<translate> The big eel lives under the old sunken log in the deepest pool, coming out only at night to hunt, and to catch one you must feel very slowly under the log with your bare hand until you touch its cool side, then grip it hard behind the head all at once, for an eel gripped weakly will slide away and never be fooled twice.

Kubarr yalbay juku mukul bana bada bana dukurr-bu bajaku wunay, wandin nganga wujurr balbinka, nyubun maninka yundu murninji juku bada maranji maku-janal dukul yundu nyungu janka kaka jilban, karrba junkurr-bu karra-dukurr nyubunku, kubarr karrban buban-bu nyulu jarrba dungay kariku binal-manda jambulku.


<translate> Count the hooks before we leave the water — the river keeps what we forget.

Badur kunja bana bawanka ngadiku: wawubajabu karrbal yamba ngana milka-wulalmuny.


<translate> You hear the grunt sound there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the kuran case-moth larva here.


<translate> I see the kaya-kaya dogs there.


<translate> The dog kept foraging around in the food near the fire.

Kaya mayi-nga ngunja-n-ngunja-ji baya ngundu-ba.


<translate> He sees the ngadil hickory tree there.


<translate> The old man did not go to the corroboree, for his legs were tired.

Mukul-dingkar warrma-ka kari dungan, nyungu jandal baja-burray.


<translate> I went hunting with that man.

Ngayu yinya-nji dingkar-nji balbi-ka dungan.


<translate> The child, that one, is sitting there.


<translate> The old man pointed to the fig tree where his father had gathered fruit long ago.

Mukul-dingkar dukal-juku milbin, wanja nyungu nganjan mayi bangkan ngadiku-baja.


<translate> The two of them saw the bujil-yiran ibis there.


<translate> The white crane is standing outside.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the balarri queenfish there.


<translate> The two of them saw the jinkalmu snake here.


<translate> The store is closed today, so the people cannot buy any food there at all.

Bayan nanda-ji niji, bama-ngka mayi kari mani yinyay-mba.


<translate> Why does the great crocodile lie so very still for so long a time, the boy asked, and the old man told him that it was only waiting.

Wanyurrimun bilngkumu yalbay janka bajaku wuna wumbul marri? karrkay nyajin, mukul-dingkar-angka nyunguny balkan nyulu nyubun bunda-nya.


<translate> They saw the ngurrkul fig tree there.


<translate> The woman saw the white wattle outside.


<translate> The old woman was coming from up there with a dog.

Wulbuman wangkar-mundu kaya-nji kankadan.


<translate> Don't chase that horse; it will kick you hard with its two strong back legs!

Yarraman yinya kari kanga! Nyulu yununy jina-bu kuni-l junkurr-baja!


<translate> They were searching everywhere for that lost child.

Jana nubi-l-nubin yinyay-anka karrkay-anka wanja-wanja-ba.


<glossary> bubu ; type=noun ; domain=land-geography <usage_example> his country is Shipton's Flats


<translate> In the middle of the night the cold wind came and everyone pulled the blankets close.

Kunarangkal muyar kiway kadan, bama wubul kararr ngundu-mundu karrba-l.


<translate> He saw the dalmbal flathead there.


<translate> The old man said if you would be remembered well, do not seek to be remembered, for the ones who grasp at being remembered are forgotten fastest, but pour yourself out freely into the lives around you, asking nothing back, and you will find yourself carried in a hundred memories you never bought and could never have earned by trying.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu ngulkurr milka-binalka, kari nyaji milka-binalka, bama jana milka-binal karrbal jana kilba-manil warri-baja, yambada nyulu-nyulu ngulkurr-bu daji wawu ngunduka, kari yamba babaji, yundu yabarrka nyaji yundu milka wubulba karrbal yundu kariku manin kariku nyaji bungalmuny.


<translate> You and I see the smooth rock there.


<translate> They saw the scrub tree there.


<translate> You see the woomera butt there.


<translate> You all saw the waterfall here.


<translate> The old woman said a father teaches his son the man's work and a mother teaches her daughter the woman's work, but both parents love both children the same, and the father's spear and the mother's dilly-bag are not signs of who is greater but of two halves of one life, for the man's hunting fills the camp with meat and the woman's gathering fills it with everything else, and neither could feed a family alone.

Wulbumanangka balkan nganjanangka nyungu jija milbil dingkar nyungu janka ngamungku nyungu jalbu-karrkay milbil jalbu nyungu janka, yambada ngamu-nganjan jambul karrkay jambul wawu-jirray nyubun-baja, nganjan-amu kalka ngamu-mu balji nyulu kari dandi wanya yalbay yambada jambul-warra nyubun wawu-kalbaymuny, dingkar nyungu balbil bayan minyabu buwal jalbu nyungu bangkal yamba wubulku-baja buwal, jambul-warra nyubun kari jawun-karra dayal nganga.


<translate> The black spotted dart is here.


<translate> That loose clothing is there.


<glossary> buban ; type=noun ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> I have only a little bit of money


<translate> I saw the biwul snake there.


<translate> Talk to them, not about them — the ear grows where the word points.

Balka jananka, kari janamuny: milka yalbay-mal wanja kuku milbil.


<translate> They saw the reflection there.


<translate> You see the yellow March fly there.


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


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


<translate> They two saw the stingray there.


<translate> The black bean tree is standing outside.


<translate> They see the wurrul shellfish here.


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


<translate> You two saw the yuray snake there.


<translate> The parrot is standing there.


<translate> The women disapprove of smoking.


<translate> You and I see the blanket there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the kalburiji bee there.


<translate> The mother watched her little child bathing at the edge of the shallow water, the old woman said, never once taking her eyes away from him.

Ngamu-ngku karrkay buban nyaji-l-nyaji-n, janji-janji-nya bana buban-ba ngandal-ba, mukul-jalbu balkan, miyil kari nyubun-bu nyungu-muny mani.


<translate> I saw the murrkul tree here.


<translate> The children asked the old man which was the most beautiful country he had ever walked in all his long years of travelling, and he thought for a long while and then said: The country I am standing in right now, always, for the most beautiful country is simply the one your feet are on.

Karrkay-karrkayangka mukulungku dingkar babajin wanya bubu ngulkurr bajaku nyulu jilbanmu nyungu wungar wubulku jilbalmuny, nyulu milkabu baykan kalbay yalada balkan: Bubu ngayu nyiku janay, yabarrka, bubu ngulkurr bajaku nyulu nyubun nyungu jina wangkara janay.


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


<translate> I feel very sorry for that very sick child lying quietly in the humpy beside the fire.

Ngayu jiba-badi karrkay bambay-baja-nka-ku, nyulu wurun-ba janka wuna-nya baya ngundu.


<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 two of them saw the kujuway pigeon here.


<lexeme> that's nonsense, take no notice


<translate> The crab bit the woman's ankle.


<translate> You see the small lizard there.


<translate> The child heard the thunder.


<translate> The rain got into the shelter.


<translate> Wait for me, take the billycan in case there is no water along the road.

Kaku, jungkalu wundi, kunka bana kari baral-darr.


<translate> They saw us all at the camp and came to sit with us.

Jana nganangan nyajin bayan-ba, kadan bunda-nka ngananji.


<glossary> manubu-damal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> The policeman guarded him


<translate> The two of them see the bush fire there.


<translate> What are those women gathering down on the reef when the tide goes right out?

Wanyu yinya jalbu-ngka dulngku-ngu bangka-l, bana bada dunga-nya?


<translate> I first cook the food and then take it.


<translate> She sang the old song exactly like this, the old people said, the same way it was sung long ago at the big meetings.

Nyulu wulngku ngadiku yala-ku murrunmani, mukul-bama balkan, yala-rrku murunman kalbay-muny muru yalbay-mba.


<translate> The bottlebrush tree is standing at camp.


<translate> He does not swim in the deep river, lest he drown in the strong current.

Nyulu kari janji-l wawubaja dukurr-ba, bujil-janji-nyji bana junkurr-ba.


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


<translate> You all saw the bayil jungle perch here.


<translate> You all saw the pumice stone there.


<translate> I saw the kalburiji bee there.


<translate> The two of them see the shellfish there.


<translate> The two of them see the waterfall there.


<glossary> jarra-jarra ; type=adjective ; domain=dimension-size <usage_example> She climbed up high


<translate> I saw the wooden sword here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the dalmbal flathead there.


<translate> There are three roads from raw to cooked, the old man laid them out: the open flame for speed, the coals for patience, the ground-fire for a whole camp — and the wise cook asks first how many mouths, and then chooses the road.

Baral kulur janay jani-karimuny janiku, mukulungku dingkarangka jana milbin: baya ngalkal warrinka, ngunjil wawu-karrbanka, bubu-baya bayan wubulkunka, waju-bama binal nyulu babaji-ngurr wanjarrinya ngandal, yalada baral manil.


<translate> You two see the outrigger canoe here.


<translate> The old man did not really sleep.


<translate> He held the smooth spear tight in his right hand and raised his strong arm up high.

Nyulu kalka jinali mara-bu junkurr karrban, wakuy junkurr wangkar-a jarra-jarra.


<translate> The old woman said the small flowers of the scrub are not useless prettiness but the promise of the fruit to come, and a person who reads the flowering can already count the season's harvest weeks before it ripens, so she taught the girls to walk through the flowering scrub not just seeing the beauty but reading the future written all across it in white and yellow and red.

Wulbumanangka balkan nganka buban majaji nyulu kari yilbay yamba-yukil-kari yambada mayi kadalmuny kuku-junkurr, bama nyulu nganka ngaral nyulu ngadiku wungar mayi binalka wungar buban ngadiku nyulu kulbul-mandanya, nyulu jalbu-buban milbin majaji nganka-mabi jilbanka kari nganga yilbay nyajinka yambada wungar-kadal ngaral juku wubulku jarranmuny kambar makirr mula-mula baja.


<translate> You two saw the jurriyan satin bower bird here.


<translate> While the man was cleaning the fish, the dog sat close by watching, wanting the heads.

Dingkar kuyu janji-nya, kaya ngundu bundan nyajil, nyulu dukul wawu.


<translate> The old man made a heavy fighting club from the hard root of the ironbark tree.

Mukul-dingkar-angka mirru kulngkul juku mali junkurr-muny bungan.


<translate> You all see the small bat there.


<translate> You two see the tree snake here.


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> Mother sent to me the store


<translate> What did you catch at the river? I caught two catfish and one eel, and the old people ate well.

Wanya yundu wawubajanga karrban? Ngayu julaji jambul kubarr nyubun karrban, mukul-mukul jani nukan.


<translate> They saw the fighting stick here.


<translate> Father left the charcoal in the shade.


<translate> The young man took his spear to hunt game in the early morning.

Warru-ngku kalka manin, nyulu minya balbi-nka wunkuwingku.


<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.


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


<translate> Father dropped the stone on mother's foot.

Nganjan-angka kulji daray-manin ngamu-ndu jina-nga.


<translate> You see the jalan sea urchin here.


<translate> You saw the smouldering log here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the dalmbal flathead here.


<translate> You all see the dabway bird there.


<translate> The child asked father about the mango.

