

verb

'sit;

nyina-

of ngadiya-

imperative

'fall

In addition, a past perfective

Otherwise 'stand,

igada-

The

talking'.

the

**ngadiyaga.

past

'We two had a talk', while ngayithada wangganhaa

two

these be

verbs like

standing',

intransitive

Y-class

is true

of atkada-

'take'

an irregular past perfective ular.

As

mentioned

'wait'

not

as other has

'sleep',

NH

a past

2.3,

the

present

verbs.

perfective

a

parallel

with

syncretism,

imperative **wirdaga. The The

Y

verb

'wail'

kuya-

form kuyaw, in place of **kuyayi. Otherwise,

in Section

the

igadanhii.

shows

atkada.

imperative

same

the

instead of the expected

with

NH

to the expected

is ngadiyaa,

asleep'

ngadiya-

verb wirda-

present and imperative wirdaa, same

is another

stop'

form, ngadinyii co-occurs with

inflect

form igadinyii, in addition to the past imperfective The

stay;

irregular. The imperative is nyinaa, as opposed

Similarly,

**nyinaga.

(NH/IRR)

speak'

tense

of

athu-

is

has

it is reg?

athura,

not

**athuwa; this verb also has irregular imperative athuraga with regular athuga. The stem

nha-

'see,

look

Stem

at' has

a near

nha'i

PAST IMPERFECTIVE

nha'i

PRESENT

nhaka

FUT REALIS

nhaandha

FUT IRREALIS

nhaandandha

AMBULATIVE

Gloss

Y

nha

PAST PERFECTIVE

IMPERATIVE

regular

nhaga nhakanggula 'see,

look at'

(Y/IRR)

96

conjugation,

as

shown

below:

MORPHOLOGY The only differences between nha- and regular Y-class verbs are that: first, the two ' past forms have merged, with the sound change *y > occurring; second, the is -ka, not

marker

present

-a; and

same

The

conjugation.

one

verbs headed by nha- have the

Y-class

irregular

tense

present

are

one

-ka, where

at

least

expects

two

in mirror',

'look

not the expected

there

verbs,

is malunha-

exception

regular past tense malunhayi,

other

Y-class

regular

atka

PAST PERFECTIVE

ardayi

atkayi

PAST IMPERFECTIVE

ardanu

atkanu

PRESENT

ardaka

atkaka

FUT REALIS

ardandha

atkandha

FUT IRREALIS

ardandandha

atkandandha

ardaga

atkaga

ardanggula

Gloss The

form

verb

Y-class

irregular

atkanggula

'cut, chop'

transitive

tense

with

verbs

a

has

to these

-a:

arda

AMBULATIVE

which

In addition

**malunha'i.

Stem

IMPERATIVE

tense

to the present

is added

the ambulative

third,

stem nhaka-, not the bare stem nha-. Compound

'rub, spread'

(Y/IRR)

also

tear',

'rip,

pada-

shows

(Y/IRR)

a parallel

present

irregular

padaka.

I now turn to the truly irregular verbs which have their own unique para? digms. The verb yatka- 'go' shows a simple past/non-past tense distinction, with no

aspectual

tense

in past

distinction

forms.

tive found in the D class. Formation tional

'come',

between

movement

indicating

-yu/-yana

For

tense/aspect

future

and

Table

The

PAST

shows

imperative

the

verbs

with

paradigm

'come'

yatka

yatka+yu-,

and

yatkayu

FUTURE

yatkandha

yatkandhayana

IMPERATIVE

yatkada

yatkayu

AMBULATIVE

yatkanggula

yatkayu

'go' (IRR)

'come'

(IRR)

and wurtka-

'tell

verbs

matka-

'take,

give,

bring'

illustrated in Table 3-13.

97

3.4.5.5).

'go'

yatka+yana

yatkayu

also irregular, with conjugations

forma?

distinction simple is set out in Table 3-12.

yatkanu

Gloss

-da

of the direc?

a

yatkandha

PRESENT

the

Section

(see

speaker

realigned,

'go/come'

3-12. Nhanda

Stem

The

toward are

distinctions

non-future.

The

of 'come' involves suffixation

sth

(to

someone)'

are

CHAPTER

3

Table

3-13. Nhanda

and

matka

wurtka

PAST

matn

wurtn

PRESENT

matka

wurtka

FUT REALIS

mandhaa

wurndhaa

FUT IRREALIS

mandhandha

wurndhandha

IMPERATIVE

mata

wurta

matkanggula

wurtkanggula

AMBULATIVE

compound

include:

'take'

Stem

Gloss Other

verbs

'take;give' (IRR) verbs headed

ada+matka-

thuri+matka-

'get

Another

'jerk, sunny,

grab

hot

by matkasth away';

again

have

(IRR)

the same conjugation. 'call

out

someone's

These name';

rain)'.

irregular verb is ditransitive

Stem

'tell sth (to s.o.)'

ini+matka-

(after

'tell'

inga-'give':

?nga

PAST PERFECTIVE

ingii

PAST IMPERFECTIVE

inginu

PRESENT

inggaa

FUT REALIS

inganhaa

FUT IRREALIS

ingandandha

IMPERATIVE

inggaa

AMBULATIVE

inggagula

Gloss

'give'

(IRR)

Notice

the stem-final alternation between ng and ngg, and the final long vowel the present and imperative forms. Another

verb

with

Stem PAST PERFECTIVE PAST IMPERFECTIVE PRESENT FUT REALIS FUT IRREALIS IMPERATIVE AMBULATIVE

Gloss

stem

suppletive ngala-,

forms

is ngala-,

ngarnma-'eat,

ngarnma

ngalayi ngalaw pr?s

ngalaa ngarnmanhaa ngarnmandandha ngala

ngalunggagula 'eat, drink'

(IRR)

98

participle

ngalungga

drink':

in

Morphology

contrast for 'eat' patterns with Notice above that the perfective/imperfective Y-class verbs, but the future realis form is one from the NH paradigm. This is one of the few verbs with a special participial form, ngalungga. The sentences ngayi ngalungga and ngayi ngalaa both mean T am eating', but in the first example con? taining the participle, there ismore focus on the ongoing activity. This is also one of the few verbs where secondary stress was not recorded for the final syllable of the imperative verb form. Another

verb

irregular

smack,

'belt,

the hand':

hit with

uma

Stem

unhi-,

PAST PERFECTIVE

unhii

PAST IMPERFECTIVE

unhinu

PRESENT

umaa

FUT REALIS

umanhaa

FUT IRREALIS

umandandha

IMPERATIVE

umaa

AMBULATIVE

unhi-

is urna-,

umanggula

Gloss

smack'

'belt,

(IRR)

The conjugation of this verb parallels that of ngala-/ngarnma'eat, drink' in terms of tense/aspect suffixes and positions of suppletive stems. The only real difference is in the imperative forms, where ngala lacks the final long vowel found in umaa. Like

unhi-/uma-

it also

nha-,

the contrast

tive/imperfective shows

transitive

present

irregular

Stem

verb

that mixes

aya-

'ask,

the NH-

and

tense

talk

to'

shows

Y-conjugation

a past suffixes.

perfec? Like

(e.g.,

ardaka,

-ka:

aya

PAST perfective

ayanhii

PAST IMPERFECTIVE

ayanu ayaka

FUT REALIS fut

ayandha

irrealis

ayandandha

IMPERATIVE

ayaga

AMBULATIVE

ayanggula

Gloss

'ask, talk to' (IRR)

The atkaka,

occurrence

ayaka,

matka,

of

present

nhaka,

wurtka,

present tense of the Y-conjugation of calically, and strengthening

tense

-ka

yatka)

in many suggests

class, with

a

irregular

verbs

possible

*-ga

for

the

regular

loss of the suffix-initial *g intervo? to sonorant fortition (see subsequent

*g>k

99

CHAPTER3 Section 2.8.4). In inga-'give', where neither loss nor strengthening applied, the -ga suffix is maintained. Generally, the initial consonant of *-ga was retained in verb stems (see Table 3-14 below), and what are reconstructed as monosyllabic elsewhere.

lost

The class of irregular verbs inNhanda overlaps with the class of monosyl? A comparison of Nhanda labic verb stems reconstructed by Dixon (1980:403-07). is verbs with Dixon's reconstructions (which I interpret as Proto-Pama-Nyungan) in shown in Table 3-14. For further discussion of phonological developments irregular verb forms, see Blevins (1999:312-13). Table

3-14. Nhanda

(irr)

ngalamatka-

(irr)

urna-

(irr)

nha-

(y/irr)

nyina-

3.4.4 Verbal

monosyllabic

verbs

Gloss

*nga-l

'eat, drink'

^maa-n

'take'

*pu-m

'hit'

*NHaa-ng

(irr)

yatka-

of Pama-Nyungan

pPN stem

stem

Nhanda

inga-

reflexes

yu-ng

give

(irr)

*ya-n

go

(nh/irr)

*NYii-n

'sit'

Inflectional

Suffixes

Inflectional tense/aspect suffixes have been shown above with verb conjugation classes. Here, each suffix is listed, with a range of examples provided to give a sense of how each is used. Recall that in the NH class, there is a simple distinction between

past

-nhii

and

-nhaa,

and/non-past

additionally

an

irrealis

suffix

-nda

is coupled with the non-past to provide a future irrealis form. In fact, the past/non-past distinction is somewhat more complex, as detailed below.

which

For non-stative verbs in the NH class, this semantic characterization is fairly accurate. Examples of active (non-stative) NH verbs contrasting past and non-past forms are shown in (90). In these examples, the past tense covers both imperfec tive (90a) and perfective (90b) aspects, and the non-past suffix is used for present (90c,d) and future events (90e).

a.

yugangga yesterday Last

night

in active

contrast

(90) Past/non-past

maru=ngga night=LOC2 he was

ala that

NH VERBS

wutka-nhii snore-PAST

snoring.

100

Morphology

b.

thani-nggu

ngayi

outside-LOC

lp

c.

see-PAST

the man

I saw

Outside

arnmanu

nha-'i

abarli-nu

wumba-nhaa

child-PL

hide-NPAST

man

hill-EL from

down

climb

parlu-ngu

inda-nhii go

down-PAST

the hill.

The children are hiding. d.

wula-nhaa?

nhaa-wu-nyja What-0BL-2SGSUBJ are you

Why

e.

Cry-NPAST

crying?

ngayi

malya,

iga-da!

stand-iMPNEG

wirdaa-tha

urnnga-ndha! fall-FUT

lp

inada-ngga-nhaa! break-loc2-npast

leg-isgobl

Stand up! No, I'll fall! My legs will break off! Compare the examples in (90) with examples of stative NH verbs in (91). For statives, what we would normally translate into a present tense inEnglish in exam? ples like (91d-f) occurs with the past suffix -nhii. I suggest that this is because states are non-punctual; typically, a present state extends, even if briefly, into the past,

the

time

yugangga

arndi-nu

yesterday

smell-PiMPF

b.

c.

the meat

innga-ba-nhii

child-PiTY

dead-iNCH-PAST dear

poor

ngayi

child

feeling

puga-ba-nhii rotten-iNCH-PAST rotting.

died.

younger.

nyinunga

ngunyu-nygu

2p.P0SS

hair-20BL

hair

is going

the past

NH verbs

yOUng-INCH-PAST

lp

Your

reason,

wiyabarndi-ba-nhii

I was

d.

meat

abarla-bardu

The

this

in stative thudu

he smelled

Yesterday

For

contrast

(91) Past/non-past a.

the utterance.

before

winyja-ba-nhii grey-iNCH-PAST

grey.

101

suffix

occurs.

chapter

e.

3

nhaa-wu-nyja

are you

Why

f.

ngayi

ngayi lp

i.

to the ocean.

go

piyarda-ba-nhii-nygu,

nyini

SOrry-INCH-PAST-20BL

2p

I'm feeling

sorry

induga

nyini

ciiga-ba-nhaa

tomorrow

2p

shame-iNCH-NPAST

Tomorrow

you'll

h.

ngayi

because

feel

really

hat-isgobl

lp

hat on

Sick-INCH-NPAST

come

getting

sick.

on you.

ija-yi

uthudu-nggu.

pinda-ba-nhaa.

?eave-PPERF

ground-LOC

dirty-iNCH-NPAST

It will

the ground.

matharda-ba-nhaa

you're

shame

manggawarla-tha

I put my

water-loc

go-NPAST

(du) will

for you,

apa-nggu

yatka-ndha

lp-DU

to, so we

tired-INCH-PAST

tired yet.

ngayi-thada

eager-PAST

I'm eager

g.

I'm not

tired?

panda-ba-nhii

NEG-ISGSUBJ

tired-INCH-PAST

pitu-nhii,

lp

malya-wa

panda-ba-nhii?

what-OBL-2SGSUBJ

get dirty.

Support for this view comes from inceptive states as in (91g): in this example -nhaa is used, since the state is just beginning and does not extend into the past. Because themajority of stative verbs in theNH class are derived by addition of the inchoative -ba, itmight appear that this shift in tense/aspect contrast is a result of -ba

suffixation.

the

same

at

However,

patterning,

with

least

-nhii

one

used

non-derived for

a state

NH continuing

stative, into

pitu-

(9If)

the present,

shows trans?

lated into English in the present tense. Compare also the questions in (90d) and (9le): from these, it seems clear that the unmarked present stative is non-inceptive, while the unmarked present active is punctual. Throughout this grammar, -nhii is glossed as past, even when it is translated by an English present tense, as in the examples

just discussed.

Some examples of the future irrealis are given in (92). Notice that in (92c), the if-clause occurs in the irrealis, while the consequent takes the simple future -nhaa.

realis (92) NH a.

class

-nda-ndha

'future

irrealis'

arnmanu-ba-nda-ndha man-iNCH-iRR-FUT He might

become

a man

(through

the law).

102

Morphology

b.

ngayi

panda-ba-nda-ndha tired-INCH-IRR-FUT

lp

Imight get tired. c.

aluu that.ERG If that dog

uthu-nggu

ngarnma-nda-ndha

dog-ERG

eat-iRR-FUT

eats

urdamundi

the poisoned

thudu meat

paacinu-waa, poison-coM

meat,

innga-ba-nhaa dead-iNCH-NPAST

then die.

then he'll

As noted earlier, Y-class verbs have a perfectivity contrast in the past tense which is absent inNH-class verbs. Examples are given in (93). in Y class contrast (93) Past perfective/imperfective a.

indaacu-lu big-ERG

uthu-nggu

aja-yi-nha

dog-ERG

bite-PPERF-ISGDO

The big dog bit me. nggu

uthu

aj

b.

dog was

man-ERG

head-isgobl putting

armanu-lu

my

fire

The man

lit a fire.

I used

head

wajanu

man-ERG

wagurla-nggu

shove-ppERF

warla-tha

lp

lp

anyjati-i

a rock

shoved

ngayi

ngayi

the man.

biting

rock

The man

c.

man

wur'a

armanu-lu

I was

arnmanu

bite-piMPF

dog-ERG The

a nu

ngayi

apa-nggu

anyjati-nu

lp

water-Loe

shove-PiMPF

into the water.

artpa-yi Hght-PPERF

artpa-nu

parnba-galu

bum-PiMPF

hard ground-PATH

to burn

along

hole-LOC

into the hole.

the flat

ground.

103

CHAPTER

3

The past perfective focuses on the event as a completed action, while the past imperfective is used for ongoing past events, highlighting the event as a process. Sentence pairs in (93) illustrate the contrast: in each case, the first sentence exem? plifies the perfective aspect and the second, the imperfective. Notice in (93c) how the past imperfective can also function as a past habitual. The contrast between present, future realis, and future irrealis for Y-class verbs is illustrated by the sentence sets in (94). In each set, the first sentence illus? trates the present, the second the future realis, and the third the future irrealis.

a.

ngayi-thada

wangga-nhaa;

two are talking;

aja-ndha-rnda

SOOn

bite-FUT-2SGD0 he'll

Directly aluu

uthu-nggu

that.ERG

dog-ERG

If that dog b.

bite

bites

arnmanu-lu

The man

you,

I'll shoot

shoOt-FUT

him.

kangaroo

aluu

hey

directly

that.ERG going

wur'a-ndha-wana-na shoot-FUT-iPL-coLL

to shoot

all of us.

wur'a-nda-ndha

yawarda,

lp

shoot-iRR-FUT

kangaroo

I would

have

shot

lp

wur'a-ndha

a kangaroo.

urdamundi

ngayi

bite-PRES

yawarda

shoot-PRES

he's

nyarlu woman

the woman.

ngayi

bite-IRR-FUT-2SGDO

is shooting

directly

dog-ERG is biting

aja-nda-ndha-rnda,

aga,

Hey,

the dog

aja-a

you.

wur'a-a

man-ERG

meanwhile

meanwhile

urda

uthu-nggu

wutkatpajadi

talk-NPAST

lp-DU We

in Y class

contrast

(94) Present/future

the kangaroo,

mandha-ndha take.iRR-FUT

if I had

taken

warnba-caa go

off-AGT

a gun.

Examples with the regular imperative suffix -ga are shown in (95). As noted earlier, a second-person subject (singular, dual or plural) is understood. Compare the positive imperatives in (95a) with the negative imperatives with malya in (95b). Examples with clitics following -ga are also provided in (95c). The exclamation urli meaning 'now; go on and V; get Ving!' is often found with imperatives as in (95d).

104

Morphology

(95) Imperative a.

-ga

aci-ga

abarla

dress-iMP

child

Dress the child! nha-ga see-iMP

inya

kuwirtpa-nha

this

funny

-spacc

Look at this funny one! b.

malya

wumba-ga;

ngayi-nha

neg

steal-iMP

lp-ACC

Don't

steal! Don't

c.

make

a fool

malya NEG

ca'u-nda-ga f00l-CAUS-IMP

of me!

wada-ga-ra S?ng-IMP-30BL

Sing it for him! malya

atpirda-ga-tha

neg

He-IMP-isgobl lie to me!

Don't

d.

urli,

nada

adama-ga

now

note

pull

Quickly,

a note

pull

urli

aga-ga

now

get up-iMP

Get

up now

out-iMP out!

!

