36.3476, Reviews: A New Grammar of Dyirbal: R. M. W. Dixon (2025)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3476. Thu Nov 13 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3476, Reviews: A New Grammar of Dyirbal: R. M. W. Dixon (2025)

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Date: 13-Nov-2025
From: Francisco Garcia Sanchis [frangarcia918 at gmail.com]
Subject: Anthropological Linguistics, Morphology, Syntax, Typology: R. M. W. Dixon (2025)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/36-1276

Title: A New Grammar of Dyirbal
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Oxford University Press
           http://www.oup.com/us
Book URL:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-new-grammar-of-dyirbal-9780198944317?utm_source=linguistlist&utm_medium=listserv&utm_campaign=linguistics

Author(s): R. M. W. Dixon

Reviewer: Francisco Garcia Sanchis

SUMMARY
The publication of R. M. W. Dixon's A New Grammar of Dyirbal is not
merely an update but a monumental event in linguistic scholarship. The
original 1972 grammar was a landmark, catapulting this Australian
Aboriginal language to iconic status for its fascinating ergative
structure, noun classification system, and the Jalnguy, speech style.
Decades later, armed with new data, refined theoretical understanding,
and a profound sense of responsibility to the Dyirbal people, Dixon
returns to his seminal work. This review will assess how A New Grammar
succeeds in its dual mission: to present a more comprehensive and
accurate description of the language for specialists, while also
serving as a vital resource for the Dyirbal community in their
language reclamation efforts.
This book is structured in seventeen chapters that cover the most
important features of a language. The structure of the grammar does
not follow the traditional form that we are used to. The book opens by
establishing the core syntactic machinery, most notably Dyirbal's S/O
pivot, before embarking on a comprehensive tour of its grammatical
domains. It first dedicates a substantial section to the nominal
sphere, encompassing everything from case marking and noun classes to
possession and the complex system of spatial tracking. The focus then
shifts to the verbal complex, where entire chapters are devoted to
Dyirbal's rich tapestry of inflections and valency-changing
operations, highlighting the language's remarkable grammatical
precision. Finally, the analysis culminates with clausal architecture
before transitioning into an extensive reference section, a division
that seamlessly bridges rigorous linguistic analysis with the
practical, data-rich resources—both in print and online—that make this
work an unparalleled archive for both scholarly study and
community-led language revitalization.
Dyirbal presents as a typical Australian language, being predominantly
suffixing and agglutinative, but its most striking feature is an
extraordinarily free word order where grammatical relations are
conveyed not by syntax but entirely by morphology.
The grammar is strategically organized, beginning with a Foundations
and Core Syntax section that expertly orients the reader. The initial
overview situates Dyirbal within its linguistic and cultural context,
but the cornerstone of the entire work—and indeed, of the language
itself—is the masterful exposition of the S/O pivot in Chapter 2.
Dixon immediately introduces the reader to the famously creative
syntactic constraint that governs clause linking, a feature so central
that a firm grasp of it is prerequisite for understanding the
intricate grammatical systems detailed in the following chapters. This
opening part ensures that one approaches the complexity of Dyirbal not
with confusion, but with the essential key already in hand.
Following this foundation, the grammar expands into a comprehensive
analysis of The Nominal Domain, a substantial yet coherent section
that meticulously examines everything centered around nouns and their
arguments. Dixon logically progresses from the core word-level
morphology of nouns and adjectives to higher-level syntactic
structures, including questions, relative clauses, and possession. The
analysis is particularly notable for its deep dive into the complex
system of noun and verb markers, which function as a sophisticated
apparatus for tracking spatial location, discourse reference, and
gender. By also encompassing verbless clauses and particles, this
section convincingly groups all elements whose grammar and function
are fundamentally tied to the nominal system, providing a remarkably
complete picture of how Dyirbal constructs and manages its arguments.
The grammar then pivots to The Verbal Domain, a section that stands
out for its masterful focus on the engine of Dyirbal syntax: the verb.
Here, Dixon systematically unpacks the language's intricate verbal
system, first guiding the reader through a set of nuanced inflections
for concepts like consequence, potentiality, and apprehension. He then
builds on this foundation to explicate the sophisticated
valency-changing morphology, detailing how applicative and causative
derivations add participants, while antipassive and related
constructions reconfigure them. This part is particularly
illuminating, as it clearly demonstrates how these verbal operations
directly serve the overarching S/O pivot constraint, showcasing the
profound interdependence of morphology and syntax in the language.
The analytical core of the grammar culminates in Part IV: Clausal
Architecture and Minor Word Classes, which shifts the focus from the
internal structure of phrases to the elements that govern entire