Karrkay nganjan-anda mayngku-ku babajin.


<translate> The kangaroo ran from the hunter, through the long grass, and down to the deep waterhole.

Mayarriji balbi-bama-muny wanarrin, jikan kalbay-burr, bada janku dajali-ka.


<translate> When the visitors left, granny gave them food for the journey and told them to come back in the cold season.

Jawunkarra dunganya, babingka mayi dajin jilbaka, balkan: kaday baja buluriji.


<translate> You all saw the stingray there.


<translate> The old woman said the seed pods and the dry husks of many plants make the rattles and the rhythm-things of the dances and the games, and she taught the children to gather and dry and string them, so that the plants gave not only food and tools but music too, and a child shaking a seed-pod rattle by the fire was already learning the beat that the great dances would one day need.

Wulbumanangka balkan diburr-jarrakay juku kiway-kiway wubulku nyubun-nyubun bungal kurr-kurr yulmbarril-jangkar yajarr-yamba baja, nyulu karrkay-karrkay milbin bangkanka wunanka karranyji baja, juku dayal kari nganga mayi kalka yambada wulngku baja, karrkay nyulu diburr-kurr-kurr jaba-manilnya baya ngunduku nyulu ngadiku binalman kuku-jina yulmbarril-yalbay wungar nyubun wawu-manilmuny.


<translate> You two saw the banamu snake there.


<translate> You and I see the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> That messmate tree is there.


<translate> The woman happened to step on my foot.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jinkalmu snake here.


<translate> The two of them saw the scorpion here.


<translate> The old woman left bark outside.


<translate> We see the carpet snake there.


<translate> We see the older brother here.


<translate> Father saw the paperbark in the shade.


<translate> They saw the snake on the open ground.


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


<translate> I take water; perhaps there is no water along the road.

Ngayu bana wundil, nguba bana kari baral-darr.


<translate> You saw the jungarr marsupial native cat there.


<translate> We see the stony crossing there.


<lexeme> someone who is continually talking


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


<translate> The girl's mother cooked food.


<translate> You and I see the jalil-jalil mudskipper there.


<translate> The children grew up reading the sky as easily as they read each other's faces, and the country was never a stranger to them.

Karrkay-karrkay kambaman jiri nyajil yala jana walu nyubunmu nyajil, bubu kari jananka yindu yabarrka.


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


<translate> Three-sentence: The storm came at night. Lightning struck a tree. In the morning the tree was down.

Jarramali kadan kunarangkal. Balbaynja juku dalbarrin. Wunkuwingku juku bada-bada.


<translate> You all see the murrabal barramundi there.


<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


<glossary> diburr ; type=noun ; domain=flora-plant <usage_example> They got lots of scrub hen eggs


<glossary> manubu-damal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> The policeman guarded him


<translate> I see the rhinoceros beetle.


<translate> I saw the julaji freshwater catfish here.


<translate> You all see the death adder here.


<translate> The two were sitting in the tree top.


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


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

Kambal-kambal walngkanga ngundu — walku dungay!


<translate> If the child is hungry, mother gives food.

Kaki karrkay dakuy, ngamu-ngku mayi dajil.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> The little child washed himself carefully, scrubbing the dust from his arms and legs until his skin was clean and shining.

Karrkay bubanangka nyulu-nyulu julurri-jin wunbu, jukar mara jina yakan, nyungu bangkarr dayirrmanda balbajinya.


<lexeme> mountain and river flowing from mountain


<translate> Don't chase the dog near the fire, don't shout close to the sleeping baby, and don't run with the pointed stick in your hand — the old woman threw the three old no-words at the children like three quick spears, and then laughed: behind every one of them lies a mark, from me, from my mother, from her mother.

Kari kanga kaya baya ngundu, kari yirrkay ngawa ngundu wunanya, kari warri juku murru-ji maranga, wulbumanangka kuku-kari kulur yilban karrkay-karrkaynka yala kalka kulur warri, yalada yajarr-man: nyubun-nyubunba jina wunay, ngaykumuny, ngamumuny, babimuny.


<translate> The blood ran down his leg and he cried out in pain, and his brother carried him quickly back to the camp where the old woman was.

Mula jinanga bada dungan, nyulu badin kakamuny, nyungu yaba nyulu wundin junkurr bayanka wanja wulbuman janay.


<translate> You saw the julbal tree here.


<glossary> damal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> the pastor baptised him


<translate> He saw the freshwater eel here.


<glossary> yala ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> he's like his father.


<translate> That road there is not wide.


<translate> They saw the straw hat there.


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


<translate> Take the children down to the beach.


<translate> He quickly followed the stranger.


<translate> You saw the jirimandi coconut tree here.


<translate> The old man's dog followed the kangaroo's fresh tracks deep into the thick scrub.

Mukul-dingkar-amu kaya mayarriji jina wukurri-l, madja junkurr dukurr-ka.


<translate> They saw the mura tree here.


<translate> I thought rain was coming, but wind is coming.


<translate> The rats came into the camp at night and ate the seeds and good food the people had stored.

Kukur bayan-ka kadan wujurr-ba, mayi wukay ngulkurr bama-mu nukal nanda-nya.


<translate> Whose tracks are these on the sand?


<translate> He sees the kangaroo rat here.


<translate> The grandmother said: the echidna digs into the ground when it is startled, so leave it alone and look for other food.

Babingka balkan: ngangkin bubungu bakal, yundu nyulu bawa, minya yindu nyaji.


<translate> The old man said: we make each other who we are — the elder makes the child wise, the child keeps the elder alive in memory, and so the people never truly die, but pass their knowing from hand to hand forever.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: ngali nyubun-nyubun-ji bama-bungal — mukulungku karrkay binal-bungal, karrkayangka mukul juran-bungal milka-nga, bama kariku wula, jana binal mara-burr daji-way ngadiku-ngadiku.


<translate> The happy-hearted little boy ran laughing across the sand to his old grandmother by the water.

Karrkay buban jiba ngulkurr-ji, yajarri-l wanarrin jukar-burr nyungu mukul-jalbu-nka bana ngundu.


<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> The women know how to weave dilly bags.


<translate> Never eat what you do not know, the old woman said; the country is full of good food, so eat only what you know.

Kari nuka wanya yundu kari binal, wulbumanangka balkan; bubu mumbay mayi ngulkurrbu, nuka nganga wanya yundu binal.


<translate> The two of them saw the julaji freshwater catfish there.


<translate> Those white ant eggs are there.


<translate> My father's sister married a man from the seaside people.

Ngayku bimayangka jalun-ji-warra dunyu manin.


<translate> I heard the dog from the house.


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


<translate> He saw the bajalji python there.


<translate> A wordless man is cut off from half of what makes a true person, the old man taught.

Dingkar kuku-kari nyulu bama junkurr-muny jarrba-manda, mukul-dingkar-angka milban.


<translate> Come hunting with me tomorrow, and we two will find a big kangaroo.

Kada balbi-ka ngaykunji wunkun, ngali mayarriji yalbay warrmba-bunga-l.


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


<translate> Which wallaby is that? — A darrba; the jumar is smaller and keeps to the deep timber.

Wanjaku minya yinya? Darrba: jumar buban-baja, nyulu janay juku dukurrba.


<glossary> babal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> I want to go fishing to try the place out

ngayu baduriji dungaka, yinya bubu babanka


<glossary> balanbalan ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> When you camp out, you should build your shelter on flat ground

Yundu balnhi wunay, bayan ngara bubunga balanbalanba


<translate> You two see the king parrot here.


<translate> We see the small ant bed here.


<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> The young man went outside with a friend.


<translate> You and I saw the ngumbi bandicoot there.


<translate> He sees the small sticks here.


<translate> The wallaby is in the scrub.


<translate> The two of them see the death adder here.


<translate> Sun, moon, and stars, morning and night, the hot and the cold — this is how time turns in the country.

Wungar, kija, dawar, wunkuwingku wujurr-jirr, wungar-iji bulur-iji-jirr — yala wungar bubu-ba jurrki-l.


<translate> Do not cook the food lest you spoil it.


<glossary> bijal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=ingestion-consumption <usage_example> The child licked the icecream cone


<translate> If the child has a cold, grandmother gives green ants to the child.

Kaki karrkay ngiki-ji, babi-ngka yangka dajil karrkay-anda.


<translate> You and I see the diburr-miyil eyeball there.


<translate> You all saw the mawal bee here.


<translate> Keep the child in the house lest the dog bite him.

Karrkay bayan-ba kuji, kaya-ngka nyunguny bayka-nyji.


<translate> The children keep laughing about the dog.


<translate> Where shall we make the new camp? We will make it on the high ground, away from the flood and near the good water; there the wind keeps the mosquitoes off.

Wanjabu ngana bayan baja bungay? Ngana wuyar-a bungay, jalungkarr-mundu, bana ngulkurr ngundu; yinyabu muyar-bu kamu yungal.


<translate> Mother sees the Leichhardt tree here.


<translate> The young man laughed at the child.


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


<translate> They saw the mother's brother here.


<translate> We see the clear water here.


<translate> Deep inside every single person there is a strong heart and warm red blood, the old man taught.

Bama nyubun-nyubun dukurr-ba wubul junkurr mula wumbul, mukul-dingkar-angka milban.


<glossary> balkaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-function <usage_example> the baby was born yesterday


<translate> The little child followed its mother everywhere, walking behind her along every winding track.

Karrkay buban ngamu wukurrin wubulku, jilba-nya kudamundu jina narmba-burr.


<translate> Thunder is the sky speaking big, the old woman told the child who hid at the first crack: the shout is not the spear, the light walks first and the sound comes behind, so take slow breaths between them, and when the breaths become few, leave the tall tree, for the storm is walking closer.

Jabulbina nyulu jiri kuku yalbay balkanya, wulbumanangka karrkaynka ngakijinka balkan jabulbina ngadikumuny: yirrkay nyulu kari kalka, balbay jilbal ngadiku kuku badaku kaday, yalada wawu mana buban-buban jambulba, kaki wawu buban-mal, bawa juku kalbay, jarramali nyulu jilbal ngunduku.


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


<translate> They saw the carpet snake here.


<translate> The old man said the little stingless sugarbag bee does not hurt you at all, but the big hornet has a sting that will drop a grown man to his knees.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: kuja buban baykal-kari, yundu kari yinbay-mani, yamba mulma yalbay-mu baykal bama yalbay bunku-ka bada-bungal.


<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 fishing was very good after that big water.

Kuyu wubul bajaku wawu-banamuny yalbaymuny.


<translate> We, not you, saw the jangkan swift here.


<translate> Grandmother sees the shallow water there.


<translate> You and I see the barracuda there.


<translate> You sweep the whole house thoroughly!


<translate> The bird flew from the tree.


<translate> I see the jirimandi coconut tree here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the baringkan small bird here.


<translate> The hidden snake happened to get poked by the old woman with her digging stick.

Jarba ngaki-nya mukul-jalbu-nda juku-bu narri-jin, bubu-ngu.


<translate> I saw the ngurran rope there.


<translate> The eel slipped out of my hands!


