Nominal Groups in Pitjantjatjara

Abstract

This chapter explores nominal grammar resources in Pitjantjatjara, an Indigenous language of Australia's Western Desert. Data for the description comes primarily from recordings of oral discourse. The description takes a discourse semantic perspective on ideational and textual resources in nominal grammar. Options are described for construing entities by naming, pronaming, classifying, describing, numbering, determining and qualifying. From text examples, a distinctive configuration of meaning options emerges that is characteristic of this language.