Reflexive, reciprocal and emphatic functions in Barunga Kriol

This chapter describes the reflexive, reciprocal and adverbial emphatic markers mijelp, gija and miself in Barunga Kriol, the variety of the Australian Kriol spoken in Beswick/Wugularr (Top End, Northern Territory, Australia). These markers are interesting because their distribution has evolved in recent years, resulting in further and neater distinctions. Firstly, a typologically rare distinction between two types of reciprocals has emerged, where transitive verbs and “semi-transitive” verbs receive distinct reciprocal marking. This distinction could result from contact with other Kriol varieties, and represents an interesting pattern of contact-induced change, where no actual form or function is borrowed from the source language. Secondly, the reflexive and emphatic markers, which were originally quasi-identical, have evolved to become two (or more) welldifferentiated items.