<translate> In a good camp, the old man said, the people give to each other and help each other and teach each other, and no one stands alone.

Bayan ngulkurrbu, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, bama daji-way, mara-daji-way, milbi-way, kari bama nyubun nganga janay.


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


<translate> The big storm cloud is coming up fast from the north over the far mountains.

Kaba-jiri yalbay kungkarr-muny jinbal-baja kada-y, manjal kalbay wangkar-a.


<translate> We see the mawar vine there.


<glossary> nulu ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> Pus is running from the sore


<translate> The old man built his small humpy so its mouth would catch the warm morning sun.

Mukul-dingkar-angka wurun buban bungan, wungar wunkuwingku wumbul karrba-nka.


<glossary> mambarril ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> He turned him over to the police


<translate> The water snake swims through the still water of the lagoon looking for little fish.

Bakay bana janka-nga janji-l, kuyu buban warrmba-bunga-l.


<translate> He saw the yarrka bee there.


<translate> They saw the sucker fish there.


<translate> The bird is standing in the scrub.


<translate> I saw the karrandal tree here.


<translate> Grandfather came from the river.


<translate> The old man taught the children to read the birds: when the rainbow bird calls, the honey is ready in the trees.

Mukulungku dingkarangka karrkay-karrkay binalbungan buyika: biru-biru yirrkanya, wunba ngulkurrmanda jukungu.


<translate> The old talk and the other new talk are very different, the old man said, sitting quietly.

Kuku mukul kuku yindu walu-yindu-baja-ku, mukul-dingkar-angka janka bundan balkan.


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


<translate> I saw the kalngkan small mullet here.


<translate> That many-pronged fish spear is there.


<translate> The woman came back from the house.


<translate> You two saw the mountain here.


<translate> You two see the kurkunbay butcherbird here.


<translate> The two brothers are like two spears from the one hand — thrown together, flying the same way to the same mark.

Yaba jambul yala kalka jambul mara nyubun-muny — dama-l nyubun-bu, wanarri nyubun-ba juku nyubun-ka.


<translate> The road is stone-with up high and water-with down low; walk between the two.

Baral kulji-ji wangkara bana-ji badaba, jilba jambulba.


<translate> Chew it well, little one, then swallow — the meat is tough today.

Maja yukil, bubanku, yalada yurmbi, minya dandi nyiku.


<translate> They gathered light pumice stones from the beach to grind and smooth the wooden spears.

Jana jundi buban jukar-muny bangkan, kalka juku jinali-mani-nka.


<translate> The man saw the remains dilly bag on the ground.


<translate> The old man said the young man is rather brave, but the man who is afraid and stands anyway is very brave, and that is the one to follow.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: warru jarra-yinil-kari, yamba dingkar yinil-jirr janay-baja nyulu yinil-kari-baja-ku, yinya nyunba-nka.


<glossary> bajaybajay ; type=adjective ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> My body is sore after the fly


<translate> We see the butcherbird there.


<translate> The little rainbow birds gather at the flowering tree and drink from the sweet blossoms.

Biru-biru buban juku nganka-ba muru bunda-l, bana nuka-l.


<translate> You gave me your knowledge, I gave you my strength; together we are stronger than either of us alone; that is why the old people joined us two.

Yundu ngaykunku yunu binal dayan, ngayu yununku ngayku junkurr dayan; ngaliny muru dandi bajaku nyubun-muny; yinya-nka mukul-mukulungku ngalinyan muru-bungan.


<translate> You and I saw the kandal maggot there.


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


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


<translate> You two saw the yalnga turtle here.


<glossary> wuljil ; type=adjective ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> They emptied out (the bee's nest) into the bucket


<translate> The old woman gathered the ripe figs and the sweet wild grapes into her dilly bag.

Wulbumangka jilanji kulbul, kangka jiba-wula-wula bangkan ngunyin-ka.


<translate> We, not you, saw the binju snake here.


<translate> They saw the yawa possum here.


<translate> That young man looks just like his father, tall and strong.

Yinya warru yala walu nyungu nganjan, kalbay junkurr.


<translate> He saw the kalmbangarr black diver bird here.


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


<translate> You and I see the black bream there.


<translate> The stones are close together.


<translate> A country with fresh water is a mother to its people, giving them everything they need to live, but a country without water, however beautiful, is only a beautiful grave, and the old people mapped every soak and spring and rock-hole across the whole land precisely because they knew that with-water means life and without-water means death.

Bubu bana-ji nyulu ngamu bama-nka, jananka yamba wubulku dayal wunayka, yambada bubu bana-kari, yilbay yala, nyulu nganga yilbay-jandu, bama mukul bana-janku wubulku binal-manin bubu wubulku ngunduka jana binalman bana-ji wunay yala bana-kari wulal yala.


<translate> A person at peace with the weather is at peace with the world, he said, for the weather is the world showing its face.

Bama nyulu wungarji ngulkurr bundanay bubu wubulkuji ngulkurr, nyulu balkan, wungar bubumu walu milbil.


<translate> He will return after two moons, when the round moon has grown full and small and full once more.

Nyulu nyunba kija jambul-muny, kija murru-murru yalbay-ma-n, buban-ma-n, yalbay-ma-n-baja.


<translate> He saw the bamboo spear stick here.


<translate> In the wet season the country is good and full of food, but in the dry it is poor and bare.

Kaba wungar-iji-ba bubu ngulkurr mayi-jirr, yamba marral-wungar-a bubu buyun mayi-kari.


<glossary> nulu ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> Pus is running from the sore


<translate> They saw the julaji freshwater catfish there.


<translate> The two of them saw the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish there.


<translate> The dark clouds gathered over the inland ranges and the big rain came down at last.

Kaba-jiri ngungul-ngungul jibarr manjal-ba muru bundan, kaba yalbay niji-baja daran.


<translate> The soft inner bark of the fig tree was taken by the old people to make warm blankets.

Baril-baril warrur dukurr kima, kararr wumbul bunga-nka mani-n mukul-bama-ngka.


<translate> They saw the casuarina pine here.


<translate> I see the running water there.


<glossary> diburr ; type=noun ; domain=flora-plant <usage_example> I planted the seeds in the garden


<translate> You and I saw the kujuway pigeon there.


<glossary> damal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> I made the dress


<translate> The man left the dog up there.

Dingkar-angka kaya bawan wangkarwangkar.


<translate> We saw the sand crab in the water.


<translate> You all see the black-tip shark here.


<translate> The hunt for dugong takes many men and a strong raft, for the dugong is heavy and fights hard for its life.

Biwuy balbinka dingkar wubul manil, marrakan junkurr, biwuy dandi bajaku, kuniwal junkurrku wawuka nyungu.


<translate> The flat-tailed ray is here.


<translate> The child gave liver to father.


<translate> That clothing there is narrow.


<translate> The men were covered in sweat from the hot work of digging the deep ground oven.

Dingkar jila-warri-baja bubu-janku dukurr bakal-muny wungar wumbul-a.


<glossary> muku-duku ; type=noun ; domain=body-part <usage_example> The pregnant woman ate cassoway meat

Jalbungku kulngkuldu minya kurranji nukan, nyungu kangkal muku-dukumal


<translate> You all see the wooden sword there.


<translate> What kind of dress do you like the best — the one with the pretty red flower pattern?

Yundu wanjanguy-ngku kambi-ka wawu, nganka-nganka-jirr-ka?


<translate> You all see the parrot there.


<glossary> walal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He went into the house


<translate> The soft inner bark of the fig tree was taken by the old people to make warm blankets.


<translate> Mother went to the road with clothes.


<translate> You all saw the jangkan swift here.


<translate> The old woman said before you correct anyone you should ask yourself three questions: is it true, is it kind, and is it needed, for a thing may be all three and still be worth saying, or true but cruel and pointless, and she taught that the person who runs every criticism through these three questions before speaking will wound far fewer people and be heeded by far more.

Wulbumanangka balkan yundu bama nyubun murni-bungal ngadiku yundu nyulu-nyulu babaji kuku kulur: yinya kuku-yukil, yinya wawu-jirray, yinya wawu-manil, yamba nyulu kulur wubulku yambada yukil balkanka, yambada kuku-yukil yambada dukul-wuri kuku-daji-kari baja, nyulu milbin bama nyulu kuku-mumbu wubulku kuku kulur yinya-mundu balkal ngadiku nyulu buban-buban baja bama buyun-bungal ngulkurr wubulku ngaranmu.


<translate> The old man said the joking between cross-cousins had real work to do and was not just idle fun, for the teasing let people say hard things sideways that could not be said straight, a lazy cousin mocked into working, a boastful one deflated with laughter, a grieving one gently pulled back toward life, so that the joking-relation was a kind of medicine the kin-web carried, healing through laughter what a stern word could not touch.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan yajarr kambanmu jambulmuny yamba-yukil karrbal nyulu kari yajarr-nganga baja, jaway-jaway bama balkal kuku dandi kunkar-bu nyulu kari kuku-mundu balkalmuny, kambanmu jumbun jaway-jaway janjanka, junkurr-milka yajarrbu bada-manil, wawu-mumbu-bama kima wawu-kalbay-mba yilba-manil, yajarr-karra nyulu kalbal-yamba jawun-karra karrbanmuny, kalbal yajarrbu kuku dandibu nyulu kari janjilmuny.


<translate> First look, then place the foot — the reef teaches that to every foot that walks it.

Nyaji-ngurr, yalada jina bunga, jalun-bububu yinya milbil jina nyubun-nyubunka jilbanya.


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


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


<translate> We see the running water here.


<translate> The son or daughter is here.


<translate> The two of them, walking together, followed the one fresh track deep into the thick scrub.

Bula jambul, muru jilba-nya, jina nyubun wukurri-l madja junkurr dukurr-ka.


<translate> Father saw the bird outside.


<translate> We see the cockatoo crest here.


<translate> After that, we light a fire.


<translate> The children asked how you could leave off comparing, and the old woman said: You look at what you have until you see how much it is, and then there is no room left for wanting what another has.

Karrkay-karrkayangka babajin yala yundu milbi-ji bawanka, wulbumanangka balkan: Yundu nyungu yamba nyaji binalnyjiku wanjarrinya, yalada kari wanja janay wawuka bama yindumu yambaka.


<glossary> junkali ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> Nyulu junkali


<translate> You two saw the kalkarrumbarr lizard there.


<translate> They saw the wild grape here.


<translate> They see the spear barb here.


<translate> He saw the ngarkay waterhen here.


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

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


<translate> We see the bujabay tree there.


<glossary> dayirr ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> After washing th clothes are very clean


<translate> The old man said if you cannot say a hard thing to a person's face, you have no right to say it behind their back, and if you can say it to their face, you usually find you no longer need to say it behind their back, so let the face be the test of every word, and half your cruelty will die unspoken.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu murruji yamba dandi bamamu miyilba balka, yundu kari kuku nyungu dumbay-mba balkanka, kaki yundu miyilba balka, yundu yabarrka nyaji yundu kari wawu nyungu dumbay-mba balkanka, miyil yala kuku wubulku nyaji-manil, nyungu mumbu buban nganga balka-kari wulal.


