[This document can be acquired from a sub-directory coombspapers via anonymous FTP and/or COOMBSQUEST gopher on the node COOMBS.ANU.EDU.AU] The document's ftp filename and the full directory path are given in the coombspapers top level INDEX file] [This version: 4 August 1993] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- File 3. There are 9 parts of this thesis: from 0 to 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Grammar of Garadjari, Western Australia by Anna Kristina Sands 1989 Bachelor of Arts Thesis Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 3 NOMINAL MORPHOLOGY 3.1 Inflection Nouns and adjectives in Garadjari must be marked for case through suffixation, though the form of the absolutive case suffix is zero and hence many nouns appear to be suffixless. There are four core cases which form grammatical relations to the verb, ie. absolutive, ergative, dative and possibly locative, while the other cases function as the outer cases. The dative, and more especially locative, also function as outer cases. The cases will be discussed in detail following. 3.1.1 Absolutive The form of the absolutive case is always zero and hence we get nouns in their citation form. The absolutive is used for the subject of intransitive verbs and the object of transitive verbs. eg. Intransitive subject : (1) bargara ya-rnu-ra turkey(ABS) go-PAST-COMP a turkey came up (2) ngura gurga dja-rnu-gu ground(ABS) arise(AUX)-PAST-PURP the ground rose up (3) gargidja garndi-njari Gargidja(ABS) climb-CONT Gargidja climbed up eg. Transitive object : (4) guyi nja-ngku-bula animal(ABS) see-FUT-3 Du S they saw animals (5) marungu mira ga-ngu-bula-djinja man(ABS) watch(AUX)-PAST-3 Du S-3 Pl O they looked at the men (6) birimala yarnda-rnu-ya birimala(ABS) thrust-PAST-3 Pl S they thrust the birimala object I have two examples of verbs with two absolutive noun phrases. eg. (7) njim bira-ri-la bundju fog(ABS) cover-CONT-la grass(ABS) fog covered the grass For further discussion on these see section 6.1.3. 3.1.2 Ergative The ergative suffix has three allomorphs. -du occurs after a rhotic, -dju occurs after a lateral or a nasal ( which changes to an alveolar nasal ) , and -lu occurs after a vowel. eg. djugur 'boy' ---> djugur-du warayinj 'one' ---> warayin-dju mirling 'spear' ---> mirlin-dju garambal 'Garambal' ---> garambal-dju balnga 'bark cord' ---> balnga-lu yilyu 'tear' ---> yilyu-lu The ergative suffix is used to mark the transitive subject. eg. (8) djinka-rnu djarndu-lu hit-PAST woman-ERG (his) wife hit him (9) djugur-du djinda-rnu ngawa-gura boy-ERG break-PAST we-POSS the boy broke our (house) (10) bidi gari-nju-ra waradja-lu hole dig-PAST-COMP one-ERG one of them dug a hole Very often the ergative is used without a verb in which case it always means 'X said . . . '. eg. (11) yandja-nju-lu ngayidju wurdu warara north-ABL-ERG I big old man the man from the north said 'I am a big old man' The ergative case is also used in the 'while' construction where we get the ergative case either on marndi 'going' or on a noun with -nguru ( Perlative ) or -gardi ( Allative ). Here the noun with the ergative acts as a verbless 'while' clause and is followed by a clause with a verb. For a fuller discussion on this construction please see section 7.2. eg. (12) marndi-lu djungku-ngka yaga-rnu-bula going-ERG fire-LOC leave-PAST-3 Du S (while ) going away they left it on the fire (13) nga-njari wulguru-nguru-lu eat-CONT shade-ABL-ERG he ate while in the shade 3.1.3 Dative The form of the dative suffix is -gu . The dative forms the core relation, indirect object, to a few verbs in which case it is cross-referenced on the verb itself. The most common verbs to take a dative object are yinda- 'to tell' and djurngu dja- 'to show'. eg. (14) mira gari-nju-djanagu marungu-gu-ba djarndu-gu-ba look(AUX-CONT)-PAST-3 Pl D man-DAT-and woman-DAT-and he watched for the men and women (15) marungu-gu yinda-ri-la man-DAT tell-CONT-3 Sg D he told the man We do, however, get examples in the texts where one would expect the dative and we get dative cross-referencing on the verb but the noun phrase is actually in the absolutive. eg. (16) djurngu dja-rnu-djanagu djarunj marungu show(AUX)-PAST-3 Pl D other man he showed it to the other men (17) yinda-la-la barnangu gargidja tell-IRR-3 Sg D Barnangu Gargidja Barnangu told Gargidja It thus appears that though the dative cross-referencing on the verb is obligatory the use of the dative on the noun phrase is optional. The most common usage of the dative on a noun phrase, however, is as an outer case marking an adjunct to the verb. Here it generally means that the action was carried out in order to achieve something. It can usually be translated as 'for'. eg. (18) mira ga-ngu wurdu-gu yaranga look(AUX)-PAST big-DAT spear he looked for a big spear (19) mulal guli rawari-gu not fight dead-DAT do not fight to the death (20) warnanbal barnangu waral ma-rnu-bula waraying-gu njuma Warnanbal Barnangu search(AUX)-PAST-3 Du S one-DAT egg Warnanbal and Barnangu searched for an another egg (21) ngaba-gu garli-nju-ra bidi water-DAT dig-PAST-COMP hole they dug a hole for water (22) guyi djinka-rnu ginjangka-gu animal kill-PAST he-DAT he killed animals for himself The dative is also used where the motion of the verb is carried out right up to the noun ( note that this differs from the allative where motion is carried out towards the noun. See section 3.1.6 ). eg. (23) barnangu bara ma-rnu marungu-gu Barnangu run(AUX)-PAST man-DAT Barnangu ran up to the man (24) ga-ngu-ra-la garbina djarndu-gu carry-PAST-COMP-3 Sg D sheild woman-DAT he carried a shield to his wife Finally, the dative is used in the following two situations; (25) galaya gulja mulal muar-gu ngana-gu then south not word-DAT what-DAT then he went south without a word (26) ya-rnu-ra-la djina-gu go-PAST-COMP-3 Sg D foot-DAT he went along tracks The dative can be related both in form and function to the purposive suffix used on verbs. The purposive is also -gu and often means that an action is carried out in order to do something else. We can compare this to the dative in it's 'for' translation. eg. (27) mira ga-ngu wurdu-gu look(AUX)-PAST big-DAT he looked for a big one / in order to find a big one 3.1.4 Locative The locative suffix takes the form -dja after a nasal ( which changes to an alveolar nasal ), a lateral or a rhotic, and the form -ngka after a vowel. In addition there is a further form of the locative used in verbless clauses which takes the form -djangka in all environments. I have two examples of what may be noun phrases in the locative acting as the core relation to the verb. See section 7.1.3 for a discussion of these examples. The locative is used to describe the place at which an action takes place and may be used where in English we would use 'in', 'on', 'at' etc. ie. it simply describes the location and does not need further specification. It may also be used temporally to describe the time of day at which an action occured. Some examples are : (28) yangka-rnu-bula njangamarda-ngka ngura hunt-PAST-3 Du S Njangamarda-LOC land they hunted in the Njangamarda country (29) marungu nja-ngu rumban-dja man see-PAST nest-LOC he saw a man in the nest (30) rankar-dja gulba-ya-bula dawn-LOC return-IRR-3 Du S they went back at daylight (31) garambal guyi-gardi djabur-dja Garambal animal-ALL dew-LOC Garambal went for animals in the dew The locative is also used to describe the direction to which an action is directed. Note that the dative or allative are used where a general motion of the subject is indicated. ie to go somewhere, whereas the locative is used in more specific situations, when the direction described is more central to the meaning of the verb. ie. the locative is used where the noun phrase can be considered to be semantically linked to the verb. eg. (32) djungku-ngka dja-rnu fire-LOC put-PAST he put it in the fire (33) yilba-nju ngura-ngka throw-PAST ground-LOC he threw it on the ground (34) gala garndi-nju baga-ngka then climb-PAST tree-LOC then he climbed up the tree (35) wurb djigur-dja plunge hole-LOC he plunged into the hole Note, that as in the location sense, the locative may be translated by English 'in' , 'on', 'into', etc. Finally, the locative can be used to indicate the position of a person and is combined with the ergative. ie. A noun that one would not normally think of as the subject takes on the meaning of 'the person from X'. eg. (36) gulja-ngka-lu ngana nadja south-LOC-ERG what here he inthe south said ' what's