Copula Clauses in Australian Languages - A Typological Perspective (Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 44, Issue 1) (2002)

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Copula Clauses in Australian Languages: A Typological Perspective

Author(s): R. M. W. Dixon
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Source: Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring, 2002), pp. 1-36
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Copula Clauses in Australian Languages: A Typological Perspective
R. M. W. DIXON
ResearchCentrefor Linguistic Typology,La Trobe University
Abstract. Copula clauses are distinguished from transitive and intransitive

clause types. They have two core arguments, copula subject (CS) and copula
complement (CC), together with a copula verb (which may sometimes be
omitted). A general characterizationof copula clauses is presented, in terms of
syntax, form,meaning, and occurrence.For a verbto be identifiedas a copula,it
must occurwith these two core arguments (CS and CC) and show a relation of
identity/equation or of attribution. It may also have some or all of the senses:
location, possession, wanting or benefaction, and existence. The copula verbs
reported in the literature on Australian languages are then summarized, and
the analytical problems associated with them are discussed. These problems
include: whether verbless and copulaclauses should be combinedas one clause
type, the difficulties associated with attribution, the need to distinguish
between a copulaverb and an inchoativederivationalsuffix, and the distinction
between the existential use of a verb of rest or motion and a copula verb. It
appears that Australian languages show a recurrenttendency to create copula
verbs (generally,by grammaticalizationof stance verbs 'sit', 'stand', and 'lie', or
of 'stay' or 'go'), and also that the propertyof having a copula clause type tends
to diffuse from language to language, within the continent-wide Australian
linguistic area.
1. Introduction. There are two major clause types found in human languages,
transitive clauses and intransitive clauses. In addition, many languages have a
further clause type, copula clauses. The makeup of the three clause types is
shown in table 1.
Table 1. Basic Clause Types

CLAUSETYPE NUCLEUS COREARGUMENTS
transitive clause transitive predicate transitive subject (A) and
transitive object(0)
intransitive clause intransitive predicate intransitive subject(S)
copula clause copula verb copula subject (CS) and
(copulapredicate) copula complement(CC)
Whereas transitive and intransitive verbs have referential meaning, copula

verbs have relational meaning. We show below that for a verb to be recognized
as a copula, it must be able to occur with two core arguments, namely, the
copula subject (CS) and copula complement (CC), and the CC must indicate a
relation of identity/equation or a relation of attribution.

2 ANTHROPOLOGICALLINGUISTICS 44 NO. 1
There may also be verbless clauses, which simply include two NPs in juxta-
position. Languages which lack a copula verb typically translate copula clauses
from other languages with verbless clauses, e.g., '[John][a doctor]'for 'John is a
doctor'. In many languages, including those of Australia, copula clauses and
verbless clauses may be regarded as variants of one clause type. However, it
must not be assumed that this holds for all languages which have both copula
and verbless clauses; in some instances, there may be grammaticalor semantic
reasons for distinguishing two distinct clause types.
The nucleus of a transitive clause will prototypicallyhave a transitive verb
as head (in some languages the head can only be a transitive verb). Languages
show more variationwith respectto the predicatehead in an intransitive clause.
In some languages only an intransitive verb can fill this slot; in other languages
the head of an intransitivepredicatemay be a noun or a pronoun or even an NP.
For example, in Boumaa Fijian one can say (1) below.
(1) [sa [marama savasavaa]AD sara gaa]mDICATE (Boumaa Fijian)

ASPECT lady clean VERYEMPHATIC
[o Aneta]s
name
ARTICLE
'Anetais a verycleanlady.'(lit.,'Anetaclean-ladiesvery.')(Dixon1988:66)
This is an intransitive clause with o Aneta as the S argument. The predicate

head here is an NP consisting of noun marama 'lady' and adjective savasavaa
'clean'. It is flanked within the predicate by modifiers (just as a verb in this slot
would be): the aspect marker sa, here referringto an actionwhich is just coming
to an end (Aneta had just completed her bath when this sentence was uttered)
plus sara and gaa which together have an intensive sense. Although the
idiomatic translation is 'Aneta is a very clean lady', in fact the NP marama
savasavaa functions as predicatehead (like a verb),literally, 'Aneta clean-ladies
very'.
It is important to distinguish between an intransitive clause like (1), where
an NP functions as predicate head, and a copula clause where the same NP
might function as a core argument in copula complement function. We can
compare the two clause types in Tariana,a language fromthe Arawak family, as
shown in (2a) and (2b).
(2a) iari(-ne)s kuphe-pidanaNTRANREDIAT (Tariana)

man(-FOCUS) FISH-REMOTE.PAST.REPORTED
'A man was a fish.' (Aikhenvald forthcoming, p.c.)
(2b) 'iari(-ne)cs kuphecc di-dia-pidan&COPULA.VERB (Tariana)

man(-FOCUS) fish 3SG.NONFEM.CS-become-REMOTE.PAST.REPORTED
'A man became a fish.' (Aikhenvald forthcoming, p.c.)

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 3
Both clauses refer to the kind of transmutation which can occur in a myth. In
(2a), the noun kuphe 'fish' is head of the intransitive predicate, and takes a
tense-evidentiality suffix (just as a verb would do in this slot). In (2b), kuphe is
the copula complement, an argument outside the nucleus of the clause; the
nucleus is here copula verb -dia-'become', and it is this which carries the tense-
evidentiality suffix.
The possibilitiesfor case marking on NP arguments in Tarianaare shown in
table 2.
Table 2. Tariana Case Marking

A, S, CS focussubjectmarker-ne (optional) -
0, noncorearguments - topicalnonsubject
marker-nuku
CC
That is, both S in the intransitive clause in (2a) and CS in the copula clause in
(2b)may take the suffix -ne, if that NP is in focus. The NP kuphein (2b) is in CC
function and may take neither the suffix -ne nor the suffix -nuku. Note that it is
not possible to treat (2b) as a type of extended intransitive clause, with &iAri
'man' as S argument and kuphe as an oblique argument; if this were a valid
analysis then kuphe should be able to take the topicalnonsubjectmarker-nuku,
which in fact it cannot do.
In Fijian, an NP functioningas head of an intransitive predicatecan take all
the modifiers available for a verb in this slot. In Tariana, a nominal as head of
an intransitive predicatetakes tense-evidentiality,mood,aspect, and most other
suffixes that would be available for a verb in the slot. Different types of clause
nuclei have varying properties with respect to prefixes; in brief, pronominal
prefixes are used with transitive and with active intransitive (Sa)verbs and with
the copula verb -dia 'become', but not with stative intransitive (So)verbs, nor
with the copula verb alia 'be', nor with nominals as head of an intransitive
predicate.
Suppose that there was a language like Tariana but with the additional
property that a copula verb may optionally be omitted. There would still be a
clear distinction between a clause with a noun as head of the intransitive pre-
dicate, as in (2a), and a copulaclause with the copula omitted, such as (2b) with-
out di-dia-pidana. In the first clause the noun kuphe'fish' takes a fair selection
of the affixes availableto a verb as predicatehead; in the second example kuphe
takes none of these (in fact, as a CC in Tariana, it cannot take any affixes).
A comment on terminology is in order. The term "predicate"was originally
used, in Greek logic, for everything in a clause besides the subject. The proto-
typical use of "predicate"in modern linguistics is for transitive or intransitive
verb, plus modifiers, but not including any NP.1 In the approachfollowed here,
the CC is a core argument, similar to A, O, S, and CS, so that it would be

4 LINGUISTICS
ANTHROPOLOGICAL 44 NO. 1
unhelpful and misleading to refer to it as the predicate or as part of the

predicate (as has sometimes been done). That is, it would not be helpful to say
that kuphe is head of the predicate in (2a) and part of the predicate in (2b) (the
full predicate here being kuphedi-dia-pidana), instead of saying that it is here
the copula complement argument. If the term "predicate"should be used of a
copula clause then its best employment would be to describe the copula (e.g.,
di-dia-pidana in (2b)). However, in the interests of clarity, it seems best not to
use the term "predicate"at all in connection with copula clauses.
The literature on Australian languages includes only occasionalreferences
to copula clauses, their properties, and the analytic problems associated with
their recognition. This article aims to redress the situation. But before the dis-
cussion of copulas in Australian languages, in section 3, we need to summarize
and clarify the general properties of copula clauses.
2. The character of copula clauses. I here outline four aspects of copulas:

their syntax, form, meaning, and occurrence.
2.1. Syntax. A copula clause involves two core arguments, like a transitive
clause. However, copula subject (CS) cannotbe identifiedwith transitive subject
(A), nor copula complement (CC) with transitive object (0). And, as just ex-
plained for Tariana, neither can a copula clause be identified as a type of in-
transitive, with the CS correspondingto S function and the CC being an oblique
argument, since the CC is a core argument, and the possibilities for CC are
different from those applying at any obliqueposition.
We can now examine the types of marking found on CS and on CC.
2.1.1. Marking on CS. In the great majorityof languages, CS is marked in the

same way as S, both in terms of case affixes or clitics on an NP (in dependent-
marking languages) and in terms of boundpronominalmarking on the verb (in
head-marking languages). In languages with split-S marking (Dixon 1994:71-
78), the CS is generally marked like So,rather than like Sa*
There are, however, occasional exceptions. These include:
(i) In Ainu, a head-markinglanguage with basically accusative morphology,
CS is marked in the same way as A, and differently from S, as shown in table 3.
Table 3. Ainu Case Marking

withintransitivesubject(S):ku-mina 'I laugh' mina-as(-pa) 'we laugh'
withcopulasubject(CS): ku-ne'I am' ci-ne(-pa) 'we are'
with transitive subject (A)
(0 is here3SG): ku-nukar 'I see him/her/it' ci-nukar(-pa)'wesee him/her/it'
SOURCE:
Tamura (2000:50-51).

