The Pragmatics of Rude Jokes with Grandad: Joking Relationships in Aboriginal Australia

From passing-gesture to ‘true’ romance: Kin-based teasing in Murriny Patha conversation

“…It is a humorous distortion of kinship practices that takes place only within the realms of fantasy. As per the formal joking relationships, this teasing indexes a potential marriage that has little likelihood of transpiring (Garde, 2008). There are other minimal activities and categories that conceivably apply.…”

“…They have in general received less linguistic attention than the very constrained language of avoidance relationships (e.g., Dixon, 1972;Harris, 1970;Haviland, 1979;McGregor, 1989;Rumsey, 1982). Garde (2008), however, points out that extreme joking/swearing behaviour is characteristically performed by the same classes of affinal kin as those that observe strict avoidance (and thus display constrained behaviours). The joking partners are those classificatory affines for whom there is little prospect of becoming actual affines (i.e., because no marriageable relatives are available to be promised to the joking partner).…”

“…Much of this research has been based on African societies (e.g., Freedman, 1977;Radcliffe-Brown, 1940, 1949, 1952Rigby, 1968). Within Australia the joking/swearing relationships have been examined in Cape York (Jackes, 1969;Thompson, 1935) and Central Arnhem Land (Garde, 1996(Garde, , 2008. They have in general received less linguistic attention than the very constrained language of avoidance relationships (e.g., Dixon, 1972;Harris, 1970;Haviland, 1979;McGregor, 1989;Rumsey, 1982).…”

Review of Mushin & Baker (2008): Discourse and Grammar in Australian Languages

“…Burgeoning research in this domain includes contributions from Austin (2001), Blythe (2009) and Verstraete and De Cock (2008), as well as other offerings from the authors of this volume, such as Garde (2003Garde ( , 2008, Kim et al (2001), Simpson (2006), Mushin (2005a,b) and Mushin and Simpson (2008).…”

Ethnography & the Production of Anthropological Knowledge. Essays in honour of Nicolas Peterson

“…This form of direct request is practised only between socially and genealogically close kin who are not in an affinal relationship of constraint (like between ego and mother-in-law) or in ritually superior positions; and, at times, with non-Aboriginal people with whom there is a degree of familiarity, but where there is little risk of embarrassment from rejection. It is most explicitly, publicly and humorously evident in reciprocal male joking relationships (see Garde 2008), as in a request such as 'Kakkak ngarduk kan-wo kun-kanj ngudda yi-berdnganabbarru' ('my mother's mother's brother, give me meat, you with the penis of a buffalo'). In other words, the most recognisable form of sharing that would fit the term 'demand sharing' is that which occurs among a relatively clearly defined set of close kin and co-residents.…”