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


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


<translate> Those old men always sit together in the shade and keep telling the young ones the old stories.

Wulman-wulman wabarr-ba muru bundanday, warru-nka kuku mukul balka-l-balka-l.


<translate> He pushed the really big stone and set it up.


<translate> A boy asked when his spear would fly true, and the old man said: ask your own shoulder, for the true throw does not live in the wanting, it lives in the arm that has thrown very many times, so throw at the old log at dusk each day, and one day the shoulder will answer without you.

Buban babajin wanjawanja kalka nyungu warrinyaku yukil, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: babaji binda nyungu-nyungu, kalka-warri yukil kariku wunay wawuba, nyulu wunay wakuymba yilbanmuny wubulku bajaku, yalada yilba jukungu mukulba miyil-wujurr-wujurrba nyubun-nyubun, wungar nyubun binda nyulu-nyulu balkal yundu-mundu.


<translate> The old man's throat was strong, and his song carried far across the whole camp.

Mukul-dingkar-mu manu junkurr, nyungu burri kalbay-mba dungan bayan wubulku.


<translate> By the third day their food was almost gone, so the young men went ahead to hunt while the others followed slowly, and by evening they met again at the appointed place with three wallabies and a goanna.

Wungar kulurmuny jana mayi kilba-baja, warru wangkar dungan minyaka balbinka, yindu jana buban-buban wukurrin, kunarangkalba jana nyaji-wan baja bubu balkanmuny jana darrba kulurbu jadiji.


<translate> The old man said: the strongest rope is kinship — it holds the living to the dead, the child to the country, one person to all the others, and it never breaks if you honour it.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: mula-mula yala dandi bajaku — nyulu juran-bama wula-bama-ji karrbal, kangkal bubu-ji, nyubun-bama bama wubul-ji; nyulu kariku murrnga-ji yundu dandi karrba-nya.


<translate> You see the jalan sea urchin there.


<translate> I see the rock python there.


<translate> They saw the ngadil hickory tree here.


<glossary> ngarra-yilbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He passed me (while driving along)


<translate> Mother left the dog's food outside.

Ngamu-ngku mayi kaya-nga ngalkal-ba bawan.


<translate> We see the tree kangaroo here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the dukunjulu golden whistler there.


<translate> The little child had lost a tooth, and the old woman laughed at the gap.

Karrkay buban-mu dirra nyubun daran, wulbumanangka yajarrin.


<translate> The old woman said the newborn's whole task is to change, faster than at any later time of life, for in a single year the helpless one that could not hold up its own head becomes a walking, babbling, laughing person who knows its mother's face and its own name, and she said this first great burst of change is why the old people watched a baby's first year with such joy and such care, for never again would a person change so fast or so far.

Wulbumanangka balkan ngawa nyungu murni wubulku yindu-mal, warri bajaku wungar bada wawumuny, wungar nyubunbu ngawa dukul-karrban-kari nyulu nyungu dukul wangkar-karrban-kari yindu-mal bama jilba-bama balkal-bama yajarr-bama binal nyungu ngamu miyil nyungu kuku baja, nyulu balkan yindu ngadiku yalbay yinya wanyurrinku bama mukul nyajin ngawa nyungu wungar ngadiku yajarr-ji wawu-karrba-ji baja, kariku baja bama yindu-mal warri bajaku kalbay bajaku baja.


<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> I saw the Moreton Bay fig tree.


<translate> You two saw the diwalngku bird here.


<translate> They see the nyumbil coolibah tree here.


<translate> This spear is like that one, for the same old man made them both from the one straight tree.

Nyiku kalka yinya yala, mukul-dingkar nyubun-angka jambul bungan juku nyubun ngulkurr-muny.


<translate> I first cook the fish and then take it.


<translate> The kingfisher sits very still on a low branch over the still creek, the old man said, then dives like a fast spear and comes up with a small fish.

Dabuy dakil bada-ba bana-jandu janka wangkar-a janka bajaku bunda, mukul-dingkar balkan, yinyamun yala kalka bila bada daray, kuyu buban-jirr wandi.


<translate> You saw the bakay snake here.


<translate> The children learned the language.


<translate> I saw the dakwul-dakwul scrub bird there.


<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> The story of Kubirri is long — sit down and listen.

Kuku Kubirrinka kalbay — bunday, milka-janay!


<translate> The children caught the little scrub lizards on the warm rocks in the middle of the day, the old woman said, but the old people said to let them go.

Karrkay-karrkay jabil buban kulji wumbul-ba wungar wangkar-wangkar-a mani, mukul-jalbu balkan, yamba mukul-bama balkan jana balu dunga.


<translate> Mother saw the rope in the bag.


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


<translate> He hit the hard wood again and again with the stone axe until the tall tree finally fell down.

Nyulu juku junkurr kuni-l-kuni-n warrbi-bu, juku kalbay dara-nyjiku bada.


<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> The children danced outside.


<translate> The two of them saw the kira baby girl here.


<translate> Take your spear and your woomera, and let us two go down to hunt the kangaroo now.

Kalka balur baja mani, ngali mayarriji balbi-ka dunga-y niji!


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


<translate> You all see the jirimandi coconut tree here.


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


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


<glossary> binal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I want to know


<translate> The boomerang is not only a weapon; the old men beat time to the song with two.

Wangal kari nyubun jarrngkurr; mukul-dingkar-angka wangal jambul burri-duda-l.


<translate> Grandmother heard news from the house.


<translate> Hold the mudcrab from behind lest it bite your hand.

Kiju kudamundu karrba, nyulu yununy mara bayka-nyji!


<translate> That bukunjarra tree is here.


<translate> Young men do not drink alcohol lest they fight.

Warru-warru-ngku kamukamu kari nuka-l-nuka-l, kuni-wa-nyji.


<translate> We cooked the crabs in the ashes and shared them around.

Ngana wurru-bulan wayjun nulungu, dajin jananda wubulku.


<translate> You all saw the ngawurr-ngawun crocodile there.


<translate> I see the wooden sword there.


<translate> You and I see the jadalangka animal leg there.


<translate> We two, not you, see the mirrku kidney bird here.


<translate> You all see the ngarkay waterhen there.


<translate> The father asked the boy why he had not brought back any fish from the creek.

Nganjan-angka warru babajin, wanyurringku nyulu kuyu kari wundin wawubaja-muny.


<translate> You and I see the rope there.


<translate> We walked along the road; meanwhile rain fell.

Ngana baral-darr dungan, kaba daran-kuda.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<lexeme> {'english': "He doesn't do bad things (but) does good things", 'translation': 'Nyulu kari buyun-damal; nyulu ngulkurrku bunday'}


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


<glossary> dubal ; type=noun ; domain=artefact <usage_example> My child is sleeping in the coolamon


<translate> You and I see the shield here.


<translate> Put the meat up high, away behind the camp from the dogs.

Minya wangkar wuna, kaya bayan-mu kudamundu.


<translate> The old man taught the boys: if you catch a big animal, give the best part to the old people first, and then no one in the camp will be hungry.

Mukul-dingkarangka warru-warru binalbungan: kaki yundu minya yalbay karrba, minya bada daya mukul-mukulka ngadiku, bama bayanba kariku dakwuy.


<translate> The old people of two camps sat together for many days to arrange a marriage between a young man and a young woman.

Kamba-kamba bayan jambulmuny bundandan wungar wubulku, warru maralji wunayka balkanya.


<translate> The bush medicine is for the sick child.


<translate> You and I saw the bilu-warra spoonbill here.


<translate> You and I saw the murral tree kangaroo there.


<translate> You and I see the hillside there.


<translate> The young cassowary is here.


<translate> We see the smooth rock there.


<translate> You see the light-coloured hair there.


<translate> The women dug the fat white witchetty grubs out from under the roots of the old tree.

Jalbu-ngka mujurr jamba wubul juku mali bada-muny bakan.


<lexeme> bad spirit in form of crocodile


<translate> The two of them saw the warkal bailer shell here.


<glossary> nulu ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> She cooked damper in the ashes


<translate> You all saw the balarri queenfish here.


<translate> We saw the bamboo stick here.


<translate> The king parrot is a bird of bright red, the old man said, and it moves quietly through the canopy eating the small figs and berries.

Karrambil buyi ngala-ngala balbal-jirr, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu juku wangkar-a janka jilba binanji junda buban nuka.


<translate> At the big low tide of the cold season the whole camp walked out onto the reef country, the old woman remembered: the world doubled itself in the still water, everyone bent low over the stones, by the turn of the tide the bags had grown heavy, and the smallest child had learned ten new creatures, so the sea garden was the first school, and the tide called everybody home.

Ngajalba yalbayba bulur-ijimuny bayan wubulku jilban jalun-bubuku, wulbuman milka-binalku: bubu jambul-man bana wunbungu, bama wubulku bundan bada kuljika, yira murninya balji dandi-man, karrkay buban bajaku minya wubul jirakal binalman, yalada jalun-bubu nyulu school ngadiku, yirabu bama wubulku kunjan bayanka.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jadi goanna there.


<translate> He sees the ngadil hickory tree here.


<translate> The old man said if you want to know a person, do not listen to what they say about themselves, but watch what they do when they are tired, when they are hungry, when they think no one is looking, for anyone can be good when it is easy, and it is only under weight that the true shape shows.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu bama binalka, kari ngara nyulu nyulu-nyulunka balkalmu, yambada nyaji nyulu wanya bungal nyulu wawu-wula-y, nyulu dakwuy, nyulu milkabu baykal bama nyubun kari nyajil, bama wubulku yukil janay yamba buban-buban, dandingu nganga nyungu murni yukil milbil.


<translate> The old woman said a person can be changed for a whole life by a single moment, for one act of unexpected kindness at a low hour, one cruel word that cut too deep, one narrow escape from death, one glimpse of a great truth, can turn a person onto a wholly new path, so that alongside the slow changes that take years there are these sudden changes that take a heartbeat, and a wise person honors both the long river and the lightning.

Wulbumanangka balkan bama yindu-bungal wawu wubulku wungar nyubunbu, nyubun murni wawu-jirray kanban-kari mumbu-wungara, kuku-mumbu nyubun nyulu yakan dukurr bajaku, nyubun wula-muny warri-manin, nyaji nyubun kuku-yukil yalbaymuny, nyulu bama yindu-bungal baral yinduku bajaku, yindu buban-buban nyulu wungar wubulku manil jambulmuny yindu warri yinya nyulu wawu-warri nyubunbu manil, binal-bama nyulu jambul yulmbarril wawubaja kalbay balbay baja.


<translate> They saw the wuba red ochre there.


<translate> The little tadpoles swim about in the warm shallow water of the rock pool by the creek.

Kubu-kubu buban bana wumbul buban-ba janji-l-janji-l, kulji-bana wawubaja karangkal.


<translate> Father saw mother's upper leg.


<translate> You and I see the charcoal there.


<translate> That spear thrower is there.


<translate> The young men pulled it back to the beach.


<translate> The men kept spearing around for fish but caught nothing.

Dingkar-dingkar kuyu-ngu dama-n-dama-ji, yamba kari mani.


<translate> He saw the ngurrkul fig tree here.