Examples of the ambulative suffix -nggula are given in (96). The ambulative suffix -nggula has been classed together with other tense/aspect suffixes for two reasons. position

First, as

other

it occurs

after

the

tense/aspect

verb

suffixes.

stem, Second,

occupying

the

its meaning,

same for

morphological active

verbs,

is

usually partly progressive 'while going along, while walking along', an action that is continuous or repetitive over the space (96a) or time (96b) dimension. Recall that the ambulative triggers vowel umlaut on preceding inchoative -ba (96c) (see Section 2.6.1), and itself undergoes nasal dissimilation (96d) (see Section 2.6.3). The participial nature of -nggula is apparent in (96e): in a sequence of tenses, the verb formed with -nggula picks up the tense of the matrix verb. In (96f), a bound pronoun follows

the ambulative

suffix.

105

CHAPTER

3

(96) Ambulative a.

-nggula

armanu-lu

ngayi

wanyjida-nggula

lp

listen-amb

I'm

c.

rocks

is putting

listening

on

along

(as you're

along

uthudu-nggu

rock-sPACC

put-AMB

The man

b.

wur'a-nha

ija-nggula

man-ERG

ground-Loc

the ground.

talking).

calya-bi-nggula glad-INCH-AMB [She's]

d.

abarla-nha

woman-ERG

child-sPACC

woman

someone

aluu

along

sneak-go-amb

along

See.PRES-AMB-IPL

looking

along

at us.

3.4.5 Verbal Derivational The two most these

3.4.5.1

creeping.

nhaka-nggula-wana

that.ERG

and

carry-AMB the baby.

kada-yatka-nggula

someone going

along.

warnda-gula

ngana

see-PAST

lp

He's

is carrying

nha-'i

ngayi

I saw

f.

going

nyarlu-nggu

The

e.

up while

cheering

common These

exemplified. in turn,

and

Inchoative

then

Suffixes

verbal derivational are turn

the

inchoative

to other

suffixes have already been mentioned -ba,

seemingly

and

the

causative

non-inflectional

-nda. verbal

I discuss suffixes.

-ba

is typically added to a nominal stem, N, resulting in an intransitive, unaccusative verb stem meaning 'being N, becoming N\ The intransitivity of the verb stem is clear from its occurrence with single nominal arguments, while the unaccusativity of the verb stem is indicated by the conjugation of all derived -ba verbs in the NH class. As far as I can tell, -ba suffixation is completely productive: for any nominal, N, a verb stem [N-ba-] is possible. A range of examples of

The inchoative

derived verbs is given

in (97).

106

Morphology

Nominal

stem

inchoative

with

derivation

(97) Verbal

-ba

verb

Derived

Gloss

Gloss a man'

arnmanu

man

arnmanu-ba

'become

inda

'big'

inda-ba

'grow up'

idangga

'up high'

idangga-ba

'be up high'

catka

'burned'

catka-ba

'be burned

ciiga

'shame'

ciiga-ba

yinnga

'dead'

yinnga-ba

matharda

'sick'

up'

'be ashamed' 'die' 'be sick'

matharda-ba

'be tired'

'tired'

panda-ba

puga

'rotten'

puga-ba

'rot, be rotten'

urda

'mad, wild'

urda-ba

'get angry'

wandha

'where?;

panda

somewhere'

that

meanings e.g.,

are

there',

'up

canonically

as

expressed in many

'where?',

disappear'

inchoatives are derived in (97) includes

that the class of nominals from which

Note

'be where?,

wandha-ba

e.g.,

adjectives, However,

languages.

and

'big',

as noted

adverbs,

in Section

3.1

and again in Section 3.2.8, there is no grammatical basis for distinguishing among these nominals inNhanda. In some cases, the nominal source for the stem towhich -ba

is

is no

suffixed

unrecognizable this

Given tics

and

fact,

atpirda

example, of wurtka

compound

simple

verb

with

with

Gloss 'lie'

are given in (98).

causative

-nda

Derived atpirda

verb -nda

-

Gloss 'tell s.o./sth

'burned'

catka-nda

'bum

s.o./sth'

ca'u

'fool'

ca'u-nda

'make

a fool

ciiga

'shame'

ciiga-nda

'shame

s.o.'

'quiet

s.o./sth

mirla

'quiet' 'flat'

panda

'tired'

urda

'mad, wild'

war'a

seman?

inchoative

catka

cindi

an

mangarda,

to a verb stem.

of -ba suffixed

verbalizer,

wurtka-man

-nda

of derived causatives

derivation

stem

as a

the

'ear' with

syntax.

Causative

Nominal

be viewed

-ba could

Some examples (98) Verbal

For

formative. There are no examples

unaccusative

3.4.5.2

a

to be

appears

'forget'

garda-ba-

recoverable.

longer

'bad'

cindi-nda mirla-nda

'squash,

lies'

of s.o.'

flatten

down' s.o./sth'

panda-nda

'make

s.o./sth

urda-nda

'make

s.o./sth

wild'

war'a-nda

'make

s.o./sth

bad'

107

tired'

chapter

3

The causative -nda is also suffixed to nominal stems, but in all cases suffixation results in a transitive verb. The transitivity of the derived verb is clear from its occurrence with two or more nominal arguments, with ergative case marking on in the Y class. nominal subjects. As expected, causatives conjugate consistently The

rule

productive

of

-nda

from a nominal stem. There stem:

wirdati-nda-

'kick

in Nhanda

suffixation

derives

always

a causative

verb

is only one dubious example of -nda suffixed to a verb from

s.o./sth',

the

intransitive

verb

stem

wirdati-

'kick'.

However, wirdati, from wirdaa 'leg', could be a noun 'kick', with zero derivation for the intransitive, and direct -nda suffixation for the derived causative. A possi? ble

frozen

of

instance

is the pair

formation

causative

ya'u

'none'

and

yadu-nda

'do, do something', where the literal meaning was perhaps 'do nothing (in partic? ular)'. A more transparent case of lexicalization is the pair wigi 'spit, saliva' and 'talk about someone or something'. Compare English spit it out! wigi-ndaPairs of example sentences with inchoatives and causatives derived from the same nominal stem are given in (99).

a.

wamdu-tha

catka-ba-nhii

throat-isgobl My

dry-iNCH-PAST

throat was

dry.

arnmanu-lu

catka-nda-yi

man-ERG

dry-CAUS-pPERF

The man

b.

it.

burnt

induga

nyini

ciiga-ba-nhaa

tomorrow

2p

shame-iNCH-NPAST

Tomorrow

you'll

really

feel

shame

aluundu

ciiga-nda-yi-wana-na

that.ERG.PL

Shame-CAUS-PPERF-

Those

c.

and causatives

inchoatives

(99) Derived

lot of people

made

nyarlu

panda-ba-nhii

woman

tired-INCH-PAST

The

woman

nguti-jadi

ipl-coll

us all shamed.

is tired.

panda-nda-yi-nha

Wet-PART The

come

swimming

tired-CAUS-PPERF-1 made

me

SGDO

tired.

108

on you.

Morphology the NH conjugation of the inchoatives versus the Y conjugation of the caus? atives, and the ergative case marking of nominal subjects of causative verbs.

Note

Reciprocals with -jadi and related forms suffix -jadi is added to transitive verb stems to form reciprocal

3.4.5.3 The

reciprocal

verbs

meaning

'do V

to each

For

other'.

example,

from

the

stem

'tie',

atpi-

a verb

atpi-jadi 'tie each other up' is formed. Reciprocal verb forms have plural subjects, and subject nominals take ergative case. Syntactically then, the reciprocal suffix as verb. Because all to the the transitive direct of function object -jadi appears inchoatives derived with -ba are unaccusative intransitives where single argument is at some level the object of the verb, -jadi is never suffixed to stems ending in of derived reciprocals are given in (100). verbs with reciprocal Derived -jadi

-ba. Examples (ioo)

Verb stem

Derived

Gloss 'burn'

athu-nda

reciprocal

Gloss

athu-nda-jadi

'bum e.o.'

atka

'rub'

atka-jadi

'rub e.o.'

atpi

'tie'

atpi-jadi

'tie e.o.

cugi-jadi

'push e.o.'

'push'

cugi

'wink

milutpa

at'

muthida

'drown'

ngarda

'chase'

pitu-di unggi

'fight'

wur'a=ngga

'shoot

All

s.o.

'want

reciprocals

are

milutpa-jadi

'wink

muthida-jadi

'drown

ngarda-jadi

'chase

to'

(ioi) a.

and

verbs,

Reciprocals

as Y-class

ngayi-thada

atka-jadi-nu

therefore

b.

two were

one

greasing

nyarlu-thada-lu

c.

verbs

another.

ngarda-jadi-nu

woman-Du-ERG The

in (101).

grease-RECiP-PiMPF

lp-DU We

chase-RECiP-PiMPF

two women

were

'shoot

wur'a=ngga-jadi

unergative

chasing

induga

nyarlu-thada-lu

tomorrow

woman-DU-ERG

Tomorrow

the two women

one

another.

unggi-jadi-ndha fight-RECiP-FUT will

fight

each

109

e.o.' e.o.' to'

'fight e.o.'

unggi-jadi

jugation class, as shown by the examples

at e.o.'

'want e.o.

pitu-di-jadi

at'

up'

other.

they

occur

at e.o.'

in the Y-

or D-con

CHAPTER 3 The reciprocal suffix, like the tense/aspect suffixes, follows all derivational suf? fixes. While the reciprocals in (100) all involve affixation to a verb stem, there is some freedom of order between the reciprocal and tense/aspect/mood suffixes. For sentence than but this is better (101a) judged example, ngayithada atka-nu-jadi, was not judged as ungrammatical, simply not as good as (101a). See also the vari? able order of reciprocal and future suffix in (103). With irregular verbs, added to the inflected suppletive verb form, as shown in (102). (102)

-jadi is

verbs wiTH-jadi

Irregular

at e.o.'

'looked

nha'i-jadi

'are looking

nhaka-jadi

'are giving

ingga-jadi

(past)

at e.o.' e.o.'

(pr?s)

(pr?s)

form -jadi appears to have bimorphemic origins: *-ja-di, The morphological the second vowel, as part of the D-conjugation class (see Section 3.4.2) alternates between i in the past and a in the present. This alternation continues when a verb in -jadi is combined with future -ndha; in this case, as shown by the where

in (103), the suffix form is -jada. -ndha with (103) Future -jada

examples

a.

b.

induga

nyarlu-thada-lu

atka-ndha-jada-na

tomorrow

woman-DU-ERG

Tomorrow

the two women

grease-FUT-RECiP-coLL are going

to grease

one

another.

unggi-jada-ndha flght-RECIP-FUT [They're]

going

to fight

one

another.

A handful of verb stems, all intransitive, appear to have lexicalized of this suffix. They are listed in (104) with conjugation class marked. (104)

verb

Intransitive acijadi-

(NH)

adanyjadi (D) maatijadingutijadi

(Y) (D)

'dress,

stems

with

lexicalized

instances

of

instances

-jadi

get dressed'

'was/were flirting' 'crawl' 'was/were

swimming'

A small number of nouns also appear to have frozen instances of the -jadi suffix. Note the homophony between acijadi 'clothes' and acijadi- 'get dressed', or atkajadi 'ointment' and atka-jadi- 'rub each other'. These are listed with other transparent examples in (105). In all cases, the root of the derived noun is a tran? sitive

verb.

110

Morphology

lexicalized

with

Nominals

(105)

Verb stem

instances

of

-jadi

Nominal

Gloss

Gloss

aci-

'dress'

acijadi

'clothes,

aji-

'bite'

ajajadi

'tobacco,

cigarettes'

atka-

'rub'

atkajadi

'rubbing

stuff,

'stabbing

knife'

manggurdajadi

'poke'

manggurda-

'rip, tear'

parda-

pardajadi

clothing'

ointment'

torn, ragged'

'ripped,

A possibly related verbal suffix is -cada/-cadi 'along' which indicates move? ment along a path in time or space. In line with the D-class inflectional paradigm, -cada is present tense and -cadii is past. This suffix is typically found with verbs of movement, as shown by the examples in (106). I gloss this as part for 'participle', since

these

(106)

Verbs

a.

verb

can

forms

with

occur

participial

as

participles.

-cadi/-cada

'along'

urnnga-nhii-cadi fall-PAST-PART.PAST He was

b.

kangaroo

c.

along.

hop-PART.PRES is hopping

kangaroo

along.

wadadi-cadi,

yawarda kangaroo While

stumbling

wadadi-cada

yawarda

The

along,

falling

ngayi

hop-PART.PAST the kangaroo

was

wur'a-yi shoot-pperf

lp hopping

along,

I shot him.

Like the examples with -jadi in (105), this suffix appears frozen two interesting lexical items shown in (107). (107)

with

Adverbs

lexicalized

-cadi

Stem Gloss 'at where?;

wandha=gawurtkatpaLike

Adverb at somewhere'

'sleep' the

agentive

suffix

in at least

-caa

(see

Gloss sometime'

wandhagacadi

'when;

wutkatpacadi

'meanwhile'

Section

3.2.3)

cannot

-cadi/-cada

occur

as

an independent word, but appears to fall midway between suffix and compound formative. It is bimoraic, satisfying theMinimal Word Constraint, and, by the reg? ular stress rule, consistently attracts secondary stress to its initial syllable. But the voicelessness consonants

of are

the

initial

consonant

all morpheme-internal

is anomalous,

since

in the native

vocabulary.

111

intervocalic As

with

voiceless -caa,

the

CHAPTER

3

of the initial consonant suggests a boundary weaker but stronger than that of -jadi/-jada.

voicelessness compounds, 3.4.5.4

Reflexive

than that in

-nyinda

suffix in Nhanda is -nyinda. Unlike the reciprocal which is some? times followed by tense markers, the reflexive consistently follows all tense/aspect markers, and is final in the verb (not including following optional bound pro? The reflexive

nouns). Like reciprocals, reflexives take ergative nominal the verb remains grammatically transitive. Examples with shown in (108). Reflexive

(io8) a.

ngayi

subjects, showing that the reflexive suffix are

-nyinda

nha'i-nyinda See.PAST-REFL

lp

I saw myself.

b.

unhii-nyinda

ngayi-thada

hit.PAST-REFL

lp-DU We

c.

two hit ourselves.

yugangga

abarla-lu

yesterday

child-ERG the kiddie

Yesterday

d.

wumbura-yi-nyinda urinate-ppERF-REFL wet

himself.

arnmanu-lu

unhii-nyinda

man-ERG

hit.PAST-REFL

The man

hit himself.

The suffix -nyinda does not appear to be related to any other morpheme but

Nhanda,

Western A

compare

Australian

distinct

the second-person

adverb,

singular

'by

pathu

alone,

oneself,

on

one's

Section

3.5, indicates the absence of other participants.

3.4.5.5

Directional

Direction locatives, fixes

nyinda

for Proto-Kartu

(69).

discussed

in

own',

-yu/-yana

inNhanda

can be expressed and

adverbs,

-yu and

pronoun

personal

can be reconstructed

languages, which

in

in other

-yana,

also

used

verbal

by

with

verbs

through directional affixation.

The

of movement,

nominals,

indicate

case-marked

and

non-future direction

future

suf?

towards

one

participants in the discourse, or a reverse direction from the stem. For example, the verb yatka- 'go' when suffixed with -yu has roughly the meaning of or more the verb

'come'.

in the meaning The

non-future

With

other

verbs

like atkada-

'take back, bring back.' This form

is -yu and

the future

form

112

'take,

bring',

-yu

suffix is peculiar is -yana.

In this

suffixation

results

in that it inflects. sense,

it could

be

Morphology a post-verb, possibly a historical derivative of the verb *yaof these inflected directionals are given in (109).

considered Examples (109)

'go'.

Directional-yu/-yana

a.

walajadi

yatka-ndha-yana

Storm

b.

gO-NPAST-DIR.FUT

storm will

A

yarnba bush The

c.

ardidi-yu fire

is coming

along

atkadi-yu

that.ERG

take-DiR.NFUT

one brought

nguba

nose-EL

blood

yawarda-thada

two

kangaroo-DU

two kangaroos.

back

is pouring

crackling.

wuthada

mutha-ngu

Blood

e.

crackle.PAST-DiR.NFUT

fire

aluu

That

d.

be coming.

wardadi-yu Aow-dir.nfut

out

from my

nose.

wadadi-yu hop-DIR.NFUT He's

towards

hopping

you.

3.4.5.6 Poorly attested verbal suffixes A small number of verbs appear to be formed by the addition of -ta or -(r)ti though themeaning of these suffixes is unclear. Derived verbs include ingga-rti- 'kill' (cf. 'dead');

ingga

late

'get

nyili-ga-ta'kick'

parlada-ta-

(cf. wirdaa

in

afternoon'

apparent derivational the frozen locative discussed 'run

lada-nggatharda-la-nggawur'a'shoot').

run

away, 'slip,

There

slide'

toV,

where

'late

nyili

afraid,

afternoon');

frightened'); and

wirda-ti

are

(cf. two

V

is the

verb formative is -ngga, possibly an instance in Section 3.2.1.4. Examples include: par

off

(cf.

tharda

inchoative

'be

parlada'knee');

and

in the corpus

examples

taking a further suffix -cu, resulting one

(cf.

'be

parlada-

'leg').

Another

of

(cf.

'frighten' the

afraid,

wur'a-nggaof

inchoative

in a derived nominal meaning verb:

yarnabacu

'get drunk, become mad';

'grog,

liquor'

frightened'); 'shoot verbs

at'

(cf.

with

-ba

'stuff causing from

yarna-ba

and the name of a tree with long yellow seed pods, yarlinyubacu, literally 'causing one to elope or run off and get married', from yarlinyuba- 'go courting, elope, run away'. Itwas said that if you pick one seed off this kind of tree, you get married and run off.

113

CHAPTER

3

Another

attested

poorly

is a questionable

suffix

as purp?? below. O'Grady,

glossed

to camp',

'in order

ngadi-gu

but Lucy

never

Ryder

-gu

purposive

and Voegelin

Voegelin,

this

used

'in order

suffix

to',

show

(1966:124) spontaneously,

and firmly judged purposive phrases with it as non-Nhanda. Some elicited purpo sives are shown in (110): in all cases, as marked by (*-gu), the sentence was judged if -gu was included. ungrammatical Purposives

(no) a.

athu-nu

nyarlu-nggu woman-ERG woman

The

arnmanu

b.

man

c.

meat

cooking

to give

(ni) a.

ngarda-ndha(-*gu)

yawarda-nha

north

chase-FUT-PURP??

kangaroo-sPACC

to chase

north

the kangaroos.

yawarda

dig-PRES

athu-ndha(-*gu)

to cook

in order

reason

the

indicating absent

in all

for

or

uthudu-nggu

cook-FUT-puRP??

kangaroo

two are digging

the kangaroo

with the nominal dative case suffix) was of

purpose

utterances.

spontaneous

sand-LOC in the sand.

an

but

it was

examples

are

event,

Two

consistently give

in (111).