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 5
It will be seen that while prefix ku- is used for first-personsingular in S, CS, and
A functions, with first-person plural we have prefix ci- for CS and for A, but
suffix -as for S.
Note that while CS is marked like A in Ainu, CC is not treated like O. A
transitive verb takes pronominalprefixes marking A and O arguments (the O
prefix is zero for third-person), but a copula verb simply has one pronominal
prefix, for CS.
(ii) There are a few languages in which nominative (for S and A funptions)is
the formally and functionally marked case, while accusative (for O function) is
unmarked. This "markednominative" system is found in some languages from
the Berber and Cushitic branches of the Afroasiaticfamily, in North Africa, and
in some from the Yuman family (centered in southern California);see Dixon
(1994:63-67). In at least some of these languages the CS argument takes accusa-
tive case, the same as O in a transitive clause. In Kabyle, a Berber language,
both CS and CC are in the unmarked accusative case (Vincennes and Dallet
1960:99), while in Mojave,a Yumanlanguage, CS is in the unmarked accusative
and CC in the marked nominative case (Munro 1976:269-70).
(iii) In some languages, the CS in a positive clause is marked like S, but
takes some quite different marking in a negative copula clause. For instance, in
a negative clause, CS takes partitive case in Finnish and genitive case in Rus-
sian (these cases are used to mark a type of object in the two languages).
Other languages mark CS in the same way as S, even when there are a
number of alternatives for S. For example, in Mingrelian (from the Kartvelian
family), both S and CS take nominative case in three of the tense series, and
both take narrative case in the fourth series (Harris 1991:375-76).
It would be interesting to investigate, on a crosslinguistic basis, the syn-
tactic functionof CS in terms of constituent order,verbal agreement, constraints
on coordinationand subordination,etc. Little work has so far been done on this
topic. Interestingly, a CS markedby genitive case in a negative copulaclause in
Russian does share subject properties with S and A, in the same way that a CS
marked by nominative in a positive clause does. However, Sands and Campbell
(2001) suggest that in Finnish a CS marked by partitive case in a negative
copula clause shows fewer subject properties than a CS marked by nominative
case in a positive clause.
2.1.2. Types of CC. There are typicallya range of possibilities at CC, correlat-
ing with the different types of relation that a copula may represent. The main
ones are:
(a) A relation of identity (e.g., 'he is a doctor')2 or equation (e.g., 'that man is
my father'), involving an NP as CC.
(b) A relation of attribution (e.g., 'I am tired', 'that picture is beautiful'),
involving an adjective or a derived adjectival expression as CC.
(c) A relation of location (e.g., 'I am here', 'John is from Ramsbottom', 'the

6 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
LINGUISTICS 44 NO. 1
dog is in the garden'), involving as CC a local adverb or an NP marked with a

local case or adposition.
(d) A relation of possession (e.g., 'That car is John's'), involvingas CC an NP
with genitive marking.
(e) A relation of wanting or benefaction, etc. (e.g., 'Who'sfor tennis?', 'This
cake is for John'), involving as CC an NP with dative or similar marking.
There may well be further possibilities for relations expressed by copula
verbs, which would turn up in a fuller survey of grammaticaldescriptions than
has been attempted here. In addition, there is a further, nonrelational, type of
meaning that a copula clause can represent:
(f) Existence, with just one core argument, in CS function.
In some languages,both CS and CC of type (a) or (b) are marked in the same
way, so that a copula clause can include two NPs in nominative case (in an
accusative language) or two NPs in absolutive case (in an ergative language).3
There are languages in which a CC of type (a) or (b) is markedin a different
way fromany argument in a transitive or intransitive clause (and also different-
ly from CS). For example, in Japanese a CC does not take any postposition,
unlike all other core and peripheral NPs. As mentioned above, in Tariana a CC
is the only kind of NP which cannot take any case marker. In English, an adjec-
tive (without any article or dummy head noun) can occur as a CC in an attribu-
tive copula clause, but would not be acceptablein A, O, S, or CS function.
In Jarawara (Arawi family, Brazil; Dixon forthcoming) the pronominal
paradigm for CC is different from that for any other core argument, as shown in
table 4.
Table 4. Jarawara Pronominals

A,S, CS O CC
1SG o- owa owa
2PL tee tera tee
For singular pronouns CC has the same form as 0, and for plural pronouns it
has the same form as A, S, and CS.
Another language in which CC has a different form from other NP argu-
ments is Zayse, from the Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic(Hayward 1990:266). A
sample paradigm of pronouns is shown in table 5.
Table 5. Pronouns in Zayse

A, S, CS O CC WITH
POSTPOSITION
1SG taDjJ tina tinte tia(-ro)
2SG nefl nena rnente nee(-ro)
SOURCE:
Hayward (1990:226).

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 7
We find furtherpossibilities in individual languages and linguistic regions.

For example, in a number of east European languages the CC in an equational
copula clause can be marked either by nominative case or by an oblique case,
with a difference in meaning. Nominative indicates a permanent relation (e.g.,
'he is a cleaner' as a profession), whereas oblique marking refers to something
that is temporary(e.g., 'he is a cleaner'as a fill-injob).The obliquecase involved
is essive in Estonian and instrumental in Russian (see also Comrie [1997:40]on
Polish).
One interesting propertyof copula clauses is that the CC is seldom (perhaps
never) marked by a bound pronominalattached to the verb. Even in a language
such as Yimas (Papuan area), where A, S, O and indirect object are marked on
the verb, in a copulaclause only CS, not CC, is included in the system of bound
markers (Foley 1991:193-226).
The possibilities for CS may also vary depending on the kind of relation
expressed. In English, for instance, a demonstrative (this/these, that/those)
which has animate reference can be in CS function only if the copula clause
indicates a relation of equation (e.g., This is my father). For other kinds of rela-
tion, a demonstrative with animate reference, in CS function, must be accom-
panied by something like one (e.g., this one is beautiful, not *this [animate
reference] is beautiful).
A defining criterion for a copula is that it should take two core arguments,
CS and CC. In some languages (including English), a copula requires CS and
CC. However, in other languages, there is an alternative copula constructionin
which the CC is omitted. This applies to Ancient Greek (where one can say 'god
is' with the meaning 'god exists, there is a god'), and also to Jarawara. Compare
(3a), a canonical copula clause including both CS and CC, with (3b), a reduced
copula with only one NP, in CS function.4
(3a) birotocc ama o-ke (Jarawara)

pilot be 1sG.CS-DECLARATIVE+FEMININE
'I am a pilot.'
(3b) okasimacs ama-ke (Jarawara)

be-DECLARATIVE+FEMININE
1SG.POSSESSIVE+younger.sister
'I havea youngersister.'(lit.,'Myyoungersisteris.')
Example (3b) shows a copula clause of type (f), existence, with just the CS.
If a putative copula always occurswith just one core argument, CS, and not
also with a CC,then it is not a copula verb at all, but a straightforwardintransi-
tive verb.5 If a putative copula verb occurs just in relation (c), with an NP
marked by a local case (and assuming that CS is marked in the same way as S),
then it should be regarded as an intransitive verb with an oblique, local NP.
Similarly for a putative copula which occurs only in relation (d) or (e), with a
genitive or dative NP.

8 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
That is, for a verb to be identified as a copula, it must occur with two core
arguments, CS and CC, with CC including at least the identity/equation rela-
tion, (a), or the attribution relation, (b).
2.2. Form. In its morphological properties, a copula is seldom exactly like

members of the class of intransitive and transitive verbs. In some languages it
has more forms than other verbs. This applies in English, where there is person
marking in am/are/is and in was/were, and in Hindi (Kachru 1968:41).In other
languages the copula shows fewer forms than other verbs. In Turkish, for in-
stance, it has fewer TAM distinctions, lacking progressive, future, and aorist
(Lewis 1967; Geoff Haig p.c.), and in Modem Greek it makes no aspectual
distinctions (Joseph and Philippaki-Warburton1987:196).
The copula is frequently irregular in its forms. Indeed, Foley states that in
Yimas "the copulais the only truly irregularverb, and it is highly so" (1991:226).
There are suppletive stems of the copula in a number of languages, including
Kurukh, from the Dravidian family (Vesper 1968), and Mundari, from the
Munda branch of Austroasiatic (Langendoen 1967).
2.3. Meaning. It is often said that a copula verb does not have meaning. By
this is meant that it does not have any referential meaning; one cannot point to
an action or state as referent of 'be' in the way that one can for 'walk' or 'talk' or
'annoy'.
What a copulaverb does have, in any instance of use, is a relational meaning
of one of the types listed above. That is, it can establish a relationship between
CS and CC of (a) identity or equation,(b) attribution,(c) location, (d) possession,
or (e) wanting or benefaction. I mentioned that some languages have mono-
valent use of a copula verb, indicating (f) the existence of the referent of the CS;
this is effectively ascribing a propertyto the CS.
The set of relations espoused by a copulavaries from language to language.
I showed in section 2.1 that a verb must have sense (a) or (b) to qualify as a
copula; otherwise it should be placed in the class of intransitive verbs. In some
languages it just shows relation(a) or (b) or both, but in others it may exhibit the
whole range (a)-(f), and sometimes more besides. It is possible that a language
might have different copula verbs for functions (a) and (b), but none have been
reported thus far.6
In some languages, including English, there are two copulas, 'be' and
'become', with the 'become'form generally only being used for relations (a) and
(b). The difference between them lies in the temporal nature of the relation-
temporally static for 'be' (as in 'my son is a doctor', 'my son is fat') or temporally
incremental for 'become' (as in 'my son became a doctor', 'my son became fat').
In other languages a single copula may correspond to both 'be' and 'become'.
There can be other semantic parameters applying to copulas in relations (a)
and (b). A recurrent copula is 'be like', a modification of the equation relation.

