<translate> The old man said if you watch the ants carry their eggs up to high ground, you know rain is coming, and if they do it in a hurry, you know it will be a big rain, so move your camp before you feel the first drop.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu nyaji minya-buban diburr jarrakulbal wangkar-mundu, yundu binal bana kadanya, kaki jana warri bungal, yundu binal bana yalbay, nyungu bayan yilba yundu bana ngadiku maninya.


<translate> The old man said the reason our people survived a thousand generations in a hard land is not that we were stronger or cleverer than others, but that we never, ever let each other starve alone, and that willingness to share the last of the food is the whole of the law.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: ngana bama nyubun wungar wubulmuny bubu dandinga janay kari ngana junkurr-baja binal-baja bama yindumuny, yambada ngana kari yabarrka nyubun-nyubun nganga dakwuy wulanka bawan, yinya wawu mayi bajaku daji-wayka kuku wubulku nganga.


<translate> They saw the wankar tree here.


<translate> That tree kangaroo is there.


<translate> My spear is sharp and straight, and with it I always spear the fast kangaroo.

Ngayku kalka jinbal junkurr, ngayu mayarriji jinbal wungar wubulku dama-l.


<translate> He saw the barinkan scrub bird there.


<translate> The little hawk hunts by hanging still on the wind — patience with sharp fingers.

Kalin-kalin balbil janaybu muyara wunbu: wawu-karrba birri dandi-ji.


<translate> You two see the murrabal barramundi here.


<translate> He saw the barka snake here.


<translate> Grandfather brought leaves from the house.


<translate> The storm knocked the tree down.


<translate> We see the newly cleared scrub there.


<lexeme> that's nonsense, take no notice


<glossary> dakumbar ; type=noun ; domain=flora-tree <usage_example> This wood is good for woomeras


<translate> You all see the bush fire here.


<translate> The old woman's upper leg is sore.


<translate> I saw the mukukanka tree here.


<translate> The dog ate meat in the grass.


<translate> They see the crocodile here.


<translate> The child dropped the stone on the foot.

Karrkay-ngku kulji jina-nga daray-manin.


<translate> He sees the ngajay small crayfish here.


<translate> You all see the shellfish here.


<translate> The young men speared many fish, but the big groper got away into the deep water.

Warru-ngku kuyu wubul daman, yamba wara yalbay bana dukurr-ba dungan-baja.


<translate> The mudcrab hides in the mangrove mud, and you must be quick and hold it from behind.

Kiju kajul kambal-kambal-ba ngakijin, yundu bila kudamundu karrban.


<translate> The two hunters came back to the camp at dark, carrying two big kangaroos and one fat pig.

Balbi-bama jambul bayan-ka kadan wujurr-ba, mayarriji yalbay jambul bikibiki nyubun wundin.


<translate> You all saw the birukay egg yolk here.


<glossary> jarra ; type=noun ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> I am bigger than he is


<translate> You saw the kalmbangarr black diver bird there.


<translate> The husband and the wife grew old together side by side, the old woman said, and their many grandchildren filled the whole camp with noise and laughter.

Dunyu biwar-jirr muru mukul-ma-l muru-ma-nya, mukul-jalbu balkan, jana-mu jija-karra wubul bayan narmba warmba yirrka yajarri-jirr.


<translate> I saw the mirrku kidney bird here.


<translate> The woman wove the bag from loya cane.


<translate> This woman taught me about the zamia nut and how to soak it in the water.

Yalu-ngku jalbu-ngku nganya binal-bungan marra-ka, bana-nga wuna-nka.


<translate> We see the murrka scar here.


<translate> The child dropped the stone.


<translate> That stockwhip bird is here.


<translate> The two of them see the house here.


<translate> The mud is deep near the swamp — walk around it!

Kambal-kambal walngkanga ngundu — walku dungay!


<translate> That dilly bag is mine, but the two spears over there belong to my brother.

Yinya ngunyin ngayku, yamba kalka jambul yinyay yaba-mu.


<translate> The woman asked father about news.


<translate> In the late afternoon we came back.


<translate> The little boy's mother called him home for the evening meal by the fire.

Warru buban ngamu-ngka nyunguny bayan-ka kunjan, mayi wujurr-ka.


<glossary> ngarrku-ngarrku ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> That person is easy to get along with in working (If you ask him to do anything, he does it quickly)


<translate> The woman made the bag from grass.


<translate> You and I see the squid here.


<translate> They saw the corkwood pine here.


<translate> I see the grasshopper there.


<translate> You two saw the jalbil lizard there.


<lexeme> child who has just learned to talk


<translate> They saw the bajabaja lizard here.


<translate> You all see the bandicoot here.


<translate> The younger brother must respect the elder brother in all things, the old man said, and the elder brother must always share the catch out fairly among them.

Yabaju-ngku yaba junkurr-ma-l wubulku-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, yaba-ngku marri minya ngulkurr-bu jana-nka muru daji.


<translate> You saw the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish there.


<translate> You and I see the deep water there.


<translate> His mother and my mother are sisters, so we two fight like brothers and share like shadows.

Ngamu nyungu ngamu ngayku babarr-jinkurr, yalada ngali kuniway yala yaba-karra, wambajil yala wabarr.


<translate> We see the black-tip shark here.


<translate> The native companion is here.


<translate> You two see the julbal tree here.


<translate> The old woman is looking around for yams on the sandy ground.

Mukul-jalbu wukay-mba nubi-nubi-ji bubu jukar-a.


<glossary> walu karimal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> There aren't many crocodiles any more

Nyiku-nyiku bilngkumu walu karimanijinkuda


<translate> If the child is hungry, grandmother will give food.

Kaki karrkay dakuy, babi-ngka mayi dajil.


<translate> Two old words name a person's ear, the old woman taught: ear-hard is the one who holds every story and every name, his ear like a stone that keeps its marks, and ear-less is the other one, in whose ear words never stand, they go like wind, so become ear-hard, my grandchildren!

Kuku mukul jambulbu bama milka kunjal, wulbumanangka milbin: milka-dandi nyulu bama kuku-jangkar wubulku kuku wubulku karrbal, milka nyungu yala kulji jina karrbalmuny, milka-kari nyulu bama yindu, kuku milkanga nyungu kariku janay, jana dungay yala muyar, yalada milka-dandi-maka, jija-karra.


<translate> The next day we walked again.


<translate> The women tied the bags shut with cane.


<translate> You all saw the jayju kangaroo rat there.


<translate> You all see the nyamun natural debris there.


<translate> You two saw the murral tree kangaroo here.


<translate> The woman saw bark on the ground.


<translate> You all see the karrandal tree there.


<translate> I see the kuray-kuray tree here.


<translate> You saw the bajal bower bird here.


<translate> Three big trees are standing there.


<translate> The boys washed at the river before eating.

Dabal julurrijin wawubajanga, nukanyjiku.


<translate> The baby kept crying and crying, so the mother kept holding it close to her warm breast.

Karrkay buban banbadi banbadi, ngamu-ngku karrba-l-karrba-l bibi wumbul ngundu.


<translate> You all see the munungkul ground pigeon there.


<translate> You and I saw the bayil jungle perch there.


<translate> The old people fear the black snake most of all, the old man said, for its bite kills quickly, and there is no cure once the poison is in the blood.

Mukul-bama bindimu yararri wubulku-muny, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyungu baykal bila kuni, bama wula, mula-ba buyun kada-nya-muny.


<translate> Dad caught a wallaby yesterday.


<translate> The horse is drinking at the river; the dogs are lying in the shade.

Yarraman bana nukal wawubajanga; kaya-kaya wabarrba wunanay.


<translate> The two of them see the toadfish here.


<translate> Grandmother happened to step on my hand.


<translate> In this country there is honey, yams, and fruit for everyone in the wet season.

Yanyu bubu-ngu wunba, bambayal, jidu wubul bama-ka bana-wungar-a.


<translate> I saw the kanjal companion there.


<glossary> wukal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> He scared me, fooled me (told me there was a snake)


<translate> The grandmother said choose your friends with care, for the friends you keep for life become family, and their children and yours will grow up as cousins, and the choosing you do now will shape a family tree you will never see the top of.

Babingka balkan: jawun nyaji-nyaji mani, jawun yundu wawu wubulku karrbal jawun-karra-manda, nyungu kangkal yundu kangkal bangunji yala kamba-mani, yundu nyiku manilbu jawun-karra juku yundu murru bajaku kari nyajilnya wandi-manil.


<translate> We saw the flower on the tree.


<translate> You and I saw the jungka wild cherry tree there.


<glossary> diburr ; type=noun ; domain=flora-plant <usage_example> Ngayu diburr manin Sisterandamun


<translate> The stockwhip bird is there.


<translate> Say I-don't-know with a straight back — it is the strongest sentence in the language, the old woman said.

'Ngayu binal-kari' balka muku dandi-ji: kuku junkurr bajaku kukungu, wulbumanangka balkan.


<translate> Walk along the sandy beach towards the north until you come to the mouth of the big river.

Jukar-burr jilba-y maku kungkarr-ka, yundu wawubaja yalbay ngandal-ka kada-nyjiku.


<translate> That's the way, said grandad. The old way.

Kamingka balkan: yalaku. Ngujakura yalaku.


<translate> You all saw the three-pronged spear there.


<translate> We all, not you, see the sandfly here.


<translate> He sees the smouldering log here.


<translate> You two saw the bajarr fern leaves here.


<translate> We saw the jakalkulu tree stump here.


<translate> They saw the small sticks there.


<translate> We two, not you, see the hillside there.


<translate> The cassowary walks alone in the deep rainforest and eats the fallen fruit, and a person keeps away for it can kick hard.

Kurranji ngalkal-bubu-ngu nyubun jilban, mayi daran nukan, bama kaba jilban, nyulu jina-bu yalbay jabil.


<translate> She would have married the loud one, the old woman told her granddaughters about her own young days, he shone like the wet-season lightning, but my grandmother made me carry water beside the quiet man for one whole season, and lightning is good to look at for one night, she said, but the slow rain fills the root grounds.

Ngayu dingkar kuku-yalbay dunyu-maninyaku, wulbumanangka kaminjarr-karranda balkan wungar warrumuny nyungu-nyungumuny, nyulu jilu-jilu yala balbay bana-wungarmuny, yambada babingka ngayu bana wundi-bungan ngundu dingkaranda wunbu bana-wungar nyubunku, balbay nyulu yukil nyajinka wujurr nyubunku, nyulu balkan, yambada bana buban-buban jakal-bungal bubu bangkanmuny.


<translate> Auntie found scrub-hen eggs. She cooked them in the ashes. The children ate them all.

Bimayngka jarruka nyajin. Nyulu wayjun nulungu. Karrkay-karrkayangka nukanyarrku.


<translate> The fish spear is on the open ground.


<translate> The grey kangaroo is at the camp.


<translate> We see the black spotted dart here.


<translate> The snake felt no fear and no threat, so it moved slowly off the warm path into the cool grass.

Jarba kari yinil, kari yinyil-kangan, yala jarba buban-buban dungan jina wumbulmuny jikan kiwaymba.


<translate> The children are swimming; the old people are watching from the bank.

Karrkay-karrkay maraji; kamba-kambangka nyajil ngubarmundu.


<glossary> buban ; type=noun ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> He stayed a little while


<translate> The black scrub goanna is at the camp.


<translate> They saw the reflection here.


<translate> Are you going to your grandfather's country? Yes, my grandfather is teaching me the sacred places, the water sources, and the boundary of our land.

Yundu nyungu kami-mu bubu-mundu dungay? Yuwu, ngayku kami nganya binal-bungal bubu yirmbal, bana-mu bubu, ngali bubu-mu kunbayn.


<translate> Every food has its season and its country, the old man said, showing it on his hand: the junjun fruit in its own days, the black bean after the pods drop, the fat fish when the wind turns — and a person who eats with the calendar never eats the country empty.