Causals ngayi

athu-nu

thudu,

the meat

ngayi

ngadiya-nhaa,

lp

sleep-NPAST

I'm going

to sleep

because

kucidu-ba-nhii-(wu)

ngayi

meat

cook-piMPF

lp I cooked

b.

child-PL

go-NPAST

i'a-a,

optional,

give-FUT-PURP??

idalu,

ala-thada

and

abarli-nu

to the children.

A causal suffix -wu (homophonous found

ingga-nhaa(-*gu)

yatka-ndha

is going

that-DU

meat

cook-piMPF was

The man

Those

thudu,

I was

lp

hungry-iNCH-PAST-CAUS

getting

hungry.

panda-ba-nhii-(wu) tired-iNCH-PAST-CAUS because

I'm

tired.

In both of these sentences, there was a major intonational break after the first clause. The same was true of other sentences similar to those in (111) with causal meaning, where causation was indicated by simple phrasal apposition. Recall

that the Nhanda

Proto-Pama-Nyungan

and causal -wu can be derived from *-gu via the regular sound change in (33).

dative

purposive

One other verb-final

the

suffix with phrasal scope noted by O'Grady, Voegelin, and Voegelin (1966:124) is optative -tha'i, in inggarti-tha'i 'let him kill it'. I have found no evidence of this as a Nhanda suffix.

114

Morphology

3.4.6 Compound

Verbs

A small number of verb stems are root compounds. been

in Section

mentioned

since

3.4.3,

they

Some of these have already in accordance

conjugate

with

proper?

ties of the second element, which heads the verbal word. For example malu+nha is a compound

in mirror'

'look

Other

at'.

sth

grab

of malu headed

verbs

compound

out

'call

ini+matka-

away';

'take'

nha-

and

reflection'

'shadow,

by matka-

ada+matka-

name'

(cf.

someone's

look

'see,

include:

'jerk,

ini

'name');

thuri+matka-

'get sunny, hot again (after rain)' (cf. thuri 'sun'). Two adverbial formatives appear to be productive: kada- 'sneakily' and tharti compound-initial in the other

'back,

'sneak

kada+yatkaing';

direction'.

stem

(The

'return, come back'.)

verb meaning

away,

tharti+yatka-

also

Examples

with

back';

Y-class

these adverbials 'steal while

include:

no one's

look?

tharti+nha-

back';

'give

tharti+yingga-

as a regular

occurs

kada+wumba-

around';

creep

'come

tharti-ya-

'look

back'. As with other compounds, both formatives may carry primary stress: k?day?tkayu or k?day?tkayu 'he snuck away'. in verbs also appears to be a form of compounding, Reduplication indicating intensity, plurality, or distributivity of the event over time or space. The first two syllables of the verb stem, minus inflectional affixes, are copied, and serve as the initial

element:

compound

matka+matkatear

at

'feeling from

(of wind)'

around,

upset

rip';

'touch, 'shake

'take,

from

pada+pada'mess

around,

acalu-

in the air'

'sneeze';

'tear

through,

move 'talk

wangga+wangga-

(all around)

ali-nu

nyarlu-nu

anhi-ya,

cutka-ri-nu

that-PL

woman-PL

dance-PRES

arm-30BL-PL

women

uudinu-lu wind-ERG The

get';

pidi+pidifeel';

sneeze',

things from

alot'

from wanyja-

'throw,

reduplication

Verbal

Those

b.

'tear,

pidi-

and

matka-

in context are give in (112).

swing'. Examples

a.

padafrom

things'

from

'talk'; wanyja+wanyja-

wangga-

( 112)

acal+acalu-'sneeze

about'

wind

are dancing,

shaking

their arms

pada+pada-nu

ngunyu-tha

RED+tear-piMPF

hair-isgobl

was

tearing

at my

wanyja+wanyja-a

idangga

RED+throw-PRES

up high

in the air.

hair.

3.5 Adverbs In addition to nouns and verbs, which both take derivational and inflectional mor? phology, there are two uninflected categories in Nhanda: adverbs and interjec? tions.

Adverbs

modifiers.

include

temporal,

However, most words with

locational,

manner,

locational and manner

115

and

quantificational

adverbial functions

CHAPTER 3 are nouns or verbs. Some adverbs are listed in (113) with representative of their use in (114). (113) True

adverbs Gloss

Adverb TEMPORAL

'tomorrow'

induga yugangga

'yesterday'

urda

'directly,

soon'

urdamundi

'directly,

soon'

'directly,

now,

urli

'by and by,

warlu

'a long

ciidii

'alone,

pathu

SYNCATEGOREMATIC

induga

ngayi

nhaa-ndha

lp

see-FUT

tomorrow Tomorrow

I'm going

inyja-a

alone

stay-PRES

c.

d.

ngayi

malya

lp

neg

I won't

cook

ngayi

e.

COOk-FUT

anyway

go-NPAST

anyway.

ngayi-thada lp-DU We

it.

yatka-ndha

lp

sister.

athu-ndha

aatiku

I'm going

sister-isgobl

alone.

staying

two were

wangga-nhaa; talk-PiMPF talking;

meanwhile

own'

no matter'

anyhow,

malyu-tha

to see my

pathu

lp I'm

'regardless,

in context

(114) Adverbs

b. ngayi

on one's

by oneself,

negative

malya aatiku

a.

later'

time ago'

'meanwhile'

wutkatpacadi MANNER

quickly'

wutkatpacadi

abarla

thadatpa-yi

meanwhile

child

wipe-ppERF

she was

116

wiping

the child.

examples

Morphology

One adverb found inHale's (1960) fieldnotes is thunu 'yet, still, soon'. This could be a borrowing from English soon, though compare *thunu 'one' for many languages of Cape York. While the class of adverbs is generally non-inflecting, one adverb, urli 'now' is found with the focus marker -ganu (Section 4.9). The syntactic behavior and dis? tribution of adverbs is discussed further in Section 4.

3.6 Interjections Interjections are uninflected words that are used with special discourse functions, like expressing pain, surprise, fear, etc. These words are always initial in the into national phrase, and form independent phonological phrases. A sample of inter? jections is given in (115). interjections

Some

(115)

Interjection Rough 'aaah!

aga

Context used

gloss yikes!

man

alaka

'look out! watch

inyaka

'look out! watch

balayi

'look out! watch

urli

'go on

then!

alive!'

when

surprised,frightened,

out!'

when

frightened,

alarmed

out!'

when

frightened,

alarmed

out!'

when

danger

let's get moving!'

'ouch!'

yagayi

to urge

to

express

'e'e'yes, uh-huh'

The examples (116) a.

to show

in (116) show interjections

aga!

urdamundi

yikes!

directly

wur'a-ndha-wana-na shoot-FUT-iPL-coLL

Yikes! Directly [they're] gonna shoot us all. b.

inyaka, watch Watch

c.

urli

snake

out,

there's

a snake!

idithunda-ga

go on Go

thayidi

out

pinch-iMP

on and pinch

her!

117

is near

someone

to act

pain agreement

in their discourse

in context

Interjections

alarmed

with

context.

speaker

CHAPTER

3

ala interjections alaka and inyaka appear to derive from demonstratives 'that' and inya 'this', while aga could be related to the verb aga- 'get up'. As noted in Section 2.2, the word 'e'e is exceptional in terms of vowel quality: it is the only The

native Nhanda word with amid-front

vowel, and both vowels

are laryngealized.

3.7 Affix Order Though affixes have for themost part a fixed position within the nominal or verbal word, there are exceptions. Some of these have been already noted, where individ? ual suffixes are discussed. Here, I summarize the range of variability in affix order for

nouns

and

verbs.

For nominals, the dual and plural number suffixes -thada and -nu may pre? cede or follow case suffixes (see Section 3.2.2.) This variability in affix order dis? from many Australian tinguishes Nhanda languages where number suffixes case In suffixes. pronouns, however, affix order is fixed with consistently precede case markers

number markers preceding

(see Table 3-4).

pronouns on nominals normally follow case (possessive/oblique) in double pos? but number markers (117c). However, (117a,b), precede case marker. (Sen? sessives (117d), the oblique bound pronoun precedes the dative tence (117d) is the only example of this type in the database.) Bound

markers

of bound

(117) Order a.

ala-ganu

wucpalaa

uthu-nggu-ra

aja-'i-nha

that-FOC

whitefella

dog-ERG-30BL

bite-ppERF-isGDO

The

b.

whiteman's

nyina-nhii

child

sit-PAST child

arda-ma-ga

d.

open

agu-ra mother-30BL

lap-L0C-30BL on her mother's

lap.

wiku-ri-nu stomach-30BL-PL their

stomachs!

wandha

ardu-nygu-wu

badgutu-ra?

where

spouse-2SGOBL-DAT

bread-30BL

Where's

your wife's

food?

The same bound pronouns suffix,

[KH:88]

murna-nggu-ra

is sitting

cut-VB-iMP Cut

bit me.

dog

abarla

The

c.

pronouns

as

in: warla-nggu-tha

[KH:87]

occur freely preceding or

warla-tha-nggu

118

or following 'on my

head';

the locative case murna-ra-nggu,

Morphology

'on her lap', etc. A representative template for affix order within murna-nggu-ra nominals, then, might look as follows, where square brackets enclose the inflec? tional suffix domain: NOMINAL

ROOT-DER*-[CASE*-(BOUND

PRO)-(NUMB)-CASE*]

If bound pronouns are viewed as nominal agreement markers within possessive noun phrases (recall that they are obligatory), then the ordering of these elements within the inflectional suffix complex is easier to understand. For verbs, affix order ismore or less fixed, with the exception of reciprocal in Section 3.4.5.3. This suffix normally precedes tense/aspect -jadi, discussed but is also found following these suffixes. A general template for affix inflection, order within verbs, then, might look as follows, where INFL covers all suffixes: tense/aspect/mood VERBAL

ROOT-DER*-(RECIP)-INFL*-

(RECIP)-(BOUND

PRO)

Recall that noun and verb roots may be compound, in which case the second root serves as morphological head of the word. The variable ordering of the reciprocal suffix may represent its ambiguous status between derivational suffix and bound pronominal.

119

4

Syntax

lan? In this section I describe phrase structure inNhanda. Like many Australian guages with similar case systems, word order is relatively free, syntactic structures are primarily appositional, and headedness (particularly within the noun phrase) is largely indeterminate. Arguments are often unexpressed at the sentence level, with their interpretation based on the larger discourse context. While no true texts were available to enable an investigation of discourse-level syntax, Lucy Ryder often quoted conversations she had overheard involving two or more participants, and short passages from oftentold stories. In these discourse contexts, there was no

evidence

or

switch-reference

of

of

cross-referencing

(i.e.,

arguments

no

of

examples

same-subject

markers.)

4.1 Simple Sentences All

sentences

simple

Intransitive expressed

verbs overtly.

in Nhanda a

have The

single

general

a main

contain

argument,

subject split-ergative

verb

or

which

nominal. predicative or not be may may pattern

case-marking

is summarized

in Table 4-1, where nominal subjects of intransitive and transitive verbs show dis? tinct case marking, while pronominal subjects do not. Recall that the class of nom? inals

includes

demonstratives

Table

and

interrogatives.

Subject of intransitive Nominals

Pronouns

Simple case-marking

case marking

4-1. Nhanda

Subject of transitive -lu

Object

unmarked

-nggu,

ABSOLUTIVE

ERGATIVE

SPECIFIC ACCUSATIVE

unmarked

unmarked

-nha

NOMINATIVE

NOMINATIVE

ACCUSATIVE

-nha

intransitive sentences are given in (118). Within system,

intransitive

subjects

take

absolutive

case

the ergative nominal which

is unmarked

the nominative/accusative (118a). Within system of pronominals, case-marking intransitive subjects take nominative case, which is also unmarked (118b). Sub

120

Syntax

to the occur encliticized jects may also be expressed as bound pronouns, which sub? the Section the intonational word of first 3.3.2.3). Finally, phrase (118c) (see case for the usual This is be third-person pronouns (118d), unexpressed. ject may and (second-person) subjects of imperatives (118e), but it is also common when from the discourse

the subject is understood

a.

nyarlu

yatka-ndha

woman

go-NPAST

The

b.

woman

urda

is going

ngayi

SOOn

north north.

gO-NPAST soon.

yatka-ndha-wana gO-NPAST-1 We're

d.

idalu

yatka-ndha

lp

I'll be going

c.

(118f).

sentences

intransitive

(i 18) Simple

PL

going.

yatka-ndha gO-NPAST

[He/she/it/they] will be going. e.

yatka-ga gO-IMP

Get going! f.

ngayi lp Yesterday

idandi-i climb-PAST I climbed

yugungga

parlu-nggu,

induga

tharti-yatka-ndha

yesterday

hill-Loc

tomorrow

back-go-NPAST

up the hill,

and

tomorrow

I'll go back.

Simple transitive sentences are given in (119). Transitive verbs have a sub? a direct object, both of which are optionally expressed. Nominal case and ject, markers are described in Section 3.2.1. Within the ergative case-marking system transitive subjects take ergative case (-lu/-nggu) and absolutive of nominals, non-specific direct objects are unmarked, while specific direct objects can occur with the specific accusative suffix -nha (119a). Within the nominative/accusative pronominal case-marking system, transitive subjects are nominative (unmarked), and direct objects take accusative -nha (119b). Arguments may also be expressed as bound pronouns: direct object bound pronouns follow all inflectional suffixes on the verbs, while subject clitics attach to the first word of the intonational phrase

121

CHAPTER

4

(119c). Finally, one or both arguments may be unexpressed. This is the usual case for all third-person subject pronouns and third-person singular object pronouns (119d), and (second-person) subjects of imperatives (119e), but it is also common when the subject and/or object is understood from the discourse (119f). Some transitive cognate object verbs, like wada- 'sing' often occur without the cognate object, but retain an ergative subject (119g). (119) a.

transitive

Simple nyarlu-nggu woman-ERG woman

The

b.

ngayi

sentences

yawarda-(nha)

nha'i

kangaroo-sPACC

see.past

saw

the kangaroo.

nha'i

nyini-nha

see.PAST

2p-sPACc

lp

I saw you.

c.

inngarti-ndha-rnda-wa ISGSUBJ

kill-FUT-2SGDO-

I'll kill you. d.

urda

aja-ndha

directly

bite-FUT

Directly [he]'11bite [him]. e.

urli,

aja-ga

go on

bite-iMP

Go

f.

ngayi

on, bite

him!

lp

to cut

g. nyarlu-nggu woman-ERG woman

wuthada-nda-ndha

CUt-FUT

log-SPACC

I'm going

The

ardama-ndha

yani-(nha)

tWO-CAUS-FUT

the log and make

(thurdadu)

wada-a

song is singing

[it] into two.

sing-PRES (a song).

verbs like Simple ditransitive sentences are shown in (120). Ditransitive and two have direct The of these distribution 'lend', 'give' objects. arguments is the same as that of transitive verbs, except that I have yet to find examples where both arguments are expressed as bound pronouns. In (120a) the direct object status of the two verbal arguments is apparent from the possibility of the specific accu

122

Syntax

sative marker on either or both specific nominals, while in (120b) an object pro? noun takes obligatory accusative case, and co-occurs with a direct object nominal marked specific accusative. In (120c) one direct object is expressed as a bound pronoun, and the other as a nominal, while in (120d) both third-person direct objects

are unexpressed.

ditransitive

(120) Simple a.

arnmanu-lu

arliba-yi

nyarlu-(nha)

wur'a-(nha)

?end-PPERF

woman-sPACC

money-SPACC

man-ERG The man

b.

induga

arliba-ndha

nyini-nha

nayapu-nha

lp

lend-FUT

2p-sPACC

knife-sPACC

lend you

the knife.

wur'a

arliba-ga-nha sgdo

lend-iMP-1

d.

ngayi

I'll

Tomorrow

Lend

to the woman.

lent the money

tomorrow

c.

sentences

money

some money!

me

malya

arliba-ga

neg

lend-iMP

Don't you lend it to him! like 'ask' in (121) occur with a direct object and a dative (which is

Other verbs,

non-locative/non-directional) (121) a.

nyarlu-nggu

aya-nu

woman-ERG

ask-PiMPF

The woman

b.

the man

asked

of

aya-

'ask'

arnmanu-(nha) man-sPACC

wur'a-wu money-DAT

for money.

induga

thartiya-ndha,

aya-ka-wana-na

wur'a-wu

tomorrow

comeback-FUT

ask-PRES-iPL-coLL

money-DAT

He'll

c.

argument. structure

Argument

come

back

tomorrow

and ask us all for money.

nhaa-wu-nyja

aya-ka-nha?

What-DAT-2SGSUBJ

ask-PRES-ISGDO

What

are you

asking

me

for?

other transitive verbs, like those in (122), a direct object co-occurs with a loc? ative or directional. For verbs like ija- 'put' and ma- 'take', locative or directional

With

123

CHAPTER

4

noun phrases are normally expressed (122a), but they may take the form of bound oblique object pronouns (122b), or be absent altogether (122c).

a.

with

sentences

transitive

Simple

(122)

locatives/directionals

armanu-lu

yawarda-(nha)

ija-yi

man-ERG

kangaroo-spacc

put-ppERF

The man

put

nayapu

abarla-ngu

take.PAST child-EL

lp

fire-LOC

in the fire.

the kangaroo

matii

ngayi

wajanu-nggu

knife

I took the knife from the child. b.

c.

mandha-ra

ngayi lp

take.FUT-30BL

I'll take

it from

ngayi

him.

ija-yi pUt-PPERF

lp

I left [it] there. In general

the only

then,

in the

constituent

obligatory

sentence

is the

verb.

Third-person singular pronominal direct objects and all third-person pronominal subjects are normally unexpressed. The use of deictics in such cases imparts focus or

as mentioned

emphasis

earlier.

stood from the discourse

4.2 Constituent Constituent

In addition,

any

that

argument

can

be

under?

can be left unexpressed.

