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Edible gender, mother-in-law style, & other grammatical wonders: Studies in Dyirbal, Yidiñ, & Warrgamay by R. M. W. Dixon (review)

Edible gender, mother-in-law style, & other grammatical wonders: Studies in Dyirbal, Yidiñ, &... REVIEWS Edible gender, mother-in-law style, & other grammatical wonders: Studies in Dyirbal, Yidiñ, & Warrgamay. By R. M. W. Dixon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Pp. xiv, 342. ISBN 9780198702900. $110 (Hb). Reviewed by Anne Storch, University of Cologne ‘A language is a social phenomenon’, Dixon states at the beginning of this book. Merely looking at the structure of a language, he explains, is not a helpful tactic in attempting to understand the principles of linguistic features; a semantic approach, he sets out to demonstrate, might be much more fruitful. It is precisely this perspective on linguistics that is at the core of this inspiring book. The studies on Dyirbal, Yidiñ, and Warrgamay, three languages of north-eastern Australia, that are presented in the volume are all about meaning—how speakers make meaning, how grammatical features represent meaningful social and cultural practice, how meaning changes, and how it is always there, in multiple ways. The linguistic signs the author deals with are never simple; they are all semantically complex and express, for example, principles of taxonomy as well as cultural memory, individual ideas about the world and experiences of change and diversity. Words and grammar, as presented in D’s work, http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Language Linguistic Society of America

Edible gender, mother-in-law style, & other grammatical wonders: Studies in Dyirbal, Yidiñ, & Warrgamay by R. M. W. Dixon (review)

Storch, Anne
Language , Volume 93 (3) – Sep 12, 2017
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Linguistic Society of America
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Copyright © Linguistic Society of America.
ISSN
1535-0665
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Abstract

REVIEWS Edible gender, mother-in-law style, & other grammatical wonders: Studies in Dyirbal, Yidiñ, & Warrgamay. By R. M. W. Dixon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Pp. xiv, 342. ISBN 9780198702900. $110 (Hb). Reviewed by Anne Storch, University of Cologne ‘A language is a social phenomenon’, Dixon states at the beginning of this book. Merely looking at the structure of a language, he explains, is not a helpful tactic in attempting to understand the principles of linguistic features; a semantic approach, he sets out to demonstrate, might be much more fruitful. It is precisely this perspective on linguistics that is at the core of this inspiring book. The studies on Dyirbal, Yidiñ, and Warrgamay, three languages of north-eastern Australia, that are presented in the volume are all about meaning—how speakers make meaning, how grammatical features represent meaningful social and cultural practice, how meaning changes, and how it is always there, in multiple ways. The linguistic signs the author deals with are never simple; they are all semantically complex and express, for example, principles of taxonomy as well as cultural memory, individual ideas about the world and experiences of change and diversity. Words and grammar, as presented in D’s work,

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Language – Linguistic Society of America

Published: Sep 12, 2017

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