This study describes the phonology and grammar of MalakMalak, an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by a dwindling number of speakers on the Daly River, Western Arnhem Land, about one hundred miles southwest of Darwin.
The Introduction outlines the geographical location and linguistic classification of the language, reviews previous descriptive work and explains the orientation of the present description.
Chapter 1 describes the Phonology of MalakMalak in terms of phonemes, syllables, phonological words and phonological phrases. Chapter 2 defines and describes the Word Classes which have been set up for the language. They are: noun, adjectival, pronoun, deictic specifier, adverb, particle, interjection, verb root, and auxiliary. Chapter 3 describes the morphology of the Auxiliary and the Verb Root, the Noun and the lexical Adjective, which together constitute the most productive areas of the grammar. Chapter 4 describes the sentential syntax of MalakMalak, the syntax of the Verb Complex and Verb Complex complementation, and the syntax of the Noun Phrase.
Three MalakMalak texts are included in an appendix with interlinear and free translations.