ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the linguistic, sociolinguistic and methodological information. Beyond the Gunwinyguan region, data and analyses of various aspects of the linguistic encoding of emotions are available for a handful of Australian languages such as Kaytetye, Kukatja, Kuuk, Thaayorre. The observation that Kriol has a fairly Australian ‘profile’ in a number of respects is clearly significant when assessing the impact of language shift upon the way speakers express themselves and communicate. Apart from English and Gunwinyguan languages, there is also some contact with more distant Australian languages. Older speakers tend to be fluent in at least one Gunwinyguan language, but mastery decreases with generations. Dalabon Speakers born earlier than 1970 are usually semi-speakers of a Gunwinyguan language; most younger speakers of Kriol have some exposure to Gunwinyguan languages, but the knowledge of those who do not have family in northern Arnhem Land is often limited to a couple of words.