here ' For a fuller discussion on this see section 7.2. The second form of the locative -djangka is used where there is no verb, ie. it does not form a location to an action, but describes the action itself. The action is the state of being at the location. -Djangka is therefore used in verbless sentences. eg. (37) yandja-djangka north-LOC they are in the north (38) djabur-djangka djina ma-lgu-ra dew-LOC foot(AUX)-FUT-COMP he was in the dew when he tracked it (39) yalira-djangka djibi ahead-LOC djibi the djibi was ahead This, like the normal locative, may be combined with the ergative. eg. (40) njirani-djangka-lu bina gari-nju-ya behind-LOC-ERG hear(AUX-CONT)-PAST-3 Pl S while they were behind they heard a sound 3.1.5 Instrumental The instrumental has exactly the same form as the ergative but differs from the ergative in that it takes no cross-referencing on the verb. The instrumental is used to denote that the noun was employed by the subject in the carrying out of the action. eg. (41) mirlin-dju yarnda-rnu-gudji spear-INST drive-PAST-then thereupon he drove him away with a spear (42) dugul-dju maba-rnu ochre-INST oil-PAST he oiled it with red ochre (43) mirling djirga-rnu djungku-lu ngurun-dju spear straighten-PAST fire-INST smoke-INST he straightened the spear with fire and smoke (44) djinga-rnu djarndu-lu ginjangka-lu copulate-PAST woman-INST he-ERG he copulated with the woman 3.1.6 Allative The allative case suffix is -gardi in all environments. It is used where a general motion, ie. to 'go' or 'walk', is directed towards a place or person but it does not necessarily imply that that goal is reached. ( Note that if the goal is reached the dative case is used instead ). eg. (45) djini-rnu-djinja warayinj-gardi ginjangka-gura put down-PAST-3 Pl O another-ALL he-POSS he put them down at another place of his (46) wandja-gardi njumbala where-ALL you two where are you two going ? (47) mulal marndi guyi-gardi not going animal-ALL not going looking for food ( towards food ) (48) bara ma-rnu-gudji marla-gardi garndi-nju-gudji run(AUX)-PAST-then anthill-ALL climb-PAST-then then he ran to the anthill and thereupon climbed up it As the dative and allative may be used in very similar situations we can compare their usage. ie. (49) bara ma-rnu marungu-gardi run(AUX)-PAST man-ALL he ran to the men (50) bara ma-rnu marungu-gu run(AUX)-PAST man-DAT he ran to the men In the first sentence with the allative case the running is carried out towards the men, whether or not he actually reached the men is not important. It is the action of running and direction of that action that is being discussed. However, in the second sentence, with the dative case, a goal is reached. He runs all the way up to the men and this is what is important. The allative case is very often used in verbless sentences with the missing verb implied as 'go'. eg. (51) gara djurar-gardi west salt water-ALL in the west , he went towards the sea (52) gala nadja guna-gardi then here end-ALL so here we are towards the end (53) warayinj yandja-gardi warayinj gulja-gardi another north-ALL another south-ALL one went north , the other went south Now, sentences like these may be analysed as verbless sentences, but if we look at the form of the allative suffix it may be possible to segment this, at least historically. Ga- is a monosyllabic verb meaning 'to carry' that is very often used in compound verbs as an auxiliary. -Rdi is a suffix associated with the continuative. We might therefore like to say that djurar ga-rdi is a compound verb in the continuative meaning 'to go to the sea'. Now such an analysis has points both for and against it. It helps to explain why we commonly have the allative in verbless sentences as we see that, historically at least, these sentences do have a verb. We see that -gardi behaves very much like the auxiliary of a compound verb in that it always follows the object, or pre-auxiliary element, and nothing can intervene between it and the preceding element. Note, however, that these are all points that can be equally ascribed to -gardi as an allative case suffix. It has been noted that -gardi is a suffix that places importance on the action and direction of movement and not on arrival. -Rdi as a continuative suffix would