<glossary> biwur ; type=adverb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> He is sitting with his hands holding his legs


<translate> The old man said the kin-web bound the living and the dead and the not-yet-born into one long line, for a person's grandparents had known their own grandparents, and a person's grandchildren would know their grandchildren, so that any living person stood at the middle of a chain reaching seven generations in each direction, and to know your kin was to feel the whole weight and reach of that chain running through you.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan jawun-karra kajan wula-mabi wula-mabi-kari karri-warru-mabi baja karra nyubun kalbaymuny, bama nyungu kami-babi binal jana nyungu-nyungu kami-babi, bama nyungu jija-warra binal jana nyungu-nyungu jija, bama wula-mabi nyulu janan mibarr karra nyubunmuny kadanya wubul wungar-kadal nyubun-nyubun jinanga, karra binalka nyulu ngara karra nyungu junkurr baral baja jilban yundu-mundu.


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


<translate> The old woman saw the frog in the water.

Wulbuman-angka yirku-yirku bana-nga nyajin.


<translate> He sees the jungka wild cherry tree here.


<translate> The old woman said illness is a change that comes upon a person unbidden, for a strong person falls ill overnight, becomes weak, becomes hot with fever, and the healer's whole art is to change that change back, to make the fever cool and the weak strong and the sick well again, so that sickness and healing are two changes running against each other, one pulling the body down and the other lifting it back up.

Wulbumanangka balkan bambay nyulu yindu-manin bama nyubunmuny kunjal-kari, bama junkurr bambay-mal wujurr nyubunba, kala-burra-mal, wumbul-mal, yukil-bungal-bama nyungu binal wubulku yindu yinya bada-bungalka, wumbul kiway-bungalka kala-burra junkurr-bungal bambay yukil-bungal baja, bambay yukil-mal baja, yindu jambul warri-way, nyubun bangkarr bada-bungal yindu wangkar-bungal baja.


<translate> Mother left the fire stick at camp.


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


<translate> The people painted their own bodies with red ochre, yellow ochre and black charcoal for the big dance.

Bama-ngka nyungu-nyungu murbuy makirr ngunjil-ji julngkan, warrma yalbay-ka.


<translate> You hear the rustling noise here.


<translate> The old woman said: know the plants, and the country will never leave you without food.

Wulbumanangka balkan: mayi-juku binalman, bubu-bu yununy kariku mayi-kari-bungal.


<translate> Nobody swims here, said grandad. This is the shark's water.

Kamingka balkan: kari yaluy marajika. Yanyu yaburrumu bana.


<translate> You all see the love handles there.


<translate> You see the umbrella palm here.


<glossary> walngkal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> The clothes are hanging on the line


<translate> The food was all eaten up quickly and nothing was left for the others.

Mayi wubul jinbal-baja nuka-jin, yindu-ka mayi kari bawa-jin.


<translate> They gave the old man the biggest fish.

Jana kuyu yalbay bajaku dajin mukul dingkaranda.


<translate> They two saw the prawn there.


<translate> I am trying to see that person standing over there, but he is much too far away.

Ngayu nyaji-nka yinya bama wangkar-a janay, kari kalbay-bajaku.


<translate> The story about Kubirri is long.


<translate> They saw the headband there.


<translate> They saw the jirimandi coconut tree here.


<translate> You all see the mirrki kidney bird there.


<translate> The man called the dog: "Come!"


<translate> You all see the nakawarra bee here.


<translate> Fire is a gift and a danger, said the old man; keep it well, or it will burn the whole camp.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: baya ngulkurr, baya yinil; kuji ngulkurrku, kari, bayabu bayan wubulku wajul.


<translate> The old people put the feelings low in the body, the old man explained: fear sits in the liver, hunger in the stomach, homesickness in the throat, and anger comes up hot past the neck to the face, so when you name a feeling you also say where it burns.

Bama mukulungku wawu-yamba bada bungan bangkarrba, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin: yinil jibanga bundal, dakwuy jibara, milka-bujar manungu, kuli wumbul wangkar kaday jakaymba waluku, kaki yundu wawu-yamba kunjal yundu balkal baja wanja nyulu wajul.


<translate> You two saw the mawu grass here.


<translate> Grandmother saw the Torres Strait pigeon outside.


<translate> You and I see the sugar glider here.


<translate> Build the fire here, out of the wind.


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


<glossary> kumbir ; type=adjective ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> I'm better now, after being sick


<translate> As the day cooled the women prepared the evening food, and the children came back tired and hungry from their play.

Wungar kiwaymanda, jalbu-jalbungku mayi yilay-yilaymu ngaran, karrkay-karrkay kadan baja baja-burray dakwuyji kinkaymuny.


<translate> You all see the julbal tree here.


<translate> The child saw mother's navel.


<translate> The two of them saw the jalkay salmon there.


<translate> His foot was badly cut on the sharp rock, and the bright blood ran down over his toes.

Nyungu jina kulji jinbal-ba yakan, mula durru-ngu bada warri.


<translate> You two see the domestic turkey there.


<translate> The dog carried auntie's bag.


<translate> You all see the ngadil hickory tree there.


<translate> After bathing they have a rest.


<translate> A person without a dog finds no pigs, the old man said, so keep your dog close.

Bama kaya-kari bikibiki kari warrmba-bunga-l, mukul-dingkar-angka balkan, kaya ngundu karrba!


<translate> Mother saw the child's ankle.


<translate> You and I see the love handles here.


<translate> The woman went to the scrub to get food.


<translate> We should have buried the old songs in the young ones while there were still many who remembered, the old woman said, but we were busy staying alive, and each year an old singer died and took a hundred songs into the ground, and now we hold only pieces, and a song in pieces cannot be sung.

Ngana wangkarr ngadiku warru-manda wandi-nyaku wubul jana milkanga karrban janay-mba, wulbumanangka balkan, yambada ngana yabarrka janayka wawu-karrbalka, wungar wubulku mala-burri nyubun wulan wangkarr wubul bubungu jarrakulban, nyiku ngana nganga buban karrbal, wangkarr buban-mandanga murruji balkalmu.


<translate> You two see the jirimandi coconut tree here.


<translate> You and I see the dijarr freshwater perch there.


<translate> Grandmother washed mother's arm.


<translate> They saw the black palm there.


<translate> The boys watched everything the old man did and asked him the name of every part of the spear.

Dabalangka nyajin yambayamba mukulungku dingkarangka ngaranya, babajin kalkamu burri wubulku.


<translate> The azure kingfisher is there.


<translate> The old man said the roots and tubers of the ground are the food that never fails, for when the fruit is out of season and the fish will not bite and the game is scarce, the yams are still there in the earth waiting, so he taught the boys as carefully as the girls where each root grows, for a hunter who can also dig will never bring his family to real hunger.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan bangkan juwal bubu baja nyulu mayi kariku bawalmuny, mayi wungar-karinga kuyu kari baykal minya buban janay-mba, juwal nganga bubungu janan maku-janal, nyulu warru-warru milbin jalbu-buban yala wanja bangkan nyubun jarral, balbi-bama nyulu bakal baja nyulu kariku jawun-karra dakwuy bajaku kadalmu.


<translate> You see the freshwater turtle there.


<translate> The black scrub goanna is big.


<translate> We saw the small sticks there.


<translate> I heard barking from the house.


<translate> A boy watched his cousin get a fine new spear and felt ngujan, jealousy, a fat grub turning in his belly, and it made him cross with his cousin for no reason at all.

Karrkay nyungu yaba kalka jirakal ngulkurr manin nyajin, ngujan janay, kurran wandul jibara murninya, yinya nyulu dukul-wuri-manin nyungu yabaka nganga.


<translate> I see the scrub wallaby here.


<translate> They saw the juku-juku bronzewing dove here.


<translate> My elder sister's clothes are hanging by the fire to dry.

Kambi babarr-bal-amu baya karangkal wunay, ngulkurr-ma-nka.


<translate> The old man said: I should have taught you all this while I was still strong, but the days went fast; so learn well, teach your own children, before your own day comes.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: ngayu yundu-yundu yinya wubul binal-bunga-nyaku, ngayu junkurrji jananya, yambada wungar warri-baja dungan; yundu binal, karrkay-karrkay yundu binal-bunga, yundu wungar kada-nyjiku.


<translate> They saw the kalngkan small mullet there.


<translate> You all see the spring here.


<translate> The little child followed its mother everywhere, walking behind her along every winding track.

Karrkay buban ngamu wukurrin wubulku, jilba-nya kudamundu jina narmba-burr.


<translate> The old woman said the crow watches everything and remembers, and if you are cruel to one crow, the whole mob will know your face and scold you for years.

Mukul-jalbu balkan: kalbu wubulku nyaji-nyaji milka-karrba, kaki yundu kalbu nyubun-ka buyun-mal, kalbu narmba yundu walu binal, yirrka-yirrka wungar wubul.


<translate> We hear the grunt sound here.


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


<translate> You see the kunjarri palm here.


<translate> You saw the deep water there.


<glossary> kural ; type=noun ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> He swam under water


<translate> All through the dark middle of the night the people sleep close beside the warm fire.

Kunarangkal bama wubul baya wumbul karangkal warngku-wuna-l.


<translate> They see the kookaburra here.


<translate> You and I saw the flea here.


<translate> You all saw the bamboo stick there.


<translate> You and I saw the kabuljaka snake here.


<translate> The person here is beautiful.


<translate> The old man said if a young man asks you for advice, give it once, plainly, and then be quiet, for if he is wise he heard you the first time and needs no more, and if he is foolish he will not hear you the tenth time either, and repeating only makes both of you tired.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki warru yundunka kuku-yukil babaji, daya nyubun, ngulkurr, yalada janka, kaki nyulu binal nyulu ngaran yundu ngadiku kariku wubul wawu, kaki nyulu buban nyulu kariku ngara yundu wubulku baja, balka-balka jambulku wawu-wula-y-manil.


<translate> The two of them saw the jirimandi coconut tree here.


<translate> We saw the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> The man left the spear in the shade.


<translate> The friend asked the girl about news.


<translate> Long ago the people always knew which tree held the wild bees and their sweet honey.

Kalbay-muny bama-ngka wungar wubulku binal juku wanyu dabu wunba-jirr.


<translate> My aunt taught my sister to weave baskets and find the yams, because that is women's knowledge passed from mother to daughter.

Ngayku mukul ngayku babarr binal-bungan balji wukurrinka, mayi nubinka, yinya jalbu-mu binal ngamu-muny kangkalka.


<translate> When the old man could no longer walk the long journeys, the young ones would carry him the last part on a litter of poles and bark, and he did not feel shame in it, for he had carried others in his own strong years, and he said the litter carries everyone in the end.

Mukulungku dingkarangka nyiku murruji jilbal kalbay, warru jana nyulu dumbay jarrakulban juku baja wawun-ji, nyulu kari milka-murruji-manda yinyanga, nyulu bama yindu jarrakulban nyungu wungar junkurrbu, nyulu balkan: juku-jarrakay bama wubulku jarrakulbal dumbay-mba.


<translate> The little orphan child was left motherless and fatherless, so the whole camp raised him.

