Cut and break” verbs in Yélî Dnye, the Papuan language of Rossel Island

The paper explores verbs of cutting and breaking (C&B, hereafter) in Yélı̂ Dnye, the Papuan language of Rossel Island. The Yélı ̂ Dnye verbs covering the C&B domain do not divide it in the expected way, with verbs focusing on special instruments and manners of action on the one hand, and verbs fo-cusing on the resultant state on the other. Instead, just three transitive verbs and their intransitive counterparts cover most of the domain, and they are all based on ‘exotic ’ distinctions in mode of severance—coherent severance with the grain vs. against the grain, and incoherent severance (regardless of grain)