Encountering Aboriginal Languages: Studies in the History of Australian Linguistics Tapa dura - 2007

Australian National University. 2007. Trade paperback. Very good.. 151 p., bibliography. . Speakers of Kalam, a language of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, use serial verb constructions extensively. In Kalam, these constructions take the form of one or more bare verb stems followed by an inflected verb. Serial verb constructions in Kalam, as with other serialising languages, resemble single clauses in some ways and sequences of clauses in others. It is at the 'single-cause' end that Kalam serial verb constructions are most similar to their equivalents in most other serialising languages. For instance, Kalam speakers combine stems to express new words-useful in Kalam, which has only around 100 verb stems. The stems meaning 'give', 'get' and 'stay' often take on grammatical functions within the constructions. However, Kalam serial verb constructions are unusually long and complex, sometimes up to nine or ten verb stems in length. Kalam speakers like to talk about things that happen according to… Leer más