Mayi nyubun-nyubun wungar-ji bubu-ji nyungu-nyungu-ji, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, mara nyungu milbinya: junjun wungara nyungu-nyungu, baway diburr badanmuny, kuyu wandul-ji muyar murninya, bama nyulu nukal wungar-jinanji nyulu kariku bubu nganga-bungal.


<translate> You see the grass-tree resin here.


<translate> We two, not you, see the door there.


<glossary> yalkaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He's limping with sore on his feet

Nyulu yalkan-yalkan-yalkaji, jina bajiji


<translate> Grandmother followed the child along the road.


<translate> The dugong is hard to hunt and must be taken quietly on the still water, the old man said, for it hears the least sound and is gone in a moment.

Biwuy balbi buyun, jana janka mani bana wangkar-a, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu milka-janay junjuy-mu, wanarri buban-bu.


<translate> The policeman asked the young man about the grog.


<translate> Here, he said. My father showed me this place when I was small.

Yaluy, nyulu balkan. Ngayku nganjanangka nganya milbin, ngayu buban.


<glossary> milka-marri ; type=adjective ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> They have peace about that


<translate> Don't sit near the big crocodile's water; come back up onto the dry white sand!

Kari bunda bilngkumu bana ngundu! Kada-y-baja jukar marral-ka wangkar-a!


<translate> After bathing in the cool running creek, the old people lay down to rest in the deep shade of the big fig tree, the old man said.

Wawu-janji-nya-muny bana-jandu ngiki-ba, mukul-bama wuna bundanday ngumbu-ngumbu dajali-ba juku dukal yalbay-mba, mukul-dingkar balkan.


<translate> You all see the wurrbal fog there.


<translate> The two of them see the jingajalka tree there.


<translate> You hear the grunt sound here.


<translate> They dried the fish in the sun.

Jana kuyu yijarrin wungara, marralmanka.


<glossary> jungku ; type=noun ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> Queenie's house is on the end


<translate> The old woman with the strong hands wove the best bags.

Wulbumanangka junkurrjingka balji wukurrin.


<glossary> nganjar ; type=adverb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The child come to have some icecream (he didn't ask for it, just stayed to see if he would get some)

Nyulu karrkay nganjar kadan ice cream nukanka


<translate> We see the nyumbil coolibah tree there.


<translate> Yes, I know where the water is.


<glossary> jirrkalinku ; type=adverb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> I went through the gate


<translate> The two boys hit each other, and then they were friends again.

Warru jambul kuni-way, yalada jana jawun baja.


<translate> The policeman did not see me at all because he was fast asleep by the fire.

Buliman-angka nganya kari nyajin, warngku-wuna-nya baya karangkal.


<translate> "When did the old man die, and when did the people go from that river country forever?"

Wanjawanja mukul-dingkar wulan, wanjawanja bama bubu wawubaja-muny dungan wubulku-ku?


<translate> You saw the kurrujuwa sentry bird there.


<translate> In the wet season the women go out with their digging-sticks to dig the long yams from the soft ground by the river.

Kaba wungar-iji jalbu-jalbu juwal-jirr dunga, bambayal kalbay baka bubu wawubaja ngundu.


<translate> You all saw the spear thrower there.


<translate> The flood took the good canoe and left the leaky one, and the old man laughed at the river: you have taste! — and he built a better one out of the lesson.

Jalungkarrbu marrakan yukil manin, bawan mumbunmuny, mukulungku dingkarangka wawubajanka yajarr-man: yundu nganja-ji! — nyulu bungan yukil-baja binalmuny.


<translate> We see the mirrku kidney bird here.


<translate> The old man named every tree for the boy as they walked — this is bloodwood, this is oak, this is tea-tree — so the country would speak to him always.

Mukul-dingkarangka juku wubulku karrkay-nka burri jilba-nya — yinya babajaka, yinya dalban, yinya bijin — bubu nyungu-nka balka wubulku.


<translate> I see the sand whiting here.


<translate> The man put the stone on the ground.


<translate> The wives went down together to gather the shellfish along the reef while the husbands hunted the turtle beyond it, the old woman said.

Manyarr-karra bada muru dunga wurrul mani-nka dulngku-ba, dunyu-karra ngawiya balbi-balbi-nya dulngku-muny, mukul-jalbu balkan.


<translate> You and I see the three-pronged spear there.


<translate> You saw the maral-maral young girls here.


<glossary> kukujida ; type=noun ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> news mouth


<glossary> kurndal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> My legs sank down in the mud, can't pull them up again

Ngarri kurndan kambalkambalba. Can't kulbaji baja.


<translate> The frogmouth's wide flat mouth opens like a great trap in the night, the old man said, and it takes the beetles and flying insects right out of the air.

Bulnja-mu ngandal yalbay balbal wujurr-ba ngalkal-ma-l, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu ngirran minya buban-jirr jiri-muny mani.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> Do not play with the spear lest you hit the baby.

Kari kalka-ji nguju-wuri, yundu ngawa kuni-nyji.


<glossary> badi ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> the child cried for food


<translate> He came from the other side of the river.


<translate> The old man walked slowly up the mountain.


<translate> Who owns this country? No one man owns it; the country holds the people, the people do not hold the country. Ask the old ones — they will tell you the law.

Wanyamba nyiku bubu? Dingkar nyubun kari karrbal; bubu-ngku bama karrbal, bama-ngku bubu kari karrbal. Mukul-mukul babaji — jana yununy kuku balkal.


<translate> That kurunkal mangrove is there.


<glossary> yurru-janjil ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> The mud sucked the legs down


<translate> You saw the bayil jungle perch there.


<translate> During the night long ago, people sang songs.


<translate> A sapling stands near the camp.


<translate> The meat was shared by custom, each family getting its proper part, the hunters' families getting the best.

Minya dajiwan yala ngadiku, jawunkarra wubulku nyungu yala manin, balbibamamu jawunkarra ngulkurr bajaku manin.


<translate> The child cut himself on the sharp stone by the creek.

Karrkay yaka-ji kulji dandi-bu wawubaja karangkal.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kurmba-kurmba lizard there.


<translate> Sweep the ground clean, then set up the shelter, and light the fire just before the sun goes down.

Bubu kida, bayan ngara-nyjiku, baya jakalamba wungar bada dunga-nyjiku.


<glossary> nubiji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> The child went into the scrub and then got lost

Nyulu karrkay madjanga dungan, nubijinkuda


<translate> We, not you, saw the yalnga turtle there.


<glossary> kidal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> Sweep the dirt


<translate> The children asked their grandmother who had made the strong straight spear long ago.

Karrkay-karrkay-angka babi babajin, wanyangka kalka junkurr jinbal kalbay-muny bungan.


<translate> The old woman gave every child the very same, a fair share for each, so that not one of them could say she loved another more.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay wubulku nyubun dajin, mayi nyubun-nyubun-ka, bama nyubun kari balka nyulu kuru yindu-nka bajaku.


<translate> The old woman said the breadfruit and the other big-seed trees carry a heavy crop that must be processed with care, for the raw seed is bitter or poisonous and must be roasted, pounded, and sometimes leached in running water for a day before it is safe, but once processed it stores for months, so these trees fed the big gatherings that fresh food alone never could.

Wulbumanangka balkan burrin-burrin juku diburr-yalbay yindu baja karrbal mayi junkurr murni-manilka wawu-karrbabu, diburr jirakal ngambuy yambada wula-mabi dindanka nyurrbanka baja, wungar nyubun bana warri kuljinga wunanka baja ngadiku yukil, yaladaku karrbal wungar wubulku, juku yinya bangkarr-yalbay dayan mayi jirakal nganga kariku dayalmuny.


<translate> The grandchild brought fresh water and dry firewood to the old grandmother every morning, the old woman said, and sat down to listen to her talk.

Kaminjarr-angka bana jirakal juku-buri marral babi mukul-nka wunkuwingku nyubun-nyubun wundi, mukul-jalbu balkan, bunda nyungu balka milka-janay-nka.


<translate> The person here is generous.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> You two see the wubali yam here.


<translate> You all see the goose there.


<translate> The tree kangaroo is hard to see and hard to catch, high up in the dark rainforest canopy.

Murral nyaji-l buyun, mani buyun, wangkar-wangkar madja junkurr ngungul dukurr.


<translate> Mum got water from the river.


<translate> The black bean tree is standing in the scrub.


<translate> Take the bark in the wet season, she says.


<translate> The old man said a good elder held the whole kin-map of the people in their memory, could tell any two people exactly how they were related even across distant camps, could settle a marriage question or a dispute by knowing the lines, and this living memory was a treasure the people could not do without, so the old ones taught the genealogies to the young with the same care they gave the law, for a people that forgets its kin-map loses its very self.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan mukul yukil karrbal karra-bubu-jarray bama wubulku nyungu milkanga, balkal bama jambul nyubun-nyubun yala jana kajan bayan-kiway-mundu baja, dunyu-kuku kuni-kuku bada-manil karra-jina binalbu, yinya milka wula-mabi nyulu yamba-yukil bama nyulu kari nganga janaymuny, mukul jana milbin karra-jangkar warru-warra kuku yukil yala jana dayan, bama nyulu karra-bubu-jarray bawal nyulu nyungu-nyulu bada-manil.


<translate> The mud crab is in the water.


<glossary> kana-baykal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I'm angry at you


<glossary> jalngkun ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> The axe is very dull; sharpen it with a file

Axe dudu bajaku; jalngkun-bunga filemundu.


<translate> The eagle flies high in the sky, sees a fish in the water below, and drops down fast, catching it in its feet.

Wandi jarra-jarra jiri-nga marra-warri, nyulu kuyu bana-nga bada nyajin, bada daran bila, jina-bu karrban.


<glossary> badur ; type=noun ; domain=hunting-fishing-gathering <usage_example> I'm fishing (sitting with hook and line)


<translate> You two see the grasshopper here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the mali small bat here.


<translate> You all saw the running water here.


<translate> That star always rises in the east before the sun, he said, so it shows you which way to walk in the dark.

Yinya kurrubijal nakanga wandil yabarrka wungarmuny, nyulu balkan, yununda milbil wanjabu jilba wujurrbu.


<translate> The children listened, then went to sleep.

Karrkay-karrkay milka-janan, warngku wunanda.


<translate> The wuymbariji scrub tree is here.


<translate> Uncle went out with his dog.


<translate> He saw the kurranday seagull there.


<translate> The two brothers kept standing on the high hill, looking out over the wide sea for the fish.

Yaba jambul janjanay jamba kaka-nga, jalun kalbay nyaji-l-nyaji-l kuyu-ka.


<translate> The boy asked: What is this track, and this one, and this little one here? And his father named each animal for him one by one.

Karrkayangka babajin: Yinya jina wanyu, yinya baja, yinya buban nyiku? Nyungu dingkarangka minya wubulku burri milbin nyubun-nyubun.


<translate> They found Leichhardt-tree fruit.


<translate> We brought water from the house.


<translate> You saw the jayju kangaroo rat there.


<translate> The children kept coming and coming to the old man for stories, and he told them one after another until the fire burned low.

Karrkay-karrkay kankaday mukul-dingkar-nka kuku-nka, nyulu balka nyubun-nyubun-baja baya bada waju kariku.


<translate> You two see the yarrka bee here.


<translate> This one tree gives shade, sweet fruit, strong wood, and bark for the dilly bag.

Yanyu juku nyubun ngulkurr-baja: wabarr, jidu jiba-wula-wula, juku junkurr, dumbul ngunyin-ka.


<translate> You two see the rainbow there.


<translate> This water is no good — it comes out of the ground with a smell.

Bana yanya mumbu, nyulu wandil bubumuny jila-ji.


<glossary> kana ; type=noun ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> we are sitting inside the house


<translate> If the child is cold, light a fire.


<translate> You two see the seashore here.