therefore be consistent with the semantics. We can compare -gardi with another very common continuative semi-verb ;wanardi 'staying'. Wanardi also occurs in verbless sentences, however, unlike -gardi , wanardi may take a subject cross-reference marker. eg. (54) wanardi-bula nadja staying-3 Du S here they were staying here This leads us to the arguments against a verbal analysis of -gardi . First being that it takes no verbal suffixes, and in fact I have examples of it taking the nominal ergative suffix. eg. (55) ngaba nga-njari wulguru-gardi-lu water eat-CONT shade-ALL-ERG they drank water while going to the shade Note, however, that this is a special kind of construction, and is not actually an example of the ergative as a case marking suffix for the transitive subject. See section 7.2. One can also argue against a verbal analysis of -gardi from the semantics. -Ga as a verb means 'to carry' and we would therfore expect ga-rdi to mean 'carrying' and not 'going'. How can 'to carry' be related to a directional suffix ? We note, however, that the verb ya- 'to go', the verb we would most likely expect as the auxiliary of a verb about 'going towards X' never occurs as the auxiliary of a compound verb. 1 Therefore, if a compound verb is to be formed another auxiliary must be chosen. The auxilaries that we have to choose from are : ma- 'to make' dja- 'to put' ga- 'to carry' djari- 'to become' Note that other compound verbs formed with ga- have a directionality involved. ie. mira ga- 'to look' yira ga- 'to name something' Thus, the exclusion of a compound verb analysis of -gardi on semantic grounds cannot be justified. Now we get the same suffix, -gardi, in other languages of the area. For example, Walmatjari [ Hudson, 1978 ] , a Ngumbin language, has an allative suffix -karti but it does not have a continuative suffix anything like -rdi . Badimaya [ Dunn, 1988 ] , a Kardu language, has a derivational suffix, -gardi , glossed as 'side'. This is used to derive noun stems functioning as locationals or directioals. It is used in situations very similar to the Garadjari allative, though it is not a case suffix. eg. Badimaya : (56) balu Perth-gardi ya-ngguwa 3Sg-ABS Perth-side go-PRES he's going to Perth Garadjari : (57) Perth-gardi ya-rnu Perth-ALL go-PAST he went to Perth Yankunytjatjara [ Goddard, 1985 ] , has a suffix -kati - ( note that this differs from the Garadjari suffix -gardi only in the contrast of a post-alveolar apical with an alveolar apical ), which can be used to indicate that an action occurs while going along. eg. nya-ng 'to look' nyaku-kati- 'to look while going along' It may also derive verbs of motion. eg. warara 'cliff' warara-kati- 'to jump down' Thus, in three closely related langauages, we have the same suffix, -gardi , or similar, functioning as a case marker of motion, a derivational suffix of motion for nouns, or a derivational suffix of motion for verbs. It thus differs widely in its syntax though it is semantically coherent in indicating motion towards something. If, as I propose is possible, this suffix originated in verb compounding the differing usages of the suffix can be quite easily explained. In Yankunytjatjara the suffix retains its original syntax of the derivation of verbs, while in other languages the nominal pre-auxiliary element reasserts its nominal status ( perhaps through the highly nominal rather than verbal semantics of a location, such as Perth in (57) above ) and the auxiliary -gardi becomes a derivational suffix in some languages and a case inflection in others. As, in general, Australian languages do not have a separate allative case and if they do this is usually based on the dative. ( ie. it is assumed that proto-Australian did not have a seperate allative case and an allative meaning 'to' has been developed from the dative or locative in individual languages [ Dixon, 1980 ] ) and few languages have an allative meaning 'towards', this must have developed by some means somewhere in the history of the language. To say that it arose from compounding is a quite plausible explanationand this gap, left by the lack of an allative case would be left open to be filled by verb compounding if this did occur. With arguments both for and agianst a historical explanation of the allative suffix as a compound auxiliary, it does not allow one to determine whether such a case is true. However, it is certain, whatever it's origins, that the allative suffix -gardi can now be truly counted as a suffix. This can be claimed because of it's quite productive usage, occuring on any noun, and because it does not, now, take further verbal suffixes. 