2002 R M. W. DIXON 9
One commondiachronicsource for copulas is verbs of motion and rest such

as 'go' or 'stay' and stance (or position) verbs such as 'sit', 'stand', and 'lie'.7
Criteria for a certain verb being used as a copula verb rather than as an
intransitive verb of stance are (i) that it should occur with two core arguments,
CS and CC; and (ii) that it should no longer have a stance, or any other,
referential meaning,but instead just indicate a relation holding between CS and
CC. In some languages a certain form can do double duty, both as a verb of
motion or rest and as a copula verb. We return to this during the discussion of
Australian languages, in section 3.4.
2.4. Occurrence. Some languages lack any copula verb and express relation-
ships such as (a)-(f) through simply juxtaposing NPs and by using intransitive
verbs. At the opposite extreme, there are languages in which every full clause
(that is, excludingcommentsand replies) must include a verb, so that there can-
not be a clause consistingjust of two NPs; English, Finnish, and Jarawara are of
this type.
In a number of languages, a copula verb is optionally omittable in every
circumstance (it appears that the Dravidian language Malayalam is like this
[Asher 1968:97]). In others, it may be omitted in certain circumstances. For
example, in Hungarian, the copula is omitted in present tense when the CS is
third person and the CC relates to identity/equation, or attribution (but is
included when it relates to location or possession). In Russian, the copula must
be included in past and future tenses but is generally omitted in present tense; it
is retained only in high-flown language and in mathematical formulae(and the
present copulahas a single form, based on the old third-personsingular, where-
as in past and future tenses the copula agrees with the CS in number and in
person or gender).There is a differenttype of omissionin Sumerian;here a verb
canonically takes a TAMverbal prefix, but the copula 'be' omits this prefix and
is then encliticizedto the precedingCC.This cliticization is optional if the CC is
an NP, and obligatoryif it is an adjective (Gragg 1968).
The occurrence and form of a copula may depend on other grammatical
features of the clause. In Turkish, for instance, there are no negative copula
constructions (a negative verbless clause must be used). Some languages have
different forms of the copula in positive and negative clauses; for example, in
Koromfe (a Gur language), the positive copula has form la and the negative one
has form do (Rennison 1997:61).
A common explanation offered for the omissibility of a copula verb is that
the copula is, effectively, a "dummy"element needed just to carry bound mor-
phemes providing information about TAM, person and number of CS, etc. In this
view, the copulacan be or must be omittedin the context of the unmarked choice
from a certain grammatical system. For example, if present is the functionally
unmarked term in the tense system, then the copula may be omitted in present
tense; its lack will signal that the clause is in present tense. And if third-person

10 LINGUISTICS
ANTHROPOLOGICAL 44 NO.1
singular is the unmarked term from the pronominalsystem, then a copula may
be omitted when CS is third-person singular.
Many languages permit both copula clauses and verbless clauses. In some
instances these should be recognized as distinct clause types, but there may be
points of similarity between them. In Chukchi, one type of negator is used for
both verbless and copula clauses and another type for intransitive and transi-
tive clauses (Dunn 1999:325-40). If a language which permits the copula to be
omitted (in all circumstances, or just under specified conditions) also shows
verbless clauses, then it may be difficult or impossibleto distinguish between a
copula clause with the copula omitted,and a verblessclause.This is discussed in
section 3.1, in connectionwith Australian languages.
3. Copula clauses in Australian languages. I know of no Australian

language in which a nominal or an NP can function as the nucleus of an
intransitive clause, on the pattern of (1) in Fijian and (2a) in Tariana.
All Australian languages have verbless clauses, made up of just two NPs. A
fair number of them also have copulaclauses. In every such language the copula
verb is optional in many circumstances. Thus in many (perhaps in all) Aus-
tralian languages it is most appropriateto recognizecopula clauses and verbless
clauses as varieties of one clause type. This has the structure:
+Copulasubject(CS) +Copulacomplement(CC) Copula verb
In many languages, a copula is more frequently omitted than included. Thus,

Hosokawa states that, in Yawuru, "copulasare usually left out" (1991:456).
The marking of CS and of CC is, with a couple of exceptions, straight-
forward. CS is marked in the same way as S, by absolutive or nominative case
(which is generally zero). A CC of type (a), indicating identity/equation, or of
type (b), indicating attribution is also marked like S. CCs of other types receive
the appropriatefunction marker: a local case for (c) locationalrelation; genitive
suffix for (d) possessive relation; and dative or a similar case for (e) wanting/
benefaction relation.
One of the exceptions concerns Diyari. Austin states that if the CC is one of
a set of nominals referring to "moreor less temporary mental or physiological
states" (1981a:104-5), then it takes ergative case marking, as in (4).
(4) nganhics mawa-licc ngana-yi (Diyari)

1SG hunger-ERGATIVE be-PRESENT
'I am hungry.' (Austin 1981a:105)
The other forms selecting ergative include 'sleep', 'fear', 'danger', 'sadness',
'jealousy', 'strength', and 'cold'. Breen (2001) reports a similar structural
pattern in the neighboring language Yandruwanhdha, involving copula verb
ngana-'become' (which can also function as an intransitive verb 'do' and as a

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 11
transitive verb 'tell');the CCs which take ergative-instrumentalcase in Breen's

data include 'fear', 'aggression', and 'cold'.
The second exception occurs in Djingulu, a language which has no copula
verb. But in a verbless clause there are different possibilities for CS depending
on the nature of the CC. If the CC is an NP (in an identity/equation relationship
with CS) then CS is in ergative case, like A (reminiscentof CS marking in Ainu,
mentioned in section 2.1.1). And if the CC is an adjective (in attributional
relation to CS) then CS is in absolutive case (with zero marking), like S. In each
instance, CC is in absolutive case. Compare(5a) and (5b).
(5a) njamina-nics wamalagardimicc (Djingulu)

THAT+FEMININE-ERGATIVE
virgin
'She's a virgin.' (Pensalfini 1997:187)
(5b) [njima babirdimi]s kiyaljiyanucc (Djingulu)

THAT+VEGETABLE yam rotten
'That yam is rotten.' (Pensalfini 1997:186)
One topic for future research concerns the syntactic behavior of CS. For
example, some Australian languages have a switch-reference system whereby
different suffixes are used to show whether two clauses making up a complex
sentence construction have "same subject" or "different subject" (see Austin
1981b). Does "subject"here include CS, in addition to S and A? And does CS
function in the same way as S in a language with an S/O pivot, and in a lan-
guage with an S/A pivot?The indicationsare that the answers to both questions
are in the affirmative,but detailed work is needed to confirmthis.
The copulaverbs reportedfor Australian languages are summarized in table
6. The first column provides a code symbol for each language, in terms of the
grouping followedin Dixon (2002);this relates to map 1, and is briefly explained
in section 3.8. The second column gives the language or dialect name and
sources. The next column lists the copula(s), with information on any homony-
mous verb in that language or cognate in another language. The final six
columns provideinformationas to the relational senses of each copula, in terms
of (a)-(f) from section 2.1.2. (The plus signs enclosed in parentheses in column
(c) are explained in section 3.5 below.)8
It should be noted that many grammars only mention copulas in passing,
without any explicit details of criteria, or full statement of relational senses. As
a consequence,only some of the forms that have been describedin the literature
as copulas qualifyas copulas in terms of the criteriafollowed in this article. In a
fair number of sources, only a few example sentences are provided. The plus
signs in columns (a)-(f) are based on the actual instances of copula clauses
provided in the literature.

(f) +
(e) + +
(d)
(c) + + + + +
FUNCTIONS
(b) + + + + + + + + + + + +
(a) + + + + + + + + +
'lie')
verb one's
on
languages);
'lie
nearby 'sit') nearby
verb
intransitive in in
languages) verb
(also
'sit') 'stand' 'stand' 'go')
only nearby 'leave')
intransitive
verb in with with verb
Languages verb
intransitive (also
speakers
with'sit' (cognate(also
HOMONYMS/COGNATES like'
(cognate
intransitive transitive intransitive
AND given
Australian become'
younger
in (also (cognatebecome' become'(also
become' (also
VERBS for
'be,
Verbs examples 'be' 'be'
'become'
wu-'be', wiyi-'be'
nhin-'be' languages)
barda-'become'
wara-'be, no
ngine-wana-'be'
yia-/ye-'be,wara-'be,back')
gingggi-'be/become
yana-'be'
COPULA ga- gi- ngi-
Copula 527)
of
1981:348)
1983: 168)
dialects 39-47, 517-19,
72,
1998:52-53) Geytenbeek
SOURCES 131-32;
Holmer and 1846:497-99,
Occurrences Gunja 43-44)
AND 1979:117-18) 1834:34, 1980:68-70)
Terrill 1948-49:71)
1991:389)
Yimidhirr and1973:187-18, 1983:68, Hale
1974; 1846:497-99,
2000:105,
Attested
Guugu
6. LANGUAGE(Haviland
Yir-Yoront
(Alpher
Bidjara
(Breen
Biri
(Beale
267-388,
(Kite
Waga-Waga
Holmer 1971:26-27,
Gidabal/Bandjalang
(Geytenbeek 105-31;
Gumbaynggirr
(Smythe Yuwaalaraay
(Threlkeld (Williams
517-19)
Awabagal (Hale
Wiradhurri
Table
CODE Dd1 Ebi Jal Ja2 Ma4 Mf Mgl Nal Ndc Nc2