Order

order inNhanda, as inmany other Australian languages, is quite flex? illustrating constituent order freedom are provided in (123). In all

ible. Examples of

these

lowing Mrs.

sentence alternative

Ryder

to say

sets, word a

the first orders

particular

sentence were sentence,

was elicited. and

a spontaneous However, then,

when

and

utterance, it was asked

not

the fol?

uncommon

to repeat

for

it, provide

a different constituent order. Mrs. Ryder's judgements were that all sentence sets that differed only by constituent order were semantically equivalent. Her typical response tomy queries involving constituent order was: "Yeah, you can say it that way if you like. It still means the same thing. You can say it that way if you want to." In intransitive sentences, S(ubject) V(erb) and VS orders are attested. In tran? sitive sentences, SO(bject)V, SVO, VSO, and OSV orders are attested. In (123a) the locative nominal is preferred phrase-finally or phrase-initially, but possible in other positions as well. The same is true of the instrumental nominal in (123c).

124

(i23) a.

freedom

order

Constituent

wur

armanu-lu

a

anyjatii

wagurla-nggu

armanu-lu

anyjatii

wur'a

wagurla-nggu

anyjatii

armanu-lu

wur'a

wagurla-nggu

wur'a

anyjatii

armanu-lu

wagurla-nggu

wur'a

anyjatii

armanu-lu

wagurla-nggu

wur'a

armanu-lu

anyjatii

wagurla-nggu

armanu-lu

wagurla-nggu

wur'a

armanu-lu man-ERG The man

anyjatii

wagurla-nggu

anyjatii

hole-LOC

rock a rock

shoved

wur'a

wur'a-tha

s v o

abarla-lu

wur'a-tha

wumba-yi

so

wumba-yi

abarla-lu

wur'a-tha

v so vos o vs

wur'a-tha

abarla-lu

wur'a-tha

wumba-yi

abarla-lu

wur'a-tha

abarla-lu

wumba-yi

money-iSGOBL

child-ERG

child

VOS

LOC

O V S LOC O S V LOC LOC S O V S O LOC V

os

v

v

Steal-PPERF

stole my money.

arda-ka

ngayi

wajanu

yadiwaa-lu

arda-ka

wajanu

ngayi

yadiwaa-lu

wajanu

yadiwaa-lu

arda-ka

ngayi ngayi

V S O LOC

shove.PAST

wumba-yi

The

S V O LOC

into the hole.

abarla-lu

wumba-yi

s o v LOC

arda-ka

wajanu

yadiwaa-lu

V S O INSTR VOS

INSTR

S V O INSTR S O V INSTR O V SINSTR

arda-ka

ngayi

yadiwaa-lu

wajanu

ngayi

arda-ka

yadiwaa-lu

yadiwaa-lu

ngayi

wajanu

arda-ka

INSTR S O V

ngayi

yadiwaa-lu

wajanu

arda-ka

S INSTR O V

axe-iNSTR

wood

wajanu

lp I'm going

to cut

some

firewood

with

Chop-PRES an axe.

125

O S VINSTR

CHAPTER4

d.

yawarda-nha

nyarlu-nggu

parlada-yi

o s v

yawarda-nha

parlada-yi

nyarlu-nggu

o v s

nyarlu-nggu

parlada-yi

yawarda-nha

s v o

nyarlu-nggu

yawarda-nha

parlada-yi

s o v

parlada-yi

nyarlu-nggu

yawarda-nha

vso

parlada-yi

yawarda-nha

nyarlu-nggu

vos

frighten-ppERF

kangaroo-SPACC

woman-ERG

The

woman

the kangaroo.

frightened

Interrogatives have a strong tendency to occur in sentence-initial position. Examples are given in (124). Interrogatives ngana and ngandu 'who' are restricted to phrase-initial position (124a), while nhaa 'what', is sometimes allowed in non-initial position (124b), and other times not (124c). Adjuncts wandha 'where' and

'when',

wandhagacadi

nhaawu

'why'

are

normally

occur elsewhere sentences where

phrase-initial,

but

can

as shown by the alternative constituent orders in (124d,e,f). In the interrogative is non-initial, the initial element of the phrase is interpreted as focused. words

(124) Question a.

ngana

athu-ndha

maru-nggu?

who

cook-FUT

night-LOC

Who

c.

maru-nggu

nhaa-nyja

atka?

What-2SGSUBJ

hold.PRES

What

do you

nyini

nhaa

atka?

2p

what

hold.PRES

What

do you

have?

ini-nygu?

what

name-20BL your

(*ini-nygu

ngana)

have?

nhaa

What's

and elsewhere

is cooking tonight?

(*athu-ndha

b.

phrase-initially

name? nhaa)

126

Syntax

d.

wandha-ngu-nyju

yatka-yu?

Where-EL-2SGSUBJ did you

Where

wandha-ngu

nyini

yatka-yu

wandha-ngu?

2p

go-DiR.NFUT

where-EL

did you

nyini

yatka-yu?

come

from?

nyini

yatka-ndha-yana?

wandhagacadi

yatka-ndha-yana?

wandhagacadi

nyini

yatka-ndha-yana

wandhagacadi?

2p

go-NPAST-DiR.FUT

when

are you

When

f.

from?

nyini

Where

e.

gO-DIR.NFUT come

nhaa-wu

nyini

panda-ba-nhii?

nyini

nhaa-wu

2p

what-DAT

Why

are you

back?

coming

panda-ba-nhii? tired-INCH-PAST

tired?

The negative particle malya 'no, not, don't' tends to immediately precede the main verb (125a-f), though itmay occur elsewhere (125g-h) when there is con? focus.

trastive

(125) Negative a.

b.

malya

lp

neg

I'm not

shamed.

shame

ngayi-nha

malya

lp-ACC

NEG

make

a fool

ca'u-nda-ga f00l-CAUS-IMP of me!

nyinunga

ardu-nygu

2p.P0SS

husband-20BL

(But) d.

ciiga

ngayi

Don't c.

malya

your

husband

malya

atpida-ga

NEG

lie-IMP

Don't

doesn't

yawarda

malya

ngalungga

kangaroo

neg

eat.PRES

eat kangaroo.

lie!

127

CHAPTER

e.

4

ija-a

malya neg

keep-PAST

ilu

ardu-nha?

this.erg

spouse-sPACC

This one doesn't keep his wife? f.

ciiga?

malya-nyja NEG-2SGSUBJ Aren't

shame shamed?

you

g. malya neg

dingo

lp

see.PAST

lp

uthu

see.PAST

lp

dog

not a dingo.

I saw a dog,

h. ngayi

rigayi nha'i

nha'i,

ngubanu ngayi

malya

ngubanu ingii,

neg

dingo

ngayi lp

give.PAST

uthu

ingii

thudu meat

give.PAST dog

I didn't give (it) to the dingo, I gave meat to the dog. Like the instrumentais and locatives to come

tendency

either

or

phrase-initially

in (123), time adverbials have a strong but

phrase-finally,

other

and all were attested

found. In (126), all orders are grammatical,

orders

are

also

in spontaneous

speech.

of time adverbials

(126) Order yugangga

arnmanu-lu

inida-yi

nyarlu-nha

arnmanu-lu

yugangga

inida-yi

nyarlu-nha

arnmanu-lu

inida-yi

yugangga

nyarlu-nha

arnmanu-lu

inida-yi

nyarlu-nha

yugangga

woman-sPACC

yesterday

man-ERG

kiss-ppERF the man

Yesterday The

adverb

kissed

the woman. 'meanwhile'

wutkatpacadi

(127) a.

position

Initial ngayi-thada

talk-PRES

b.

ngayi lp I was

two are talking;

meanwhile

uthu-nggu

aja-a

meanwhile

dog-ERG

bite-PRES

i'a-nu

ajuga;

wutkatpajadi

talk-PRES

ajuga

meanwhile

digging

is biting

her.

ngadinyii sleep.PAST

she was

128

sleeping.

pre?

are in (127).

wutkatpajadi

the dog

ajuga; meanwhile

phrase-initially,

event. Examples

'meanwhile'

wutkatpacadi

wangga-nhaa;

lp-DU We

of

occurs

always

ceded by a phrase introducing the paired ongoing

Syntax

4.3 Constituency

within Noun Phrases

case marking phrases tend to be contiguous strings of nominals, with number marking on one (128a), or all constituents (128b). (128) Complex noun phrases

Noun

a.

indaacu big The

b.

uthu-nggu

aja-ndha-wana-na

dog-ERG

bite-FUT-IPL-COLL

big dog's

indaacu-lu

going

to bite us all. wur'ada-lu

uthu-nggu

aja-yi-nha bite-PPERF-ISG

black-ERG

dog-ERG

big-ERG

and

The big black dog bit me. if only one nominal within the contiguous noun phrase is case marked, it is the last. However, exceptions to this occur with the specific accusative, as in the following example:

In general,

wuthada-nha-wa two-sPACC-iSGSUBJ

yawarda

inngartii

kangaroo

kill.past

the two kangaroos.

I killed

this is because the specific accusative is not a true case suffix, or because in general, a single case-marked nominal within the NP can occur in any position,

Whether is not

a noun

clear. When

is discontinuous,

phrase

case marking

occurs

on all nom?

(128a) with (129).

inals. Compare

(129) A DISCONTINUOUSNOUN PHRASE aja-ndha-wana-na

indaacu-lu

indaacu-lu

aja-ndha-wana-na

uthu-nggu

big-ERG

bite-FUT-IPL-COLL

dog-ERG

uthu-nggu

The

big

dog's

(*indaacu (*uthu

to bite us all.

going

aja-ndha-wana-na

uthu-nggu) indaacu-lu)

aja-ndha-wana-na

Possessive noun phrases were discussed in Section 3.3.1, with examples in Table 3-5. Recall that within a possessive phrase, possessive marking can occur on both the head noun and the possessor (130a), or on the head only (130b). (130) Possessive a.

noun

ngalayi-nyja eat.ppERF-2SGSUBj You

phrases thudu-tha meat-iSGOBJ

ngayunga lp.poss

ate my meat.

129

CHAPTER

b.

4

wangayi-lu

ciipu

that-FOC

sheep

crow-ERG crow

That

Recall

the sheep's

got

atkadii take.PAST

eye-30BL

out.

eye

(117d), the oblique bound pronoun precedes

that in double possessives case

dative

milu-ra

ala-ganu

the

marker.

4.4 Constituency to noun

In contrast

within Verb Phrases are

there

phrases,

no

strong

for

arguments

constituency

within

the verb phrase. The relatively free order of sentencial constituents shown in (123) includes VSO and OSV patterns, where verb and direct object are non-adjacent. There are no clear cases of VP fronting or VP ellipsis. One verb, pitu-, 'eager to, wanting to' acts as a VP proform, as shown in (131). PRO-FORM

VP

(131) a.

nyini 2p Are

apa-nggu?

go-NPAST

water-Loe

you

they

do

go-NPAST-DiR.FUT

since not

proforms

provide

4.5 Relative

go

to shoot can

probative

Clauses, Complements

'e'e,

ngayi

yes Yes,

yatka-ndha-yana

the men

However,

to the ocean?

going

man-ERG Will

'EAGER TO, WANTING

pitu-

yatka-ndha

arnmanu-lu

b.

WITH

evidence

eager-PAST

to.

yawarda

wur'a-ndha?

kangaroo

shoot-FUT

kangaroos? operate

pitu-nhii

lp

I want

TO'

want

They on

semantic for

syntactic

Subordinate

pitu-nhii eager-past

to. rather

than

syntactic

structure,

structure.

Clauses

and

Syntactic relations expressed by relative clauses, subordinate clauses, and comple? ments in other languages are expressed by simple juxtaposition in Nhanda. Nhanda exemplifies the 'adjoined relative clause' type described in Hale (1976). expressed via relative clauses in other Examples in (132) show how modification are in Nhanda. The semantic head being modified languages typically expressed is in bold. In all cases, prosodie factors like phrasal intonation, and possible pause after the NP in bold in (132a,b,d) suggest that the main clause has a simple NP object that ismodified by an independent juxtaposed phrase. In other words, all examples appear to involve two independent juxtaposed clauses.

130

Syntax

clause

(132) Relative a.

arnmanu-lu

nhaka-ra

lp

arnmanu-lu

d.

hit me

who

kangaroo-PL

slap-ppERF with.

the kangaroos

see.PRES-20BL

is looking

for you.

ngayi

athu-ndha

yawarda

nyini

lp

cook-FUT

kangaroo

2p

I'll cook

yawardi-nu

nhaka-nygu

hit.PAST-ISGDO

The man

warlida-yi

lp

that I hit

unhii-nha

man-ERG

ngayi

stick-DAT

for the stick

looking

drink.PART water.

drinking

ngarnnga-wu

see-30BL

I'm

c.

speared

that was

the emu

ngalungga

water

spear-ppERFemu-sPACC

The man

ngayi

apa

karlaya-nha

widaa-yi

man-ERG

b.

equivalents

the kangaroo

that you

widaa-yi spear-pperf

speared.

Similarly, subordination at the sentencial level involves syntactic clausal 'mean? apposition. The only true subordinator I have found is wutkatpacadi while' (133i-k). Elsewhere, temporal (133a-d) and causal (133e-h) relationships between

are determined

clauses

b.

parladangga-nu

horse

gallop-ppERF

lp

was

when

galloping

along

see. past I saw him.

abarla-nha

ingii

milgi

ngayi

woman-ERG

child-sPACC

give.PAST

milk

lp

ngayi lp I was

d.

horse

ngayi

nyarlu-nggu

The

c.

nha'i

nguutu

The

of context.

the basis

of subordination

(133) Expression a.

on

woman

the baby milk

while

inida-nu

abarla-nha

arnmanu

kiss-PiMPF

child-sPACC

man

kissing

ngabu-barta-lu fat-AUG-ERG The

gave

I was

fat man

the baby when

Whistle-PRES while

talking.

yatka-yu go-DiR.PAST

came

in.

arda-ka

wajanu

wunyba-a

is whistling

a man

wangga-nhaa

CUt-PRES

WOOd he chops

firewood.

131

talk-NPAST

CHAPTER4

e.

aluu

uthu-nggu

aja-nda-ndha-rnda,

that.ERG

dog-ERG

bite-IRR-FUT-2SGD0

wur'a-ndha

ngayi

shoOt-FUT

lp

If that dog bites you, I'll shoot him. f.

nyini

yatka-ndha-gula,

ngayi

2p

gO-NPAST-AMB

lp

If you

g.

ngayi

ciiga

I'm ashamed

river-LOC

i.

talk-NPAST

k.

were

talking;

wurdu-tha

walganyja-a;

son-isgobl My

son

meanwhile

paint-PRES is painting;

The

verb

pitu-

'eager,

because

thirsty-iNCH-PAST they're

thirsty.

wutkatpacadi

yawarda

atpi-ya

meanwhile

kangaroo

tie-PRES

he's

tying

up a kangaroo.

wutkatpacadi

ajuga

i'a-nu

meanwhile

ajuga

dig-PiMPF

they were

digging

up ajuga. uthu

wutkatpacadi

palgatpa-a

meanwhile

bark-PRES

and meanwhile,

Very few verbs inNhanda ments.

wajilu-ba-nhii

horse-DAT

for the horses

meanwhile

wangga-nhaa;

lp-PL We

the river

talk-NPAST

ngayi-nu

nguutu-wu

take, fut

water from

two are talking;

We

mandaa

wangga-nhaa;

lp-DU

j.

apa

money

some money.

I stole

lp

ngayi-thada

Steal-PPERF

because

get water

I will

wur'a

wumba-yi

lp

ngayi

wilu-nggu

SOrry-INCH-NPAST-20BL

for you.

sorry

ngayi

shame

lp

h.

I'll be

go along,

piyarda-ba-nhaa-nygu

the dog

dog

is barking.

appear to subcategorize VPs or sentencial comple? want

to'

can

be

viewed

as

taking

VP

or

sentencial

(134a-d). Notice in these examples that pitu- behaves in all ways as complements an unaccusative verb (NH conjugation, absolutive subject), and that the VP or clausal complement has a verb marked for tense/mood/aspect. The example in (134e) shows nha- 'see' with what looks like a relative clause object headed by (specific accusative) nyarlunha, but, again, prosodie factors suggest this is a juxta? posed sentencial

complement

or modifier.

132

Syntax

of complementation

(134) Expression a. ngayi

pitu-nhii

yatka-ndha

eager-PAST

go-NPAST

lp

to go.

I'm eager

b.

abarli-nu

pitu-nhii

yatka-ndha

wilu-nggu

child-PL

eager-PAST

go-NPAST

sea-LOC

The

c.

children

swimming

nyarlu

pitu-nhii

mardiji-ba-nhaa

eager-PAST

married-iNCH-NPAST

woman

wants

to get married.

nyini

pitu-nhii

yurdu-nygu

mardiji-ba-nhaa?

2p

eager-PAST

daughter-20BL

married-iNCH-NPAST

you want

Do

e.

to go

swim-PART

in the sea.

woman The

d.

are eager

nguti-jada

ngayi

daughter

nhaka

nyarlu-nha

athu-ra

see.PRES

woman-sPACC

cook-PRES

lp I am

your

to get married?

at the woman

looking

cooking

thudu meat

meat.

4.6 Coordination As

with

coordination

subordination,

involves

simple

phrasal

parataxis.

The

exam?

ples in (135) illustrate sentencial coordination (135a,b), VP coordination (135c), NP coordination (135d,e), and coordination with verb ellipsis or gapping (135f). Again, as with the examples in Section 4.4 and Section 4.5, all examples appear to involve two independent juxtaposed clauses. of coordination

(135) Expression a.

ngayi lp I was

b.

cugi-nu

arnmanu-nha,

urnnga-nu

parnba-gu

push-piMPF

man-sPACC

fall-piMPF

ground-LOC

pushing

watpa-nggu other-ERG That

other

the man,

and he fell on

the hard ground.

ngalaka

yawarda,

ardu-nygu

eat.HAB

kangaroo

spouse-20BL

fellow

eats kangaroo,

but your

133

malya

ngalungga

neg

eat.PRES

husband

doesn't.