<translate> Grandmother saw mother's face.


<translate> They saw the light bellied black snake here.


<translate> Little brother fell in the mud. Mum washed him in the river.

Yabaju kambal-kambalba daran. Ngamungku nyunguny julurrin wawubajanga.


<translate> Grandmother saw the rope in the shade.


<translate> By the time the first rain came that night, the whole family sat dry and warm inside, listening to it fall.

Kaba kadanya yinya kunarangkal, jawunkarra wubulku dukurr bundandan marral wumbul, kaba badinya milka-jananya.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the julaji freshwater catfish here.


<translate> Hold the baby — it might fall!


<glossary> ngurrbal ; type=noun ; domain=sky-weather <usage_example> I couldn't see, the heavy fog oblterated (the view)

Ngayu kari nyajin, ngurrbalda yalbaynja kanbin


<translate> He saw the bamboo spear stick here.


<translate> The white crane stands quiet in the shallow water of the swamp, then spears a fish with its long head.

Dulku daburri bana-buban-ba janan, janka wubul, yalada kuyu dukul-kalbay-bu daman.


<translate> When the tide went out, the children ran across the wet sand and gathered shells in their dilly bags.

Jalun dunganya, karrkay-karrkay warrin jukar dunanga, bulkiji bangkan baljinga wubulku.


<translate> The children played and then slept. In the morning they drank water.

Karrkay-karrkay kinkan, warngku wunan-da. Wunkuwingku jana bana nukan.


<translate> He sees the bamboo spear stick here.


<translate> Granny said: the sea is the boss out there.


<translate> The old man can no longer see, yet he still knows every track by the feel of his own feet.

Mukul-dingkar kari nyaji-l niji, yamba jina narmba binal, jina-bu nyaji-nya.


<lexeme> {'english': 'I put out the food on the table', 'translation': 'Ngayu mayi wamban tablebu'}


<glossary> jiray ; type=adjective ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I have a craving for a smoke


<translate> The fat white grub that lives deep in the rotting wood is one of the sweetest foods in the country, eaten alive and fresh or lightly warmed on the coals, and the old woman taught the children which trees hold them and how to split the wood along the grain to find the tunnel, and it was always the little ones who got the first taste, laughing.

Jambun wandul-jaji bana juku-kilba bada bajaku wunay nyulu mayi jiba-wulay ngadiku bubu wubulku, nukal jirakal yambada buban-buban wumbul-manin ngunjilba, wulbumanangka karrkay-karrkay milbin juku wanyu karrbal yala juku kakanka wukurr-mundu janku maninka, yabarrka karrkay buban jana nganja ngadiku manin, yajarrinya.


<translate> From the shade of the big tree the old man watched the whole camp and knew all that was done.

Juku yalbay wabarr-mundu mukul-dingkar bayan narmba nyajin, narmba yalama-nya binal.


<translate> We all, not you, see the windbreak there.


<translate> Don't touch that vicious dog, or it will bite you on the hand.

Kari yinya kaya kuli-ji karrba, yununy bayka-nyji mara-nga.


<glossary> mururr-mururr ; type=adjective ; domain=time-deixis <usage_example> We came the same time


<translate> Two turkeys ran quickly into the scrub when the camp dog came near them.

Diwan jambul madja-ka jinbal-baja warri, kaya ngundu kadan.


<translate> The old man taught the boys that the same word can name a thing changing on its own or a thing being changed by someone, for when the water grows cold in the night it grows cold by itself, but when a woman drops hot stones into it to warm it she is the one making it change, and knowing which is which — did it happen or was it done — is half of understanding any event at all.

Mukulungku dingkarangka warru-warru milbin kuku nyubun nyulu kunjal yamba nyulu-nyulu yindu-mal yambada yamba bama nyubunbu yindu-mani, bana kiway-mal wujurrba nyulu nyulu-nyulu kiway-mal, yambada jalbungku kulji wumbul yilbal bananga bana wumbul-bungalka nyulu nyubun yindu-manil, binalka wanyu wanyu, nyulu-nyulu yindu-mal yambada yindu-manin, nyulu jambul yamba nyubun binalka wubulku.


<translate> The evening walks the morning's road backwards, the old man showed the boys: the tools come home first of all, then the food to the fire, then the small ones to the blankets, then the stories, and the coals are covered then-and-only-then, when every other thing already sleeps, for the day is folded from its end to its top, not from its beginning.

Wujurr jilbal baral muduwajumuny muku-jinabu, mukulungku dingkarangka buban-buban milbin: yamba-murni-ngurr kaday bayanka, yalada mayi bayaka, yalada karrkay-buban kararrka, yalada kuku-jangkar, ngunjil nandanda yamba yindu wubulku wunanya, wungar nyulu murninmuny badamuny wangkarku, kari ngadikumuny.


<translate> They called the old man: "Old man!"

Jana mukul-dingkar kunjan: "Mukul-dingkar!"


<translate> The men went out past the reef to spear the big turtle in the deep blue water.

Dingkar jalun-ka dungay kulji-muny, ngawiya yalbay damanka bana-dukurr-ba.


<translate> The baby pulled granny's hair!


<translate> He sees the shellfish there.


<glossary> dakumbar ; type=noun ; domain=flora-tree <usage_example> This wood is good for woomeras


<translate> You and I saw the waterfall here.


<glossary> wawu jirray ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I love eating fish


<translate> His mother was afraid and carried him to the old woman, who knew the healing plants of the country.

Nyungu ngamu yinil, karrkay jarra-kulban wulbumanda, nyulu binal mayi ngulkurr-bungalmu bubumu.


<translate> The father's sister is here.


<translate> The old man said if you take only what you need and leave the rest to grow, the country will feed you forever, but if you take everything because you can, you eat well for one season and starve for ten, and the ground remembers which kind of person walked on it.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu manil nyubun yundu wawu bawal yindu bunganka, bubu yundu nukanka yabarrka, kaki yundu wubulku manil yundu murruji, yundu ngulkurr nukal nyubun wungara dakwuy wubul wungara, bubu binalku wanyu bama nyungunga jilbanmu.


<translate> I see the milbarkal tree there.


<translate> You all saw the spear point there.


<translate> We two, not you, see the mountain here.


<translate> You saw the ngurran rope here.


<translate> They saw the water gum tree there.


<translate> The old woman with the strong hands wove the best bags.

Wulbumanangka junkurrjingka balji wukurrin.


<translate> You and I see the jellyfish here.


<translate> The sun crosses toward kuwa every evening — even the sky has a favourite road home.

Wungar dungay kuwaku wujurr nyubun-nyubunba: jiribu baja baral bayanka nyungu-nyungu karrbal.


<translate> The children asked how long grief lasted, and the old woman said: It never fully ends, but it changes; sharp pain becomes a soft ache, and the soft ache becomes a warm remembering, and that you keep forever.

Karrkay-karrkayangka babajin jiba-badi yala kalbay janay, wulbumanangka balkan: Kari yukil dungay yabarrka, yambada murnil; kaka junkurr kaka bubanmanda, kaka buban wumbul binalku-manda, yinya yundu kujil yabarrka.


<translate> You two see the valley there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jiljay grub here.


<translate> He saw the jabil lizard here.


<translate> Cover the fire over well with sand before you leave the camp, the old woman said, in case the hot wind carries a live spark to the dry grass and burns the country.

Buri jukar-bu ngulkurr baya-l bayan-muny dunga-nyjiku, mukul-jalbu balkan, kunka bulkiji wumbul-bu buri karrkay wundi-nya jikan marral-ka bubu waju-nka.


<translate> The sea was rough and the canoe went this way and that way.

Jalun mulngkuji, marrakan dungan yarra, yarra.


<translate> The little children kept crying for their mother all through the long, cold, dark night.

Karrkay-karrkay banbadi ngamu-nka wujurr kalbay ngiki ngungul wubulku.


<translate> At the first sign of the cold season the family moved down to the coast: they gathered at the old shore camp, the men set the big nets in the channel and the women worked the reef, they smoked and dried the great catch for days, packed the dried fish into bark bundles, and then carried the winter food back up to the ranges before the first frost came.

kiway-kiway wungar ngadikungu jawun-karra jalun-mundu badan: bama jalun-bayan mukulba bangkan, dingkar makarr yalbay bana-dukurr-bu yijarrin jalbu jalun-ba kirrajin, kuyu yalbay kubu-manin kiway-manin wungar wubulku, kuyu kiway-kiway kambi-bundu-bu buwan, yalada kiway-mayi yumal-mundu wangkar jarrakulbanda jina-kiway ngadiku kadanya.


<translate> The old woman killed the long snake with a heavy stick and threw it away into the grass.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku jarba kalbay kunin juku kulngkul-bu, jikan-ka bunjan.


<translate> We saw the flower on the tree.


<translate> We two, not you, see the jingajalka tree there.


<translate> Tie your things firmly to a tree well above the tide line, lest the water rise higher than you judged in the night and carry your only way home out to the open sea.

Yamba wubulku jukungu junkurr kaji jalun wangkar-baja, bana kunarangkal wangkar-baja wanda-nyji yundu binalmuny, yamba wubulku jalun yalbay-mba wundal dunga-nyji.


<translate> From the top of the hill you can see the fire of every camp along the winding river.

Jamba wangkar-mundu yundu nyaji-l baya bayan narmba-mu wawubaja-burr.


<translate> The old man showed the boy how to make a good throwing-stick: he chose a curved branch of hard wood, cut it and stripped the bark, worked it down with a stone scraper to the right thickness, warmed it over the coals and bent the curve true, rubbed it with fat until it shone, tested the throw, and then gave it to the boy as his very first proper weapon.

Mukulungku dingkarangka buban milbin yala kali yukil bunganka: nyulu juku-murru junkurr manin, dakan wawun kudamundu, kulji-kunbir-bu murni-manin dandi yukilku, ngunjil wangkar wumbul-manin murru murni kajan, wandul-bu murni-manin dukul yukil, yilbal murni-nyajin, yalada buban dayan nyungu kalka ngadiku yukilku.


<lexeme> {'english': 'That food is very good', 'translation': 'Yinya mayi ngulkurr bajaku'}


<translate> The two women waded into the mangroves, felt in the mud with their feet, and pulled out big mud crabs.

Jalbu jambul kajulbu walan, jina-bu bubungu nyajin, ngalngal yalbay manin.


<translate> The dingo hunts in a family the way people do, the old man said, and its long call in the night is how the scattered ones find each other again across the dark country, and though we do not hunt beside it, we watch it and learn from it, for it reads the wallaby and the country as well as any hunter and wastes nothing that it takes.

Murramu balbil jawun-karra yala bama bungal, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, nyungu kuku kalbay wujurr jana yindu-yindu nyaji-wanmu baja bubu wujurr-bu, ngana kari nyunji balbil, ngana nyajil binalman nyungumuny, nyulu darrba bubu baja ngaral ngulkurr balbi-bama yala kari kudamundu manilmuny.


<translate> He sees the deep water there.


<translate> Turn your back to the wind when you open the coals — directions are tools; use the right one.

Muku muyarka murni ngunjil ngalkal-bunganya: kuku-jina jana yamba-murni: mana yinya yukil.


<translate> We two (not you) see the tongs there.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> The boys broke off green branches for the shelter.


<translate> The old woman looked at the boy and said: he looks just like a young pig, all round belly and quick little eyes.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay nyajin, balkan: nyulu yala walu-walu yala bikibiki buban, jibar murru-murru, miyil buban bila.


<translate> You all saw the jalbil lizard there.


<translate> You see the grey March fly here.


<translate> Don't touch that snake — its bite makes you very sick!

Kari yinya jarba karrba — nyungu jindal bambay-baja-bungal!


<glossary> kurru-jindaway ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> They're arguing about it


<translate> I see the exposed place here.


<glossary> ngarrku-ngarrku ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> That person is easy to get along with in working (If you ask him to do anything, he does it quickly)


<translate> The spirit of the dead man frightened the young hunter in the dark scrub late at night.