3.1.7 Ablative The form of the ablative suffix is -ngu in all environments. The ablative is used where movement is away from the noun. eg. (58) garngara-ngu bagurda-rnu ngura-ngka above-ABL jump-PAST ground-LOC he jumped from above to the ground (59) gulja-ngu bara-ngu south-ABL run-PAST he ran from the south (60) gagara-ngu warara gurga dja-rnu-ra east-ABL old man rise(AUX)-PAST-COMP the old man arose from the east The ablative suffix may be added to a noun to mean 'a person from X'. eg. (61) gulja-ngu-lu ngayidju gulja south-ABL-ERG I south the man from the south / the southerner said 'I'm going south' See section 7.2 for further discussion on this. 3.1.8 Perlative The form of the perlative case suffix is-nguru . It is used in the following situations : (62) widi ngaba-nguru widi play water-PERL play they played at the well (63) gala gurga dja-rnu-ya wulguru-nguru then arise(AUX)-PAST-3 Pl S shade-PERL they got up around the shade (64) djirbal bunga-nju ngaba balaya-nguru cloud fall-PAST water there-PERL over there the cloud beat down ( ie. it rained hard ) (65) djinda-rnu rumbu mangkaru-nguru break-PAST nest anger-PERL he broke up the nest in anger It is also used with the ergative in 'while' constructions ( see section 7.2 ). eg. (66) nga-njari wulguru-nguru-lu eat-CONT shade-PERL-ERG he ate while in the shade We can see here that the form -nguru seems to combine the locative and the ablative meanings. There is a feeling of movement at or around the place. In sentence (62) we might expect the locative, however, here the locative would imply that the playing occured in the water. The perlative, instead, states that the action occurs around and about the water, but not in it. In sentence (64) we might expect the ablative. However, the ablative seems to indicate a single, complete departure from the point. Here the perlative is used because the action is ongoing. The rain is not a single action but is durative. Note that in sentence (65) the perlative is used with an abstract noun and states that the action was done 'because of' or 'through' anger. -Nguru seems, therefore, to be a case that implies movement at a place. It can be described in English as 'through'. 3.2 Nominal suffixes Garadjari nouns may be modified by a suffix which may replace the inflection or co-occur with it. 3.2.1 -rangu -Rangu is the plural marker which is used when the plurality of a noun is to be emphasised. Note that the absence of the plural suffix does not imply that the noun is singular as a noun unspecified for number may be singular, dual or plural. Rather, number is generally specified through cross-referencing on the verb for those arguments that are cross-referenced ( ie. subject, object and indirect object ). -Rangu , as a plural marker appears before the inflection and is used as follows ; (67) mira mira ga-ngu-djinja warlibi-rangu-gardi look look(AUX)-PAST-3 Pl O camp-PL-ALL he looked at them towards the (different ) camps (68) gulba-njara-ya warara-rangu return-CONT-3 Pl S old man-PL the old men returned The plural suffix -rangu also appears on the third person plural pronoun. ie. ginjangka-rangu . 3.2.2 -walji -Walji is the privative suffix that means 'without'. I have found only one example of it in the texts. ie. (69) mulal djarla wanada-rnu rumbu-walji not now sit down-PAST nest-PRIV no longer do ( we ) live in nests 3.2.3 -gara I have two examples of a suffix -gara . In the first it appears to mean 'against'. ie. (70) yangka-rnu rumbu ngaba-gara hunt-PAST nest water-against he looked for a nest that was waterproof The second example cannot be related to this first, ie. (71) yura-gara-gara warlibi-ngka djai-gu-bula dark-(?) camp-LOC come-FUT-3 Du S towards evening they came into camp unless this has been translated wrongly and it is actually implied that they came into camp to avoid the dark. There is a third possible example of this suffix. ie. ban-gara djari-nju = 'to come into sight' Now bani is a noun meaning 'eye' and thus we could say that -gara here had something to do with being in line with the eye, though this is rather different to the avoidance of the first two examples. 