CHAPTER

4

arnmanu-lu

c.

man-ERG

throw-ppERF

The man

d.

nguuti-i

acijadi-wana

rain-ERG

wet-ppERF

clothes-ipl

our clothes

rain wet

yawarda

hit.PAST

kangaroo

and our

mirla-wana rug-iPL rugs.

uthu

purndu

pitkili nhurndi

pitkili

dog

back

bald

bald

The

f.

spear

unhii

and hit a kangaroo.

a spear

threw

pundu-gu

The

e.

widaa

wanyja-yi

a mangy

has

dog

nyini

yatka-da

2p

go-iMP

tail

back

and a mangy

tail.

ngayi

mutha=ngga

nose=LOC2

urndu=galu

back=PATH

lp

You go in the front and I'll go behind. (1966) and Hale (1960) corpus and Bates (n.d. 85) contain a particle kala unattested inMrs. Lucy Ryder's speech. This particle coordinates NPs (136a), VPs (136b), and entire sentences (136c). The lexical item The O'Grady

coordinate kala

could

be

a feature

of central

and

southern

dialects,

absent

in northern

Nhanda,

and possibly borrowed from a neighboring language. The examples in (136) are from Ken Hale's (1960) fieldnotes; because the morphology differs slightly from that reported in Chapter 3,1 have not provided morph-by-morph glosses. particle

(136) Coordinate a.

ala-kanu He's

b.

kala

from

here

atkari-nha they

took me

ngayuu

kala

and killed

ngayi-nha

kala

corpus

only)

nyinii

and me.

for you

yatka-nu

inya-ngu-wa

And

ada-matka

the meat

cutting

I went

c.

thudu

and Hale

kala (O'Grady

in.gartii

yawarda

a kangaroo.

takta-gu

to the doctor,

and

kala malya-wa I didn't

innga-ba-nhii

die.

Notice in (136c) that the first- position first-person singular subject clitic -wa does not cliticize to kala, but to the first word of the following coordinate clause, the negative

particle

malya.

134

Syntax

4.7 Yes/No Questions questions are expressed by what would otherwise be declaratives, with special intonation contours. The most common contour adds a sharp falling accent on the last main stress in the phrase, with a slight phrase-final rise in pitch on the phrase-final syllable. In (137) an acute accent marks the position of the phrasal

Yes/no

pitch

accent.

(137) Some yes/no a.

nyini

p?nda-ba-nhii? tired-INCH-PAST

2p Are

b.

questions

tired?

you

nyini

yatka-ndha

2p

go-NPAST

Are

you

going

urinate-LOC

wanyjida

woman

hear, pr?s

you

hear

a wee?

to have

c. nyini

Do

w?mbu-gu?

inya ny?rlu? this

woman

this woman?

In addition tomorpho-syntactically unmarked questions of the sort shown in and the Hale (137), (1960) corpus contains a yes/no question particle ari O'Grady which

is unattested

in Lucy

Ryder's

This

speech.

particle

appears

phrase-initially

in (138a-c); if we assume for (138d) that [inyawaka'i] is a topic NP, and forms a distinct syntactic phrase, then the phrase-initial generalization can be maintained. As above, because the morphology and lexicon differs slightly from that reported in Chapter 3,1 have not provided morph-by-morph glosses. particle

(138) Question a.

ari wiinta

alakanu

ari (O'Grady

wunngamu

and Hale

idangga'

Did the tree fall on you? [KH:95] b.

ari-nyja

abarla-nha

waji-mundi'?

Did you wash the baby? [KH: 114] c.

ari

a ardandha nyj

' i alakanu

waj

anu ?

Did you cut wood? [KH: 116] d.

inya waka'i

ari yandaa

ngayuu?

Is this snake coming tome? [KH:92]

135

nyinii?

corpus

only)

chapter

4

4.8 Syntax

of Imperatives

Imperative sentences are given in (139). Imperative verbs have the same syntax as forms, except that they lack an overt subject noun phrase, and a non-imperative subject is understood. The regular imperative suffix is -ga for all second-person Some NH-class verbs, particularly inchoatives conjugation classes (139a,d,e,g). with -ba, have alternative imperatives that consist of the bare stem (139b). Certain irregular verbs have bare stem imperatives as well (139f), and others have imper? atives marked by -da (139c). Recall that the regular imperative suffix -ga has unexpected which must be considered a lexical property of this suffix. (139) a.

Imperatives cindi-ba-ga quiet-iNCH-iMP

Be quiet! b.

cindi-ba quiet-iNCH-iMP

Be quiet! c.

malya

yatka-da

pundu-gu

neg

go-iMP

rain-Loe

Don't

d.

go out

in the rain!

aci-ga

abarla-nha

dress-iMP

child-sPACC

Dress the child! e.

wirdaa-ra

atpi-ga tie-iMP

leg-30BL

Tie up his legs! f.

watpa-nha

inggaa-nha

other-sPACC Give

g.

malya neg

me

give.pr?s-

another

1sgdo

one!

arliba-ga lend-iMP

Don't lend it to him!

136

secondary

stress

Syntax

Irregular imperative forms are discussed in Section 3.4.3. As far as I could tell, there were no syntactic conditioning factors for these morphologically irregular imperative forms. However, I did not elicit imperatives for all verb stems. In all

the argument structure of the imperative verb is imperatives, from its basic form, and the same range of bound pronouns can follow unchanged the inflected verb. Negative imperatives are preceded by the negative particle malya.

4.9 Focus Marking The

suffix

Attested

-ganu

occurs

on

a small

class

of

stems,

and

appears

to mark

forms are shown in (140).

(14O) FOCUS MARKER-ganu Focused

form

Gloss

(with emphasis)

Stem

Gloss

alaganu

'that one'

ala

'that'

atuganu

'that there'

atu

'there'

inyaganu

'this one'

inya

'this'

ituganu

'this here'

itu

'here'

nhaaganu

'something'

nhaa

'what;

something'

nganaganu

'someone'

ngana

'who;

someone'

urliganu

'that's enough!'

urli

Examples

appear in (141).

(141) FOCUS MARKER-ganu IN CONTEXT a.

wula-nhaa

ala-ganu that-FOC That

b.

crying.

nhaa-ganu

atalu

something-Foe

down

I saw

c.

cry-NPAST

one's

something

ngana-ganu who-FOC Who's

ngayi lp

down

wujanu

see.PAST

there.

yatka-yu?

stranger that stranger

nha'i

go-DiR.NFUT

coming?

137

'goon!'

focus.

CHAPTER

4

The fact that this suffix occurs primarily on demonstratives indefinites supports the view of these items as a special Though

the exact

semantics

are unclear,

-ganu

seems

to act

and interrogatives and subclass of nominals. as a focus

marker.

This

suffix appears to be cognate with Panyjima -ganu 'only' andWajarri -ganu 'noth? ing but'. The word urliganu is the only example of suffixation to an adverb in the corpus.

138

Lexicon

lexicon that follows is a list of all attested Nhanda stems and The Nhanda-English basic words, their grammatical category, and their approximate meanings. English alphabetical order is used, with glottal stop (') added as a last member. The names

Nhanda

is followed

section

Nhanda-English for

languages,

by a list of Nhanda and

people,

suffixes

and a list of

places.

Compounds and derived nouns and verbs are listed when their meanings are lexicalized or not entirely compositional. Bound nominals (see section 3.2.8) are followed by a dash. For demonstratives, interrogatives, and pronouns, only the unmarked nominadve/absolutive singular forms are given. The reader is referred to sections 3.2.7 and 3.3 for full inflectional paradigms. For verbs, the stem is listed along with its conjugation class. See section 3.4.2 for the inflectional para? digms of regular NH-, Y-, and D-class verbs, and section 3.4.3 for inflectional par? adigms of all irregular verbs. If a verb is not marked transitive or intransitive, it occurs

in both case frames. Verbs marked with '(?)'are those for which conjuga? If a loan source is identifiable, it is listed in parentheses

tion class is undetermined. at the end of the entry.

Any vocabulary item from my own fieldwork is unmarked for source. Vocab? ulary items from other sources are marked. If the notation in the original source is for ambiguous in any way, it is given in its original form in italics. Abbreviations sources

original

are:

DB

Bates (n.d. 85)

OG

O'Grady (1966)

RTG

Goldsworthy (1886b)

AO

Oldfield (1865)

KH

Hale (1960)

Other abbreviations ADV

used in the lexicon are:

adverb

Ny

Nyungar loan

PN

proper

English loan

PRO

pronoun

interjection

sth

something

s.o.

someone

D

D-conjugation

Eng INT

class

IRR

irregular

I/I

interrogative/indefinite

V

verb

kind

Vintr

intransitive verb

Vtr

transitive

LOC

verb

noun

ko

locational

of nominal

N nominal NH

NH-conjugation

class

verb

Waj

Wajarri loan

Y

Y-conjugation

139

class

Lexicon

Nhanda-English A ADV

aatiku

anyway,

regardless,

anyhow

guage,

abarla N child, baby abarlaba-Vintr (NH) act like a child N pregnant

abarlawaa

Vtr

aci-

acijadi- Vintr (NH) getting dressed acijadi N clothes Vtr

ada-

take

(Y)

Vtr

adamatkasth away

sth away (IRR)

(from

s.o.)

jerk, grab

tree with

N wattle

yellow

flow?

aneura

or alarmed)

-

Discorea yam hastifolia; in is used when plant grows roots are hill country where

term

the rocky

on

shallow;

the sandplain,

the same

plant is called ajuga aja

N

little dear,

(used

in call?

tobacco,

N bush

ajuga

this

term

cigarette Discorea yam

is used when

the sandplain, country,

rocky

where

the same

agurda

ama

N

ADV early (Eng) father

ardanda-

Vintr (D) break

ardanda-

Vtr

ardathada

(Y) break

N

short-cut;

halfway

N

lover

sweetheart,

spouse,

ari question particle [KH;OG] Vtr

arliba-

(Y)

lend sth (to s.o.)

N mouse;

arndanyu

rat

bush

arndi- Vtr (Y) smell N man;

arnmanuba-

person,

human

(NH)

become

Vintr

a man

N people

plant

is called

the east,

LOC east N many,

attarda

from

people

arnngalu hastifolia;

plant grows on roots are deep; in

ala DEM that (proximate) aliipala

grog

arda- Vtr (Y/IRR) cut, halve ardamatka- Vtr (IRR) cut, chop

arnngaandi desert

son-in-law N

ajajadi

alcohol,

N drunk

through the law

aja- Vtr (Y) bite N

or salt)

(fresh

N

apanggu

arnmanu

little sweetie

ing to a grandson)

ajadi

N water

ardu

N mother N bush

dance

corrobor?e,

ardidi- Vintr (D) crackle

aga- Vintr (Y) get up

agurda this

apa

apawaa

aga INT look out! (used when frightened

agu

[DB]

Vtr (Y) shove

s.o.)

N pelican [OG;RTG] adanyjata- Vintr (D) flirt, court ers, Acacia

N

anhiya

adanyja adumba

father-in-law

N brother-in-law

anyjati-

(from

snatch,

N

anhi- Vintr (Y) dance

Vintr (D) get dressed

acijata-

lan? Bay

andadi N grandparent, grandchild anha DEM that (distant)

on

put clothes

(Y) dress,

for south?

their

south toHill River and inland to Mullewa [DB] ami

sneeze

acalacalu

and

from Champion

spoken

ambarnoo

sneeze

acalu-

name

PN

Amangu, Ammong ern group of Nhanda

artpa-

Vtr

athalu

LOC

lots, dozens, burn

(Y) burn, down,

deep

off, down,

a lot light a fire below

athu N spider [AO] athu- Vtr (Y/IRR) cook, burn atilu

LOC

close,

atka-

Vtr

(Y/IRR)

140

near rub, spread,

grease

Lexicon

atkada-

Vtr (Y/IRR) take, carry, have

atkajadi

N ointment,

salve

cream,

atpirda

cagurdu

calya N glad, happy

lie, prevarication

a'u-

(Y) Vtr

stoke

(Y)

light a fire

up,

PN placename, on

Murchison,

going

up

towards

Yalla

long

N bread (Eng 'very good') INT watch out, look out! (MAL) balayi balyokurra N turtle [DB] badgutu

N

bangara

large black

goanna

bardi N grub, witchety grub (Waj) bataa N cheeky N wooden

bowl,

coolamon

[AO]

bidida N long flat claypan, salt flats

(MAL)

PN

N water

bindibindi

up;

ripe,

burnt

ca'u-

N

cunning,

joking

dry

ca'ubilhi

N

ca'unda-

Vtr

N woman's

cici

snake

River

a fool

(Y) make

of s.o.

parts

private

cidijidi N ko bird, willy-wagtail ciidii ADV a long time, long ago N

ciiga

shame,

ashamed

ciipu N sheep (Eng) cijici N scissors (Eng) cindi N quiet N mangy,

citkacitka

N echidna,

scraggy porcupine

N belly button, navel; small damper on top of a large one when cooked

PN

north

cutka

boon-go N fishing net [AO]

Tutula placename, bank of Murchison

Spring

on

cugi- Vtr (Y) push curdu

placename,

con

cunning,

coopu N soap (Eng)

N horns PN

overcooked,

Cucala

on Murchison

Budu'ungin Rocks

crusty,

Pillawarra

placename,

PN Bindari Well, up from Betty

Crossing

N

citu

Hill bimarda

up, withered

catka

citkada

bigurda N big red kangaroo bilhida N fighting spear Bilhidawaa

N dried

cooked [AO] capa N supper (Eng)

B Babajidangga

nickname

sister-in-law

N

cangga

Ryder's

nut or seed

N mulga

candi

lie, prevaricate

aya- Vtr (IRR) ask

Bindari

PN Godfrey

Cadiguru

N

atpirda-

bat-tje

bad, worthless

N policeman

Vtr

awu-,

N no good,

caalu

atpi- Vtr (Y) tie, tie up atpicaa

c

N whole N

stomach,

tripe of sheep

arm

Gregory

Buku PN placename, Bookah Spring, north of Betty Crossing on Murchison

D

damba N damper (Eng)

buli N slender-billed corella, little corella; pubic

hair

(woman),

woman's

privates

Buli PN placename, Bully Pool bulya

N magic,

sorcery

Vtr (Y) blow out, put out Vtr (Y) suck, taste [OG] bunyjaburaada N skinny, thin (of legs) bunyadi-

G Gabagaba

PN placename, Red Bluff at

Kalbari

gali N gully (Eng) ganbar N spider [DB]

141

Lexicon inda N big, big one; big toe inda- Vintr (NH) get down from sth, go

I ibi N breast,

nipple,

N pain,

icici-

breastmilk

climb

down,

hurt

iciciba- Vintr (NH) be painful, hurt ida- Vintr (NH) be up, be high

down

N big,

indaacu

big one,

heavy

indaji N ribs indiya N star

ida- Vtr (IRR) climb up, go up idaji N tooth, teeth,mouth

indu-

idalu N north

induga ADV tomorrow

idi N nail,

toenail

fingernail,

water

placename, swallow you up, north

Murchison

towards

up

going

the

Barrow

N

idiwirdi

lizard,

Vtr

inyiinyjaharmless

quiet

out

call

someone's

owl,

tawny

frog

inngatinda- Vtr (Y) kill inya DEM this, this one

floodwater

legless

(IRR)

N ko bird,

inngabalayi mouth

Vtr (Y) pinch

idithunda-

s.o.

innga N dead; spirit, ghost, devil

N a lot, a pile

N flood,

Vtr

name

LOC down (hill), down ididinggada (into a hollow) idinba N moon

idinyja

sth to s.o.

hand

s.o.

(Y) kiss

inimatka-

Well

idinggada

Vtr

inida-

hole of

pass,

give,

(Y) name

Vtr

inia water

PN

(IRR)

arrive

come,

(NH)

inggili N English (Eng) ini N name

serpent

that will

Vtr

inga-

idi N ko insect, little black stinging ants ididibarndi N mythical water snake, Ididibarndi

Vintr

shut,

(Y)

Vintr

close

(Y) rest,

stay,

sit

irdabili N cheeks, jaw, chin, lips

snake

itu DEM

a rocky thicket on PN placename, Idiyada the south side of the Murchison down

in this place

here,

i'a- Vtr (Y) dig i'u LOC south

from Janga thicket, good for digging ajuga

igada- Vintr (NH/IRR) be standing still igada-

Vtr

stand

(Y)

s.o./sth

J

up

ija- Vtr (Y) put, leave Vtr ijanatpasend over

(Y)

send

along,

send

away,

lived

ground, N gum

in the sandhills or gum

from wattle

tree

inada- Vintr (NH) break inada- Vtr (Y) break sth inba-

Vtr touch

N

jangara

iii N dry iludadi ko bird, green kingfisher, little green bird with deep nests on the imba

jabi N small lizard, gecko Jambinbi PN Champion Bay, Geraldton

(Y) torment s.o. (to wake

pick on them up)

s.o.,

Jarndi

PN

ground

featherfoot, placename, near Wilgimaya

ghost old

camping

Jianga PN placename, Janga thicket, a big thicket jibi N ko bird, sandlark Jibi Wujayi PN placename, place on north

shore

sandlark s.o.;

out miles

142

of

went away

the Murchison into a hole,

where and came

a

Lexicon

kaju N sky kakkoo N soft [DB]

jida N larrikin girls jidamarda N larrikins, flirts PN

Jidamarda

Gidamarra placename, cen? near Kalbari flowed

once

Spring, ter, now

maternal

Ryder's

N underarm hair

kalya ngunya N

kanangga

Jijayi PN placename, GeeGie outcamp jiji N horse (babytalk)

underarm

armpit,

in

filled

PN Lucy Jilinha mother

N

kalya

truth

true,

kanbaagu N little devil who runs along the ground lighting fires

grand?

s.o. up

(D) wake

Vtr

kan.garti-

N cold, cough, flu Vintr (Y) cough kanggatpa-

kanggadu PN

Jiwaa

first placename, from Murchison

upriver the cemetery,

with

river crossing House past

steep bank

on north

N

axe with

short wooden

sharp blade

PN placename, of two square

one

Hill, north

bank

Jannawa hills

on

the

ADV

charcoal sweet

N

kayili

K N

kaalyu

lungs,

lights

(of a person

or an

animal)

PN placename, Carroll crows where flew Well, place gouda and found water

Kaaragurdu

ADV (initial

on the sly sneaky, sneakily, element in compound verbs)

