Intonation in Six Dialects of Bininj Gun-wok

It is particularly significant to examine the intonational systems of typologically diverse languages in light of renewed interest in ‘intonational universals’. As yet, only a handful of indigenous Australian languages possess significant intonational descriptions. This chapter examines the intonational phonology of six closely-related varieties of a Northern Australian language, Bininj Gun-wok, also known as Mayali. It then outlines transcription conventions that are designed to transcribe significant prosodic events in this language and its various dialects.