Discourse and grammar in Australian languages

Abstract

One of the major functions of grammar for its speakers is the production of coherent and contextually meaningful discourse. Linguists have long been interested in the reciprocal questions of how grammatical structures are employed to express discourse structure and coherence, and how the pressures of communication in actual language use may influence the development of grammar. As a discourse unfolds, entities are introduced, reintroduced and referred to, and it is well recognised that languages have formal means of signalling both information status and the identity of referents. This theme in linguistic research can be classified into two "subthemes", both of which are explored in this volume: "information packaging" and "referent-tracking".