Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 The background to the study of the language of space
- 2 Towards an Arrernte grammar of space
- 3 Sketch of a Jaminjung grammar of space
- 4 Prolegomenon to a Warrwa grammar of space
- 5 The language of space in Yélî Dnye
- 6 Prolegomena to a Kilivila grammar of space
- 7 A sketch of the grammar of space in Tzeltal
- 8 Spatial reference in Yukatek Maya: a survey
- 9 Approaching space in Tiriyó grammar
- 10 Elements of the grammar of space in Ewe
- 11 Spatial language in Tamil
- 12 A grammar of space in Japanese
- 13 Some properties of spatial description in Dutch
- 14 Patterns in the data: towards a semantic typology of spatial description
- Appendices
- References
- Author index
- Language/Language family index
- Subject index
6 - Prolegomena to a Kilivila grammar of space
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 The background to the study of the language of space
- 2 Towards an Arrernte grammar of space
- 3 Sketch of a Jaminjung grammar of space
- 4 Prolegomenon to a Warrwa grammar of space
- 5 The language of space in Yélî Dnye
- 6 Prolegomena to a Kilivila grammar of space
- 7 A sketch of the grammar of space in Tzeltal
- 8 Spatial reference in Yukatek Maya: a survey
- 9 Approaching space in Tiriyó grammar
- 10 Elements of the grammar of space in Ewe
- 11 Spatial language in Tamil
- 12 A grammar of space in Japanese
- 13 Some properties of spatial description in Dutch
- 14 Patterns in the data: towards a semantic typology of spatial description
- Appendices
- References
- Author index
- Language/Language family index
- Subject index
Summary
Introduction
This chapter presents preliminary remarks on some of the central linguistic means speakers of Kilivila use in expressing their conceptions of space, that is, for referring to objects, persons and events in space. After a brief characterization of the language and its speakers, the chapter sketches how specific topological relations are encoded, how motion events are described and what frames of spatial reference are preferred in what contexts for what means and ends. The paper ends with a summary of the major patterns in topology, motion and frames of references, and with a programmatic outline of how to write a complete grammar of space.
Kilivila – the language of the Trobriand Islanders
Kilivila, the language of the Trobriand Islanders, is one of forty Austronesian languages spoken in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It is an agglutinative language and its general word-order pattern is VOS (Senft 1986). The Austronesian languages spoken in Milne Bay Province are grouped into twelve language families; one of them is labelled Kilivila. The Kilivila language family encompasses the languages Budibud (or Nada, with about 200 speakers), Muyuw (or Murua, with about 4,000 speakers) and Kilivila (or Kiriwina, Boyowa, with about 25,000 speakers); Kilivila is spoken on the islands Kiriwina, Vakuta, Kitava, Kaile'una, Kuiawa, Munuwata and Simsim. The languages Muyuw and Kilivila are each split into mutually understandable local dialects.
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- Information
- Grammars of SpaceExplorations in Cognitive Diversity, pp. 206 - 229Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
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