Vintr

kadayatka-

(IRR)

hungry

kujidu

N nausea,

nauseous,

Kadh?agurdu Bay

sneak

PN placename, Shark

at bend of placename, where Thaawurda country

PN

Kulkul?aya Murchison begins

erburrallager

kundugati yellow

Pool,

Goon placename, on Murchison

N ko tree, bush with small seeds which

only

some

people

find edible

N head of animal [DB; AO] PN placename, Kajitgurdu, Kajitgura kagurli

point on the south of the Murchison

PN

Kunabadalinyja

silly

south of Thulunga Point

cousin

lookout

vomit

N mischievous, kulyigulyi kumudu N blind

away,

kaggajee N nephew [DB] kaggajittee N aunt [DB]

mouth

balls

kuka N small boy (used in calling out to

around

creep

testes,

testicles,

N hunger,

one)

kadarra N turtle [DB]

N

N

kucidu

N puppy, pup

kabarla kada-

up

tree with

balls

testes,

testicles,

kucawarla

N camel (Eng)

kaamalu

N

kuca

small

tree,

N beer, grog (Eng)

kiraaku

sugar

N

pea

flowers

yellow

kaadu

no worries

with

gently,

ky-e-ga [AO], kaiga [DB]; N

kayiga(??)

where much fighting took place

kaga

N emu

karlaya

kayanu

the lower Murchison,

of

crooked

bent,

karlu N belly, stomach (internal) katu N larrikin,flirt

junada N axe for fighting Junadawaa

twisted,

N flour

karlaaba

shore juna

N

kardagali

side of

Kuranha waterfall

PN placename, downstream

point

the kurda

143

N mate,

friend

Murchison from Thurlanga

Lexicon N ko insect, small grubs in

kurdubiya

used

trees,

N bush

kurlanu

potato,

stab

scratch,

N dizzy

kurinyguriny

Vtr (Y) stick, poke,

manggurda-

bait

for fishing

mar? bush

onion

(with

pink flesh) kurlayhi N river red gum, Eucalyptus

N hand,

fingers

Vintr

maragashow

one's

mardala

N

camaldulensis

N bullock, cow (Eng)

mardida

Kurlimaya

PN placename, Buli Pool, freshwater and full of water fowl

mardiji

N ko fish, kingfish N married (Eng)

maria

N

marlu

N blue

kurndi

marnda

N crayfish, yabbie (Ny) N club, fighting stick

clay, mud

marniwidi

kuya- Vintr (Y/IRR) cry, wail, be in

maru

behind,

nice,

fine,

lovely,

N

N jet black, a proper black

N ko bird, cuckoo

M

N

madi

master

PN

placename,

N

malu

shade,

dress Maluwaa river

malya malyu

shadow,

Vintr

(IRR)

Murchison

have,

Sta?

in the mirror,

PN placename, from Murchison

place House

down

N bone;

hard

green

N ko plant with black and Water? berries, Tom Watson's

mangga manggawarla

N bird's

nest

N hat

bush

root,

not well take, bring, catch

get,

give,

kurrara tree, prickly tree, for digging sticks, boomer?

used

angs,

and pipes

maya N house, hut (Ny) mayali N ko tree N know-it-all,

trouble-maker,

gossip

the

melanyoo N bat [DB] mida-

Vintr

(Y) sing out,

shout,

call

out,

cry out

miinba-

mikamikaba-

144

(in a tree,

N hollow

miga

mijiji

melon

edible

grasp,

wood

where mandulba

(IRR)

gather,

mayamaya

up

sick,

N ko

matkaw

reflection look

ADV negative particle N younger sister

mambu

Vtr

matka-

tion (Eng) malunha-

N

matharda

cut, wound

magurda N dream [OG], photograph mai maiungoo N leech [DB] Majijinu

black-faced

carrot

(Eng)

Vintr (D) crawling sore,

rainbird,

shrike

N ko plant with

matha

maatijada

three

dark

one mar'u

N boss,

knobs;

N liver

marulybidi

beautiful, right

banksia

ass

N red

N night,

marudi well,

cones,

buttocks,

marnngurdu

mourning N good,

kangaroo

N banksia

kutiya N one kuuki N cook (Eng) kuwirtpa N funny

maaca

cool weather

light clouds,

kurnaaku

ku'arlu

out,

clouds

kurliipu good

hand

(Y) put one's hand

log, etc.), lay their eggs

parrots

Vintr (Y) bleat (of sheep) N white woman, Mrs. (Eng) N

fun, Vintr

play,

playing

(NH)

have

fun, play

place

Lexicon

(Y) play with

Vtr

mikanda-

s.o./sth

N milk (Eng) N forehead milingga N eye kumudu

milu milu

N

nani N goat (Eng) nanyee N niece [DB]

N blind

V (Y) wink, wink at

milutpaN

min-a-ra

rainbow

mini N light, white, shiny, bright miniga- V (Y) get light, shine light miniyada N centipede

NG ngaabeera N butterfly [DB] ngabada N ehest

minyju N purse, small bag mirla N rug; flat Vtr (Y) pop, flatten (a blister) N flat, flattened out mirlamirla N bowels,

rectum,

moora

cooked N

descending

on chest

N widow, N hole

moothaboongo

[AO]

widower

[DB]

through

nose

N poor,

figs,

salty ngana

N ko plant,

munggulba

creeper

raggedy with

PN

Munimaya

N

mutha

N nose;

muthadi-

I/I who;

plug

Vtr

Northampton

Doug

tobacco

V (D) drown

airplane

(D) wake

Nganyjunganyju ngarda-

lap

grandmother

someone N

nganggati-

placename,

of Grandma

yarns

N fish gizzard

murna

Pearl Whitby's

Nganggalada Tommy Nhanggalada Vintr (Y) tell stories, spin nganggarda-

sp.

N deaf

munharda

m?ri

Astrolama

name

PN Nhanda

PN Nhanda name of

black edible berries which hang down like grapes,

supper

Vintr (Y) go fishing, fish

nganbanganba

money

N poor-looking,

mundamunda

rest

PN placename on

N dinner,

Ngamba Mallard,

bush

without

sleep,

ngala- V (Y/IRR) eat, drink ngamarda-

[AO]

bush with pink figs munda

with

the Murchison

bored

N ko plant,

mugunya

lie down,

Ngagalyadagurdu

N deep

muga

(D)

potato

Vtr (?) sleep with, make love ngadiya- Vintr (NH/IRR) fall asleep N major mitchell cockatoo ngagalyada

ngalungga

N net bag

(of emu)

ngadici-

[AO] mo-yar-ra

Vintr

ngadi-

moorawa N initiate [AO] mooreeburndee

oil

fat, grease,

N ko plant, bush ngacku top spring onion

[DB]

cicatrice

N

ngabu

colon (of animal) Vtr (Y) light (a fire) [OG] mi'indamoora

N brother-in-law (Waj)

ngabari

mirla-

mithu

[AO]

niilu N needle (Eng)

ant

meat

ant (generic),

N

minga

salt

nata N note (ofmoney) (Eng) nayapu N knife (Eng)

N maggot

mindinyu

N

nar-rin-yu

[AO]

home

N house,

minda

car (Eng)

N motorcar,

mutikaa

milgi

at the front

in front,

LOC

muthangga

someone

Drage Vtr

(Y) chase

ngarlida-

Vtr (?) chase away

ngarn.ga

N beard,

145

up

PN Nhanda name of

whiskers,

moustache

Lexicon

Vtr

ngarningarnmanu throat

(Y) pour

something

N

of mouth,

inside

N

stick,

gullet,

potato, with

leaves,

N hole

ngoolyambeerdee

com?

someone

bored

N

nguda

home,

camp,

house,

humpy

N pale-face,

white

Nyarlunggu

Vintr

ngutijada

(D) swimming,

washing,

bathing ngutpa- Vintr (Y) wait for Vtr

nguuti-

N

nguutiyu

pregnant,

N

nguyadu ated with

soft

late

starting

wet to show

on horseback diarrhea

faeces,

stomach

ache)

o oona moorka

nhaawu

something I/I why,

I/I why,

to put

stick

through

N

oongarnoo

what

[DB]

N poison (Eng) N

for

sweaty;

up, not right

mixed

(of language) pada- Vtr (Y/IRR) rip, tear padaka

paduda

what

ashes

(associ?

paacinu

NH nha- Vtr (Y/IRR) see, look at nhaabarndi

N

P

N raw (of meat)

I/I what;

just before

dusk

nyimi N wing nyina- Vintr (NH/IRR) sit, stay, stop nyini PRO 2nd person singular

paacpalyu

nhaa

in the afternoon,

across 'women

nose-hole [AO]

ADV

nguutubarta

PN place a place

nyuju N elbow

s.o./sth

get

N

sundown,

N horse

nguutu

nguyu

(Y) wet,

girl

Ngardajadi

from Nanny Goat, literally each other' chasing nyili

snot

N mucus,

ngunyu

of neck

nape

female,

on Murchison,

name,

person

N hair

N woman,

nyarlu

N face

ngundinu

of neck,

N tail; penis

nyambi N ko dance where one twists the legs nyanyi N pubic hair

cockatoo

ngundamini

up

NY

N camping ngudaburtu ngulya N ko bird, white-tailed black ngunda

a spring

placename,

through

Vintr (NH) bleed N dingo, wild dog

ngubanu

N back

nhannga

nhurndi

nose [DB] nguba N blood ngubaba-

PN

on a hill on theMurchison

ngayi PRO 1st person singular (Y) keep s.o. accompany

Nhanda

and people

Nhanganyja

[DB]

Vtr

and language Nhanda and Wajarri; the northern Nhanda

PN name of (northern) Nhanda

Nhanda

language

N mother-in-law

pany,

between

of

to be appears name for Central

wild

ngarnuwada small bushy parsley-like root like a sweet potato

sister

name

PN

Nhaguja

splinter

N ko plant,

ngayijinda-

N older

nhadumba

people

ngarnnga

ngarrea

out

palharda

for

N

ripped,

N

blue-tongued

146

torn, raggedy

N dress shingleback, skink,

bobtail, lizard

or

(Waj)

Lexicon

N hump on the back, a hump or bump

pambada

hunch?

N

panggi

swag,

PN

Parata

Perth

parlada-

pitkili N bald, shiny, bare

(Eng)

someone

parladangga parladata-

red rocky PN placename, from Buku Soak, with a ridge across cave at front where Nhanda used to

cockatoo

N guts,

ground,

pathu

large

N

long-tailed

N

anthill;

ADV

alone,

intestine,

big

tripe,

goanna

yellow

cave on one's

by oneself,

pibarlu N paper (Eng) pidi-

(Y) feel,

touch,

pilaru N everlasting flower

pilyandi with pindadi

pindha

name,

Horace

Drage's

N ko plant, Wilson's grevillea, red nectar-laden flowers N

storm,

thunder

clouds,

thunder

N dirt, dirty

Pininyudhanhanha Curious

PN placename,

sorry

Vintr (NH) feel sorry (for

Mt.

N

tired, drowsy,

sleepy,

Vintr (NH) get tired, pudhabudhabaget sleepy pudi N small, little, light (inweight) pudi abarla N newborn baby N

pulha

rotten,

stinking

N old person

puguda

around

pididi N shoulder; flat, broad pijibiji N caterpillar, caterpillar's nest, and itch from it

PN proper Pilyada nickname

N

pudhabudhaexhausted

puga feel

of Murchison

pi'i N uncle

own

V

just east

s.o.)

clear

stomach

sheep's

pathanu

PN placename, flats on the

Piyagurdu

piyarda-

ground

parnnga

nickname

piwi N ko bird, mudlark piyagu N ko bird, gal ah, pink and grey

piyardabaflat

wanting

House

N hill, mountain N hard ground,

anxious,

eager,

PN proper name, Stevie

Piwaladi

Murchison,

parlba N ankle (Waj) parlgutpa- Vintr (Y) bark (of dog)

parnda

(NH)

to

camp

parnba

Vintr

pitu-

Drage's

Vintr (NH) run away Vintr (D) be frightened

Parlatubanu

parlu

sandbar

sand,

separate

N bush turkey,bustard V (Y) be frightened; frighten

parduda

sand, white

Vintr (?) split from each other,

pititijadi

swaggie

placename,

N

pirlurda

N swag, big bag

panggibarta

leaves

pirlinggati pirlu N boomerang

Vintr (NH) be tired

N

off of,

N rug

tired

pandaba-

and eating

serving

panaji N duck (generic) panda-

N branches from bushes for

pirditha

with

back,

N many,

pulhabarta doctor

N

wise

alot, mobs;

clever,

clever

sorcerer,

man,

PN placename, Hamelin Pulhagurdu Pool (Mai) pundha N blunt, dull pundu N rain puraaku N dress, frock (Eng) purdidi N potato; ache, hurt (of head) purdidiba- Vintr (NH) be aching purndu N back (of body) purndutu N hunchback, humptyback

147

Lexicon purtku N short puru N lightmist, haze puruburu N fog

ty-ca 'soft' [AO] thayicaa(??) N snake (generic) thayidi thidaa N ko fish, yellowtail

puuci N pouch; pussy cat (Eng) puudardi N ko fish, bream

thidandi

N ko bird, the red-tailed black

cockatoo

PN placename, hill east of

Thidhandhan the shearing Station

TH PN

Thaamarli

placename,

Tamala

Sta?

(?) con

Vtr

thaapirli-

name

PN

Thaawurda and

people N

thada-

their

s.o.,

trick

language

tree, Acacia

Thalinyja House

PN G wen

Thamburligurdu Hill,

lagooda side above

thangga

sticky

nickname

Ryder's

thurdu

PN placename, Tum on north bald mountain

thurla-

of Murchison

N pants,

ADV

thartiyathartiyatka-

thuri

N

sun, heat, N goodbye, N going PN

tree, banksia

bush

hot parting away

placename,

for good Toolonga

dungarees

back,

thartimundi

listening

Vintr (NH) slip, slide

thardalanggatharti

parrot not

thurnba N ko bird, small wild pigeon thurtpa N plug tobacco

tharda N knee thardaji

stubborn,

N banksia

Thurlinga

the open

twenty-eight

N

thurlawaa

N crack

N outside,

Tutula

thunu ADV soon [KH] thurdadu N song

of a tree

mouth

placename,

parrot,

thumbirlidi

spring near Murchison someone where drowned

N bark

thamba

PN

Thucula

neck greasy,

PN

Thamaci

thiyinu N sinew (Eng) thiyinyu N mosquito thudu N meat, flesh N dust, dusty thugudhugu thugunyu N ko bird, Port Lincoln ring

thalanyu N tongue thalba N heel (of foot), ankle grease,

(asso?

ache)

Drage

the silver wattle

N mud,

stomach

N dirty, filthy, smelly PN Nhanda name of Sara Thinggilidi

Vintr (NH) to become larrikins thadatpa- Vtr (Y) wipe

thalha

diarrhea

soft faeces,

with

House

thinggi

of Yallalong

flirt

larrikin,

N thadilyi dealbata

ciated

s.o.

thadaba-

thani

N

thindhalu

tion

at Murchison

shed

from where

it came

ADV back

ugurda-

Vintr (Y) be back, be here Vintr

(irrY)

return

V (?)make a bed thartpirlu N stuff to lay out like amat, rug, or old bag tree, grass and

N

ugurdadiugurdadiba-

thartpi-

N blackboy thayalu thorrhea australis,

u

tree, Xan

its gum

or resin

ugurdanda-

cold

N cold Vintr (NH) be cold Vtr

(Y) cool

s.o./sth

ujica- Vtr (Y) sneak up on uku- Vintr (Y) fall down ukuma- Vintr (NH) fall, fall down uma- Vtr (IRR) belt, slap

148

off

Lexicon

Vtr (Y) fight unggijadiunurdu N big old dry ajuga from the year with

together

N

[AO]

ADV

directly,

INT hortative

urli

on now,

urndugalu

Vintr

urnnga-

(Y) fall over,

N buttocks,

bum,

fall down

uthu N domestic dog, tame dog uthudu N country, land, ground, dirt, Vtr

uudada-

take,

carried

Vtr

uundama-

N

walajadi

skin bag or pouch,

track

(IRR)

s.o./sth,

chicks)

N ko bird,

man's

N

wabagu

privates

man's

eaglehawk;

privates also

penis,

man's

have

sex with

privates V

wabayadi-

wabirda wacawacidu wacka wacu

(Y) fornicate,

I/I where,

N nits,

somewhere

very

N ko bird,

wangga-

V (NH/IRR) speak, talk N

wangganhaa words N ko Vtr

wanyjasorry

Vtr (Y) sing wadadi- Vintr (D) jump, hop wadadicadaVintr (D) jumping along, hopping along wadayi N ko insect, fly, housefly

(Y)

talk,

language,

tree, with

sweet

throw,

cast,

speech,

gum swing,

buck

Vtr (Y) throw away, throw

wanyjayitpaoff

lice eggs

N west

crow

wangayi

wanya

N ko fish, snapper Vtr (Y) wash (Eng) N broken-hearted,

cormorant

shag,

swan

N

I/Iwhen wandhagacadi wandidu N frog

w N penis,

design

Vintr (Y) write, draw, paint N striped, with stripes (like

N digging stick

wandha

N penis,

stripe, mark,

walgawaa

wanaw

waba

for scraps

looking

wanamalu

follow

wabadi

scavenger

N

emu

clouds

Vintr (NH) scavenge, hang

walakaba-

wana

storm

thunderstorm,

N

walaka-

walganyja-

N kangaroo on the back

uundadu

campfire

Vtr (Y) work (Eng)

wakanda-

walgastraw

N grass,

uuduu

firewood,

N thirsty, thirst wajinya N thin, skinny, lean wajjoo N road [DB] waka N work (Eng) [OG]

take away

N wind

uudinu

N fire,

around (D)

quandong

wajilu

sand

earth,

peach,

N cousin

ass

behind,

Walkaway

N hole in the ground, hollow

wagurla wajida

come

Vintr (D) limp along ADV behind, at the back

urndadicada-

ur'u

particle,

now

let's get moving

go on,

N bush

wajanu soon,

placename,

(Eng) wagudu

woomera

thrower,

spear

urda N wild, angry urdaa

PN

Wagawey

a

root

fresh uraga

found

often

before,

N long, tall

wadula

Vtr (Y) listen, hear, know,

wanyjidaunderstand

wada-

PN Nhanda name of Jack

Waranggadi Councillor

N brains;

warda wardadi-

flow

149

Vintr

marrow (D) flow

out,

pour

out,

Lexicon

N woman's

wardaga

N froth, foam Vtr (Y) talk about someone wigindaN whip (Eng) wiipu

wigilidi

privates

N willy-willy,

wardumba

cock-eyed

Bob, whirlywind N ko

warduwardu small

with

like a water

tree,

water-filled

the woody

tree,

source

tree

pear

Vtr

warlanda-

(Y)

