Worora gender metaphors and Australian prehistory
Date
1999
Authors
Clendon, Mark John
Editors
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Journal article
Citation
Anthropological Linguistics, 1999; 41(3):308-355
Statement of Responsibility
Mark Clendon
Conference Name
Abstract
The gender semantics of Worora (a non-Pama-Nyungan language of the Kimberley region of northern Australia) is examined, and linguistic and cultural explanations are sought for the categories observed. An opposition is uncovered in the nonhuman macrogender between intensions that refer underlyingly to the earth, on the one hand, and to the sky, on the other. The formal and functional properties of the system are then compared with those of Nunggubuyu, a non-Pama-Nyungan language of eastern Arnhem Land. On the basis of this comparison, a historical explanation is suggested to account for the typological similarities observed.
School/Discipline
School of Humanities : Linguistics
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© 1999 Anthropological Linguistics