(f) + + +
(e)
(d) + +
(c) (+) (+) (+) (+) + (+) +

FUNCTIONS
(b) + + + + + + + + + + +
(a) + + + + + + + + + +
transitive
and
remain')
'do'
(continued) 'sit') 'sit,
verb
'sit') 'stand')
'stand')
verb verb
verb verb
verb
Languages
intransitive
HOMONYMS/COGNATES intransitive
intransitive
(also
intransitive intransitive
AND intransitive
(also (also
Australian (also (also
in (also
VERBSbecome'
become' 'be' 'become' 'tell')
'be,
Verbs
COPULA
ga- yi-'be,yuma-'be' nhengka-'be'
gurri- kana- verbngana-'be'
tharznga-'be'
nhina-'be'
ngana-'become' ngara-'be'
panjtji-'become'
yuga-'be'
Copula
of 1979b:
and
1981a: Eckert
Blake
Blake
SOURCES language
35; p.c.)
1980) 1988:51-52)
AND
Occurrences 1985:38-39;
1986:47) 1994:295) Desert
1999:136-37)
1978:238-40,
1988) 1991:76-78)
1971:66-67;
1897:5, 2001,
223) Hudson
Attested
LANGUAGE
(Donaldson
Ngiyambaa
Muruwarri
(Oates
(Hercus
Wemba-Wemba Pitta-Pitta
(Roth
Wuy-wurrung
(Blake Breen (Hercus 104-6)
210,Arabana/Wangkangurru
(BreenDiyari
Yandruwanhdha
(Austin
Wirangu
(Hercus and
Western
(Goddard
Table.
CODE Nc3 Nd Tal Ta3 WAal WAa3 WAbl WAb2 WC WD

(f) + +
(e) +
(d) +
(c) (+) (+) +

FUNCTIONS
(b) + + + + + + + + + + + +
(a) + + + + + + + + + +
at')
be
cognate
remain,
exist')
live,
(continued) exist')
verb'stay';
'stay, dwell') verb'stay,
'sit') 'sit') 'stay, 'sit') 'go')
'sit')
'sit') 'live, CC)
verb verb
verb verb verb
verb'go') verb to
Languagesverb
intransitive verb verb
intransitive
languages)
HOMONYMS/COGNATES (also
intransitive (also (cliticized
intransitive
intransitive
intransitive
other intransitive
AND intransitive
Australian in intransitive
intransitive
in (also (also (also (also
(also become'(also (also
(also become'
VERBS (also (also
'stand'
Verbs
njin-'be'
COPULA njina-'be' wani-'be'
panti-'be'
puni-'be' nguna-'be' withnjina-'be'
karri-'be, ne-'be'kuna:- wirdija-'become'
=me-'be,
-yang-'be'
Copula
of
1990:194)
1983:111; 437-29)
p.c.) p.c.) 119)
83)
Kangka
SOURCES
Hudson
Occurrences
AND 1990) forthcoming)
1976:66, and
1978:94-95, 1989:220-23,
1995:209-13,
1991:184-85, 1997:164) 1983:57-58,
1995:321-23) 1986:258-60)
1998:442-43)
Attested
6. LANGUAGE(Douglas
Nyungar Panyjima
(Dench
Martuthunira
(Dench Njangumarta
(Sharp(Hudson
Richards
Gurindji
Walmatjarri Warlpiri
(Laughren
(McConvell Lardil
(Wilkins
Arrernte (Ngakulmungan
Leman
Kayardild
(Evans(Merlan
Ngalakan
Warray
(Harvey
Table
CODE WF WHc2WHc3 WIal WJal WJa3 WJbi WL1 NAa NAbi NBc2 NBh2

(f) +
(e)
(d)
(c) + (+)
FUNCTIONS
(b) + + + + + + +
(a) + + +
'lie')
meaning
with
(continued) verbs,
'sit') 'sit')
'lie') 'go')
verb'go')
verb verb
Languages
compound verb verb
some
HOMONYMS/COGNATES
in
intransitive
intransitive
AND used intransitive
Australian(also
(also (also become'
in
(also (also (also
VERBS
'be'
Verbs
-yi-'become'
COPULA mirra-ngara-'be,
-jingi-'be'
-yu-'be' bagi-'be'
-buy-'be'
Copula
of
SOURCES
Occurrences
AND
1998:178-79)
(Guniyandi)
1991:456)
1990:310-11)
1992:379)
1994:212-13) 1990:129)
Attested
Gaagudju
6. LANGUAGE(Harvey
Wardaman
(Merlan
Wambaya Gooniyandi
(Nordlinger
Yawuru
(Hosokawa (Harvey
(McGregor
Kamu
CODE NBk NBI2 NCb3NE1 NF2 NHe2

Table

16 LINGUISTICS
We can now consider some of the special features and analytic problems
associated with copula verbs in Australian languages.
3.1. Copula clauses and verbless clauses. We can roughly distinguish

three types of language:
(i) With one copula verb coveringboth 'be' and 'become';it may optionallybe
omitted.
(ii) With two copula verbs, one for 'be' and one for 'become'; each may
optionally be omitted.
(iii) With a copula verb for 'become',but using a verbless clause for 'be'.
Type (iii) can be exemplified by Yuwaalaraay (Williams 1980:69).Compare
the verbless clause in (6a) with the copula clause in (6b).
(6a) burulac [nhama dhayn]cs (Yuwaalaraay)

big THAT man
'Thatman is big.' (Williams1980:69)
(6b) burulcc [nhama dhayn]cs gi-nji (Yuwaalaraay)

big THAT man become-NONFUTURE
'Thatman is gettingbig.' (Williams1980:69)
It is likely that other languages may be like Yuwaalaraay in using a verbless

clause for 'be' and a copula clause for 'become';there is just not enough inform-
ation on most of them to be able to tell.
It is relevant to inquire when a copula verb will be included and when
omitted, for a language of type (i) or (ii). This is surely not entirely a matter of
personal whim, but is likely to relate to discourse and pragmatic factors.
Nordlinger states that, in Wambaya,the copulaverb tends to be used "when
the statement is emphatic, or one of exclamationor contrast";in (7), the speaker
"hadjust taken a drink of what she was expecting would be tea" (1998:179).
(7) inics gi-n galjurringic mirra! (Wambaya)

water
THIS 3SG+PRESENT-PROGRESSIVE be
'Thisis water!'(Nordlinger1998:179)
Nordlinger also remarks that, for the adjectives 'good' and 'bad', use in a verb-
less clause implies an objective (or evaluative) meaning, while use in a copula
clause implies a subjective (or experiential) meaning, as in (8a) and (8b).
(8a) gurijbicc [ini alaji]cs (Wambaya)

good THIS boy
'This boy is good (i.e., in terms of behavior,temperament, etc.).' (Nordlinger 1998:
179)

2002 R.M. W. DIXON 17
(8b) alajics gi gurijbicc mirra (Wambaya)

boy 3SG+PRESENT
good be
'Theboyfeelsgood.'(Nordlinger1998:179)
Some grammars suggest that the copula is included as a sort of dummy,

to take TAM or other affixes. For example, in Diyari an imperative involving
an adjective as CC requires a copula to host the imperative suffixes, as shown
in (9).
(9) wata malhanjtji ngana-a-ni-mayi! (Diyari)

NOT bad be-IMPERATIVE-NUMBER.MARKER-EMPHATIC
'Don'tbe bad!'(Austin1978:240)
Austin states that, in nonimperative clauses, ngana- is "onlyrarely used in the

present tense" but "when the attribute, equation or posessive equation is not
located in the present, ngana- must be used to carry the tense or mood inflec-
tion" (1981a:104).
As happens in languages from other parts of the world (see section 2.4), a
copula is likely to be omitted if referenceis to present time, but included-with
the appropriatetense suffix-for past or future reference. For example, Wilkins
states that, in Arrernte "all apparently verbless clauses must have present
reference and must take a copular verb marked for tense when the temporal
reference is other than the present" (1989:438). Other grammars have similar
accounts.
A copula can be included as an element to carry other types of verbal affix.
In Biri, for example, when the causative suffix -mba- is added to the copula
wara-'be' it derives a transitive verb 'make', as in (10).
(10) yabuna-ngguA wara-mba-li baladhao (Biri)

boat
father-ERGATIVEbe-CAUSATIVE-PAST
'[My]father made [this] boat.' (Beale 1974:16;repeated in Terrill 1998:52)
3.2. Attribution and copula clauses. As emphasized in section 2.1, one of

the tests for telling whether a certain form is to be regarded as a copula verb is
whether it may occur with the two arguments CS and CC. If it takes only one
argument, then it should be classified as an intransitive verb, not as a copula
verb.
In most Australianlanguages, both orderof phrases within a clause and also
order of words within a clause is fairly free. That is, in a clause such as 'big man
sat', the three words can potentiallyoccurin any order.This can make it hard to
decide on the status of a potential copula verb which is attested only in the
attribution relation (b). Consider the sentence from Gumbaynggirr in (11).

