Handbook Of Western Australian Aboriginal Languages South Of The Kimberley Region

Gives location, variant spelling, classification, linguistic situation, research and bibliographic information for all languages in regions south of Kimberleys; notes on Aboriginal English and Kriol; extensive annotated bibliography; indexes to variant language spellings, and to linguists.

The Kimberley, the far north-west of Australia, is one of the most linguistically diverse regions of the continent. Some fifty-five Aboriginal languages belonging to five different families are spoken within its borders. Few of these languages are currently being passed on to children, most of whom speak Kriol (a new language that arose about half a century ago from an earlier Pidgin English) or Aboriginal English (a dialect of English) as their mother tongue and usual language of communication. This book describes the Aboriginal languages spoken today and in the recent past in this region.

Gives location, variant spelling, classification, linguistic situation, research and bibliographic information for all languages in regions south of Kimberleys; notes on Aboriginal English and Kriol; extensive annotated bibliography; indexes to variant language spellings, and to linguists.

“An absolutely unique work in linguistics publishing – full of beautiful maps and authoritative accounts of well-known and little-known language encounters. Essential reading (and map-viewing) for students of language contact with a global perspective.” Prof. Dr. Martin Haspelmath, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie The two text volumes cover a large geographical area, including Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, South -East Asia (Insular and Continental), Oceania, the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia, Central Asia, the Caucasus Area, Siberia, Arctic Areas, Canada, Northwest Coast and Alaska, United States Area, Mexico, Central America, and South America. The Atlas is a detailed, far-reaching handbook of fundamental importance, dealing with a large number of diverse fields of knowledge, with the reported facts based on sound scholarly research and scientific findings, but presented in a form intelligible to non-specialists and educated lay persons in general.

An excellent introduction to the complicated issues of language reconstruction, this concise guide explores languages that are no longer spoken or those that are spoken by only a few people. Each contributor works through some of the complex issues vital to language workers in an accessible, easy-to-read style, and exercises throughout the book provide immediate ways to put the ideas into practice and experience the rewards and frustrations of this kind of language work.

The Languages and Linguistics of Australia: A Comprehensive Guide is part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of the continents of the world. The volume provides a thorough overview of Australian languages, including their linguistic structures, their genetic relationships, and issues of language maintenance and revitalisation. Australian English, Aboriginal English and other contact varieties are also discussed.

Over the past two decades, theatre practitioners across the West have turned to documentary modes of performance-making to confront new socio-political realities. The essays in this book place this work in context, exploring historical and contemporary examples of documentary and 'verbatim' theatre, and applying a range of critical perspectives.