Karrkay buban ngamu-kari nganjan-kari baja bawan, bayan wubul-angka nyunguny buban-manin.


<translate> You and I see the red bream here.


<translate> The old man said a small plain bird in the scrub can throw the calls of many other birds, so that you think a whole flock is there when it is only one.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: buyi buban madja-ba buyi yindu-yindu-mu yirrka wubul balka, yundu milka-ma-l buyi wubul yaluy, nyubun-bu.


<translate> This is our country; our fathers and their fathers hunted here.

Yanyu ngananga bubu; ngananga nganjan, jananga nganjan baja, yaluy balbin.


<translate> You saw the waterfall there.


<translate> Grandfather saw the paperbark.


<glossary> dumbarril ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He broke the cassette because he was angry


<translate> I came from the camp with paperbark.


<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, not you, saw the kurmba-kurmba lizard there.


<translate> They would have found the hidden water in half a day, the old man turned his head over the travellers without water, if they had asked any grandmother at the last camp, for the water knowledge lives with the old women, but the young men asked only themselves, and the self knows every road except the one to water.

Jana bana ngakijinmuny maninyaku wungar-bubanbu, mukulungku dingkarangka dukul murnin jilba-bamanka bana-mundu, kaki jana babajinyaku babi nyubun-nyubun bayanba badaba, binal banamuny nyulu wunay wulbumananda, yambada warru-warrungku babajin nganga nyulu-nyulu, nyulu-nyulu binal baral wubulku, kari baral banaka nganga.


<translate> They gave fish to every family at the camp.

Jana kuyu dajin jananda wubulku bayanba.


<translate> People hold true words, hear the old people, and tell the children; that is the way of the country.

Bama-ngku kuku yukil karrbal, mukul-bama nyajil, karrkay-karrkay-nka balkal; yinya yalaku bubu-mu.


<translate> Grandfather saw the pig on the ground.


<translate> He saw the jinkalmu snake here.


<translate> That night the boy could not sleep for thinking of the hunt, and he asked his father a hundred more questions in the dark, until at last he slept.

Yinya kunarangkal karrkay murruji warngku wunay balbi milka-bu baykanya, nyulu nyungu dingkarka babaji wubul balkan wujurrbu warngku wunanyjiku ngadiku.


<translate> The little kangaroo rat lives in the dry grass country and feeds on the seeds and small roots.

Jayju buban bubu jikan marral-ba wunay, nukal wukay buban mayi-mayi.


<translate> I saw the spear at the camp.


<translate> They saw the posterior here.


<translate> The hollow tree is home to the possum, the bat, and the wild bees.

Juku-janku yawa-mu mali-mu dabu-mu bayan.


<translate> Do not touch the vicious dog, lest it bite the child.

Kari kaya kuli-ji karrba, karrkay bayka-nyji.


<translate> You and I see the kangaroo rat there.


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


<translate> You and I saw the bilu-warra spoonbill here.


<translate> They saw the smouldering log there.


<translate> We saw the rope in the shade.


<translate> You all see the spear barb there.


<translate> The old woman said the sea feeds you every single day if you know it, the tide going out and coming in each and every day.

Mukul-jalbu balkan: jalun mayi dajil wungar nyubun-nyubun yundu binal-ba, yira dunga kada-baja wungar nyubun-nyubun marri.


<translate> They saw the hair belt here.


<glossary> bakal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> They dug a hole


<translate> We two, not you, saw the wakumba tree canopy here.


<translate> He saw the darrba grass wallaby here.


<translate> Grandmother wove the bag from coarse grass.


<translate> You see the black spotted dart here.


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


<translate> The old woman said the best way to learn a thing is to teach it, for when you must explain a thing to another you discover the holes in your own understanding, and so the teacher and the learner teach each other whether they mean to or not.

Wulbumanangka balkan: yamba binalka yala ngulkurr bajaku milbinka, yundu yamba bama yindunka balkanya yundu nyajil nyungu binalmu yamba-kari, yinyabu milbibama binalbama jana milbi-way jana wawunya kariku baja.


<translate> What did you see in the scrub? I saw something move in the grass, but I do not know what it was; maybe a snake, maybe a wallaby.

Wanyu yundu madja-nga nyajin? Ngayu junjuy jikan-ba wanan nyajin, yambada ngayu kari binal wanyu; jarba nguba, kadar nguba.


<translate> The children learned the names of the tides — the low water, the turning, the high water, and the still water.

Karrkay-karrkayangka yiramu burri binalman: ngajal, murnimu, balar, bana janay wunbu.


<translate> He saw the bakay snake here.


<translate> You and I see the kurrujuwa sentry bird there.


<translate> That person there is greedy.


<glossary> balkaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-function <usage_example> the baby was born yesterday


<translate> You and I see the bujabay tree there.


<translate> The old woman rubbed the edge of the stone knife on a harder stone to make it sharp and good again.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku naybu kulji junkurr yindu-bu murnin, jirrbu ngulkurr yindu-mani.


<translate> The men put feathers on their heads and the women prepared food for everyone at the gathering.

Dingkar-dingkarangka dukulba bujur yijarrin, jalbu-jalbungku mayi ngaran jananka.


<translate> Then the brothers came together, the yaba-karra, walking in a line from oldest to youngest, and behind them the sisters, the babarr-karra, carrying dilly bags heavy with the season's food.

Yindu yaba-karra nyubun kadan, jarran warru bajakumuny buban bajakuka, kudamundu babarr-karra, balji dandi mayi wungarmu wundin.


<translate> That billycan is grandmother's.


<translate> The old woman said a fire with dry wood and a fire with wet wood are the difference between a warm night and a smoky, sputtering, miserable one, and she taught the children to always gather and store the dry wood in the good weather, for the person with a dry-wood store laughs at the rain while the storeless person shivers and curses it.

Wulbumanangka balkan baya juku-kiway-ji baya juku-duna-ji yindu-yindu yala wujurr wumbul wujurr kubu-ji, jirra-jirra, mumbu baja, nyulu karrkay-karrkay milbin yabarrka juku-kiway bangkal karrbal wungar yukilba, bama juku-kiway-karrban-ji nyulu yajarrin banamuny yambada karrban-kari bama nyulu yararrin mumbu balkanya.


<translate> You saw the bamboo stick here.


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


<translate> When the first light comes in the cold dawn, the little birds wake and call in the tall trees.

Balbal wunkuwingku ngiki-ba kada-nya, buyi buban wandin yirrka-l juku kalbay-mba.


<translate> We, not you, saw the wawukuna long wild yam there.


<translate> This will be a big storm, he said, so bring the children in and cover the food and tie down everything the wind could take.

Yanyu jarramali yalbay kadanya, nyulu balkan, karrkay-karrkay dukurr wundi, mayi nanda, yamba wubulku kaja muyarbu kari manilnyji.


<translate> Grandfather takes medicinal root for the road in case he gets sick.

Ngaji-ngka bangkan wundil baral-ka, kunka nyulu bambay-ma-nya-mun-ku.


<translate> The man's shoulder is strong.


<translate> Yours is yours and mine is mine, but the path between the camps belongs to the feet that keep it open.

Yunumuny yunumuny, ngaykumuny ngaykumuny, yambada baral bayan-jambulmuny jinamuny nyulu ngalkal karrbalmuny.


<glossary> jakal ; type=noun ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> Fill the bucket up with water


<glossary> jarrngkurr ; type=noun ; domain=weapon <usage_example> He hit the man with his weapon


<translate> The echidna is digging with its claws.


<translate> The two of them saw the small sticks here.


<glossary> wurrmay ; type=noun ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> Don't steal


<translate> He saw the kalngkan small mullet here.


<translate> A great grey boulder sits all alone in the middle of the wide dry river bed.

Kulji yalbay nyubun-bu wawubaja marral kalbay dindarra-nga bundan.


<translate> The two of them saw the birinjil centipede there.


<translate> In the cold season an old man of the camp fell sick and weak, and he could not get up, or eat, or keep himself warm.

Bulurijinga bayanmu mukul dingkar bambaymanda junkurr-kari, nyulu murruji wandil, nukal, nyulu-nyulu wumbuljinka.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> The hunter hid himself behind the big tree to watch the game.

Balbi-bama ngakiji juku yalbay kudamundu, minya nyaji-nka.


<translate> You saw the murrkul tree there.


<translate> The kin saw each other again and were glad, after a long time apart.

Jawun nyaji-way baja, jana ngulkurr, kalbay-muny nyaji-kari.


<translate> The child put mother's clothes in the bag.

Karrkay-ngku kambi ngamu-ngu balji-nga yijarrin.


<translate> A little girl asked: where do the old people go when they die, and can they see us from there?

Maralangka bubanangka babajin: kamba-kamba wanjaka dungay wulaku, jana nganangan nyajil yinyaymuny?


<translate> You all saw the pumice stone there.


<translate> You and I see the torch here.


<translate> Do not lift the billycan lest you drop it.


<translate> The sisters sat together weaving the dilly-bags and singing the old songs by the fire, the old woman said, all through the long warm afternoon.

Babarr-karra bunda muru ngunyin jaba-l-jaba-nya wulngku kalbay-muny-mu yirrka-yirrka-nya buri-ngka, mukul-jalbu balkan, wungar wumbul narmba.


<translate> You see the baldy gum tree here.


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> He won't let me go


<translate> A person belongs to the country where they were born, the old man always taught.

Bama nyulu bubu-ka nyungu wandin-muny, mukul-dingkar-angka wungar wubulku milban.


<translate> The big kangaroo was speared by the two hunters out on the level plain.

Mayarriji yalbay dingkar jambul-anda dama-jin, bubu dubar-a.


<translate> The child asked mother about the mango.


<translate> To find the wild honey, the old man said, catch one small sugarbag bee at the flower and follow it, slow and patient, all the way home to its nest in the tree.

Ngamurr mani-nka, mukul-dingkar balkan, kuja buban nyubun nganka-ba mani jina-bu dunga, janka bundanday, juku nyungu janku-ka narmba.


<translate> What else do you want me to teach you now, the old man asked the boy, now that you already know how to hunt and to make a good spear.

Wanyu-baja yundu wawu ngayu yununy binal-bungal niji? mukul-dingkar-angka karrkay nyajin, yundu niji binal balbi-nka kalka ngulkurr bunga-nka.


<translate> Don't leave the fire — bank it with ash so it does not die by morning.

Kari baya bawa — bajar-bu nanda, nyulu kari wulay wunkuwingku-ka.


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


<translate> That lady apple tree is there.


<translate> The two of them saw the nakawarra bee there.


<translate> The dingo howled in the dark hills all through the cold night, and the camp dogs called back.

Murramu jamba ngungul-ba badin wujurr ngiki wubulku, bayan kaya balka-wa.


<translate> I learned to find water in the dry country the hard way, from my grandfather: he showed me to follow the birds at dusk to where they drink, to read the green line of the deeper-rooted trees, to dig at the outer bend of a dry creek where the water hides, to listen for the frogs buried in the mud, and we found water each time by one of these signs, and then I never feared the dry country again.