18 ANTHROPOLoGICAL
(11) ngaya ya:ri da:ruy (Gumbaynggirr)

1SG be+PRESENT good
'I amgood.'(i.e.,'I amwell.') (Smythe1948-49:71)
This could be a copula clause, with ngaya as CS and da:ruy as CC. But it might
alternatively be an intransitive clause where the S argument is expressed by a
discontinuous NP ngaya da:ruy, with ya:ri here being an intransitive verb (lit.,
'[I good] is').
The way to decide whether a certain verb is a copula is to obtain it in a
clause where the CC is a full NP, an example of the identity/equation relation
(a). For example, on searchingthrough the dictionaryof Yir-Yoront,we find the
sentence in (12).
(12) [pam-ngamayrr athan]cs Thayorrcc nhinl (Yir-Yoront)

PERSON-mother 1SG.POSSESSIVEname be+PAST
'Mymotherwas a Thayorr(a memberof a neighboringlanguagegroup).'(Alpher
1991:389)
This confirms that nhin- is here functioning as a copula.

At the end of section 2.1, the criterion given for a verb to be identified as a
copula was that it should occur in the identity/equation relation (a), or in the
attributive relation (b). In a language with free word order-as in many Austral-
ian languages-this needs to be restricted to just the identity/equation relation
(a). For most of the verbs given in table 6, we do have examples of usage in this
relation, confirmingtheir status as copulas. However,the data is scarce on some
languages, with only an attributive relation being attested; in such instances
the identificationas a copulaverb must be regarded as tentative. This applies to
wu- in Guugu Yimidhirr, barda- in Bidjara, yana- in Gumbaynggirr,gi- in
Yuwaalaraay, yuma- in Wemba-Wemba, gurri- in Wuy-wurrung, yuga- in
Wirangu, njin- in Nyungar, puni- in Martuthunira, nguna- in Walmatjari, -yi-
in Gaagudju, -jingi- and -yu- in Wardaman,and -buy- in Kamu.
3.3. 'Become' and inchoative derivational affixes. Almost all Australian

languages have an inchoativesuffix which, when addedto a nominal, derives an
intransitive verbal stem with the meaning 'become'. It can sometimes be a
tricky matter to distinguish between a copula verb 'become' and an inchoative
suffix 'become'.
In many Australian languages each word consists of at least two syllables,
and an affix can have one, two, or more syllables. Thus, if a form glossed as
'become' is monosyllabic, there is a high chance that it is an inchoative suffix. If
it has two syllables, then it could equally well be a copula verb or an inchoative
suffix.
For Pitta-Pitta there are two main sources. Roth (1897) was a local doctor
who evinced a keen interest in anthropology and linguistics. He worked with

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 19
fluent speakers, at a time when the language was actively spoken, but his
grammar is short and lacks the methodological rigor of modern linguistics.
Blake and Breen worked with the last speakers, in the 1960s and early 1970s;
their work is of high standard but the data available was sketchy (Blake and
Breen 1971; Blake 1979b).
Roth states that "the verb 'to be' is in reality not expressed ... There is,
however, a verb kunna- [phonemically kana-] = 'to be' in the sense of 'to
become'" (1897:5). Blake (1979b:210) analyzes -kana as an inchoative verbaliz-
ing suffix, and provides two examples: one is attributional, 'become cold', and
the other equational, 'become a boy', shown in (13).
(13) karru-kana-ya nhari nhu-wa-ka rtakuku (Pitta-Pitta)

now
boy-INCHOATIVE-PRESENT 3SG.MASC-S-HEREbaby
'This baby is now getting to be a real boy.' (Blake 1979b:210)
Note that stress occurs on the first and third syllables of a word (but not on a
final syllable). Thus the stress pattern would be the same on kdrru-kina-ya (one
word, with -kana as a derivational suffix) and on kdrru kdna-ya (two words,
with kana as a copula verb). For Pitta-Pitta the data available does not permit
us to come to a clear decision as to whether kana should be regarded as a copula
verb 'become' (with karru 'boy' as the CC) or as an inchoative derivational
suffix, forming an intransitive verb karru-kana-'become a boy'.
There are several sources available for Bandjalang, a language which has a
fair number of distinct dialects. For the Gidabal dialect, Geytenbeek and
Geytenbeek (1971:43) recognize a number of copula verbs including ginggi-
'be/become like', as in (14).
(14) mugi:m-ngencs dubayoc gingge-:la (Gidabal dialect)

perch-PLURAL woman become.like-PRESENT
'The perch (fish) are becominglike women.' (Geytenbeekand Geytenbeek 1971:43)
However, Crowley (1978:91), in his grammar of the Middle Clarence dialects of

Bandjalang, recognizes -ginggi 'be similar to' as a derivational affix, forming an
intransitive verbal stem from a nominal or pronominal form, as in (15).
(15) malas ngay-gingge-:la (Middle Clarence dialects)

THAT 1SG-INCHOATIVE-PRESENT
'He looks like me.' (Crowley 1978:91)
This variant treatment could reflect a dialectal difference, or just a difference of

analysis on the part of the Geytenbeeks and of Crowley.
A derivational suffix must, of course, immediately follow the form it is
attached to (corresponding to the CC in a copula clause). And a copula verb will
often immediately follow the CC. In sentences such as (13)-(15), either the
copula verb analysis or the inchoative derivational suffix analysis would be

20 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
plausible. To definitively determine whether kana is a verb or a suffix in (13)

and whether gingge is an affix or a suffix in (14)-(15),the linguist would have to
explore whether alternative orderings are possible. For instance, if one could
detach gingge-:la from ngay in (15)--saying ngay mala gingge-:la or mala
gingge-:la ngay, etc., with the same meaning--then ginggi- must be analyzed as
a copula; if not, it is a derivational suffix.9
Geytenbeek and Geytenbeek(1971:14,43-44) recognize a further inchoative
verb wana-'be'. However, Sharpe, in her dictionaryof the Western Bandjalang
dialect, has wana- 'to be, become' implicitly analyzed as an an affix, which
"follows adjective, etc. it verbalises" (1995:95). And Smythe (1978:322, 453) in
his grammarof an eastern variety of Bandjalanghas -wan-a 'become,be' as an
"intransitive enclitic verb base," as in djangwana 'become bad'. In all the ex-
amples quoted by the Geytenbeeks, wana- follows directly after the CC, making
an affixal interpretation possible here. For both ginggi- and wana- in Ban-
djalang, we cannot tell whether dialectal differences are involved, or varying
analytic decisions by different linguists. However, for other languages there is
available data on variant ordering possibilities, so that a decision between
copula and affixalinterpretationof forms 'become'can be made with confidence.
In many Australian languages, the concept of 'becoming' is coded through
an inchoative suffix; for instance, 'be good!' is rendered by 'good-INCHOATIVE-
IMPERATIVE!' Evans (1995:322) reports an interesting contrast in Kayardild;
here, 'becomeX' is expressedwith the inchoativesuffix -wa-tha if X is a nominal
word, but with the copulaverb wirdijaif X is an NP (since the suffix only applies
to lexemes, not to NPs).
In Gurindji, 'become' is expressed by the copula verb 'be' plus a special
'becoming'suffix on the CC (whichis an adjectivein the examples quoted). Com-
pare the sense 'be' in (16a) with 'become'in (16b).
(16a) kunjinics winkiljingcckarri-njana (Gurindji)

coals red be-present
'Thecoalsare(happento be at the moment)red.' (McConvell
1990:82)
(16b) partawan-pijikcckarr-u ngamanjcs (Gurindji)

hard-become be-future fontanelle
'Thefontanellewill get hard.' (McConvell
1990:82)
Copulas typically develop out of a stance or motion verb (e.g., 'sit', 'stand',
'lie', 'go');see table 6 and discussion in section 3.4. We also find examples of an
inchoative suffix being created by grammaticalization of a stance or motion
verb. For example, in WHc4 in map 1, Yinjtjiparnrti (a language with no
apparent copula), one inchoative suffix has the form -karri, homonymous with
the verb karri-'stand' (Wordick 1982:88). The path of grammaticalization is
likely to be: lexical verb 'stand' > copula verb 'become' > inchoative verbal
derivational suffix 'become'.

2002 R M.W.DIXON 21
3.4. Copulas and verbs of rest and motion. In a numberof Australian

languages, each of the three main stance (or postural) verbs can be used to refer
to the existence of something.'0Typically'stand' is used of a vertically extended
object, 'lie' of a horizontallyextended object, and 'sit' if there is neither vertical
nor horizontal extension. Arabanabehaves like this, as shown in (17).
(17) Marni-nga [patharra parkulu]s tharka-rnda (Arabana)

box.tree two
place-LOCATIVE stand-present
'Therearetwo box-treesat Marni.'(lit., 'Twobox-treesare standingat Marni.')
(Hercus 1994:294)
This is an intransitive clause with an intransitive verb (tharka-'stand, exist in

a standing posture'),a core argument in S function, and an oblique argument in
locative function.
In some languages, one of the stance verbs also functions as a copula. This
can be recognizedfrom both its syntax and its meaning. That is, it now has two
core arguments,in CS and CC function,and it no longerhas referentialmeaning
to a type of stance, but simply a relational meaning. In Arabana it is the verb
thangka- 'sit' which may also be used as a copula, as in (18). It is then "neutral
as to stance, and the notion 'to sit' has totally faded"(Hercus 1994:295).
(18) anthacs minpaRucc thangka-ka (Arabana)

1SG doctor be-PAST
'I was a [tribal]doctor(butI havenowlostmy specialpowers).'(Hercus1994:295)
Note that the copula thangka- is only included"whentense has to be expressed"

(Hercus 1994:295).Thus a statement 'I am a doctor'will be just antha minpaRu,
with no copulaverb included.
McGregor(1990:310-11) discusses the three stance verbs in Gooniyandiand
then states "ofthe three verbs, bagi- 'lie' appears to be the least marked one
semantically, and is used when the entity adopts no particular posture, and is
completely inactive in an abstract situation of being"(1990:310). He exemplifies
with (19).
(19) jirigics yingi-ngaddic bagiri (Gooniyandi)

bird name-COMITATIVEit+be+PRESENT
'The birds [all] have names.' (lit., 'Thebirds are [all] with names.') (McGregor1990:
311)
For the Western Desert language, Eckert and Hudson (1988:50-51) discuss
and exemplify four stance verbs ('sit', 'lie', 'crouch', and 'stand') and then
comment "in situations where none of the posture verbs apply ngara-...
'standing' is used" (1988:51). Their illustrations include (20).