Dubu-ngku dingkar wula-nya-mu warru balbi-bama yararri-mani-n madja ngungul-ba wujurr-ba.


<translate> The stingray hides by becoming the floor — some strength is in the lying still.

Yawu ngakijil bubu-manya: junkurr nyubun-nyubun wunanya wunbu.


<translate> They put hot stones in the oven, then the wallaby, then paperbark on top.

Jana kulji wumbul mumban kurrmanga, kadar, buyku wuyar.


<translate> The woman saw the dog's tail.


<glossary> minji ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> The fire has a lot of flames shooting up


<translate> Grandmother made a new dillybag.


<translate> You see the yellow March fly here.


<translate> Lonely and alone are different countries: he walked alone all day and arrived home un-lonely.

Jirrbu-jirrbu nyubunji jambul bubu yindu-yindu: nyulu jilban nyubunji wungar wubulku, kadan bayanka jirrbu-jirrbu-kari.


<translate> The fish net lay at the sea.


<translate> He saw the marril ti tree there.


<translate> The little boy's tooth came out today, and he showed his mother the small white tooth in his hand.

Karrkay buban dirra bada dungan niji, nyulu ngamu dirra buban balbal mara-ba nyaji-mani.


<translate> You hear the barking sound there.


<translate> You and I saw the grasshopper here.


<glossary> balu ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> let the tea get cool


<translate> The tadpoles fill the little rock pools after the rain, and later they become the frogs that call at night.

Kubu-kubu kulji-bana buban-ba wubul kaba-muny, yalada yuday-mal, wujurr-ba yirrkanka.


<translate> I see the corkwood pine here.


<translate> We see the son's child there.


<translate> The old woman gave her dead husband's good dilly bag to their eldest young son.

Mukul-jalbu-ngka nyungu dunyu wula-nya-mu ngunyin ngulkurr warru jangkar-ka dajin.


<translate> This fruit on the tree is good.


<translate> You all saw the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> The woman tied the sack with rope.


<translate> Father followed me from behind.

Nganjan-angka nganya wukurrin kudamundu.


<translate> The blood and the bones and the flesh of every animal go back into the good country in the end.

Minya narmba-mu mula bajibay minya bubu ngulkurr-ka nyunba wubulku-ku.


<glossary> jururr-jururr ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> The policeman beat him repeatedly

Bulimanangka nyungun jururr-jururr kunin


<translate> The girl carried the cold water back to the camp, and everyone drank and was glad.

Maralangka bana kiway wundin bayanba, jana wubulku nukan, wawu-mini.


<translate> He saw the bajalji python here.


<translate> You two see the smoke there.


<translate> The dugong hunter waited very still by the water for a long time, watching the sea grass move.

Biwuy-balbi-bama bana karangkal dandi wunay wungar kalbay, bilanji-jalun nyajin, wanja bilanji warrin.


<translate> They see the pumice stone there.


<translate> The child's two front teeth fell out, and now she cannot bite the hard dry wallaby meat.

Karrkay dirra jambul ngandal-muny dara-n, niji nyulu kari minya marral junkurr bayka-l.


<translate> This is my spear, that is your dilly bag, and those are his dogs.

Yanyu ngayku kalka, yinya yunu ngunyin, yinya-rriny nyungu kaya-kaya.


<translate> Mother put water on grandmother's hand.

Ngamu-ngku bana yijarrin babi-nda mara-nga.


<translate> Grandmother told the girl to look after the baby.


<translate> The old woman taught the girl to read the signs of the coming weather: they watched the ants move their eggs to high ground, they saw the sky redden strangely at evening, they felt the wind swing round to the north, they noticed the birds fly low and restless, the old woman named each sign and what it meant, they moved the camp gear up under cover, and then the great rain came in the night just as she had said it would.

Wulbumanangka karrkay-jalbu milbin bana-wungar kadalmu burri nyajinka: jana minya-buban diburr wangkar-mundu murninya nyajin, jana jiri mula-mula murni kunarangkalba nyajin, jana muyar kungkarr-mundu murninya milkabu nyajin, jana jujubala bada janka-kari wandinya nyajin, wulbumanangka burri wubulku wanya yala balkan, jana bayan-yamba wangkar birra bada murni-manin, yalada bana yalbay wujurr kadan nyulu balkanmu yala.


<glossary> mambarril ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> You didn't let me go


<translate> In the cold dry season the yams are best, and the women dig them every day.

Ngiki dukurr-wungar-a bambayal ngulkurr-baja, jalbu bakan wungar nyubun-nyubun.


<translate> I saw the diwalngku bird there.


<translate> In one dry season the fish went far away and the camp lived on yams and patience, and when the rains turned the river over, the first catch tasted like a story with a good ending.

Marralba nyubunba kuyu dungan kala-kalbay, bayan juran juwalbu wawu-karrbabu, kaki kababu wawubaja murnin baja, kuyu ngadiku-maninmuny nganja nyungu yala kuku-jangkar bada yukil-ji.


<translate> He saw the marril ti tree here.


<translate> They see the deep water there.


<translate> You all saw the munungkul ground pigeon there.


<translate> When those brothers stand high overhead at first dark, the old man said, the cold season has truly come.

Yaba jambul wangkar jananya wujurrmanda, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, buluriji yukil kadan.


<lexeme> sharp corner in the upper reaches of Daintree River


<translate> They saw the spoon bill bird there.


<translate> Barking came; meanwhile the child slept.

Ngangkurr kadan, karrkay warngku wunan-kuda.


<lexeme> Nganjin dungan, ngingkirr nyajin


<translate> Mother asked grandmother about meat.


<translate> A boy told a lie about a broken spear, saying the dog had done it, but the old man knew the truth.

Karrkayangka kalka dumbarrin, warmbijin: kayangka dumbarrin, yambada mukul dingkar yukil binal.


<translate> The old man gave the prize — a good new spear — to the careful one, not the quick one.

Mukulungku dingkarangka mayi ngulkurr — kalka jirakal — dajin wunbunka, kari jinbalka.


<translate> We two, not you, see the wurrbal fog here.


<translate> Father laughed at the young man.


<translate> The children learned that warmth shared is warmth doubled, and cold faced together is only half as cold.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman: wumbul dajiwanmuny wumbul jambulmanil, kiway jambulku nyajinmuny kiway buban nganga.


<translate> We two, not you, see the lizard there.


<translate> The two of them saw the jungarr marsupial native cat there.


<translate> I saw the wuju grass sponge there.


<translate> This periwinkle is small but sweet; the children love to gather them.

Yanyu kunkun buban yambada jiba-wula-wula; karrkay-karrkay-angka wawu bangkal.


<translate> They heard the barking sound there.


<translate> I see the forest kingfisher.


<translate> Take the children down to the beach.


<translate> He has no cold; he got well again.


<translate> I went first, and then you came.


<translate> "Is your mother sitting in the camp? Or has she gone down to the water to get the food?"

Yunu ngamu bayan-ba bundan? Nyulu bana-ka bada dungan mayi manil-ka?


<translate> They saw the grasshopper here.


<translate> The old man said good people never scold each other in front of the children.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan bama ngulkurr kariku murru-kanga-way karrkay ngundu.


<translate> You all saw the kalmbangarr black diver bird there.


<translate> That child is sitting there.


<translate> The man asked the old woman: "Is that fish?" The old woman said: "No."

Dingkar mukul-jalbu-ndu babajin: "Yinya kuyu?" Mukul-jalbu-ngku balkan: "Kari."


<translate> He saw the karunkurr crested pigeon here.


<translate> They see the black snake here.


<translate> The old man said: your mother's brother is your uncle; he gives you your first spear and teaches you to hunt — that is his duty to his sister's children.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: nyungu kalnga yundu kalka ngadiku dayal, balbi binal-bungal, yinya nyungu kuku babarr-amu karrkay-karrkayka.


<translate> We two, not you, see the clam there.


<translate> That wood there is not rotten.


<glossary> duray ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> Sea turtles dig holes and cover them again without eggs; they trick people

Ngawiyangka bubu bakal, diburr kariku nandal baja; jana duraymal bamanka


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> The two brothers fought over the fish, but the old man spoke to them, and soon they made peace and shared the catch.

Yaba jambul kuyu-nka kuni-wan, yambada mukul-dingkarangka jananda balkan, jana ngulkurr-man, kuyu daji-wan.


<translate> They saw the kira baby girl there.


<translate> You all saw the kurkunbay butcherbird here.


<translate> You see the buyukal tree here.


<translate> The two brothers helped each other carry the heavy turtle up the steep sand to the camp, the old man said, for neither could lift it alone.

Yaba-jarra jambul mara-dajil-wari ngawiya kulngkul jukar jarra-jarra-ka jarra-kulba-nka bayan-ka, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyubun-bu kari wandi.


<translate> I take a spear just in case a pig comes.

Ngayu kalka wundil, nganganjirrka bikibiki kada-nya-mun-ku.


<translate> The woman saw the grey kangaroo.


<translate> The child saw the blue-tongue lizard on the open ground.

Karrkay-ngku bajabaja ngalkal-ba nyajin.


<translate> You all see the barracuda there.


<glossary> yala ; type=interrogative ; domain=interjection <usage_example> What about your older brother?


<translate> The old people shared out the food and gave it to the children.

Mukul-bama mayi-nga wambi-jin, karrkay-karrkay-nka dajin.


<translate> The old people talked and then rested. The next day they sang.

Mukul-bama balkan, wunanan-da. Wunkuny jana wulngku badin.


<translate> Father washed the baby's stomach.


<translate> You all saw the mawal bee here.


<translate> We see the fire stick there.


<translate> They saw the spoon bill bird there.


<translate> The person there is selfish.


<translate> The little baby crawled across the ground towards the warm fire, and the mother picked it up quickly.

Karrkay buban mara-warrin naka-naka bubu-ngu baya wumbul-ka, ngamu-ngku mani buyun-buyun.


<glossary> dudu ; type=noun ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> The knife is blunt, you should sharpen it


<translate> I went before the wind came.


<translate> The sick child got better after granny's remedy.

Karrkay bambay ngulkurrman wawu-kalbalmuny.


<glossary> jarmbil ; type=noun ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> The flood washed the tree away


<translate> That bingkajiri tree is here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the yalnga turtle there.


<translate> The old men kept telling and re-telling the story of the great flood again and again for many days.

Wulman-wulman kuku bana yalbay-mu balka-l-balka-n, jururr jururr baja wungar wubul-muny.


<translate> Is this yours or mine? — Ours, little one; that word ends most fights.

Yanya yunumuny yambada ngaykumuny? Nganamuny, bubanku: kukubu yinyabu kuniway wubulku kunbay-manil.


<translate> That blue spotted fantail ray is there.


<translate> He saw the kawarr bloodwood tree there.


<translate> You see the mother's father here.


<glossary> ngunya-ngunya ; type=noun ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I imagined I got a knife


<glossary> milka ngabal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> God will give them judgement


<translate> I asked my elder brother to make me a new spear.

Ngayu yaba-nda babajin, kalka buban bunga-nka.


<translate> The little wallaby is there.


<translate> The woman washed mother's shoulder.


<translate> Who will carry the message to the northern camp? I will carry it; I am young and my legs are strong. And what shall I say to them? Tell them the ceremony begins at the next full moon.

Wanyangka kuku kuwa-bayan-ka wundil? Ngayu wundil; ngayu warru, ngayku jina dandi. Wanyu ngayu jananku balka? Jana balka bubu-wungar kija yalbay-mba yudal.


<translate> We all, not you, see the marsupial native cat here.


<translate> You and I saw the bajabaja lizard there.


<translate> A girl came down badly out of a tree and twisted her ankle, and it grew big and hot, so her grandmother sat her in the cold running water of the creek, and the heat slowly went, and she bound the ankle close with soft bark, and for many days the girl learned to sit still, which the old woman called the ankle's own teaching.