clauses and utterances. This section provides a definitive account of
clitics, whose scope often extends over a complete phrase or clause,
making them a fitting capstone to the grammatical description. By also
situating verbless clauses and particles here—elements whose functions
are irreducibly clausal—Dixon effectively gathers the tools that
sculpt discourse and nuance at the sentence level, providing a
comprehensive picture of how Dyirbal clauses are assembled and nuanced
beyond the core nominal and verbal systems.
Finally, the volume is transformed from a descriptive grammar into a
lasting archive through its extensive Reference and Data section. This
includes invaluable appendices, a sample annotated text, a full
vocabulary, and a complete inventory of affixes. Crucially, this
printed material is massively expanded by a suite of online
supplements—including a complete text corpus and detailed
thesauruses—that provide the raw data underpinning Dixon's analysis.
This forward-thinking approach ensures the work serves not only as a
theoretical masterwork but as an indispensable practical resource for
linguists and the Dyirbal community alike.
EVALUATION
R.M.W. Dixon's A New Grammar of Dyirbal is not merely an update but a
definitive scholarly achievement, a work that sets a new benchmark for
linguistic description. Its evaluation must center on three key areas:
its intellectual depth, its pedagogical structure, and its ethical
commitment as a linguistic resource.
Intellectually, the grammar is a masterclass in explicating complexity
with clarity. Dixon does not just describe Dyirbal's famous
features—the S/O pivot, the extraordinarily free word order, the dual
speech styles—he reveals their deep functional interdependence. The
central insight, meticulously demonstrated throughout, is that the
language's seemingly chaotic freedom in word order is made possible by
its rigorous morphological and syntactic rules. The book masterfully
shows how phenomena like valency-changing derivations (antipassive,
applicative) are not isolated curiosities but are essential mechanisms
that serve the overarching S/O pivot, painting a picture of a coherent
and elegantly balanced system.
Structurally, the book is brilliantly organized to guide the reader
from core principles to intricate details. Dixon provides the key
needed to unlock everything that follows. The logical progression—from
nominal morphology to the complex verbal system and finally to clausal
architecture—builds understanding incrementally. This structure, while
comprehensive, is never a mere catalogue; it is a narrative that
compellingly argues for how Dyirbal works as an integrated whole.
Finally, the work is transformative in its utility. By pairing the
analytical grammar with an extensive printed reference section and,
crucially, a massive online corpus of texts and thesauruses, Dixon has
ensured the book is both a theoretical masterwork and a practical
toolkit. This dual function makes it an unparalleled resource, equally
invaluable to the theoretical linguist seeking to understand
typological universals and to the Dyirbal community engaged in the
vital work of language reclamation.
A significant and highly commendable aspect of this grammar is its
deliberate transcendence beyond a narrow, language-specific audience.
While it stands as an essential resource for specialists in Australian
linguistics, Dixon consciously frames his analysis within a broader,
typological perspective. This ensures the work's utility and appeal to
general linguists and typologists seeking to understand the parameters
of human language. The book is punctuated with explicit typological
explanations that contextualize Dyirbal's features against a global
backdrop, rather than presenting them in isolation. A clear example of
this methodological approach is found in Chapter 3, during the
discussion of derivational processes. When introducing the concept of
"delocutive nouns" (p. 116), Dixon does not assume prior familiarity;
instead, he provides a clear, cross-linguistic definition of the
category itself before applying it to the Dyirbal data. This practice
of consistently stepping back from the particulars of Dyirbal to
explain the universal grammatical category at hand is a defining
strength. It transforms the grammar from a mere description into a
valuable case study, making its intricate details accessible and
meaningful to any scholar interested in linguistic theory and the
diversity of the world's languages.
If one were to identify an area for enhancement, it would be the
coverage of phonetics and phonology. Although the initial chapter
establishes that the sound system is unremarkable, a fuller,
standalone chapter—mirroring the detailed structure of the sections on
nominal or verbal morphology—would provide a more complete foundation
and align with the comprehensive nature of the work.
In conclusion, A New Grammar of Dyirbal is a monumental contribution.
It offers a comprehensive, insightful, and accessible portrait of one
of the world's most fascinating languages, ensuring its analysis and
its data will endure for generations to come.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Francisco Garcia Sanchis is a PhD’s student at the Universitat de
València, specializing in Classical Studies and Linguistic Typology.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Classics and a Master’s Degree in
Linguistic Typology. His research interests include Linguistic
Typology, Classical Languages, and Caucasian Languages.



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