22 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
(20) ngayulucs [pika purlka mulapa]oc ngara-ngi (Western Desert language)

1SG sick very truly be-PAST
'I was reallyverysick.' (EckertandHudson1988:51)
In all of these languages each of the stance verbs can be used in an existen-
tial sense, but is then functioning as an intransitive verb (with one core argu-
ment, in S function).In each language there is just one stance verb that can also
function as a copula verb, with two core arguments (in CS and CC functions),
and with a relational rather than a referential meaning. This is 'sit' in Arabana
(and in Yir-Yoront,Waga-Waga,Pitta-Pitta, Yandruwanhdha,Nyungar, Mar-
tuthunira, Panyjima, Warlpiri,Arrernte, Wardaman, and Wambaya); 'lie' in
Gooniyandi (and in Guugu Yimidhirr and Wardaman);'lie on one's back' in
Gidabal; and 'stand' in Wiranguand the Western Desert language.
We also find instances of a copula verb in one languagebeing cognate with a
stance verb in another language. This applies to karri-'be' in Gurindji and to
wara- 'be, become' in Biri and Gidabal (both cognate with 'stand' in nearby
languages'1) and to wiyi-'be' in Bidjara and Gunja (cognatewith 'sit' in nearby
languages, including Ngiyambaa).
The literature includesone illustrationof the process of evolution of a stance
verb to also have copula meaning. Haviland (1979:117-18) reports that just
younger speakers of Guugu Yimidhirruse wu-'lie, exist' also as a copula, where
there is no sense of 'lying', as in (21).
(21) gana-aygu ngayucs yinil4c wu-nay (Guugu Yimidhirr)

1SG
before-EMPHATIC frightened be-PAST
'Before,I usedto befrightened.'(Haviland1979:117)
However, Haviland reportsbriefly that "olderspeakers criticizeyounger speak-

ers for indiscriminatelyusing wu-... as a tense-carryingdummyverb, when the
subjects ... involved do not actually lie but rather stand or sit" (1979:118). This
is likely to indicate that wu- 'lie' has developed a second, copula sense within
the lifetimes of the oldest speakers, so that they decry this new development.
There is another intransitive verb which has developed a further, copula,
sense in a number of Australian languages; this is the motion verb 'go'. In
Martuthunira, both the stance verb njina- 'sit, stay' and also the motion verb
puni- 'go' are also now used as copulas. Dench states that the copula use of
puni- "doesnot imply any motion on the part of the subject";he then adds: "the
use of the puni- ... copula (rather than njina- .. .) indicates that the ascribed
state will be maintained while other actions are performed"(1995:213).There is
plainly a connection between the idea of a continuously maintained relation (in
the copula use of puni-) and the idea of'going' (which must be maintained for a
period of time); and between the copula use of njina- to simply refer to a
relation, and the use of njina- as an intransitive verb 'sit, be sitting' which
simply describes a state.

2002 R M. W. DIXON 23
The copula verb -yi- 'become'in Gaagudju is homonymous with the intran-
sitive verb 'go'. We can see a connection between the idea of change of state
involved in 'becoming' and that of change of position inherent in 'going'. Other
languages in table 6 with the form 'go' also functioning as a copula are Gum-
baynggirr (illustrated in (11) above), Warray,Gaagudju,and Kamu. (Note that
Warray and Kamu, although probablynot closely genetically related, are con-
tiguous languages, with Gaagudjubeing a little way off within the same area.
This is the only instance in Australia of there being a shared regional basis for
which a verb of rest or motion comes to be grammaticalized as a copula.)
In other languages, verbs with different meanings have also developed a
copula sense--intransitive verbs with meanings such as 'stay', 'remain', 'live',
and 'dwell' in Njangumarta, Walmatjarri,Gurindji,Lardil, and Kayardild;the
transitive verb 'leave' in Gidabal; and in Yandruwanhdha a verb that can be
used intransitively with meaning 'do' and transitively with meaning 'tell'.
3.5. The relation of location. In most Australian languages, statement of

location involves an intransitive verb used in an existential sense, plus an NP
with local case marking, as in (17). It appears that in some languages with a
copula verb (especially those in which the same form doubles as a stance verb)
statements of location involve an intransitive verb rather than the copula.
However, there are some languages with a well-defined copula--used in the
identity/equation relation, (a)-where the copula also covers the local relation,
(c). This occurs,for example, in Muruwarri,as in (22).
(22) tirra-ngkacc yi-n-thirri-pu? (Muruwarri)

where-LOCATIVEbe-REALIS-PRESENT-3SG.CS
'Where is he?' (Oates 1988:122)
It is useful to distinguish two varieties of local NP: (i) those consisting of a

shifter or interrogative,such as 'here','there', 'where'; and (ii) those whose head
is a noun. It seems that in some languages copulas are used for a local relation
involving (i) or (ii), whereas in others they are restricted to (i).
For Ngiyambaa, Donaldson(1980:233)states that a copulais acceptablein a
but if the CC includes
sentence such as (23a), where the CC is 'HERE+LOCATIVE',
a noun as head, then an appropriatestance verb ('sit', 'stand', or 'lie') must be
used in place of the copula, as in (23b).
(23a) bura:ycs nginicc ga-ra (Ngiyambaa)

child HERE+LOCATIVE be-PRESENT
'There are children here.' (lit., 'Childrenare here.') (Donaldson 1980:233)
(23b) bura:ys galing-gaoBLQUEwara-nha (Ngiyambaa)

child water-LOCATIVE stand-PRESENT
'There are children standing by the water.' (lit., 'Children are standing by the
water.') (Donaldson 1980:233)

24 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
For a number of languages, all the examples quoted in the source materials
of a copula in locativerelation are of type (i), involving 'here', 'there', or 'where'.
(It may be that for some of these languages the copula can also occur with a
locational NP of type (ii), it is just that no such examples have been provided.)
These languages have a plus sign in parentheses, (+), in column (c) of table 6.
For other languages, the source materials include examples of a copula
being used for local relations of both type (i) and type (ii); these receive a plain
plus sign, +, in column (c) of table 6. In the first grammar ever written of an
Australian language, Threlkeld (1834:105-30) provides instances of the copula
verb ga- in Awabagal being used for identity/equation, for attribution, and for
both kinds of local relation; an example is (24) (in which Threlkeld's spelling is
retained).
(24) kabo kunnun (Awabagal)

by.and.by bangcs
1SG be+FUTURESydney-kacc
place-LOCATIVE
'By-and-byI shallbe at Sydney.'(Threlkeld1834:113)
In Biri, there is an example of a copula verb taking a CC which involves local

case marking with a metaphorical sense, shown here in (25).
(25) [ngaya guli]cs wara-ng-aya yalu-nggacc (Biri)

1SG angry be-PRESENT-lSG.CS child-LDCATIVE
'I'mangryat the child.'(lit.,'Myangri[ness]is at the child.')(Beale1974:11)
3.6. Other relations. In some languages, a clearly established copula verb

may also be used to express a relation of possession, (d), or wanting/benefac-
tion, (e).
The possessive relation can be illustrated for Ngiyambaa (here = indicates
an enclitic which is attached to the first word of the clause):
(26) wanga:y=dji:cc bura:ycs ga-ra (Ngiyambaa)

child
NEGATIVE=1SG+POSSESSIVE be-PRESENT
'I haveno children.'(lit., 'Childis notofme.') (Donaldson1980:129)
There are further examples of the possession relation in Muruwarri (Oates

1988:281) and in Arrernte (Wilkins 1989:438).12
Relation (e), wanting/benefaction, is typicallymarked by dative case on the
CC, as in (27), from Biri.
(27) ngayacs manhdha-gucc wara-ng-aya (Biri)

1SG food-DATIVE be-PRESENT-1SG.CS
'I want food.' (lit., 'I am for food.') (Beale 1974:9)
There are further examples of relation (e) in Gidabal (Geytenbeek and Geyten-
beek 1971:44) and Gurindji (McConvell 1990:83). As a variant on this relation,

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 25
in Ngiyambaa the CC can be a complement clause, e.g., 'Ics [meat eat-

PURPOSIVE]cc be' for 'I want to eat meat' (Donaldson 1980:281).
As mentioned in section 3.4, in most Australian languages existence is
shown by a stance verb; that is, the appropriate stance must be specified.
However, there are languages in which a copula verb may also have monovalent
use, indicating (f) existence. For example, in Biri we have sentences such as (28).
(28) gamuc wara-na (Biri)

water be-IMPERFECTIVE
'It is raining.' (lit., 'Wateris.') (Holmer 1983:370)
This construction also exists in Martuthunira, as in (29), where kuwarri 'now' is

an adverbal modifier (not a copula complement).
(29) nhunhaac njina-nguru kuwarri (Martuthunira)