Jalbu-buban kadan bada jukumuny mumbu, wulu nyungu murnin, wulu yalbay-man wumbul-man, babingka nyulu bundan bana kiway-kiwaymba wawubajanga, wumbul buban-buban dungan, nyulu wulu kajan murrba warrurbu kimabu, wungar wubulku jalbu-buban binalman wunbu bundanka, wulbumanangka yinya kunjan wulu nyungu-nyungu milbil.


<translate> You and I see the sandfly here.


<translate> The whole family slept close together under one big blanket, sharing their warmth against the long cold night.

Jawunkarra wubulku warngku wunan jambulku, bilangkurr yalbay nyubun badabada, wumbul dajiwanya kunarangkal kiway kalbaymuny.


<translate> If the old people are telling the old stories by the fire, the children must sit quietly and listen and not run about.

Kaki mukul-bama buri-ngka balka-balka, karrkay-karrkay janka bunda milka-janay, kari wanarri.


<translate> We, not you, saw the bajal bower bird there.


<translate> I saw the kira baby girl there.


<translate> You all see the sugar glider there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the kurrujuwa sentry bird there.


<translate> We see the baldy gum tree there.


<lexeme> someone who is continually talking


<translate> I brought the stick from the house.


<translate> He saw the dukunjulu golden whistler here.


<glossary> nyarrmal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> Snatch it quickly from his hand


<translate> He sees the straw-necked ibis there.


<translate> The Moreton Bay fig tree gives sweet ripe fruit that the children love to eat.

Baril-baril mayi jiba-wulay kulbul daji, karrkay-karrkay wawu nuka-nka.


<translate> The old man showed the boys how to find the mud clams by their breathing holes.

Mukul-dingkarangka warru-karra binal-bungan baymbay warrmba-bunga-nka nyungu janku-bu.


<translate> We all, not you, see the swamp there.


<translate> The old people sat and watched the young men dancing the corroboree by the great fire, the old man said, all through the long warm night.

Mukul-bama bunda nyaji-l-nyaji-n, warru-warru jurbu-jurbu-nya buri yalbay-mba, mukul-dingkar balkan, wujurr marri wumbul narmba.


<translate> On the coldest nights the whole family slept close together under the warm blankets.

Wujurr ngiki-baja jawun-karra wubul muru wunan, bilangkurr wumbul bada-ba.


<translate> I see the domestic turkey there.


<translate> The woman ground the hard seeds into meal on the big flat grinding stone by the camp.

Jalbu-ngku mayi junkurr murnin kulji yalbay-bu bayan ngundu.


<translate> The language gives every group its own small door, and the one who chooses the right door says welcome without saying it.

Kukubu bama-karra nyubun-nyubunka baral-ngandal buban dayal nyungu-nyungu, bamabu ngandal yukil manilmuny 'yulmbarri' balkal balkal-kari.


<glossary> bajaku ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> he's a real aboriginal


<translate> We, not you, saw the ngarkay waterhen here.


<translate> The young fellows threw stones into the water.


<translate> You see the small lizard here.


<translate> He saw the kurmba-kurmba lizard here.


<translate> You and I see the snail here.


<glossary> milka-wulay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I forgot about the dog


<translate> The woman found mussels there.

Jalbu-ngku mukirr yinyay-mba warrmba-bungan.


<translate> The old woman said every skill has its season for learning, and the child who will not practice the small dull tasks in the calm will not have the skill in the crisis, when there is no time to learn.

Wulbumanangka balkan: binal wubulku nyungu wungar binalka, karrkay nyulu kari kirraji buban jankanga ngaral kari nyulu binal karra yinilba, wanja kari wungar binalka.


<translate> That is how a camp stays strong, said granny: the young feed the old, and the old teach the young.

Yalaku bayan junkurr bundanday, babingka balkan: warru-warrungku kamba-kamba nukamanil, kamba-kambangka warru-warru binal-bungal.


<translate> You two saw the biyangkal yam there.


<translate> The child asked grandmother about the mango.


<translate> The child went to the shade with a stick.


<lexeme> bad spirit in form of crocodile


<translate> The old man said a good hunter tries again where he failed, and again, and again, and the country teaches him a little more each time.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: balbi-bama ngulkurr yudal-baja wanja nyulu kima-kari, yudal-baja, yudal-baja, bubu-ngku nyungu murni buban wungar nyubun-nyubun-ba.


<translate> That straw-necked ibis is there.


<translate> We see the scarlet robin here.


<translate> Did you eat the fish? Yes, I ate it all. Do you have any food left? No, my dilly bag is empty; that is why I am hungry now.

Yundu kuyu nukan? Yuwu, ngayu wubul nukan. Yundu mayi baja karrbal? Kari, ngayku balji maru-maru; yinya-nka ngayu dakwuy.


<translate> We saw the bajarr fern leaves here.


<translate> I quickly killed the snake before it might bite me.

Ngayu jarba jinbal-da-ku kunin, nganya bayka-nyjiku.


<translate> You saw the kurrujuwa sentry bird here.


<translate> Who will carry the water back to the camp for the old people?

Wanyangka bana bayan-ka wundil, mukul-bama-nka?


<glossary> bila ; type=particle ; domain=manner <usage_example> a person in a hurry


<translate> We two, not you, see the black-tip shark here.


<translate> You saw the kakaji mangrove tree there.


<translate> They saw the spear thrower here.


<translate> You and I saw the dawa-dawa magpie there.


<translate> You saw the running water there.


<translate> You sit first, and then I will sweep the ground.

Yundu-ngurr bunda-y, ngayu bubu kidal-da.


<translate> The black-bean tree drops big seeds in the wet, the old woman said, but they are poison raw and must be sliced, soaked in the river many days, and roasted.

Baway juku diburr yalbay dara kaba-ba, mukul-jalbu balkan, yamba nganjil-ba buyun, yundu baka-baka, bana-ba wuna wungar wubul, waju.


<translate> The food there is not sticky.


<translate> The two of them saw the walkarr goanna here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the bujabay tree there.


<translate> The old woman said a good trade leaves both sides feeling they got the better of it, and a bad trade leaves both feeling cheated, and the difference is not in the goods exchanged but in the spirit in which they were given.

Wulbumanangka balkan: daji-way ngulkurr jambulku milkabu baykan jana ngulkurr-baja manin, daji-way mumbu jambulku milkabu baykan jana warmbin, murni kari yamba daji-wanmuny, yambada wawu jana dajinba.


<translate> They saw the black kangaroo there.


<glossary> janbangaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> he'll keep the ball


<translate> The bottlebrush tree is dry.


<translate> They saw the kalburiji bee there.


<translate> The girl overcooked the food.


<translate> There are many plant shoots on the tree.


<translate> You and I see the ghost crab there.


<translate> You all see the wankar tree here.


<translate> The old woman said different woods make different fires: the ironwood gives few flames but coals that last all night for the earth oven, the light dry wood flares fast and hot to boil water quickly, and the green wood gives smoke to signal or to keep the biting flies away, so a good fire-tender knows the trees.

Wulbumanangka balkan: juku yindu-yindu baya yindu-yindu bungal: jujubala buban wula daji ngunjil nyulu wujurr wubulku kurrmanka, juku kiway-kiway buban wula warri wumbul bana warri balamunka, juku duna kubu daji kubu-kukuka jibar kala-kalbay karrbanka baja, baya-bama yukil juku binal.


<translate> Walk slow and flat on the sea stones, the old man taught, and look twice at every stone, lest the stonefish poke you the way it poked old Sore-Foot long ago, for the points of the sea hide themselves among plain stones, and the hurrying foot cries longest.

Jilba buban-buban jalun kuljinga, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin, nyaji jambulku kulji nyubun-nyubun, murrajabu yununy bakanyji yala nyulu jina-baji bakan ngadiku, murru jalunmuny ngakiji kulji ngangaba, jina warri-warri nyulu badi kalbay bajaku.


<glossary> wuban ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> pulled with all our strength


<translate> The pair of little girls, sisters always side by side, sang the old song together softly.

Maral-bulal muru balkan kuku mukul, bula wungar wubulku muru janka.


<translate> I took the dog's food to camp.


<glossary> yirrnga ; type=noun ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> When you have your labour pains, go to the hospital


<translate> The dog saw the little bird in the grass and chased it up into the tall, dark tree.

Kaya-ngka buyi buban nyajin jikan-ba, kangan juku kalbay ngungul wangkar.


<translate> The child came from the scrub.


<translate> The friend stayed down there.


<glossary> ngingal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> Don't taste that dog (he'll) bite (you)


<glossary> kuyu ; type=noun ; domain=fauna-fish <usage_example> I'm going fishing


<translate> You two saw the jingajalka tree there.


<translate> The dog chased the possum. The possum climbed the tree.

Kayangka yawa kangan. Yawa jukungu dakan.


<translate> You see the jalnji tree here.


<translate> His mother called and called, but the boy was small and the scrub was big, and soon the sun went down.

Ngamungka yirrkan-yirrkan, yambada karrkay buban, madja yalbay, wungar bada dunganda.


<translate> You two saw the barramundi here.


<glossary> wanjarrku ; type=interrogative ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> How did you come?


<translate> I saw the makirr yellow ochre there.


<glossary> nbuyun-birrku ; type=adverb ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> I'll deliver it only once


<translate> The baby slept in the house.


<translate> You and I saw the lightning here.


<translate> We see the kurruba freshwater fish here.


<translate> The young men went through the grass.


<translate> The old man said his father, his father's father, and he himself all speak with the very same voice in the old songs.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: nyungu nganjan, nyungu ngaji, nyulu-baja wubulku kuku nyubun-bu balka wulngku ngadiku-ba.


<translate> You see the spoon bill bird here.


<translate> You two see the karraway snail there.


<translate> The mother's older sister is there.


<translate> Listen! The old people are talking.


<translate> The children went out into the cold grey morning without their warm sleeping blankets.

Karrkay-karrkay wunkuwingku ngiki-ka ngalkal-ka dungan bilangkurr wumbul-mundu.


<translate> The old man said the vine that gives good drinking water in the dry country has saved more lives than any spear, for a certain thick vine cut and held up drips clean cool water enough to keep a person going, and he made every boy learn to tell the water-vine from the many that look like it, for a mistake there in a dry place is a mistake a person makes only once.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan kalal bana yukil dayal bubu-kiway nyulu bama wula-manin ngulkurr-baja kalka wubulmuny, kalal junkurr nyubun kakan wangkar karrbanya bana yukil kaka badanya bama nyubun jarrakulbalku, nyulu warru wubulku milbin bana-kalal balkanka kalal wubulmuny nyulu yala nyajilmuny, mumbu yinya bubu-kiwaymba nyulu mumbu bama nyubun bungal nganga.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the karrkurr frog here.


<glossary> janay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> The children are standing in front of the school

Jana kaykay-kaykay janjanay jakalba school


<translate> You two saw the karrandal tree there.


<translate> The two of them saw the bajalji python here.


<translate> The children found the sweet honey and ate it happily by the fire.

Karrkay wunba jiba-wula-wula milbin, nukal ngulkurr baya karangkal.


<translate> The child ran down to the water, jumped straight in, and swam across to the other side.

Karrkay bana-ka warri, bada dungan, janji-l yindu-mundu.


<translate> How do you make the fire come right out of the two dry rubbing-sticks, the child asked, and the old man showed him the way very slowly.

Wanjarr yundu buri juku duna-kari jambul-muny ngalkal-ma-l? karrkay nyajin, mukul-dingkar-angka nyunguny jina binal-bungal janka bajaku.


<glossary> kurndal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> My legs sank down in the mud, can't pull them up again

Ngarri kurndan kambalkambalba. Can't kulbaji baja.


<translate> I saw the children up there.

Ngayu karrkay-karrkay nyajin wangkarwangkar.


