This grammar offers a comprehensive description of Kuuk Thaayorre a Paman language spoken on
the west coast of Cape York Peninsula Australia. The Paman languages of Cape York have long
been recognized for their exhibition of considerable phonological semantic and morphosyntactic
change (e.g. Hale 1964 Dixon 1980). Yet there has until now been no published full reference
grammar of a language from this area (some excellent dictionaries theses and sketch grammars
notwithstanding e.g. Hall 1972 Alpher 1973 1991 Crowley 1983 Kilham et al. 1986 Sutton
1995 Smith & Johnson 2000). On the basis of elicited data narrative and semi-spontaneous
conversation recorded between 2002 and 2008 as well as archival materials this grammar
details the phonetics and phonology morphosyntax lexical and constructional semantics and
pragmatics of one of the few indigenous Australian languages still used as a primary means of
communication. Kuuk Thaayorre possesses features of typological interest at each of these
levels.