N a fighting stick used for knocking people in the head

where

Nhanda

camp,

across

warlanu

on Murchison

Soak,

warla

Station

N bald

pitkili

warlgabur'u little devils

smack,

spank,

hit,

belt ADV

warlu warna

N

later on

later,

warnda-

Vtr N

throat,

N bad,

war'ab

PN name

Watchandi

and

Nhanda

and around

their

fellow

poor

group

language, spoken Port Gregory

of in

Vintr

wonder

(D) wonder s.o.

about

wirdinyu tine,

N long intestine, runners (of animal)

wathoo N scorpion [DB]

wirna

N wet

another,

different

one,

left

(hand) wawrla wayudu

N

alive,

N boil,

live, blister,

far out,

pus

a long way,

LOC

wicka

N fish (generic); mullet N spear (generic)

widaa widaawigi

N

wirtpa

Withikara further

out

curlew

sweat

PN

placename,

Wittecarra

N seed; jam treewith seeds inside

witu

pods wiyabarndi

Vtr (Y) spear N saliva, spit

intes?

wirtpa- Vintr (Y) sweat wiruu N rat kangaroo, ko small wallaby

living

wicaa

large

N spotted black and white

wirlakawaa

s.o.,

N ko bird,

N other,

leg

N emu chicks

wirlu

watpa

old person

wirdidi

is

where

hair,

wirlaka N awhite or light spot on the skin of an Aborigine

present-day

and Northampton wathadi-

N

Vintr (Y/IRR) wait wirdati- Vtr (D) kick

wrong

for central

from

wirda-

sun

N

war'u

grey

wirdaa

wirda,

bloke,

the comer

N seagull

N old,

winyja

gullet

naughty,

N poor

ardu

place

wilyawilya

[DB]

evil,

PN placename, around

Ajana

take

up, carry,

neck,

flower

warrungoo war'a

PN name for theNhanda people, Wilunya used by other tribes wilya N shell, pearl shell camping

Vintr (NH) go off (as a gun)

stream,

river

Wilyamutharinyja

warnba-

(Y) pick

sea water,

sea, ocean,

creek,

flirt

larrikin,

warndu

N

wilu

(Y) slap,

to dig ajuga and near from Tucula,

wilhilya N ko fish, tailor wilidi N white; ko bird, white cockatoo

N white fluff left in hair by

Vtr

warlida-

House

used road

Murchison

PN Nanny Goat

Warlapathanugurdu

and emotions

PN placename, sand well

Wilgurdu

s.o. up

pet

spoil,

of feelings

N red ochre

wilgi

N head; egg

warla

N stomach, belly (external),

wiku, witku

tall like

roots,

N boy,

youth wiyarda

150

N possum

young

man,

young,

Lexicon

PN

Wiyarnagurdu Weerinoogudda River,

Vtr (NH) wake up wurtkatpaN skin wurtpi

Crossing

past Betty

woorthoo N straight [DB] wootha N rainbow [DB] wubirlu

N wave,

wudilu-

N winded,

breathless

N

wudinyu

girl

Vintr (?) running away, gone wudiyadi PN Kalbarri, mouth of the Wudumalu River

Murchison N hole,

wuja

V

wuja-

tunnel

opening,

enter,

N

wujanu

N

wulhu

foreigner

Vintr (NH) hide, duck down,

wumba-

Vtr

wumba-

steal

(Y)

sth from

(Y) open axe for chopping

stone or metal

Vtr (Y) do, do something

yagayi

N old,

'ouch'

up

grown

yajalu N friend, mate

s.o.

N ko

yajuwada

N urine

wumbu

Vtr N

INT cry of pain,

yagu

around

sneak

N ko bird, magpie

wutpaw

yadunda-

lice

lice, head

louse,

N whitefella

wucpalaa

wutpalaa,

yadiwa wood

Vintr (NH) cry, weep

wula-

Aborigine

ADV meanwhile

wutkatpacadi

yaa'inda-

stranger,

person,

Vtr (D) tell N two

wuta-

through,

into

go

black

N policeman

Y

set, go

(Y) go down,

shoot

wuthada

woman,

young

(Y)

black;

wur'awaa

be breathless

of breath,

da

wur'a

chains

stone; money,

rock,

Vtr

wur'a-

Vintr (NH) be winded, be out

wudiluba-

N

wur'a

surf

waves,

(D) roar along

Vintr

wurtkati-

placename, Soak, off Murchison

tree,

Casuarina

sheoak,

sp Vtr

wumhurawuna

N

(Y) urinate

wunara-

Vtr

wunbi-

(Y)

leave,

wunybawurda

N brother

wurdu

N son

let be,

leave

alone

Yandula kah,

sew

tree, York

at

sth

gum,

Eucalyptus

PN placename, near Murchison

gully

after Boo

yanga N tree (generic) [DB] yangajarra N turtle [DB] Vintr (Y) pour down (of rain) yanggarda ADV again

yangga-

N heart

wurdudu

sew,

loxophleba

N poor thing Vintr (Y) whistle

wundilu

(Y)

N ko

yandi

(Y) defecate

Vtr

at, yell

(Y) growl

V

yanda-

Vintr (?) laugh

wunangga-

Vtr

yami-

faeces

wurnda

N shield

wurndi

N bandicoot [C,S]

wurtka

N

yani N stump, log yarda- Vtr (Y) bury, cover up (a hole), smother (a fire)

ear

wurtka-

Vtr (IRR) tell sth (to s.o.)

wurtka-

Vintr

wurtka

munharda

wurtka

munhardaba-

(NH)

snore,

sleep

yarlinyu-

elope,

sandalwood),

151

run-away

run away

yarlinyubacu

forget

courting,

Vintr (NH) go courting,

yarlinyuba-

N deaf

Vintr (NH)

N

N ko tree, big tree (like a with

long yellow

seed

Lexicon

pods. you

If you pick one seed off and run away get married

N

yarna

N grog,

drink

placename, snake went through

(lit.

you mad')

N winter

yuga

yugangga

yatha N cave

yugayuga

PN

Vintr

yatkayatkajaa

ya'u yina

lonely,

N kangaroo,

yawarda

N none,

nothing

N

feet,

foot,

come

grey

own

N

kangaroo

N

yutu

late afternoon

afternoon,

hips,

haunches

thighs, low bush,

scrub,

N big

yutubarta

thicket dense

thicket,

scrub

!

track,

footprint INT yes,

'e'e

N shoe

yinabuka

N

yurnda

on one's

alone,

N yesterday

yugurdu yurdu N daughter

go, walk,

(IRR)

N

cool weather

clouds,

N smoke

Yalthoo

placename,

that water

spring

clouds

Vintr (NH) be gone

yatka-

reeds

PN

yarnba N fire, bushfire yarnda N big turd, pile of faeces Yathu

embers

coals,

N bullrushes,

Yudadi

liquor,

that makes

N

yitka yuda

insane

crazy, mad,

yarnabacu 'stuff

the tree,

ment

yeah, uh-huh or while s.o.

after

in agree?

(used

is speaking)

List of Affixes -a Y, D

class

inchoative

-ba

tense

present

verbal

verbalizing

nominal proprietive to N' 'belonging nominal

derivational

suffix

nominal

suffix

augmentative

-caa

'skinny,

nominal

agentive

-cada

present verbal suffix

-jati

past verbal

tense

present

-lada

suffix verbal

participial

tense

past

-cu

nominalizing

-ga

verbal

verbal

participial suffix

imperative

'Ving

-lu

nominal showing,

suffix

-gurtku

locative

alongside -i Y, D -jada

derivational revealing

class

suffix,

'by N,

N' past

'cherished,

perfect dear'

verbal nominal

irregular

present

nominal

suffix

tense

verbal

nominal

ergative/instrumental for stems greater

suffix

two moras

than

collective

suffix, meaning 'both; lot, all' used with dual and

plural

nouns,

plural

bound

and following

dual

the

and

pronouns

-nda

causative

-nda

irrealis mood

-ndha suffix

participial/reciprocal

suffix

verbalizing

suffix

verbal

'with N

N'

nominal

class

whole

focus

participial/reciprocal

suffix

'long'

-na

stuff

demonstrative/interrogative -ganu marker -gayi

suffix

tense

suffix

suffix

suffix

suffix -cadi

Y

-ka thin' nominal

verbal

-jata

verbal

reciprocal

tense

'big,

alot' -buraada

tense

present suffix reciprocal

'poor,

pitiful' -barta

-jada

-jadi

suffix,

-bagaa

-bardu

suffix

suffix

suffix suffix

3rd person bound

object -ndha -nganu =ngga

152

Y

class

future

similative (frozen)

plural

verbal

direct

pronoun tense

suffix

nominative locative

nominal

suffix suffix

Lexicon

locative path nominal suffix

-nggalu

'through, -nggu

-nggu

locative

-nggu

allative

-ngu -nha

accusative

verbal

specific 1st person bound

bound case

class

object

verbal

suffix

-nu

Y class

past

-waa

verbal

imperfective

2nd person

-nygu bound

-wu

nominal future

Bilhidawaa Bindari

from

Bindari

placename,

from Betty

Crossing

Well,

placename,

Buku

placename, Betty

Bookah

Crossing

Spring, on Murchison

Cucala,

Rocks

Spring

on north

north

of

Jibi Wujayi shore

Ididibarndi will

thicket,

Barrow

for digging

good

Champion

Bay,

camping

ground

miles

a big

thicket

placename, place on north into a hole,

a sand?

where and came

out

away

Gidamarra placename, Spring in, near Kalbarri (now filled center)

Jidamarda

coastal

a water hole placename, swallow you up, north of the

old

of the Murchison

lark went

Tutula placename, bank of Murchison

Red Bluff, placename, Gabagaba at Kalbarri sandstone

Janga

placename,

Jianga

Godfrey Ryder's nickname Thucula

towards

up

going

placename, Jarndi near Wilgimaya

Buli placename, Bully Pool Cadiguru

suffix

up

on Murchison

Gregory

suffix

directional

placename, Jambinbi Geraldton

River Budu'ungin

suffix

ajuga.

Hill

Pillawarra

bound

a rocky thicket on the placename, Idiyada south side of the Murchison, down

on Murchi? placename, up towards Yallalong placename,

dative

Murchison

people Babajidangga son, going

and plural

Well

desert

the east,

dual

People, and Places

name for southern Ammong and their language group of Nhanda

Amangu,

from

suffix

directional

non-future

-yu

of Languages,

comitative

1 st person

-yana

people

suffix

nominal

possessive/oblique

Names

posses?

singular

pronoun

suffix

pronoun

Arnngaandi

dual

-wana

suffix

plural

object

-wa 1st person singular (first position) subject bound pronoun

-nhii NH class past verbal suffix -nu

direct

singular

sive/oblique bound pronoun

suffix

-thada

direct

non-past

bound

pronoun

1 st person

-tha

suffix

pronoun

NH

-nhaa

(first position)

possessive/oblique

2nd person

-rnda

nominal

singular

pronoun

pronoun

suffix

pronominal

-nha

singular

bound

3rd person

suffix

accusative

-nha

-ra

suffix suffix

verbal

2nd person subject

suffix

nominal

ablative

-nyja

suffix

nominal nominal

ambulative

-nggula

reflexive

-nyinda nominal

ergative/instrumental stems suffix for bimoraic

nominal

privative

-nyida

along'

Jijayi placename, GeeGie outcamp Lucy Jilinha mother

Ryder's

maternal

grand?

that Jiwaa

first river crossing placename, from Murchison House past

upriver

153

Lexicon

with

the cemetery,

steep bank

on north

Parata

Jannawa Hill, placename, two square hills on the north where of the lower Murchison,

Well,

place found water

front where

placename, Shark Bay

Kadh?agurdu

placename, Kajitgura Kajitgurdu, lookout point on the south side of the mouth of theMurchison at bend of placename, where Thaawurda country

Kulkul?aya; Murchison

red rocky ridge placename, from Buku Soak, with a cave at

across

placename, Carrollgouda crows flew up and where

Kaaragurdu

Gooner placename, south Pool, on Murchison

burrallager

of Thulunga Point water? Murchison placename, fall downstream from Thurlanga Point

Kuranha

Buli Pool, good placename, Kurlimaya and full of water fowl freshwater Murchison

placename,

Majijinu

Pilyada

Piwaladi

placename, river from Murchison placename,

Munimaya

Stevie

Ngamba

the

lard, Pearl Whitby's

of Grandma grandmother

Nhanda

Nganggalada

Mal?

name

of Tommy

and

Doug

Nhanda

Nhaguja tral Nhanda

name

of

(northern)

Nhanda

placename,

Ngardajadi

on Murchison,

a place

Tumla on north

of Murchison

hill east of the placename, at Murchison House

placename,

Toolonga

placename,

Walkaway name

Nhanda

on Murchison name and

House

for central their

Station

group

of

language

placename, used to dig

Wilgurdu Nhanda

of Jack

Nanny Goat

Warlapathanugurdu

sand well

where

and camp, near from Tucula,

the road

lan?

ajuga

Murchison a spring

up on a

hill on theMurchison Nyarlunggu

mouth

Waranggadi Councillor

and people

Nhanganyja

nickname

Nhanda name of Sara Drage

across

name

House

drowned Ryder's

shed

Watchandi

for Cen?

people

placenmae, bald mountain

above

Thurlinga

Drage

guage

Gwen

Thamburligurdu gooda Hill, side

of Yallalong

near Murchison

spring someone

Thamaci

Pool Station

language

Nhanda

northern

Nhanda

name their

Thalinyja where

Nhanggalada

Nhanda name of

Tamala

placename,

Thaawurda

Soak,

Nganyjunganyju

the

Hamelin

placename,

Pulhagurdu Thaamarli

Wagawey name

Nhanda

flats on

of Murchison

House

Thinggilidi

on

placename

Ngagalyadagurdu Murchison

Mt.

nickname

Drage's

placename, Piyagurdu Murchison, just east

shearing

Northampton

nickname placename,

Thidhandhan

the

to camp

used

Drage's

Pininyudhanhanha Curious

Station

place down House

Maluwaa

Nhanda

Horace

begins Kunabadalinyja

chasing

Perth

placename,

Parlatubanu

much fighting took place

'women

literally

other'

each

Junadawaa one of bank

Goat,

Nanny

shore

placename, across

Wilunya used

name by other

for the Nhanda

Wilyamutharinyja ing place

from

Withikara

154

people,

tribes

around placename,

camp? placename, the corner from Ajana Wittecarra

Lexicon

Yandula

placename, near Murchison

placename,

Wiyarnagurdu

Soak,

Weerinoogudda River,

past Betty

off Murchison

Yudadi

Crossing

spring placename, snake went through

Kalbarri, mouth of the

Wudumalu Murchison

River

Finder-list

English-Nhanda

axe, fighting junada

wur'ada

Aborigine

to

s.o.,

accompany

ngayij

in da

ache purdidi

yugayuga late

afternoon,

yugayuga

nyili,

axe,

short

juna

baby abarla, pudi abarla back (of body) purndu back tharti, thartimundi

aching, to be purdidiba afternoon

to be

back,

thartiya

again yanggarda

bad caalu,

airplane

bag,

kangaroo

bag,

net mo-yar-ra

nganbanganba

alcohol

apanggu,

yarnabacu

pathu,

yatkajaa

alot attarda,

idinggada,

ankle parlba,

thalba

pulha

bandicoot

ant (generic)

cone marnda

banksia

minga

bark (of tree) thamba

ant, meat minga

bark

ant, black stinging idi anthill pathanu

bat melanyoo

anxious

pitu

beard

anyhow

aatiku

bed,

anyway

aatiku

beer kiraaku

armpit kalya

ashes

to indu

asleep,

ngarn.ga to make

belly-button

ciiga

a

thartpi

citu

athalu

bent kardagali

oongarnoo

to fall

parlgutpa

bathing ngutijada

below

to aya

ask,

to

(of dog),

behind urndugalu belly karlu, wiku, witku

arm cutka

ashamed

ngadiya

big indaacu, big toe inda

inda

aunt kaggajittee

birthmarkwirlaka

axe

bite,

yadiwa

pitkili

wurndi

bare pitkili

another watpa

arrive,

skin uundadu

banksia thurdu

urda

angry

war'a

bag, smallminyju bald pitkili, warla

alive wawrla alone

gully

155

to

aja

after Bookah,

that water

Lexicon

black wur'ada

bush,

black, jetmarulybidi

bushfire

Black

bustard parduda

wur'ada

person

blackboy tree thayalu to

bleed, bleat

butterfly

tomiinba

(of sheep),

yarnba

ngaabeera

buttocks

nguhaha

blind kumudu,

low yutu

milu

kumudu

tomida

call out, call

s.o.'s

camel

kaamalu

blood nguba

camp

ngu

to

out,

to inimatka

name,

blister wayudu

blow

ur'u

marnda,

da

bunyadi

campfire

wajanu

skink

camping

ngudaburtu

blue-tongued

palharda

blunt pundha

car mutikaa

bobtail palharda boil wayudu

carrot,

bone mambu

cast,

boomerang pirlu

Casuarina

boss maaca

cat

bowels mithu

caterpillar pijibiji caterpillar's nest pijibiji

to atkada-,

carry,

boy wiyabarndi boy,

bush matha

tree

pathanu,

brain warda

centipede

branches

chains wur'a

pirditha

bread badgutu bream

puudardi

breast,

woman's

inada

miniyada

to

chase,

ngarda-,

ibi

bataa

cheeky chest

breathless

chew,

wudilu

brightmini

ngabada to

aja

child abarla

tomatka

chin irdabili

brother wurda brother-in-law

to be abarlaba

childish,

broad pididi

chop ami,

ngabari

ardamatka moora

cicatrice

bullock kurliipu

cigarette ajajadi

bullrushes

clay maria

yuda

burn,

to

burn,

to (of food,

burn

to artpa

off,

ngarlida

cheeks irdabili

breastmilk ibi

bring,

yatha

charcoal kayaga(??)