3.2.4 -gadja -Gadja is a suffix that means 'like'. eg. (72) bina gari-nju djibi-gadja hear(AUX-CONT)-PAST djibi-like he heard a djibi like sound Most often -gadja appears in verbless sentences to mean that 'something happened in X manner'. eg. (73) wandu-gu-n-ngala njug njug-gadja gungulu stay-FUT-2 Sg S-habit bob bob-like head you always remain and bob your head up and down (74) galaya widi-gadja then play-like then they played / there was playing Note that in the above two examples -gadja appears on a pre-auxiliary element of a compound verb ( see section 4.1 ) ie. it is in doubt whether this element is actually nominal or verbal. I have one clear example of -gadja appearing on a verb to derive an abstract noun. ie. (75) ya-ra-ni-gadja go-IRR-here-like a come-here manner 3.2.5 -gura -Gura is the possessive suffix. It appears on the possessor and this is followed by the possessed. eg. (76) bargara-gura gabara Bargara-POSS pitchi Bargara's pitchi basket (77) yalgi-gura bidi goanna-POSS hole the goanna's hole 3.2.6 -ba -Ba is the linkig clitic 'and' which joins noun phrases together. It appears on all nouns to be linked and comes after any inflection. eg. (78) mira gari-nju-djanagu marungu-gu-ba djarndu-gu-ba watch(AUX-CONT)-PAST-3 Pl D man-DAT-and woman-DAT-and he watched for the men and women (79) gardaga lani bagulgu-ba barnangu-ba ginjangkudjara sleep close Bagulgu-and Barnangu-and they two they slept close, Bagulgu and Barnangu, those two 3.3 Personal Pronouns The pronoun system in Garadjari has a three way number distinction; singular, dual and plural, and a three way person distinction; first, second and third. The third person pronouns are based upon the demonstrative pronoun 'this' ( ie. ginjangka ) with the plural suffix added for the third person plural and the word for 'two' ( ie. gudjara ) added for the third person dual. The pronouns inflect the same as nouns with a basically ergative - absolutive system, however, this distinction is not so clear cut as it is in nouns and we often get ergative where we would expect the absolutive and vice versa. The forms of the pronouns are as in chart 3.1. Chart 3.1 Personal Pronouns 1st 2nd 3rd singular ngayidju njundu ginjangka dual ngali njumbala ginjangkudjara plural (ngawa) njura ginjangkarangu The form of the first person plural pronoun is uncertain as I have only one possible example of this and it is in the possessive form. ie. (80) djugur-du djinda-rnu ngawa-gura boy-ERG break-PAST us-POSS the boy broke our ( home ) 3.3.1 Absolutive - Ergative In the absolutive case ( ie. transitive object and intransitive subject ) the citation form of the pronoun, as in chart 3.1, is used. eg. (81) ngali wandu-gu-li-ngala us two stay-FUT-1 Du S-might let us two remain (82) ngali nja-ngku-ya-ngalinja bulinj us two see-FUT-3 Pl S-1 Du O between they can see us two between The form of the ergative suffix after a personal pronoun is -lu , ie. as all pronouns end in a vowel this is the regular allomorph we would expect. eg. (83) mulal ngayidju-lu njanga-nja not I-ERG see(AUG )-IRR 1 SG S I don't see you (84) ngayidju-lu yinda-n-ngalgu I-ERG say-PAST 1 Sg S-2 Sg D I said to you There is, however, much confusion between the cases used with the pronouns. It is not true, as it is with nouns, that all transitive subjects take the ergative and all intransitive subjects the absolutive. ie. we get the following sentences; Intransitive with ergative subject: (85) mulal ngayidju-lu wayini not I-ERG frightened I am not frightened (86) ginjangkarangu-lu warlibi-ngka wanarda-ya they-ERG camp-LOC staying-3 Pl S they are staying in camp Transitive with absolutive subject: (87) ginjangkarangu yilba-nju djungku-ngka they (ABS) throw-PAST fire-LOC they threw it on the fire (88) gangara ginjangka ma-rnu njuma high he(ABS) take-PAST egg he took the egg up high In fact we have a minimal pair of sentences, one with the ergative and the other with an absolutive subject. ie. (89) ginjangka-lu yilba-nju yilbiring ginjangka yilba-nju yilbiring