A Reference Grammar of Mundari.

• Author: Donegan, Patricia J.

By Toshiki Osada. Pp. 168. Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa), 1992.

Although this is not quite the stand-alone resource its title might lead one to expect, it is a welcome addition to the slowly accumulating literature on the Munda languages. Osada's description of Mundari (one of the North Munda languages of India, spoken in south Bihar and in parts of Orissa by about 75,000 speakers) is based on a good active knowledge of the language and extensive experience with it. Osada respects earlier analyses, but does not hesitate to disagree with them.

The introduction sketches the place of Mundari within Munda and Austroasiatic, its principal dialects, population of speakers and alternative names, and the previous work on the language. A brief chapter on phonology, a substantial chapter on morphology, a nod to syntax, and an impressive bibliography follow. Osada's aim is "to supply reliable information on Mundari especially to Munda comparativists and Indian areal typologists" (p. 17). However, the description is based on Comrie's and Smith's (1977) questionnaire, which aims to elicit data for linguists working on language universals or language typology, or on comparative syntax, morphology, or phonology.

The chapter on phonology provides a phonemic analysis and a sketch of the phonotactics, and it describes some interesting phonetic details (e.g., nasal release of final voiced stops). There is little discussion of morphology, although some alternations are mentioned in support of the phonemic analysis. Syllable and mora are mentioned but not related to phonological substitutions or versification (as in Munda 1976, cited in the bibliography). Osada describes the phonological word as at most three syllables delimited by junctures, but he does not mark juncture or give a rule for it except relative to pitch accent, which is also not marked. The accentuation of affixed words that appear in later chapters (without indication of open juncture, e.g., durum-o?-ta-n-a-e? 'he or she is feeling sleepy', p. 91) is not explained.

The chapter on morphology clearly reflects Osada's main interest. The complex pronominal system and verbal morphology of Mundari are described in considerable detail. Osada presents new and interesting material on demonstratives, the indefinite pronoun, expressives, and such Indian areal features as serial (compound) verb syntax and semantics. His...