THAT be-PRESENTnow
'That one exists today.' (lit., 'That one is now.') (Dench 1995:210)
Existential senses of a copula verb are also included in data from Ngiyambaa
(Donaldson 1980:226), Muruwarri (Oates 1988:197), the Western Desert lan-
guage (Goddard 1985:39), Walmatjarri (Hudson 1978:94-95), and Wardaman
(Merlan 1994:213).
As in languages from other parts of the world (including English), the
form used as a copula verb may have additional grammatical functions. For
example, in Yuwaalaraay 'be' can also be used with another verb in future tense
to express a progressive meaning (Williams 1980:69).
3.7. Form. In section 2.2, I pointed out that copula verbs typically show either
more or fewer TAM or other inflectional categories than other verbs, and that
they typically have irregular paradigms.
In some Australian languages a copula verb does have irregular forms. It is
reported that gi- 'become' is the only irregular verb in Yuwaalaraay (Williams
1980:68); and similarly for ye- 'be, become' in the Duungidjawu dialect of Waga-
Waga (Kite 2000:105). In Gidabal, wana-'be' and wara-'be become' are among
the fourteen irregular verbs (Geytenbeek and Geytenbeek 1971:26-27), and in
Ngiyambaa ga- 'be' has an irregular past form, giyi (Donaldson 1980:158). For
Warray, Harvey (1986:159) mentions three irregular verbs; one of them is
-yang-, which is both an intransitive verb 'go' and a copula verb 'be'.

bDb
r,-.I
a B M
a b
d
E
lijl 0
P
a
A2
0 HJ e
a R_
8'
t I
e
Al c V
d
El K d
NA
%I.
0 b
a
U ,b
X WB
r WMb
m N@ WK
gg
cm 500km
0m
Mixl
~
rNC
NDO (shaded).
0
NG
0 WE
verb
copula
a
cj ~aa
LlY
d b WI with
r " (2002).
.
I a !.C' rm WH Nam%
B
9g WG
44(1):26
NK La i
languages
4k h
I
cS J
d IL b Linguistics
1 h
,
NL
3% Australian
d.caA
r 1.
-
I N bt
d
Map Anthropological

2002 R M.W.DIXON 27
There is only one report of a copula verb in an Australian language having

limited TAM possibilities. Merlan (1994:213) states that Wardaman -yu- 'be'
has a defective paradigm; it only occurs in present tense and nonpast sub-
ordinate, forms of the other copula,-jingi-, being used elsewhere. Hercus (1986:
47) mentions that in the data she recorded from the last speakers of Wemba-
Wemba, the copula yuma- 'be' only takes third-person bound pronominal suf-
fixes (never first- or second-personsuffixes, even when the CS is first or second
person).
3.8. Distribution. In table 6 and map 1, each language is assigned a code

(given in the first column), accordingto the system followed in Dixon (2002).
This involves dividing the approximately 250 languages of Australia into fifty
groups, labeled A-Y,WA-WMand NA-NL. Some of the groups are putative low-
level genetic groups, some constitute small linguistic areas (within the large
linguistic area that encompasses all of Australia), and some groups consist of
languages put together simply on a geographicalbasis. A number of groups are
subdivided; thus, groupJ consists of Ja, Jb, Jc, Jd and Je.
The distribution of languages with a copula verb, as summarized in table
6, shown by shading on map 1. It will be seen that the shading covers a good
is
deal of Australia, involving a number of continuous areas and also some isolated
regions.
However, the reader should be cautioned against inferring too much from
map 1. For some languages we have very limited materials-sometimes just one
or two short word lists, other times a short grammar with just a couple of
nominal and verbal paradigms.A number of grammars written in recent times
have relied upon informationfrom semispeakers and are far from complete. In
every language in which it occurs, the copula clause is a minor clause type, so
that some grammars which are of a fairly good standard overall may have
omitted to note it. For example, Smythe (1948-49:71) discusses the copula verb
yana- in Gumbaynggirr,but this was not noted by Eades (1979) in her grammar
of the same language. The point being made is that just because a copula clause
has not been reportedfor a given language does not mean that it does not (or did
not) exist in that language.
The information available is slim for groups Jb-e, K, L, Mb-e, Nb, Ne, O-S,
U, WAc-d,WB, and WE, among others. Some of these languages may well have
had copula clauses and should thus be shaded, joining up some of the shaded
areas on map 1. We just do not know (and, for most of these languages, we are
never likely to know).
Some of the earliest and most influential modern Australian grammars
were of languages in which there is no copula verb, e.g., W1, Kalkatungu (Blake
1969, 1979a); H1, Dyirbal (Dixon 1972); and G2, Yidinj (Dixon 1977). There has
been no systematic study of copulas in Australian languages, and no guidelines
have been published on the properties a verb should show for it to be considered

28 LINGUISTICS
ANTHROPOLoGICAL 44 NO.1
a copula. When we put together (i) the partial data on some languages; (ii) the
marginal nature of copula clause constructionsin those languages in which they
do occur; (iii) the fact that a copula verb may be homonymouswith an intransi-
tive verb of stance or motion; and (iv) the lack of any tradition of, or guidelines
for, describing copula clause constructions in Australian languages, these four
factors combine to provide only a partial picture of the overall situation. There
certainly are some languages lacking copulas-as just mentioned, they include
Kalkatungu, Dyirbal and Yidinj-but it is likely that copulas occur (or occurred)
in a number of languages that are not shaded on map 1.
What is significant is the wide areas over which copula clauses occur, as
shown in map 1, and the fact that each language with one or more copula verbs
appears to have developedthese in its own way, differentlyfrom its genetic rela-
tives and geographicalneighbors. For instance, within the Ja genetic subgroup,
Biri has copula verb wara- (cognate with 'stand' in nearby languages), while
Bidjara/Gunja has wiyi- (cognate with 'sit' in nearby languages) and barda-
(cognates as yet untraced). Similar differences between languages that are
closely genetically related are found in subgroupsTa, WJ and NA (see table 6).
In Dixon (1997, 2002) the idea is promulgated that the languages of Aus-
tralia comprise a large linguistic area, an equilibrium situation that has con-
siderable time depth. There has typically been diffusion across the continent,
sometimes of grammatical forms but much more often of structural patterns.
For example, the property of having switch-referencemarking, or of having a
system of noun classes, may diffuse from language to language across a con-
tinuous area. It is just the grammaticalpropertythat is borrowed,not the forms
employed to express it (see Austin 1981b;Dixon 2002:470-508, 527-29). That is,
a language which adopts switch-reference or noun classes from its neighbors
will develop its own formal marking for the new system, from its own internal
resources.
Because of the continual processes of diffusion, the languages of Australia
have for millennia, or perhaps for tens of millennia, been converging in their
structural profiles. This leads to recurrent tendencies towards new develop-
ments. It appears that Australian languages share a tendency to develop copula
verbs, typically by grammaticalizing a verb of rest or motion. But it may be a
different verb in two related, or contiguous, languages, and even if the verbs
have similar meaning, the forms may be different (comparenguna- 'stay, be' in
WJal, Walmatjari, and karri- 'stay, be' in the closely genetically related lan-
guage WJa3, Gurindji,for example).
The creation of a copulaverb may happen spontaneouslyin a language, with
copulas not being found in any neighbors. This appears to apply to Ddl, Guugu
Yimidhirr, and to Ebl, Yir-Yoront(although it must be pointed out that we do
not have full grammatical information on all the neighbors for each of these
languages). But it is also clear that, once a copula verb is created, then the pro-
perty of having a copula verb is likely to diffuse to neighboring languages, over

2002 RM. W. DIXON 29
an increasingly wide area; see the shading on map 1. That is, we have here an
additionalexampleof a diffusionarea, to add to the many diffusionareas deline-
ated in Dixon (2002). If a language has a copula verb then neighboring lan-
guages may develop one or more copulas,but they will do this from within their
own resources, in a different way for each language. It is just the grammatical
category of "copulaclause type" that is borrowed,not the copula verb itself.
4. Summary and conclusion. I first presented a typologicalcharacterization

of copula clauses. These constitute a clause type with two core arguments,
copula subject (CS) and copulacomplement(CC),distinct from the arguments in
intransitive and transitive clause types (intransitive subject,S; transitive sub-
ject, A; and transitive object, 0). Copula verbs lack referential meaning but
instead indicate one of a number of kinds of relation between CS and CC. To be
a bona fide copula, a given verb must be used for (a) a relation of identity/
equation, or (b) a relation of attribution.It may, in addition,indicate relations of
(c) location, (d) possession, and (e) wanting/benefaction, among others. In some
languages a copula must always be used with two arguments, but in others it
can also occurjust with CS, and then indicates (f) existence. Copulas often have
unusual paradigms and irregular forms. In many languages a copula verb may
be omitted, typically when the unmarkedchoiceis made fromsome grammatical
system (for example, present from the tense system, third-personsingular from
the pronominal system).
Copula clauses are found across a wide geographical range of Australian
languages, but they are always a minor clause type. A copula is generally omis-
sible, so that, in Australia, verbless clauses and copula clauses are most appro-
priately regarded as variants of a single clause type. The inclusion of copula
verb can carry a pragmatic load of contrast or surprise.
Since word order is potentially free in Australian languages, it can some-
times be hard to determinewhether a given formis a genuine copula verb or just
an intransitive verb. If a verb is used only for a relation of attributionbetween a
noun and an adjective, then the noun couldbe the CS and the adjective the CC
within a copula clause, or else noun and adjective could together make up the S
NP (which may be discontinuous)for an intransitive clause. And it is sometimes
not easy to distinguish between a copula verb 'become' and an inchoative suffix
'become' which derives an intransitive verbal stem from a nominal. Indeed, a
given form may well function as an inchoative derivationalsuffix in one dialect
of a language, and as a copula in another dialect.
As is found elsewhere in the world, stance verbs and 'go' and 'stay' tend to
be grammaticalized to become copulas. Typically, a given form will have two
uses, as an intransitive verb of stance or motion, and as a copula verb. Again, as
elsewhere in the world, there is a tendency in Australian languages for a copula
verb to have irregular forms; and there are a couple of examples of a copula verb
showing a defective paradigm.