to ardanda-,

break,

yajuwada

puuci

cave

small kuka

warnda

to wanyja

claypan bidida

artpa etc.)

athu

clever

pulha

clever

man

pulhabarta

burnt

catka

climb

down,

bury,

to

climb

up,

yarda

156

to inda

to ida

Lexicon

close

atilu

close,

to

crooked kardagali crow

inyi

clothes acijadi

crusty

clothing acijadi

cry,

cloud,

ko mardala,

cloud,

thunder walajadi winter

cloud,

wangayi catka to

curlew wirlu

cut (N)madi

yuga

club kurndi

cut,

coals yitka

damper

cockatoo, Major Mitchell ngagalyada red-tailed

cockatoo,

white

cockatoo,

black

thidandi

wilidi

white-tailed

cockatoo,

black

ngulya

cockatoo, pink and grey piyagu cold

ugurdadi-

ugurda-,

colon mithu

N

to arda-,

dance

anhiya

dance,

ko nyambi

dance,

to anhi

dark maru yurdu

dead innga

desert

people

design

walga

to

cook

thaapirli

banskia

marnda

to athu

cook, cooked

diarrhea nguyadu,

moora

cangga,

coolamon

different,

bat-tje slender-billed

corella, cormorant

wanamalu

corrobor?e

anhiya

buli

cough (N) kanggadu cough,

to

country

uthudu

court

kanggatpa

s.o.,

courting cousin

to

dig,

thindhalu

watpa

to i'a

dingo

ngubanu urdaa

directly

dirt pindha dirty pindha,

thinggi

dizzy kurinyguriny

adanyjata

yarlinyu kaga,

arnngaandi

devil innga devil, littlekanbaagu

athucaa

kuuki,

munharda

towunara

defecate,

con

s.o.,

wurtka

deep muga

yatka

con ca'ubilhi

cone,

citu

damba,

daughter cold

ardamatka

deaf munharda,

to indu-,

come,

ca'ubilhi

ca'u-,

cunning

yuga

wula

kuya-,

wajida

do sth, doctor dog,

to

yadunda

pulhabarta tame uthu

cow kurliipu

dog, wild

crack thangga crackle, to (of a fire) ardidi

down athalu, down,

ngubanu

to go

ididinggada, inda

crawling

maatijada

downhill ididinggada

crayfish

kurnaaku

draw,

crazy yarna

dream

creek wilu

dress

157

to walganyja magurda paduda,

puraaku

inda

Lexicon

to get aci-,

dressed, to

drink,

feet yina

a ci jadi

to aci-,

dress,

acijadi-,

a ci ata j

ngala

tomuthadi

drown,

-

fig, bushmugunya fight, tounggijadi fine ku'arlu

drowsy pudhabudha

finger mara

drunk

fingernail idi

apawaa

iii

dry cangga,

fire

wajanu,

yarnba

dry (from cooking) catka duck (generic) panaji

fish (generic)wicka

dull pundha dusk nyili dust thugudhugu

flatmirla, mirlamirla, pididi flirt jida, jidamarda, katu, thada-,

eager

firewood

warna adanyjata?

rioo d idinyja floodwaters idinyja

early aliipala earth uthudu

flour

east

flow,

arnngalu to

to

flirt,

wabagu

ear wurtka

eat,

to go ngamarda

fishing,

pitu

eaglehawk

wajanu

karlaaba towardadi

flower

ngala

warrungoo white

echidna citkada

fluff,

egg warla

fly (insect)wadayi foamwigilidi

elbow nyuju embarrass

embers emu

to ca'un

s.o.,

embarrassed

da

fog puruburu fool

ciiga

foot

yitka

karlaya

flower

to make

of,

a ca'un

yina

foreigner

pilaru

evil war'a

wujanu towurtka

forget,

to

munhardaba

eye milu

fornicate,

face

friend kurda, yajalu

ngunda

faeces wuna faeces,

fall down,

to

frighten,

big pile

of yarnda

to urnnga-,

uku-,

ukuma

in muthangga

fat ngabu

frothwigilidi fun mika

ama

featherfoot feel,

to

pidi

to be parlada-,

frog wandidu front,

father-in-law

wabayadi

parlada

frightened,

far wicaa

father

ambarnoo jangara

da

footprint yina foreheadmilingga

emu chicks wirdidi everlasting

warlgabur'u

funny kuwirtpa gal ah piyagu gecko jabi

158

parladata

Lexicon

hair, underarm

gently kayanu get,

to aga

get up,

gizzard,

jangara

hand mara

inga

happy

fish muri

hard mambu hat

glad calya go,

to

go

into,

to

go

calya

manggawarla

haunches

yatka

to

through,

haze

yurnda

to atkada

have,

wuja

towarnba

go off,

to arda

halve,

girl nyarlu, wudinyu give,

ardathada

halfway

ghost innga, to

puru

head warla

wuja

goanna,

large black

bangara

goanna,

long-tailed

yellow

head (of animal) kagurli parnnga

hear,

to wanyj

goat nani

heart wurdudu

gone wudiyadi

heavy

good

gossip

thurla

hide,

mayamaya sth from

grab

to adamatka

s.o.,

grandchild andadi grass

uuduu

grass

tree

grease

hole wagurla, hollow

thalha

hop,

apanggu,

ground growl

parnba,

kiraaku, uthudu

at, to yami

grown-up

warndu

gully gali gum (from tree) imba gum

tree, river

yarnabacu

da

on

horseback,

red kurlayhi

nguutubarta

hot thuri

human

yagu

ngarnmanu,

ngu

towadadi

house minda,

grub bardi grub, small kurdubiya gullet

wagurla

horns (of animal) bindibindi horse jiji (babytalk), nguutu

to atka

grey (of hair) winyja grog

wuja

miga,

home minda,

thayalu

ngabu,

grease,

towumba

high ida hill parlu hips yurnda

andadi

grandparent

indaacu

here itu

ku'arlu

goodbye

ida

heel thalba

be yatka

gone,

ngunya

kalya

hair, pubic buli, nyanyi

tomatka

maya,

being

nguda

arnmanu

hump pambada hunchback

pambada,

hungry kucidu hurt icici-, purdidi hurt,

to iciciba

hurt feelings wacidu

guts parnda

husband

hair ngunyu

hut maya

159

ardu

purndutu

Lexicon Ingayi

light (inweight) pudi

initiate moorawa

light,

to be arnmanuba

initiated,

insane yarna intestine,

large patuda,

lips irdabili

to adamatka

joking

ca'u

liquor

apanggu,

jump,

towadadi

listen,

to wanyj

blue marlu

kangaroo,

grey yawarda

live wawrla liver marudi

lizard, legless idiwirdi lizard, small jabi

towirdati

kick,

to

kill,

yarnahacu ida

littlepudi

kangaroo (generic) yawarda kangaroo, big red bigurda kangaroo,

log yani

inngatinda

kingfish mardida

lonely yatkajaa

kingfisher, green iludadi

long wadula

kiss,

to inida

knee

tharda

knife

nayapu

long ago ciidii long time ciidii long way wicaa

to wanyjida

know,

tree matkaw

kurrara

jida,

jidamarda,

to wunangga

leave,

to

katu,

thada-,

mad

magpie

ija-, wunbi

man,

young

maiungoo

man,

to become

leg wirda,

let be,

wutpaw arnmanu

wirdaa

man's

privates

towunbi

a man

waba,

artarda,

many mark

lie atpirda

married mardiji

lightmini

to

walga

marrow ngadi

warda

mate kurda,

160

wabadi,

idinggada,

lice wulhu

lie down,

(through

the law)

wabagu

citkacitka

mangy

to arliba

wiyabarndi

arnmanuba

left (hand)watpa lend,

yarna

man

wajinya

leech mai

tomalunha

maggot mindinyu magic bulya

later warlu

lean

in the mirror,

lungs kaalyu

warna

laugh,

at, to nha

look

lover ardu

wangganhaa

lap (N)murna larrikin

look

louse wulhu

landuthudu language

a'u-,

to urndadicada

limp,

sth away,

awu-,

lights (of animal) kaalyu

wirdinyu

jaw irdabili jerk

to get miniga

light a fire, to artpa-, da mi'in

yajalu

pulha

Lexicon

meanwhile meat

wutkatpacadi

no

malya

none

thudu

ya'u

milk milgi

north

mischievous kulyigulyi

nose mutha

mist

nose-hole

puru

mixed up paacpalyu

moothaboongo,

ngoolyambeerdee not

wur'a

money

idalu

malya

moon idinba

note (ofmoney) nata

mosquito thiyinyu

nothing

mother

ocean wilu

agu

mother-in-law

ngarrea

mountain

arndanyu

moustache

ngarn.ga

mouth idaji mouth

ngarnmanu

ngundinu

mud maria,

thalha

mudlark piwi mulga

nut

mullet

wicka

ointment atkajadi oldwinyja, yagu old person

(inside)

mucus

red wilgi

ochre,

oil ngabu

parlu

mouse

ya'u

onion,

bush kurlanu

open,

to

opening

cagurdu

puguda

one kutiya da

yaa'in

wuja

other watpa outside

thani

nail idi

overcooked

name

owl inngahalayi

ini

name,

to ini

nape

(of neck)

naughty nauseous navel

icici

pain nhannga

war'a

citu

to be

painful, to

paint,

kujidu

catka

iciciba

walganyja

pants thardaji paper

pibarlu

near atilu

parrot,

Port Lincoln

ring-neck

neck warndu

parrot,

twenty-eight

thugunyu

neck,

back

of

nhannga

needle niilu

nest mangga net, fishing

pelican

adanyja nhurndi,

penis

waba,

wabagu

boon-go

arnmanu

nice ku'arlu

person

niece

person,

nanyee

wagudu

pearl shellwilya

kaggajee

nephew

bush

peach,

old

night maru

photograph

nipple ibi

pick

on s.o.,

nits wacka

pick

up,

161

puguda magurda to inba

towarnda

wabadi,

thugunyu

Lexicon

ko thurnba

pigeon,

rat, bush

pile idinggada pinch, to idithunda ko

plant,

raw

nguyu

red ochre wilgi

pilyandi

play mika

reeds

poison

reflection

paacinu to manggurda

poke,

policeman

rest,

poor munda war'abardu

road wajjoo roar along,

ko bush

kurlanu,

agurda, ngacku,

ajuga,

rock wur'a rotten puga rub,

pouch puuci

pour

down,

pour

runners

saliva abarlawaa,

nguutiyu

atpirda

hair

(woman's)

saltflats bidida buli,

nyanyi

salve atkajadi sand pirlurda,

purseminyju

sandbar

pus wayudu to

push, to

on,

to aci-,

walaka

scavenger acijadi-,

acijata

scissors cijici

put out (a fire), to bunyadi

scorpion

wagudu

wathoo

scrub yutu

quiet cindi rain

pirlurda

sap imba

ija

put clothes

raggedy

sea wilu

mundamunda

seagullwilyawilya

pundu

see,

to nha

rainbird mar'u seed witu rainbow

uthudu

sandlark jibi

cugi

quandong

wigi

salt nar-rin-yu

puppy kabarla

put,

parladangga

away wudiyadi

running

prevarication pubic

to

wirdinyu

to yangga towardadi

pregnant

pirlinggati,

run away,

ngarni

out,

to atka

rug mirla,

skin uundadu

kangaroo

towurtkati

ngarnuwada,

unurdu

to

ngadi

thartiyatka

river red gum treekurlayhi

potato purdidi

pour,

inyja-, to

river wilu

wiyarda

pouch,

aatiku

ripe cangga

citkada

porcupine

potato,

to

ribs indaji

poor thingwundilu pop (a blister), tomirla

possum

malu

return,

fellow

poor

yuda

regardless wur'awaa

atpicaa,

wiruu

redmarniwidi

mugunya,

munggulba,

mandulba,

arndanyu

rat, kangaroo

min-a-ra,

wootha send,

162

to

ijanatpa

thartpirlu

Lexicon

sew,

to

sex,

to have

towarlida

smack,

separate pititijadi

small pudi

yanda wabayadi

ngadici-,

to arndi

smell,

shade malu

smoke

shadow

smother,

malu

yugurdu to

yarda

shag wanamalu

snake (generic) thayidi

shame

snake,

ciiga

harmless

sheep ciipu shellwilya

snake, water

sheoak

snatch

snapper wabirda

yajuwada

sneak,

shoe yinabuka

sneak

away,

sneak

up on,

short purtku

sneaky

kada

short-cut

sneeze,

towur'a

ardathada

shoulder pididi shout,

snot

shove,

to

soap

show

one's

anyjati hand,

tomaraga

black-faced

cuckoo

to

acalacalu

towurtka

ngundinu coopu

soft kakkoo, mar'u

ujica

someone

thayicaa(??),

ngana

something

nhaa

sickmatharda

somewhere

wandha

sinew thiyinu

son wurdu

sing,

to

inyi

sister, sister,

son-in-law

towada tomida

sing out,

older

nhadumba

younger

sister-in-law

malyu

thurdadu

soon

thunu,

sorcerer

buraada,

wajinya

to umato

,warlida

to

i'u

spank,

towarlida

speak,

towangga

spear (generic)widaa

ngadi

sleep with,

wacidu

sorry piyarda-, south

sky kaju sleep,

bulya

sore madi

skinwurtpi

slap,

urdaa

pulhabarta

sorcery

nyina

ajadi

song

candi

sit, to inyja-,

skinny

to

kadayatka

to

to acalu-,

snore,

tomida

shut,

s.o.,

towumba

shiny pitkili

shrike,

from

something

adamatka

shield wurnda

shoot,

idiwirdi

bimarda

spear,

ngadici

towidaa

sleepy pudhabudha

spear, fighting bilhida

slide

spear-thrower

thardalangga

uraga

slip thardalangga

speech wangganhaa

slyly kada

spider

163

athu,

ganbar

ty-ca

Lexicon

spirit innga spitwigi splinter spoil

sweaty

towarlanda

s.o.,

tailorwilhilya

wirlaka

spotted wirlakawaa

to atka

spread,

to

stand,

to

towangga

digging

stick,

fighting

stick,

nose-hole

to

taste,

nyina

inyja-,

tear, to pada

teeth idaji

wana warlanu

kurndi, oona

towuta

tell,

tell sth to s.o.,

moorka

sticky thalha

testicles to awu-,

(a fire),

up

internal

stomach

a'u

witku

wiku,

stomach,

(whole)

stop,

nganggarda

that one ala

that,

that one

karlu

thicket

thigh yurnda

yutu

thin buraada,

wajinya

thirstywajilu

nyina

this one

this,

woorthoo

inya

three marnngurdu throat ngarnmanu,

stranger wujanu

throw, throw

striped walgawaa

thunderpindadi

stubborn thumbirlidi

thunderstorm

stump yani

tie, to atpi

supper

tired, war'u

capa,

wanyja

walajadi

pudhabudha

to be pandaba-,

pudhabudhaba tobacco

ngalungga

surfwubirlu

tobacco,

swag panggi,

tomorrow

panggibarta

ajajadi plug mutha, induga

swan wanaw

tongue

sweat

tooth idaji

sweat,

to wanyjayitpa

away,

tired panda-,

bunyja

sugar kaadu sun thuri,

to

warndu

stripe walga

to

anha

(far away)

straw uuduu

suck,

kuca

kucawarla,

that,

storm pindadi straight

towurtka

to

curdu

stone wur'a to

wiginda

bunyja

stinking puga stomach

to

s.o.,

tell stories,

stoke

uudada

(V) ada-,

tawny frogmouth inngabalayi

stick ngarnnga stick,

sth away

talk,

warnda

matka-,

tallwadula

towumba

steal,

take

talk about

igada

star indiya stay,

to atkada-,

take,

ardu

spouse

ardu

swimming ngu ti jad a tailnhurndi

ngarnnga

spot, white

paacpalyu

sweetheart

wirtpa

torment

to wirtpa

164

thalanyu

s.o.,

to inba

thurtpa

Lexicon

torn

to

wattle tree, silver thadilyi

pidi

wave

track yina to uundama

track,

warduwardu,

wanyamatkaw,

witu,

yandi,

yajuwada, yarlinyubacu to

s.o.,

thaapirli

towula ku'arlu

west wacu wet wirna wet,

to

what

nhaa

mayamaya

wandha

whip wiipu

trousers thardaji

whirlywind wardumba

kanangga wuja

turkey, bush parduda turtle balyokurra,

nguuti

wandhagacadi

where

trouble-maker

tunnel

well

when

tripe curdu

true

wubirlu

weep,

tree (generic) yanga tree, ko kundugati, kayili, mayali,

trick

tree, ko adumba

wattle

padaka

touch,

whiskers

ngarn.ga

whistle,

to wunyba

white wilidi

kadarra,

yangajarra

twisted kardagali

white person ngundamini whitefella

wutpalaa,

two wuthada uncle

pi'i

underarm

kalya

up,

to be ida

up,

to go

ngana

why

nhaabarndi,

widow

to wanyjida

understand,

who

wucpalaa

nhaawu

mooreeburndee

widower

mooreeburndee

wife

ardu

wild

urda

ida

urine wumbu

willy-wagtail cidijidi

towumbura

urinate,

wind uudinu

vomit kujidu wail,

to

wait,

towirda

wait

wind,

kuya

to

for,

whirly-

winded

s.o. up,

wake

up,

walk,

to

to

to

kan.garti-,

nganggati

wurtkatpa

wink,

to milutpa

wipe,

to

withered

up cangga

ko wiruu woman to

wash,

to

water

apa

pitu ngutijada,

waca

snake bimarda

water

snake,

nyarlu

woman, white mijiji woman,

water serpent ididibarndi water

young wudinyu

woman's

privates

wonder,

towathadi

woomera mythical

thadatpa

witchety grub bardi

yatka

want,

wardumba

wudilu

wing nyimi ngutpa

wake

wallaby,

wardumba

willy-willy

cici

vagina

ididibarndi words

165

uraga

wangganhaa

buli,

cici,

wardaga

Lexicon

work waka

yam,

towakanda

work, worthless

caalu

yell

bush

agurda,

at, to yami

yellowtail thidaa

wound

madi

yes

write,

to walganyja

yesterday yugangga York gum yandi

wrong

war'a

yabbie kurnaaku

'e'e

you nyini

166

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