This Encyclopaedia is a rich, authoritative repository of the cultural and linguistic knowledge of the Yanyuwa, the Saltwater people of the coastal and island country near Borroloola in the Northern Territory of Australia.

 

Volume 2 will be of particular interest to linguists. Part 1 considers Yanyuwa grammar, which has distinctive features, in detail. Chapters cover the sounds of Yanyuwa; special dialects, including separate men’s and women’s language; the 16 noun classes, as well as avoidance noun forms; pronouns; adjectives; and verbs - all with extensive examples. Part 2 offers a comprehensive Yanyuwa-English dictionary, with important linguistic, taxonomic and cultural information, bilingual examples and crossreferences. Part 3 is an English-Yanyuwa word finder, with subcategories of thematically related words. This volume includes illustrations and a bibliography.