The Phonology and Morphology of Australian Languages

Distilling decades of fieldwork, this book provides rich data on the sound systems and word structures of Australian Indigenous languages.

Brett J. Baker (Author), Mark Harvey (Author)

9781107126985, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 December 2025

566 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm, 1.017 kg

Australian languages form a large genetic group with many interesting and distinctive phonological and morphological properties. Written by two experts in the field, this is the first book-length treatment of this topic, providing an in-depth discussion of a wealth of little-known data on the sound systems and word structures of Australian Indigenous languages. It includes a critical evaluation of theoretical approaches from the 1950s up to the current day, including recent experimental, psycholinguistic and processing-based research. Each chapter addresses a major aspect of phonology, including the segmental inventories, complex phonotactic systems, alternations, prosodic phonology and morphology, the behaviour of phonological domains, and the unusual nature of sound change in Australia. The authors also add to this their own groundbreaking findings, and frame each chapter to inform future phonological research and theory. It is essential reading for scholars and students in phonology, phonetics, speech science, morphology, and language typology.

1. Introduction to the languages of Australia
2. Segments
3. Phonotactics and the syllable
4. Metrical structure
5. Prosodic morphology and long-distance alternations
6. Phonological domains
7. Sound change and the lexicon
8. Looking back, and looking forward.

Subject Areas: Phonetics, phonology [CFH]