30 ANTHROPOLOGICAL
There has been no previous general study of copula clauses in Australian

languages, and there is no accepted set of criteria for deciding whether a given
form qualifies to be called a copula verb. What is now needed is a thorough and
intensive study of the grammar and semantics of copula verbs across a wide
range of Australian languages, to provide the basis for further informed com-
parison and generalization.
It appears that Australian languages show a recurrent tendency to create
copula verbs (generally, by grammaticalization of stance verbs or of 'go' or
'stay'), and also that the property of having a copula clause type tends to diffuse
from language to language,13 with each individual language manufacturing
copula verb forms from its own internal resources. This provides further
justification for considering the languages of Australia as making up one large
linguistic area (an idea first mooted in Dixon [19971, and developed in detail in
Dixon [2002]).
Notes
Acknowledgments.The research on which this article is based was supportedby the

Australian Research Council, to whom I offer thanks. Angela Terrill, employed as re-
search assistant on an ARCgrant to me, produced(in 1995) a partial account of copulas
in Australian languages, but this did not achieve publication. For the present study I
have started afresh, and have consulted original sources on each of the approximately
250 indigenous languages of Australia.
For constructivecommentson a draft of this article I am most grateful to Alexandra
Aikhenvald, Barry Alpher,Barry Blake, Gavan Breen, Mark Clendon, Bernard Comrie,
Alan Dench, Mark Harvey, Luise Hercus, Joyce Hudson, Mary Laughren, Margaret
Sharpe, and Angela Terrill.
Abbreviations.The followingabbreviationsare employed:A = transitive subject; CC
= copula complement; CS = copula subject; MASC= masculine; NONFEM= nonfeminine;
NP = noun phrase; O = transitive object; PL = plural; S = intransitive subject; S, =
intransitive subjectmarked like A; So= intransitive subjectmarked like O; SG= singular;
TAM = tense and/or aspect and/or modality and/or mood; 1 = first person; 2 = second
person; 3 third person.
1. Members of the post-Bloomfieldian school and their successors (including
Chomsky and many of his followers) like to employ binary divisions in linguistic
analysis. A clause is said to consist of an NP and a "VP,"where the "VP"may include an
object NP (in an accusative language).The label "predicate"is sometimes applied to the
"VP."This is a different use of "predicate"from that employedhere (which follows the
majority practice of linguistics from outside this school).
2. Naming (as in 'his name is Fred') is here lookedupon as a subtype of the identity
relation. Note, though, that in some languages the naming relation is coded through a
special copula verb. For example, in Tariana the naming copula is kepitana (this can be
analyzed into attributive prefix ka- plus noun -ipitana 'name'),whereas the copula alia
'be' covers the relations of attribution,equation, and other kinds of identity.
3. It is likely that when CS and CC are marked by the same case, this will be the
functionally unmarked case for that language.
4. Note that within the two-term gender system in Jarawara, feminine/masculine,
feminine is the unmarked term; all pronouns (irrespective of the sex of their referent)
take feminine gender agreement.

2002 R. M. W. DIXON 31
5. There is the possibility of copula verb with just CS (but not CC) and the CS being
marked like A (as in Ainu) rather than like S. A language of this kind has not been
encounteredand we would be surprisedif such a language should exist. But if it did, we
would presumably have to recognizethis as a monovalent copula verb.
6. Genetti (1994:88-92) reports that there are two copulas in Newari. However,
while khyang-/jur- (the forms appearto be suppletive by tense) has sense (a), the verb
dar- appears only to have senses (c) location, (d) possession, and (f) existence, and is
probablybest treated as an intransitive verb.
7. There is some discussion of these, and other,diachronicorigins for copulaverbs in
Hengeveld (1992:237-56).For example,the verb stare 'stand' in Latin has developedinto
a second copula in some Romance languages. In Portuguese, for instance, there is a
contrast between estar (< *stare'stand') 'be', describinga temporary relation, and ser (<
*Latin esse'be')'be', describing a permanent relation.
8. NBd2, Nunggubuyu, may provide a further example. In his grammar of this
language, Heath (1984:515-16) describesverbless clauses and then commentsthat there
is no copula "thoughone could add a harmlessverb like 'to sit' (meaning also 'to stay', 'to
be [in a place]')without drastically affecting the sense" (1984:516).This may imply that
-bura 'sit, stay' (Heath 1982:14-15) also functions as a copula verb; however, Heath's
statement is elusive and the details unclear.
Love (2000) reports a form -nu- 'be' in NG1, Worrorra.However, Clendon (2000,
p.c.) suggests that -nu- is an inchoative derivationalsuffix rather than a distinct copula
verb.
9. MargaretSharpe (p.c.)has examined all the available data on this almost defunct
language and states that no alternative orderings are attested for girlge- (or for wana-,
mentioned in the next paragraph), suggesting that these are better treated as
derivational affixes than as copula verbs. To be certain of this, one would have to under-
take fieldwork, checkingup with fluent speakers; it is unfortunately too late for this.
10. Similar use of stance and related verbs is foundin languages from other parts of
the world. See, for example, Lang (1975) on the Papuan language Enga, and Aikhenvald
(2000:158-59) for a general discussion.
11. For karri-/garri-, see cognate set (18) in section 4.2.7 of Dixon (2002).
12. Other Australianlanguages generally use verbless clauses to express possession
(there is seldom a verb 'have'), e.g., 'lsG dog-WITH' for 'I have a dog' and 'dog 1SG-
for 'the dog is mine'.
POSSESSIVE'
13. Across the languages of the world, some grammatical properties are more open
to diffusion than others; it may be that having a copula clause is a property which is
particularly likely to diffuse. That is, if a language with no copula verb comes into
contact with other languages that do have a copula, then it will be likely to innovate its
own copula verb.
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Copula Clauses in Australian Languages - A Typological Perspective (Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 44, Issue 1) (2002)

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Copula Clauses in Australian Languages: A Typological Perspective

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Abstract. Copula clauses are distinguished from transitive and intransitive

Table 1. Basic Clause Types

Whereas transitive and intransitive verbs have referential meaning, copula

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(1) [sa [marama savasavaa]AD sara gaa]mDICATE (Boumaa Fijian)

This is an intransitive clause with o Aneta as the S argument. The predicate

(2a) iari(-ne)s kuphe-pidanaNTRANREDIAT (Tariana)

(2b) 'iari(-ne)cs kuphecc di-dia-pidan&COPULA.VERB (Tariana)

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Table 2. Tariana Case Marking

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unhelpful and misleading to refer to it as the predicate or as part of the

2. The character of copula clauses. I here outline four aspects of copulas:

2.1.1. Marking on CS. In the great majorityof languages, CS is marked in the

Table 3. Ainu Case Marking

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dog is in the garden'), involving as CC a local adverb or an NP marked with a

Table 4. Jarawara Pronominals

Table 5. Pronouns in Zayse

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We find furtherpossibilities in individual languages and linguistic regions.

(3a) birotocc ama o-ke (Jarawara)

(3b) okasimacs ama-ke (Jarawara)

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2.2. Form. In its morphological properties, a copula is seldom exactly like

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One commondiachronicsource for copulas is verbs of motion and rest such

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3. Copula clauses in Australian languages. I know of no Australian

+Copulasubject(CS) +Copulacomplement(CC) Copula verb

In many languages, a copula is more frequently omitted than included. Thus,

(4) nganhics mawa-licc ngana-yi (Diyari)

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transitive verb 'tell');the CCs which take ergative-instrumentalcase in Breen's

(5a) njamina-nics wamalagardimicc (Djingulu)

(5b) [njima babirdimi]s kiyaljiyanucc (Djingulu)

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(c) (+) (+) (+) (+) + (+) +

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(c) (+) (+) +

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CODE NBk NBI2 NCb3NE1 NF2 NHe2

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3.1. Copula clauses and verbless clauses. We can roughly distinguish

(6a) burulac [nhama dhayn]cs (Yuwaalaraay)

(6b) burulcc [nhama dhayn]cs gi-nji (Yuwaalaraay)

It is likely that other languages may be like Yuwaalaraay in using a verbless

(7) inics gi-n galjurringic mirra! (Wambaya)

(8a) gurijbicc [ini alaji]cs (Wambaya)

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(8b) alajics gi gurijbicc mirra (Wambaya)

Some grammars suggest that the copula is included as a sort of dummy,

(9) wata malhanjtji ngana-a-ni-mayi! (Diyari)

Austin states that, in nonimperative clauses, ngana- is "onlyrarely used in the

(10) yabuna-ngguA wara-mba-li baladhao (Biri)

3.2. Attribution and copula clauses. As emphasized in section 2.1, one of

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(11) ngaya ya:ri da:ruy (Gumbaynggirr)