<translate> The two of them saw the jungka wild cherry tree here.


<translate> The men speared mullet in the shallow water.

Dingkar-dingkarangka ngalkun daman bananga bubanba.


<translate> You two saw the jiwurrmal pheasant cuckoo there.


<translate> Grandfather's shoulder is dry.


<translate> The centipede has many little legs and crawls quickly across the dark floor of the shelter.

Birinjil jina wubul buban, bayan-ba wujurr-ba jinbal-baja mara-warri.


<translate> The native companion steps high through the shallow water at the edge of the swamp.

Kurrbal bana buban-ba wangkar-a jina karrba-l, wawubaja karangkal dunga-y.


<translate> He sees the ridge pole there.


<translate> The old woman said a good question at the right moment can turn a whole life, and she told of the time an elder asked her, when she was young and about to make a bad marriage out of fear of being alone: are you choosing him, or are you only running from the empty house, and that single question, she said, stopped her and saved her from years of sorrow she never had to live.

Wulbumanangka balkan kuku yukil wungar yukilba nyulu wawu kalbay wubulku yindu-manil, nyulu balkan wungar mukul nyulu babajinmuny, nyulu warru-manda nyulu dunyu mumbu maninka yinil nganga janayka: yundu nyulu manil, yambada yundu nganga bayan yamba-kari-muny warri, yinya kuku nyubun, nyulu balkan, kajan nyulu wula-manin nyulu wungar wawu-mumbumuny nyulu kariku janaymuny.


<translate> The old man said in the end all roads are like one road, for every track a person walks leads back at last to the one country.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: badanga jina wubulku yala jina nyubun, jina wubulku bama jilba-nya nyunba bubu nyubun-ka kala-kalbay-muny.


<translate> We see the julbal tree there.


<translate> We two, not you, see the ridge pole there.


<translate> You and I saw the pumice stone here.


<translate> The people gather together here every year when the sweet fruit ripens in the warm hot season.

Bama yala muru kaday wungar-iji narmba, mayi jiba-wulay kulbul-ma-nya wumbul-ba.


<translate> When will you come back in the hot season?


<translate> We all, not you, see the shin there.


<translate> You all saw the kungkun snake here.


<glossary> majamal-majamal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> He is too bossy


<translate> I should have watched the net, but I fell asleep on the warm sand, and the birds took two of the mullet.

Ngayu makarr nyaji-nyaku, yambada ngayu jukara wumbulbu wunan, dikal ngalkun jambul manin.


<translate> The old woman said the tree-line where the rainforest meets the open woodland is the richest hunting and gathering ground of all, for it holds the plants and animals of both worlds at once, the deep-scrub foods and the open-country foods, the shade-lovers and the sun-lovers, so the old camps clustered along this tree-line, and a person who learns to read the edge learns the whole country twice over.

Wulbumanangka balkan juku-muru wanja majaji ngalkal-bubu nyaji-way nyulu balbil bangkal-bubu yukil bajaku wubulmuny, nyulu mayi minya bubu jambulmuny nyubunku karrbal, majaji-dukurr mayi bubu-yaral mayi baja, wabarr-wawu-bama jiri-wawu-bama baja, bayan mukul juku-muru yinya-mundu bangkan, bama nyulu muru ngaranka nyulu bubu wubulku binalman jambulku.


<translate> Why did the men leave so very early in the morning, before the sun had even come up?

Wanyurringku dingkar wunkuwingku-baja dungan, wungar wandi-nyjiku?


<translate> The girl watched her mother gathering the ripe figs from the tree, the old woman said, holding the dilly-bag open wide beneath the heavy branch.

Jalbu-ngku ngamu nyaji-l-nyaji-n, junda kulbul muja-l-muja-nya juku-muny, mukul-jalbu balkan, ngunyin ngamban karrba dakil kulngkul bada-ba.


<translate> The kids played on the sand until the sun went down.

Karrkay-karrkay jukara kinkan. Wungar dungan, jana bayanba kadanda.


<translate> The old woman brought food to camp.


<translate> The dog chased the wallaby into the scrub, but the wallaby was fast and ran off across the river.

Kayangka kadar madjanga kangan, yambada kadar warri, wawubajaburr dungan.


<translate> The scrub hen builds a mountain for her eggs and never sits on them — the warmth you have made does its own work, she teaches.

Jarrukabu bubu-yalbay bungal diburrka nyungu, nyulu kariku bundal jananga: wumbul yundu bunganmuny nyulu murni nyungu murnil, nyulu milbil.


<translate> We two (not you) saw the fighting spear here.


<translate> The green tree snake is thin like a vine, but it is not dangerous.

Kalkamuku buban yala karra, yambada kari bambay-bungal.


<translate> The satin bower bird's feathers shine deep glossy black like still deep water, the old man said, and it loves everything dark and steals it for its bower.

Jurriyan-mu nangki balbal ngumbu yala bana dajali janka, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu ngumbu wubulku kuru-jirr, yanyul-bubu-nka mani.


<translate> We all, not you, see the spear barb there.


<translate> I saw the bamboo spear stick here.


<translate> I saw the dilly bag on the road.


<translate> The people of this place gave food.


<lexeme> {'english': "He's well now after being sick", 'translation': 'Nyulu bambaymun ngulkurrda'}


<translate> He saw the bujil-yiran ibis there.


<translate> I saw the dakwurr-dakwun hammer bird there.


<translate> You all see the small sticks here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the kabuljaka snake there.


<translate> The child broke the stick with a stone.


<translate> You see the reflection here.


<translate> The old man said: A people who waste nothing and thank everything will never empty the country, but a people who waste and forget will soon have nothing left at all.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: bama nyulu nyubun kari yilbal, yambayamba ngulkurr balkal, kari bubu kilbal yabarrka; bama nyulu yilbal, milka-wulal, ngadiku yamba-kari janay.


<glossary> dudu ; type=noun ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> The knife is blunt, you should sharpen it


<translate> The old man could tell direction by many signs: the moss on the southern side of the trees, the way the ridges ran toward the sea, the flight of the birds at evening, and the taste of the wind, and he never once was lost.

Mukulungku dingkarangka bubu binal wubulku wari-bu: juku naka-nakamu miyil, yumal yala jalun-mundu warrinya, jujubala kunarangkalba wandina, wangkarmu jandal, nyulu kariku nyubun bubu-kari janay.


<translate> You saw the karranda tree here.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> Who is looking after the little ones today?


<translate> They made the big fire with dry bark and dry wood in the cold, dark evening.

Jana baya yalbay bungal dakil marral-bu juku marral-bu wujurr-ma-nya ngiki-ba.


<translate> That cherry-like tree is there.


<glossary> bajaku ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> he's a real aboriginal


<translate> The kuji-kuji tree is there.


<glossary> yuku ; type=adjective ; domain=dimension-size <usage_example> Bring all the meat home (don't cut it up and leave some)


<translate> In the warm season the sea turtle comes up onto the sand at night to make her young, and the people watch the beach and wait.

Wungar-iji ngawiya jukar-ka daka wujurr-ba karrkay bunga-nka, bama jukar nyaji-nyaji bunda.


<translate> The two of them saw the moon there.


<translate> The old man taught the children by asking them questions: What kind of bird is that, he asked, and where does it live, and what does it eat?

Mukulungku dingkarangka karrkay-karrkay milbin babajilbu: Yinya buyi wanyunguy, nyulu babajin, wanjabu nyulu bundanay, wanyu nyulu nukal?


<translate> The old woman kept stirring the paste in the bark dish, mixing in water little by little, until it was smooth and ready to cook.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku mayi murni-murni dumbul-ba, bana kaja buban-buban, nyulu ngulkurr waju-nka kariku.


<translate> They saw the kunjarri palm there.


<translate> The eagle flies higher than all the other birds and sees the whole country from the top of the sky.

Wandi jarra-jarra-baja marra-warri buyi yindu wubul-ku, bubu wubulku jiri-dukul-muny nyajil.


<translate> I saw the murral tree kangaroo here.


<translate> I took mother's clothes to camp.


<translate> If you share your food freely with others, the old woman said, then in the hungry time others will share their food with you.

Kaki yundu nyungu mayi bama yindu-nka daji, mukul-jalbu balkan, dakuy-wungar-a bama yindu-ngku yundu-nka mayi daji.


<glossary> ngangkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The stranger doesn't know the road

Nyulu ngarrbal ngangkal-ngangkal baralka


<translate> The old man asked the traveller: "Where are you going now, and where have you come from today?"

Mukul-dingkar-angka bama dunga-nya babajin: Yundu wanjabu dunga-y niji, yundu wanjamuny kadan?


<translate> The children watched the moon each night and learned to tell the days by it, from one full moon to the next.

Karrkay-karrkayangka kija nyajin kunarangkal wubulku, wungar binalman kijabu, kija yalbaymuny kija yalbayka.


<translate> The girls gathered firewood; the boys got water; granny cooked.

Maral-maralangka baya bangkan; dabalangka bana manin; babingka mayi wayjun.


<translate> The old people read the whole country like this, she said — the flowers, the winds, the stars, all telling the same story of the turning year.

Kamba-kamba bubu wubulku yala nyajin, wulbumanangka balkan — nganka, muyar, dawar, yambayamba nyubun kuku balkal wungarmu murnimu.


<translate> You all saw the jalkay salmon here.


<translate> You see that marrabal ti tree.


<translate> He caught a fish first, then speared a turtle.


<translate> You all saw the kinga caterpillar there.


<translate> The two of them saw the julbal tree there.


<translate> Who taught you to make fire? The old man taught me; he showed me how to twist the fire-stick until the dry grass caught alight.

Wanya yundu baya jakalamba binal-bungan? Mukul-dingkarangka nganya binal-bungan, nyulu nganya milbin jimal murnil jikan marral kunjin-man.


<translate> You all saw the mulumu dove there.


<translate> We all, not you, see the bandicoot here.


<translate> A tree with many big leaves stands there.

Juku birra-jirr jabajaba-jirr yinyay janjanay.


<translate> The two of them saw the barka snake there.


<translate> The two of them see the marril ti tree there.


<translate> The canopy on that tree is big.


<translate> The firestick, the grinding stone, and the digging stick are the tools of the daily work of the camp.

Jidi, kulji murni-nka, juwal, narmba bayan-mu balbi-mu wungar-wungar.


<translate> You all see the wankar tree there.


<translate> We see the small sticks there.


<translate> The two old women talked together by the fire while the children stayed quiet.

Mukul-jalbu-bulal balkalawan baya ngundu-ba, karrkay-karrkay janka bundanday.


<lexeme> {'english': "He's well now after being sick", 'translation': 'Nyulu bambaymun ngulkurrda'}


<translate> I see the bamboo stick here.


<glossary> minji ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> They went real fast, the boat made a big splash (bow wave) (as it goes along fast)

Jana jinbalku dungan, buwunda bana minji-kangan


<translate> The old woman said the low tide at dawn is the best time to glean, when the reef is bare and cool and the water is still and clear.

Mukul-jalbu balkan: ngajal wunkuwingku-ba ngulkurr bajaku bangka-nka, dulngku ngalkal ngiki-ba, bana janka balbal.


<translate> You see the native cat there.


<lexeme> want something but can't get it


<translate> My mother's older sister raised me when my own mother was sick.

Ngayku mukayangka nganya bungan, ngayku ngamu bambay-nya.


<translate> You see the flat-tailed ray here.


<translate> We see the mother's brother there.


<translate> The old man said the wise person does not resent this dependence but rejoices in it, for to need others is to be woven into the living cloth of a people, and the only person who needs no one is the one lying alone and cold in the ground.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: bama binal yinya kajinka kari dukul-wuri, yambada wawu-mini, bama yinduka wawu yala bama nyubunmu kambinga wukurrinmuny, bama nyulu nyubun kari bama yinduka wawu nyulu nganga wunay kiway bubungu.


