Lexical change in pre-colonial Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID20344672
AuthorsMark Harvey (0000-0001-9901-9921, Newcastle University, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume28
Issue3
Pages345-381
Publication date2011-10-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiachronica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0176-4225 • E-ISSN: 1569-9714
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/dia.28.3.03har
OpenAlexW1973834634
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited30

Current analyses present lexical borrowing as a pervasive phenomenon in pre-colonial Australia. They propose that this follows from the high levels of multilingualism and language group exogamy which characterized pre-colonial sociality. This article shows that lexical borrowing was not pervasive in Australia, arguing that there is no necessary or even default relation between high levels of multilingualism and language group exogamy, and high levels of borrowing. These social phenomena may equally be accompanied by extremes of lexical differentiation between languages. Australia provides many examples of such differentiation. The paper also argues that there are no examples of the borrowing of lexical material from irregular paradigms in Australia. As such, the sharing of lexical material from irregular paradigms is a reliable guide to genetic relations in Australia

Biology · Colonialism · Epistemology · Exogamy · Lexical item · Linguistics · Multilingualism · Phenomenon · Sociality · Sociology · Anthropology · Computer Science · History · Lexicography and Language Studies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Ecology