Ngayu binalman bana bubu-kiway dukurr-bu maninka dandibu, ngayku ngajimuny: nyulu ngaya milbin jujubala kunarangkal wukurrinka wanja jana jangal, juku birra-jirakal dukurr-jarra binalka, bakanka bana-jandu-ngu bana wunay wanja, ngara-mundu diburr-kaya janka-dukurr-bu, ngana bana manin wungar wubulku wari nyubunmuny, yalada ngayu kariku bubu-kiway yinilman baja.


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


<translate> We saw the kuran case-moth larva here.


<translate> My mother, your father, and his grandmother sat together by the fire.

Ngayku ngamu, yunu nganjan, nyungu babi muru bundan baya karangkal.


<translate> Take firewood lest cold come.


<translate> You and I see the fire there.


<translate> The deep green valley lies between the two big mountains, full of thick rainforest.

Kangku dukurr manjal jambul-ba wunay, madja junkurr wubulku.


<translate> I saw the barrbal black bream there.


<translate> Her navel is small and round, and the little child laughs when the mother tickles her soft belly.

Nyungu wurra buban murru-murru, karrkay buban yajarri-l, ngamu-ngku nyungu jibar balbal dama-nya.


<translate> The two of them saw the ngarkay waterhen here.


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


<translate> The old man said hunger is a hard teacher but a true one: the child who has never been hungry does not know the worth of a full belly, so a season of scarcity, hard as it is, teaches the young what no full-bellied lecture ever could, and the old who lived through the great hungers valued every mouthful for the rest of their long lives.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: dakwuy milbi-bama dandi yambada yukil: karrkay nyulu kariku dakwuy nyulu murruji binal jiba yajinmu dandi, wungar mayi-karimu, dandi nyulu janay, milbil warru yamba jiba-yajin balkalmu kariku milbilmu, mukul jana dakwuy yalbaymuny janay jana kujin mayi nyubun-nyubun wawu kalbay wubulmuny.


<translate> I will teach you the song after the food, not before it.

Ngayu yununy wulngku milbil wawu-mayi-muny, kari mayi ngadiku.


<translate> The child jumped over the log.


<translate> They saw the jiwurrmal pheasant cuckoo here.


<translate> They saw the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> You two saw the karrmbil parakeet here.


<translate> You and I saw the kawarr bloodwood tree here.


<glossary> bangkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> When I went to Brisbane, I got (gathered) toys and clothing for my younger brothers

ngayu Brisbane dungan, toy, kambi bangkal-bangkan yabaju-karragna


<translate> That mass of vines is there.


<translate> I saw the bone on the ground.


<translate> You and I saw the barinkan scrub bird there.


<translate> What did you see in the scrub? I saw something move in the grass, but I do not know what it was; maybe a snake, maybe a wallaby.

Wanyu yundu madja-nga nyajin? Ngayu junjuy jikan-ba wanan nyajin, yambada ngayu kari binal wanyu; jarba nguba, kadar nguba.


<translate> The snake shed its skin on the warm rock and left it lying there in the sun.

Jarba nyungu munyun bawal kulji wumbul-a, yinya-nga wunay wungar-a.


<translate> You two see the jumper ant there.


<translate> The old man said the deepest kind of help makes the other person stronger, not weaker: do not carry a person who can learn to walk, but walk beside them until they can, and then let them walk, and then let them carry you.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: mara-daji-way bada bajaku nyulu bama yindu junkurr-manil, kari junkurr-kari-manil: kari bama jarrakulba nyulu jilbay binalmanka, yambada nyungu ngundu jilba nyulu binalmuny, yalada nyulu jilbay bawa, yalada nyulu yundu jarrakulba bawa.


<translate> You and I see the tree kangaroo here.


<translate> I hear the grunt sound here.


<translate> The child saw the Leichhardt tree in the scrub.


<translate> They saw the dukunjulu golden whistler here.


<translate> Climb the palm, cut the top, and bring the good food down to us!

Yawarrba daka, kaku yaka, ngananda mayi wundi!


<translate> The man saw the Torres Strait Island pigeon at camp.


<translate> The hunter hid himself behind the big tree to watch the game.

Balbi-bama ngakiji juku yalbay kudamundu, minya nyaji-nka.


<translate> The child dug the ground with a stick.


<translate> That lady apple tree is there.


<translate> Father asked mother about liver.


<glossary> wungka ; type=noun ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> She's swearing another woman (because she's wronged)


<translate> You see the bamboo stick here.


<translate> The old woman said the rainbow was a great snake that lived in the deep waterholes and rose into the sky after rain.

Wulbumanangka balkan: yiril jarba yalbay, bana badanga bundanay, jiri wangkar wandin kabamuny.


<translate> The fire died down, the night became cold, the water came, and then it put out the last coals.

Baya bada dungan, wujurr kiway-man, bana kada-nda, ngunjil bada nandan.


<translate> We see the spider shell here.


<translate> They saw the kalkarrumbarr lizard there.


<translate> The child was lost in the big scrub, but the old man found him.

Karrkay nubi-ji madja yalbay-mba, yambada mukul-dingkarangka milbin.


<translate> After washing, the young men rubbed fat on their skin to make it shine and to keep off the biting mosquitoes in the evening.

Julurri-jinmuny, warru-warrungka wandul bangkarra yijarrin balbajinka, kamu yilay-yilay kudamundu kujinka.


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


<translate> You and I see the swamp here.


<translate> You all see the humpy there.


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


<translate> Mother went to camp after washing clothes.

Ngamu bayan-ka dungan, wawu-kambi-muny julurrin.


<glossary> janbay-janbay ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> You people are cheeky


<translate> The branch broke off in the storm.


<translate> You and I see the lizard here.


<translate> We saw the munungkul ground pigeon here.


<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> We hear the chewing sound here.


<translate> Let the tired child sleep by the fire, the old woman said, do not wake him for the food, he can eat when he wakes in the morning.

Balu karrkay baja-burray buri-ngka wuna, mukul-jalbu balkan, baluda mayi-nka kulbul-mani, nyulu nuka wunkuwingku-ba wandi-nya-muny.


<glossary> biwur ; type=adverb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> He is sitting with his hands holding his legs


<translate> Dad went hunting with uncle. They speared a wallaby in the scrub. Granny cooked it in the earth oven.

Nganjan kalnganji dungan, minyaka. Bula madjanga kadar daman. Babingka wayjun kurrmanga.


<translate> We, not you, saw the birukay egg yolk there.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


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


<translate> He hit the snake with a stick.


<translate> You all see the liver there.


<glossary> dumbarriji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He broke his farm


<translate> They saw the spear thrower here.


<translate> The old woman said the difference between a life with meaning and a life without it is not in what a person owns but in what a person gives, for she had seen rich people die empty and poor people die full, and she taught that the person with much to give and no wish to keep it is the richest of all, while the hoarder with everything is the truly poor one.

Wulbumanangka balkan wawu-ji-janay wawu-kari-janay yindu-yindu kari yamba bama karrbalmuny yambada yamba bama dayalmuny, nyulu nyajin yamba-ji-bama wulal jiba-kari yamba-kari-bama wulal jiba-ji, nyulu milbin bama daji wubul-ji karrba-wawu-kari nyulu yamba-ji bajaku wubulmuny, mara-kulun-bama yamba wubulku-ji nyulu yamba-kari bajaku.


<translate> You and I saw the karrkurr frog here.


<translate> The cassowary is standing in the scrub.


<translate> What did those men get from the sea today?

Wanyu dingkar yinya jalun-muny manin wungar-a?


<translate> The death adder is small, but it is very dangerous and bites you on the foot.

Kundurr buban, yamba junkurr-baja, nyulu yununy jina-nga bayka-l.


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


<translate> You see the black palm there.


<glossary> nganga ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> I came for just a little bit, have to get back to cook

Ngayu nganga kadan. Ngayu dungay baja mayika wayjul


<translate> You and I see the karraway snail here.


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


<translate> A person who knows the stars and the winds is never lost, even in strange country.

Bama nyulu dawar muyar binal kari kilbaji yabarrka, bubu yindungu yambada.


<translate> The folded clothing is here.


<translate> I see the black spotted dart here.


<translate> The old man said: I am an old man now, and my own parents are long dead, but I am still their son; you do not stop being a child when your parents die, you simply become the keeper of their memory and the teller of their story.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: Ngayu mukul dingkar nyiku, ngayku ngamu nganjan ngadiku wulan, yambada ngayu kariku nyungu kangkal; yundu kari kangkal bawal nyungu ngamu-nganjan wulanya, yundu nganga nyungu binalkumu kujibama-manda, nyungu milbimu balkabama.


<translate> You and I saw the river here.


<lexeme> tree (this term is very rarely used for money)


<translate> The sun came out from behind the cloud.


<translate> The stick lay on the ground.


<translate> The grandmother said death is not the enemy of the old but the completion of their work: the seed does not mourn when it becomes the tree, and the old, if they have lived well, do not mourn to become the spirits who watch over the young.

Babingka balkan: wulay kari mukulmu yamba yinil, yambada nyungu kirraji dungaymu: diburr kari jiba-badil nyulu juku-mandanya, mukul, kaki jana ngulkurr bunday, kari jiba-badil dubu-mandanya jana warru wangkar nyajil.


<translate> You and I see the crocodile here.


<translate> They saw the running water there.


<glossary> ngukal-badi ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> Don't steal (it), just ask (for it)

Yundu kari wurrmay-bakamaka, ngukal-badiku


<translate> The brother-in-law is there.


<translate> They will not go in case the rain comes.


<translate> Whom did the old man send north, and with whom? He sent my brother, and my brother went with two other young men; they carry the message-stick to the clans.

Wanya mukul-dingkarangka kuwa-nka yungan, wanyanji? Nyulu ngayku yaba yungan, ngayku yaba warru jambul yindu-ji dungan; jana duburan-jaba bama-nka wundil.


<glossary> damal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> he speared a fish with a spear


<translate> Father laughed at grandmother.


<translate> The young men made new spears and new boomerangs from the hard wood before the big meeting.

Warru-ngku kalka jirakal, wangal jirakal bungal juku junkurr-bu, muru yalbay kariku.


<translate> They saw the bloodwood tree.


<translate> The women worked the oyster rocks with sharp stones, breaking the shells open and eating some as they went.

Jalbu-jalbungku julul kuljinga kirrajin kulji dirrabu, milbar dumbarrin, nukan buban dunganya.


<translate> That native companion is there.


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


<translate> The old woman said if the whole camp is angry at one person and you alone think that person may be right, it will cost you dearly to say so, and you must say so anyway, quietly and without heat, for a people that punishes the lone honest voice teaches everyone to be silent, and the silence is the beginning of every great wrong.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki bayan wubulku bama nyubunka dukul-wuri yundu nganga milka bama nyulu yukil, dandi-baja yundunka balkanka, yundu yabarrka balka, janka kari dukul-wuribu, bama nyulu bama nyubun yukil kuku kuni jana wubulku janji-manil, janji ngadiku mumbu yalbay wubulkumu.


<translate> You and I saw the dilly bag there.


<translate> The children ran out one after another to see the two hunters bringing home the big fat pig.