<translate> By evening the raft was finished and the men pushed it into the water to see if it would float.

Yilay-yilay marrakan ngulkurrmanda, dingkar-dingkarangka bananga jurrngan, nyajinka wangkar bundandal kari.


<translate> The grandfather named the new grandchild after his own long-dead father, the old man said, in the old way of the people, so the name would live on.

Kami-ngku kaminjarr jirakal nyungu nganjan wula-nya kalbay-muny-mu burri-mani, mukul-dingkar balkan, yalaku kalbay-muny-mu, burri wuna-nka.


<translate> The children learned that to comfort a grieving person you do not need the right words, for there are no right words; you need only to be there, and to stay, and to let them not be alone.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman bama jiba-badi wunbu-bunganka yundu murruji kuku yukil, kuku yukil kari janay; yundu ngundu janay nganga, bundanay, nyulu kari nganga janay bawal.


<translate> Uncle pulled the canoe onto the sand and tied it to a tree.

Kalngangka marrakan kulban jukara, jukungu kajanda.


<translate> The boss talked with the young men about the net and the spear.

Maja warru-warru-nji balkalawan, makarr-ka kalka-ka balkan.


<glossary> mulkay-warri ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I watched them playing and I felt happy

Ngayu jananiin nyajin ngujurinya, ngayu mulkay-warrin


<translate> Rain for three days; then the sun came out.


<translate> You two see the smouldering log here.


<translate> You all see the swamp there.


<translate> The old man said the tree hollow is a home to half the creatures of the country, and a careful person reads which hollow holds what: the possum's warm dry den high up, the python's cool ledge, the bird's nesting hole, the bee's honey-store, the goanna's retreat, so that a single dead tree full of hollows is a whole village of animals, and worth more standing than fallen.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan juku-dimbirr nyulu bayan minya bubu jambulmuny, bama binal nyulu nyajil dimbirr wanyu wanya karrbal: yawa nyungu wumbul dandi bayan wangkar, bajalji nyungu kaka janka, buyi nyungu bayan-janku, dabu nyungu wunba-karrban, jadi nyungu buyan, juku nyubun wula-mabi dimbirr-mabi nyulu bayan-yalbay minyamu, ngulkurr-baja janan badanmuny.


<translate> He sees the ghost crab there.


<translate> The king parrot is red and eats the seeds of the scrub trees, and it flies quietly from one tree to the next.

Karrambil ngala-ngala, juku ngalkal-bubu-mu diburr nukan, juku-ngu juku-ngu marra-warri janka.


<translate> The old people's stories belong to this country and to no other place at all.

Mukul-bama-mu kuku bubu yinya-ka, bubu yindu-ka kariku.


<translate> We all, not you, see the windbreak there.


<translate> They see the murral tree kangaroo there.


<translate> Mother left the rope in the bag.


<translate> The boy told the old man in a whisper because the baby was sleeping near the fire.

Karrkay mukul-dingkar-nka yayngkarabu balkan, ngawa warngku wunan baya ngundu-ba.


<lexeme> child who has just learned to talk


<translate> The fresh water lily is there.


<translate> I brought paperbark from the house.


<translate> Count the people before the crossing and after it — the river takes the uncounted first of all.

Kunja jawun-karra bana-baral ngadiku badaku baja: wawubajabu bama kunjanmuny-kari manil ngadiku-ngurr.


<translate> You saw the walkarr goanna there.


<translate> Ask her — my version has been out in the sun too long.

Babaji nyulu: kuku-jangkar ngayku janan wungara kalbay bajaku.


<translate> Green ant is a remedy for colds.


<translate> You all saw the three-pronged spear there.


<glossary> wawu jirray ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I love eating fish


<translate> Grandfather sees the open ground there.


<glossary> wanjarr ; type=interrogative ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> How much water should I get?


<translate> The bright kingfisher sits very still on the branch, watching the little fish down below.

Dabuy juku dakil-ba bunda-l, kuyu buban bada nyaji-l.


<translate> I have no money, no dog, and no camp; I am a poor man, with nothing at all in this world.

Ngayu mani-kari, kaya-kari, bayan-kari; ngayu dingkar buyun, yamba-kari narmba yala bubu-ngu.


<translate> The old man said: I have lived a long life in a hard country, and I have seen friends die who were braver and stronger than me, and the only reason I am still here is that I was careful when it counted.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: Ngayu kalbay wawu bundan bubu dandinga, ngayu yaba wulan nyajin jana wawu-junkurr-baja ngayamuny, junkurr-baja ngayamuny, ngayu nyiku nganga janay nyubun kuku nganga: ngayu nyaji-nyaji wanja yamba dandi.


<lexeme> that's nonsense, take no notice


<translate> Three long days passed, and still the two young men did not return from the far hunt.

Wungar kalbay kulur dungan, warru jambul kariku kadan balbi kala-kalbay-muny.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kalkarrumbarr lizard here.


<translate> Pour the water into the billycan.


<translate> Sit down, eat slowly — the food is not running away.

Bunda, nuka buban-buban, mayi kariku warri.


<glossary> bibi ; type=noun ; domain=body-part <usage_example> The baby is crying, he wants to feed


<translate> Set up the shelters before dark!


<translate> You hear the barking sound there.


<translate> The two of them saw the walmbi-walmbiji left-handed person here.


<translate> The old people know all the kin names and how everyone is related.

Mukul-bama kuku-jawun wubul binal, wanya wanya-nji jawun.


<translate> The young men painted themselves for the dance.


<translate> The turkey ran fast along the ground when the dog chased it, and then flew heavily up into a low tree.

Wungku bubu warri kayangka jirrku-manya, yalada wangkar juku-buban marra-warri kulngkul.


<translate> The old man said a thing is only big or small next to another thing, and a person only rich or poor next to another, so a wise person compares themselves to no one and is content.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: yamba yalbay buban nganga yamba yindu ngundu, bama ngulkurr mumbu nganga bama yindu ngundu, bama binal nyulu-nyulu bama nyubunmuny kari milbi-ji, wawu ngulkurr janay.


<translate> I see the scrub goanna there.


<translate> They see the ngadil hickory tree there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the bajal bower bird there.


<glossary> baja-burray ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> I'm tired after the walkabout


<translate> The old woman said: Sickness comes to everyone; a good camp cares for its sick, and a person is never left to lie alone.

Wulbumanangka balkan: Bambay bama wubulkunka kadan; bayan ngulkurr nyungu bambaybama nyajil, bama kari nganga wunay yabarrka.


<translate> We took the dog's food to camp.


<translate> The child asked grandmother about the song.


<translate> The old man said talking is how people find each other in the dark: two people who talk long enough will always discover the ground they share, and standing on that shared ground, they can build anything.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: balka-way yala bama nyubun-nyubun nyajil wujurrbu: bama jambul jana kalbay balka-wanya jana yabarrka bubu jana daji-way nyajil, yinya bubungu janay, jana yamba wubulku bungal.


<translate> The flames rose high, and smoke went through the camp.

Wula wangkar-a wandin, kubu bayan-burr dungan.


<translate> Branches fell from the tree.


<translate> The sand crabs dig many little holes along the beach, and the old woman knows a crab lives in each one.

Ngalngal janku buban wubul bakan yalmba-nga, wulbuman binal ngalngal nyubun-nyubun-ba wunay.


<translate> We saw the spear point there.


<glossary> kala-jalamal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He jumped over (the mud) on the rocks


<translate> The grandmother taught the girl: if you gather food, leave some, so the country will feed your children.

Babingka jalbu binalbungan: kaki yundu mayi munja, bada baja bawa, bubu nyulu karrkay-karrkay dayanka.


<translate> My brother-in-law is a good hunter, but he talks far too much.

Ngayku banji balbi-bama ngulkurr, yambada nyulu kuku-baka.


<translate> We saw the mackerel sky there.


<translate> Wait for us two! Our legs are short but our reasons are long.

Janay ngalinka! Jandal ngalimuny buban yambada wawu ngalimuny kalbay.


<translate> Cook the meat right through on the coals, the old woman said, lest the half-cooked meat make you sick in the night.

Minya kubu-ba ngulkurr waju, mukul-jalbu balkan, minya waju-kari yundu bambay-mani-nyji wujurr-ba.


<translate> Turtle eggs tonight — the children danced on the sand!

Ngawiyamu diburr nyiku — karrkay-karrkay wurin jukara!


<translate> Long ago the two mobs always used to come together for the big ceremony when the food was plenty.

Kalbay-muny bama-jambul kankaday muru wungar yalbay-ka, mayi wubul-ma-nya.


<glossary> ngakil ; type=noun ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> The old man stole the firewood


<translate> They see the kunkun periwinkle here.


<translate> The bush curlew cries out in the black of the night, the old woman said, a long sad wailing call, and the children pull the blankets over their heads.

Kuyir wujurr ngumbu-ba yirrka, mukul-jalbu balkan, yirrka marri jiba-badi, karrkay-karrkay bilangkurr walu-ba wandi.


<translate> The children asked: "Who will teach us the old law and the true stories now that the grandfather is dead?"

Karrkay-karrkay babajin: Wanyangka ngaliny kuku mukul yukil balka, kami wula-nya niji?


<translate> That water is rather cold this morning, so let us two carry the baby to the warm fire.

Bana yinya jarra-ngiki wunkuwingku; ngali ngawa baya wumbul-ka wundi-l.


<glossary> bila ; type=particle ; domain=manner <usage_example> a person in a hurry


<translate> The Leichhardt tree is standing there.


<translate> You two see the tree kangaroo there.


<translate> They saw the mawul freshwater eel here.


<translate> Never follow a bird into the deep scrub alone, said granny, but the boy was already fast asleep.

Babingka balkan: kari buyi wukurrika madja badaka nyulurrku; yambada karrkay warngku wunan baja.


<translate> The old man watched the pig from up the tree, then climbed down and followed its fresh tracks.

Mukul-dingkar bikibiki nyajin juku-mundu, bada dakan, jina wukurrin.


<glossary> kakawarri ; type=adverb ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> He sang well then


<translate> Walk carefully on the sand, lest the stingray hurt your foot.

Jukar-a janka jilba, yawu yununy jina bambay-bunga-nyji!


<translate> The frogs are singing — rain is coming.


<translate> There are lots of fish in the sea.


<translate> Grandmother left the bark outside.


<translate> The girls tasted each food and said the roasted yam was the sweetest of all.

Maral-maralangka mayi wubulku nukan, balkan: wukay dindan jiba-wulay bajaku.


<translate> How many spears do you have? I have three: one for fish, one for war, one for the big game. Which one is the oldest? The war spear; my grandfather carried it.

Wanjarrinya kalka yundu karrbal? Ngayu kulur karrbal: nyubun kuyu-nka, nyubun kuni-nka, nyubun minya yalbay-nka. Wanya ngadiku-nyubun? Kuyan; ngayku kami wundin.


<translate> I see the karrandal tree here.


<translate> The person there is stubborn.


<translate> He saw the dijarr freshwater perch here.


<translate> They came from the other side of the river; we did not know them; but they spoke our language, so we welcomed them and fed them.

Jana ngubar-muny kadan; ngana janangan kari binalman; yambada jana ngananga kuku balkan, ngana jananga ngulkurr-bungan, jana mayi dayan.


<glossary> kulay ; type=noun ; domain=human-generic-classifier <usage_example> Don't commit adultery


<translate> The old man said the crocodile and the shark and the stonefish are the three that will kill you at the water, and each must be respected in a different way: watch the bank for the crocodile, watch the deep for the shark, watch where you place your foot for the stonefish, and a person who learns all three fears of the water can fish and swim there safely a whole long life.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan bilngkumu bububay kuyu-kulji baja kulur nyulu yundu kunil bananga, nyubun nyubun yukil-bungal yindu-yindu yala: jalkar nyaji bilngkumunka, bana-dukurr nyaji bububaynka, wanja yundu jina yijarril nyaji kuyu-kuljinka, bama nyulu kulur yinil bananmuny binalman nyulu kuyu-manil marajil yinya yukil wawu kalbay wubulku.


