prolegomenon to a warrwa grammar of space

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1、4ProlegomenontoaWarrwagrammarofspaceWilliamB.McGregor4.1TheWarrwalanguageanditsspeakersWarrwaisanon-Pama-NyunganAustralianlanguage,oneofasmallgroupofabouttenlanguagesreferredtoastheNyulnyulanfamily(McGregor1988).ItsclosestrelativesareNyikina,YawuruandJukun.Thesefourlanguag

2、estogetherformtheEasterngroupofthefamily;theremainingfiveorsixlanguagesconsti-tutetheWesterngroup(StokesandMcGregor2003).TheWesternNyulnyulanlanguagesweretraditionallylocatedontheDampierLandpeninsula,tothenorthofBroome,inthefarnorth-westofWesternAustralia.TheEasternNyul-nyu

3、lanlanguageswerespokeninacrescentsurroundingthepeninsulatothesouthandeast,extendingintotheKimberleyregion.Warrwaitselfwasspokeninthenorth-easternpartofthiscrescent,inthevicinityofthepresenttown-shipofDerby(Burula),andeastwardsalongtheMedaandMayRivers;seeFigure4.1.Itabutted

4、theWorrorranlanguagesUnggarranguandUnggumi,tra-ditionallylocatedtothenorthandeast(seealsomapsinMcGregor1994:6,andTindale1974:259).TodayasinglefullspeakerofWarrwaremains,agedaroundseventy,wholivesinthetownshipofDerby;shesurvivesanelderbrother,alsoafullspeaker,whodiedin2000.

5、Herchildren(andpossiblysomegrandchildren)havesomepassiveknowledgeofWarrwa,thoughtheynormallyspeakeitherKriolorAboriginalEnglish.BeingcloselyrelatedtoNyikina,thereisafairlyhighdegreeofmutualintelligibilitybetweenthetwolanguages,totheextentthatthefifty-oddspeakersofNyikinapro

6、bablyhaveagoodpassiveunderstandingofWarrwa.Conversely,thelastspeaker(likeherbrother)hasanactivecontrolofbothKriolandNyikina,whichattimesinfluenceherWarrwa.ThisseemstoThanksareduetoDavidWilkinsforcontinuedencouragement,discussionsandadviceoverthepastyearofpreparationofthispa

7、per,andtoEvaSchultze-Berndtforusefulcommentsonanearlierdraft.Theusualdisclaimersapply.ForfinancingmyfieldworkonWarrwaIamgratefultotheAustralianResearchCouncil(GrantsA58930745andA9324000,andResearchFellowshipA59332055),andtheMax-Planck-Institutf¨urPsycholinguistik,Nijmegen,wh

8、ichalsoprovidedastimulatingworkingenvironment,especiallyforresearchonthepresenttopic.Mygr