Karrkay-karrkay jururr wanarrin, balbi-bama jambul bikibiki yalbay wundi-nya nyaji-nka.


<translate> Inside the story there is another story, the way the seed sits inside the fruit.

Kana kuku-jangkara kuku-jangkar yindu janay, yala diburr bundal kana junjunba.


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


<translate> We see the burnt patch of grass there.


<translate> The wood there is not rotten.


<translate> You see the kunkun periwinkle there.


<translate> You two see the blanket here.


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


<translate> The men built a new shelter before the wet season.

Dingkar-dingkarangka bayan jirakal ngaran.


<translate> Did you hear the thunder last night?


<translate> You and I see the crocodile here.


<translate> The old people say the big grey kangaroo is like the boss of all the plain country.

Mukul-bama balka, julmbanu yalbay yala maja bubu narmba-mu.


<translate> You and I saw the karkunbay stockwhip bird there.


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


<translate> Mother saw the sea turtle in the water.


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


<translate> We two, not you, see the mirrbangku pencil cedar tree there.


<translate> The twins confuse everyone but their mother — she says even their footsteps have different names.

Ngawa-jambul bama wubulku milka-buyun-bungal, ngamu kari: nyulubu balkal jina bulamuny baja burri yindu-yindu-ji.


<translate> The king parrot eats the little red seeds out on the branch above the running creek.

Karrambil diburr buban dakil-ba nuka-l, wawubaja wangkar-a.


<lexeme> the Aboriginal camp at Thompson Creek


<translate> Grandmother saw the dilly bag at camp.


<translate> You all saw the marril ti tree there.


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


<translate> We see the buyukal tree there.


<translate> You and I see the kalkurr yam there.


<glossary> maru-maru ; type=adverb ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> I came with nothing, having nothing


<translate> You see the wangku tree here.


<translate> The wild honey high in the tree is the sweetest of all the foods in the deep rainforest.

Wunba juku wangkar-a nyulu mayi jiba-wulay bajaku, mayi wubulku madja dukurr-ba.


<translate> That small conical shellfish is there.


<translate> After swimming right across the wide deep river, the boy climbed out and lay a long while in the warm sand to dry himself, the old woman said.

Wawu-maraji-nya-muny bana-jandu yalbay dajali murru-murru, karrkay ngalkal-ma-l wuna wumbul marri jukar wumbul-ba marral-ma-nka, mukul-jalbu balkan.


<translate> The two men did not find any fish in the shallow creek, so they walked on down to the sea.

Dingkar jambul-angka kuyu kari manin wawubaja buban-ba, jana bada jilban jalun-ka.


<translate> That night the old man looked at the stars over the hills and said: this is our country, and it knows us.

Yinya kunarangkal mukulungku dingkarangka dawar nyajin manjalba, balkan: yanyu nganamu bubu, bubu ngananka binal.


<glossary> ngamba ; type=adjective ; domain=perception <usage_example> They went into his house in his absence

Jana nyunguwunbu bayanba walan nyungungunbu ngambanga


<translate> The young man became sick yesterday.


<translate> The woman put the mussels in the bag.


<translate> Father laughed at grandfather.


<translate> You two saw the biru-biru rainbow bird there.


<translate> You saw the jabil lizard there.


<translate> He got sick from the bad meat.


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


<translate> Gather only the ripe fruit that falls, the old woman told the children, and leave the green fruit on the branch for the days to come.

Mayi kulbul dara-nya bangka nyubun-bu, mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay-karrkay balkan, mayi nganjil dakil-ba wuna wungar kada-nya-nka.


<translate> You two see the dabway bird here.


<translate> The old man taught the boys the names of the winds and which season each one brings.

Mukulungku dingkarangka dabal binalbungan muyarmu burri, wanjawanja muyar buluriji wanjawanja wangariji.


<translate> The child left the paperbark in the shade.


<translate> They see the marsupial native cat here.


<translate> The two young men walked all day up the river and came back to the camp at dark.

Warru jambul wungar wubulku wangkar wawubaja jilban, bayan-ka nyunban wujurr-ba.


<translate> Where did you come from? I came from the north country, a long way off. And where does this river run to? It runs down to the sea, past the mangroves.

Yundu wanjamuny kadan? Ngayu kuwa-bubu-muny kadan, kala-kalbay. Nyiku wawubaja wanjabu dungay? Nyulu yalmba-nka bada dungay, kajul ngundu.


<translate> The green ant bit the little boy right on the cheek, and it swelled up big and dark.

Munjurr-angka warru buban kangkul-ba baykan, nyulu yalbay-ma-n ngungul-baja.


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


<translate> Father saw the scrub turkey in the scrub.


<translate> The child saw the open ground there.


<translate> The log from the tree lay on the ground.


<translate> The woman laughed at father.


<glossary> warmbill ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The people don't believe the Pastor


<translate> The two of them see the ridge pole here.


<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?


<lexeme> {'english': 'Yabaju kari diday-mana ngaykundu. Ngayu babarr', 'translation': "Don't say bad something bad about my younger brother to me. I'm his older sister."}


<translate> With one strong throw of the woomera the hunter drove the spear deep into the kangaroo.

Balbi-bama-ngka balur-bu nyubun junkurr kalka mayarriji-nga dukurr mumal.


<translate> They two see the bamboo stick there.


<translate> He sees the wurarr-wurarr dragonfly there.


<translate> The old woman said the trees remember the fire, for a country burned well in the cool season grows back green and open and full of new food, but a country left unburnt too long grows a deadly fuel-load and burns at last in a killing fire that destroys even the great old trees, so the old people burned the country in careful patches, reading each tree and each grass to know its season.

Wulbumanangka balkan juku baya karrbal, bubu wajun yukil kiway-kiway wungara jirakal-manda janga jarral mayi jirakal-mabi, yambada bubu waju-kari kalbay bajaku nyulu baya-mayi wula-mabi jarral wajun bada bajaku baya-kunil juku yalbay mukul baja kunilmuny, bama mukul bubu wajun buban-buban karra, juku nyubun jikan nyubun ngaran nyungu wungar binalka.


<translate> The black crow is standing there.


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


<translate> You all saw the sandfly here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the sea turtle here.


<translate> They saw the wangay vine here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the bajalji python here.


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


<translate> I give you money, and you in turn give me meat.

Ngayu yunu mani dajil, yundu-ji ngayku minya daya.


<translate> Grandfather saw the pig at the camp.


<translate> The ground there is not flat.


<translate> The old man said the shark is the boss of the sea, stronger than all the fish and afraid of nothing.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan yaburr jalun-mu maja, jarra-yaykarr kuyu wubulku, kariku junjuy-nka yinil.


<translate> The blue-tongue lizard is slow, and it eats the beetles and the snails on the ground.

Bajabaja janka-baja, ngirran kaduy nukal bubu-ngu.


<translate> The little child watched everything from behind its mother, saying nothing and not moving at all.

Karrkay buban narmba nyajin ngamu kudamundu, kuku-kari, kari warri.


<lexeme> someone who is continually talking


<translate> Many trees are standing there beside the camp.

Juku wubul yinyay janjanay bayan karangkal.


<translate> Mother went to the shade with clothes.


<translate> Blood ran fast from the deep cut, so she pressed the soft green leaves hard on it.

Mula kaka dukurr-muny jinbal warri, nyulu birra kima jikan-jikan nandan junkurr-baja.


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


<translate> The man got a very big stone.


<translate> The men cut the tree open and lifted out the honey.

Dingkar-dingkarangka juku yakan, wunba maninda.


<translate> The little dog went missing in the night and the children cried in the morning.

Kaya buban dungan kunarangkal, karrkay-karrkay badin wunkuwingku.


<translate> I saw the big kangaroo out on the plain, but the man with the spear did not see me at all.

Ngayu mayarriji yalbay nyajin bubu-ba, yamba dingkar kalka-jirr-angka nganya kari nyajin.


<translate> At dawn the men speared barramundi in the deep part of the river, standing very still on the sand bank.

Wunkuwingku dingkar judi daman wawubaja dukurr-ba, jukar-a janka janan.


<translate> Grandfather sees the freshwater eel.


<translate> The manta ray is big like a blanket and glides slowly through the deep water.

Yidi yalbay yala kambi, janji kiray-baja bana dukurr-ba.


<translate> You all saw the binju snake there.


<translate> The fish is cooked — come and eat!


<translate> The woman took mother's clothes from the house.

Jalbu-ngku kambi ngamu-ngu bayan-muny wundin.


<translate> Granny watched longest of all.


<translate> They saw the baliji people there.


<translate> They saw the spotted eagle ray here.


<translate> You saw the karrkurr frog there.


<glossary> ngiki ; type=noun ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> He got a big sickenss (pneumonia)


<translate> The old man said: a storm shows you the worth of good work, for the lazy camp is wet and cold tonight and ours is dry.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: jarramalibu yununda milbil kirrajimu ngulkurr, bayan daki-daki yaru kiway nyiku, nganamu marral.


<translate> He sees the mawal bee there.


<translate> You all saw the barrbal black bream there.


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


<translate> The old man would have speared the barramundi, but the water was too muddy.

Mukul-dingkar judi dama-nyaku, yambada bana kambal-kambal-baja.


<translate> The child heard the thunder there.


<translate> You see the father's sister.


<glossary> dayirr ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> The sun is bright


<translate> The children love their old grandmother, who tells them the best long stories.

Karrkay-karrkay-angka nyungu babi mukul wawu, nyulu kuku ngulkurr kalbay balka-l.


<translate> The bitter cold of the night before dawn made the little children shiver in their sleep, the old man said, so the mother built the fire up big.

Wujurr ngiki junkurr wunkuwingku kariku karrkay-karrkay buban yararri-bungal wuna-nya-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, ngamu-ngku buri yalbay bunga.


<translate> You two saw the yalnga turtle there.


<translate> We remember them by their names and their stories, he said, and so they are never really gone.

Nyulu balkan: ngana binalku jana burribu kukubu, yalaku jana kari dungan yukil.


<translate> Put the baby on the blanket.


<translate> We speared the big cod on the reef where the water is deep and still.

Ngana kurrubal yalbay daman dulngku-ngu, wanja bana dukurr janka.


<translate> Grandfather went deaf slowly, and the camp changed too, without one big meeting: the talk became face-with, the hands became word-with, and the children learned that language is a country with many roads in.

Kami milka-dudu-man buban-buban, bayan yindu-man baja kuku-yalbay-kari: kuku walu-ji-man, mara kuku-ji-man, karrkay-karrkay binalman kuku nyulu bubu baral-ji wubul-ji walanka.


<translate> They see the boomerang here.


<translate> They saw the kurrmaja larvae here.


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


<translate> They saw the marubu species of oyster there.


<translate> When the children see a snake on the path, they run away fast and call out loudly.

Karrkay-karrkay jarba jina-nga nyaji-nya, jana jinbal-baja warri, yalbay-bu yirrka-y.


<translate> You two saw the makaji onion plant here.


<translate> The child sees the Torres Strait Island pigeon.


<translate> The man sees the whirlwind there.


<translate> They saw the mud oyster here.