he -ERG throw-PAST boomerang he threw the boomerang What we seem to have here is confusion. The confusion occurs across the board, ie. in all persons and all numbers and it is therefore not the case that we have a split in the pronoun system with a nominative - accusative system in some, but an ergative - absolutive system in others. This may, rather, represent language in change; as, if speakers can accurately use the ergative case system with nouns, there would be no reason for them to confuse transitivity with pronoun subjects. Now, generally in Australia, few languages have free pronouns that inflect on an ergative pattern. Most pronouns inflect on an accusative pattern, as do all bound pronouns [ Blake, 1977] . The situation found in Garadjari of the ergative case used with the pronouns is thus rare in Australia and occurs only in a small group of languages in Western Australia, ie. to the Marrngu group of languages, to which Garadjari belongs, and to some other languages of the Ngumbin and Ngarga subgroups, ie. Walmatjari, Djaru, Warlpiri etc. Garadjari is thus surrounded by languages whose pronouns inflect on an ergative - absolutive system. Now, as is brought up in section 4.6.2 these languages used to have pronouns inflecting on a nominative - accusative system, as is reflected in the cross-reference markers, and thus the ergative is a later development. It is a feature that occurs in a group of genetically related languages but it does not occur in all languages of this group. It might therefore be better to say that this is an example of typological spread of a feature rather than genetic inheritance. If this were a feature that were spreading outwards one would expect that those languages on the edge of the area might exhibit the feature in change. Garadjari is in fact on the coastal edge of the area in which languages exhibit this feature. We also note that Capell, writing some years after Laves did his field work, notes that, for the same dialect, pronouns inflect on an ergative system and show no variation, ie. the inflection is regular. 1 With these two facts taken together we can postulate that at the time of Laves field work Garadjari was undergoing a system of change in the pronoun paradigm, adopting an ergative system akin to that of the nominals. This time of change had become more settled some years later and the ergative sytstem was well established. 3.3.2 Dative The dative suffix for pronouns is the same as for nouns , ie. -gu . eg. (90) ngayidju-gu yinda-ri-dja-n I-DAT say-CONT-1 Sg D-2 Sg S you are yelling at me (91) mangarnu ngayidju yulbur njura-gu anger I previously you-DAT previously I was angry at you 3.3.3 Locative I have only one example of a locative suffix on a pronoun. The form is identical to the at used with nouns. ie. (92) ngayidju-ngka ma-ra mulal I-LOC do-IRR not don't do anything with me Here we see that the locative is used because the action is directed towards the pronoun. See section 3.1.4. 3.3.4 Possessive Pronouns take the same possisive suffix that nouns do, ie. -gura . eg. (93) gaga njundu-gura rawari mother's-brother you-POSS dead your mother's brother is dead (94) djini-rnu-djinja waraing-gardi ginjangka-gura put-down-PAST-3 Pl O another-ALL he-POSS he put them down at another ( place ) belonging to him (95) marungu nja-wa ngali-gura man see-IRR us 2-POSS look there's our man / a man for us Note that the final example here is actually ambiguous. Ngali-gura may be interpreted either as a possessive in the noun phrase ( ie. marungu ngali-gura 'our man' ), or as part of the verb in which case it forms the benefactive ( ie. nja-wa-ngaligura 'look for us' ). We can therefore see the close connection between the possessive and the benefactive. 1 Compare the following two sentences with very similar menaings: djina-gu ya-rnu-bula foot-DAT go-PAST-3 Du S djina ma-rnu-bula foot(AUX)-PAST-3 Du S they tracked it Here ma- forms the auxiliary of a compound verb whereas ya- does not and therefore the djina must be in the dative. 1 Note, however, that we cannot discount the fact that Laves may have noticed variation and chose to discount it as causing unnecessary irregularity in his grammar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- end of file