<translate> They rested at midday in the shade of a big fig tree by a waterhole, and while the others slept the old woman sat watching the birds come down to drink, and she said this is the best part of any journey, the stopping, when the country comes to you instead of you going to it.

Jana wungar dukurrbu mara-kunban juku yalbay wabarrba bana ngundu, yindu jana wunanya wulbumanangka bundan jujubala nyajil bada kadan bana janganka, nyulu balkan: yinya jilbalmu yukil bajaku, mara-kunbay, bubu nyulu yundunka kaday kari yundu bubungu dungay.


<translate> You two saw the sandfly here.


<translate> The thunder and the lightning came together, and then the heavy rain poured straight down.

Jabulbina, balbay baja muru kadan, yalada kaba yalbay jinbal-baja daran.


<translate> We two, not you, see the murrka scar here.


<translate> Grandmother boiled the medicinal root in water.


<translate> You see the bush fire there.


<translate> You and I saw the juku-juku bronzewing dove there.


<translate> I heard you calling out in the dark, the old woman said, and I came quickly with a hot firestick to find you.

Ngayu yununy milka-janay, yundu yirrka-yirrka-nya ngumbu-ba, mukul-jalbu balkan, ngayu bila kaday buri wumbul-jirr yundu mani-nka.


<translate> The echidna dug into the hard ground quickly with its strong claws when the dingo came near.

Ngangkin-angka bubu junkurr bakan buyun-buyun mara junkurr-bu, murramu ngundu kada-nya.


<translate> We see the jirimandi coconut tree here.


<glossary> balu ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> let the tea get cool


<translate> No moon tonight — go torch-with, or do not go at all.

Kija-kari wujurrba, dungay baya-juku-ji yambada kari dungay.


<glossary> yalayayku ; type=demonstrative ; domain=manner <usage_example> Get this kind of food


<translate> Grandad pointed to the morning star.


<translate> We all, not you, see the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> The green tree snake is thin and quick and harmless, the old man said, and it slides through the branches hunting the little frogs and lizards.

Kalkamuku jarba dumbi bila buyun-kari, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu dakil-burr mara-warri yirku-yirku bajuy buban-jirr balbi.


<translate> You two see the small conical shellfish here.


<translate> The two of them saw the karrkurr frog there.


<lexeme> that's nonsense, take no notice


<translate> That milbarakal tree is there.


<translate> Who is that young man? He is my elder sister's son, so he calls me uncle, and I must look after him.

Wanya yinya warru? Nyulu ngayku babarr-amu kangkal, nyulu nganya kalnga kunjal, ngayu nyulu kuji-l.


<translate> On a fine clear day the whole sky is blue and not one cloud can be seen anywhere.

Jiri ngulkurr-baja wungar-a, ngurrban nyubun kari nyaji-ji.


<translate> The child saw the bird with his eyes.


<translate> My mother collected the ripe figs from the tree and brought them in the coolamon for the children.

Ngamungku binanji kulbul jukumuny mujan, dubalba wundin karrkay-karrkayka.


<translate> This yam is ready to dig now, the old woman said, for the leaves above it have yellowed and died back in the dry season.

Yinya bambayal baka niji, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyungu birra wangkar kulbul-ma-n wulan marral-wungar-a.


<translate> You and I see the hook here.


<translate> We cooked the eel in the earth oven.


<lexeme> want something but can't get it


<translate> The two of them see the ngalkarran tree here.


<translate> The cherry-like tree is here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the mawul freshwater eel there.


<glossary> dingkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> You knead the damper


<translate> The man did not break the billycan.


<translate> The child saw the stinging tree.


<translate> Again, said grandad. Good luck is not the same as a good eye.


<translate> This light-coloured hair is here.


<translate> They see the mura tree there.


<translate> The mud was deep and cold, but the women laughed and dug the roots with their hands and long sticks.

Kambal-kambal bada kiway, yambada jalbu-jalbu yajarrin, ngara bakan marabu jukubu.


<translate> A mother grieves the longest of all for a lost child, the old woman said, and carries the deep sorrow quietly within her for many seasons.

Ngamu-ngku wumbul bajaku badi karrkay wula-nya-nka, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu jiba-badi dajali janka karrba wungar-jarra wubul.


<translate> You and I see the lizard here.


<translate> You all saw the kurkunbay butcherbird here.


<translate> The children asked the old man who was the oldest person in the whole camp, and he said he himself was, older even than the tallest tree by the river.

Karrkay-karrkayangka mukul dingkar babajin wanya bayanba mukul bajaku, nyulu balkan nyulu-nyulu, mukul-baja juku kalbay bajaku wawubaja ngundumuny.


<translate> They see the bujabay tree here.


<translate> You and I see the river here.


<translate> The two of them see the running water here.


<translate> The boys found honey in a tree. They got it down and ate it all.

Dabalangka wunba nyajin jukungu. Jana manin, nukanyarrku.


<glossary> nginja ; type=noun ; domain=perception <usage_example> That man is always grunting (in his sleep)


<translate> You all see the straw-necked ibis there.


<translate> The little child badly wanted the sweet ripe fruit, but he could not get it from the tall tree.

Karrkay buban wawu jirray mayi kulbul jiba-wulay-ka, yamba nyulu kari mani-l juku kalbay-muny.


<translate> They saw the kurrmaja larvae here.


<translate> The two of them see the deep water there.


<translate> You two see the jalil-jalil mudskipper here.


<translate> For the toughest cuts the old woman boiled the meat in water heated by dropping fire-hot stones into a bark trough, changing the stones as they cooled, and the long slow boiling made even the toughest old meat soft enough for a person with no teeth, and the broth that was left was saved and given to the sick and the very old.

Minya junkurr bajakunku wulbumanangka minya balamun bananga kulji baya-wumbulbu warrur-bana-yaralba yijarrin, kulji murni-manin jana kiway-mandanya, balamu kalbay maku-janal minya mukul junkurr baja buban-manin bama dirra-karinka, wuynkurr nyulu bawan karrban daya buyun-bamanka mukul bajakunka baja.


<translate> The old men sang the great song of the flood all night long by the big fire in the camp.

Wulman-wulman wulngku yalbay bana-mu badi-l-badin wujurr wubulku, baya yalbay ngundu bayan-ba.


<translate> They saw the sand whiting here.


<translate> You and I see the door there.


<translate> The green ant bit the child's toe.


<translate> I do not like your father's dog.

Ngayu wawu-kari yunu-wun-ku nganjan-andamun-ku kaya-nka.


<translate> The old man said the happiest people were not those who had everything they wanted but those who wanted what they already had, and this was a skill that could be learned like any other.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: bama wawu-mini bajaku kari jana yamba wubulku wawumuny karrbal, yambada jana yamba nyungu ngadiku karrbal wawu, yinya yala binalka yala yamba yindu.


<translate> This nut tree is poison; do not let the children eat its seeds.

Yanyu jalnji juku bambay; kari karrkay-karrkay nyungu diburr nuka-y.


<translate> We saw the spear point there.


<translate> We two, not you, see the mawul eel here.


<translate> He saw the bamboo stick there.


<translate> You saw the small sticks here.


<translate> The old woman brought the dog's food from the house.

Wulbuman-angka mayi kaya-nga bayan-muny wundin.


<translate> Don't run on the sharp stones — you will cut your foot.

Kari kulji dandi-nga warri — yundu jina yaka-ji.


<translate> The friend came from the sea.


<glossary> ngakil ; type=noun ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> I hid the spear in the grass


<translate> You and I see the smouldering log there.


<translate> You and I saw the jimalili lizard here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the diwalngku bird here.


<translate> We see the wankar tree there.


<translate> I saw the barka snake there.


<translate> The old woman brought food to camp.


<translate> I saw the karrmbil parakeet here.


<translate> The child saw the paperbark at camp.


<translate> You all saw the kalkamuku snake there.


<translate> The Moreton Bay ash tree is standing at camp.


<glossary> wawu-juljal ; type=noun ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> He is at the dead person's wharf

Nyulu bada wawu-juljalandamunbu wharfmunbu


<translate> The women carried the water back to the camp in big bark containers slung on strong rope.

Jalbu-ngku bana wundin bayan-ka dakil yalbay-mba, karra junkurr-bu karrban.


<glossary> diburr ; type=noun ; domain=flora-plant <usage_example> Give me some bullets for my gun


<translate> That is women's food, the old woman said, and the swamp always gives it in the wet season.

Wulbumanangka balkan: yanyu jalbumu mayi, walngkabu dajil yabarrka buluriji.


<translate> What sort of food do you want?


<glossary> duru-duru ; type=adjective ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I'm puzzled about the engine


<translate> He saw the ngurran rope there.


<translate> I saw the walmbi-walmbiji left-handed person there.


<translate> Do you want to eat now, or shall we two wait for the others to come back?

Yundu wawu nuka-nka, ngali karrbal jana kada-nka?


<translate> Tomorrow, when the sun rises, we two will walk to the far country to hunt the big grey kangaroo.

Wunkun, wungar daka-nya, ngali bubu kala-kalbay-ka jilba julmbanu yalbay balbi-nka.


<translate> We, not you, saw the bajabaja lizard here.


<translate> You and I saw the biru-biru rainbow bird here.


<translate> Frighten the birds away from the drying fish, not the children away from the fire.

Yinyil-kanga waja kuyumuny marralmuny, kari karrkay bayamuny.


<translate> You see the bujabay tree there.


<glossary> balibali ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> The house is leaky, the water is coming in


<translate> The young woman walked the same country and named the same plants and taught the children just as she had been taught.

Maral jirakalbu bubu nyubun dungan, mayi nyubun burri balkan, karrkay-karrkay binalbungan yala nyulu binalbunganmuny.


<translate> The old man said a person with fear and a person without fear are both dangerous in the hunt, for the one full of fear freezes or flees and gets others hurt, but the one with no fear at all takes mad risks and dies young, and the good hunter is the one in the middle, who feels the fear, respects it, and acts anyway with a steady hand.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan bama yinil-ji bama yinil-kari jambul mumbu-mabi balbilba, yinil-ji buwan nyulu janan yambada warri yindu buyun-bungal, yambada yinil-kari bajaku nyulu kanban junkurr manil wulal warru, balbi-bama yukil nyulu dukurr-bu, nyulu yinil milkabu baykal, wawu-karrbal, murni yambada mara junkurr-bu.


<translate> We all, not you, see the marsupial native cat here.


<translate> From there you can see the whole camp and the smoke of the fires.

Yinyay-muny yundu bayan wubul nyajil, baya-mu kubu-baja.


<translate> You all see the scrub goanna there.


<translate> I saw the smouldering log there.


<translate> The two of them see the black cockatoo here.


<translate> Gather the dry bark and grass to make the fire burn hot and bright.

Dumbul dandi, kumul dandi bangka, baya wumbul junkurr-bu waju-nka.


<translate> All of you listen: the flood took the marker tree, so the old crossing is nobody's road now.

Yurra wubulku milka-janay: jalungkarrbu juku-milbil manin, yalada bana-baral mukul nyiku bama-karimuny baral.


<translate> The old man said do not lose heart: dig the ground again, set the trap again, walk the country again, and at last the food will come.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: jiba baluda wula, bubu baka-baja, jina-jina kaja-baja, bubu jilba-baja, badanga mayi kaday.


<translate> There is a hollow trunk in the tree.


<translate> The young ones will teach their own children one day, and so the country's story never dies.

Karrkay-karrkayangka nyungu karrkay binalbungal wungar yindungu, yalaku bubumu kuku kari wulay yabarrka.


<glossary> yamba ; type=noun ; domain=shelter-dwelling <usage_example> I am going home