A Grammar of Warrongo

Warrongo is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language that used to be spoken in northeast Australia. This volume is largely based on the rich data recorded from the last fluent speaker. It details the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language. In particular, it provides a truly scrutinizing description of syntactic ergativity - a phenomenon that is rare among the world's language. It also shows that, unlike some other Australian languages, Warrongo has noun phrases that are configurational. Overall this volume shows what can be documented of a language that has only one speaker.

Preface; Acknowledgements; List of tables and figures; List of maps and photos; List of abbreviations and symbols; Chapter 1: The language and its speakers; 1.1. Linguistic type; 1.2. Names of the language and people; 1.3. Dialects; 1.4. Territory and neighbouring languages; 1.4.1. Territory; 1.4.2. Neighbouring languages and their classification; 1.4.2.1. Proposed classifications; 1.4.2.2. Studies on the neighbouring languages; 1.4.2.3. Warrongo, Gugu-Badhun and Gujal as a linguistic unity; 1.4.2.4. Problems with the proposed classifications; 1.5. Environmental and socio-cultural background.

1.5.1. Environmental setting1.5.2. Archaeological and anthropological accounts; 1.5.3. Mythology; 1.5.4. Names of groups, individuals, and places; 1.5.4.1. Names of groups; 1.5.4.2. Names of individuals; 1.5.4.3. Names of places; 1.5.5. Sections and totems; 1.5.6. Marriage rules; 1.5.7. Kinship system; 1.5.8. Other topics; 1.6. Special styles of speech and songs; 1.6.1. Jalngoy: the avoidance style of speech; 1.6.2. Songs; 1.6.3. Curses and expressions for abuse; 1.7. Post-contact history; 1.8. Studies on the Warrongo language; 1.8.1. Introductory notes; 1.8.2. Early studies on Warrongo.

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