<translate> The children learned to take the precaution and then let the worry go, for worry after precaution is a debt paid twice, and the whole point of preparing is to be free to act without fear.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman nyaji-ngarr maninka, milka-badil yindu bawanka, milka-badil nyaji-ngarrmuny yala yamba jambul dajil, nyaji-ngarrmu yala nganga kaja-kari yinil-kari ngaranka.


<translate> The children turned all the stones over looking for crabs.

Karrkay-karrkayangka kulji jurrkinyarrku, wurru-bulananda nubi-nubijinya.


<translate> The old man said in-laws made a whole new web of relations at a marriage, for when a man married he gained a father-in-law and a mother-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and to each of these he owed a particular manner, respect to some, avoidance to others, easy help to the brothers-in-law who became like brothers, so that a marriage did not just join two people but stitched two families together with a hundred small threads of duty.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan dunyu-karra bungan jawun-karra jani-mabi dunyu-manilba, dingkar dunyu-mandanya nyulu manin ngalayin biwul, banji warrin, nyubun-nyubunji nyulu dayal yala yindu-yindu, yulmbarril nyubun-nyubunka, jibarr-jibarr yindu-yindunka, wawu-junkurr banji-nka nyulu yaba-mabi janan, dunyu-manil nyulu kari jambul bama nyubun kajal yambada jawun-karra jambul nyubunji karra wubulbu kajan yamba-yukilmuny.


<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> We two, not you, see the shellfish there.


<translate> I see the carpet snake here.


<translate> The little boy does not know how to swim yet, the old woman warned, so keep him in the shallow water where he can stand on the sand.

Karrkay buban binal-kari maraji-nka niji, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu bana buban-ba karrba, wanja nyulu jukar-a janjanay.


<translate> The friend laughed at father.


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


<translate> The old people said two are stronger than one, and three are stronger again than two.

Mukul-bama-ngka balkan, jambul jarra-junkurr nyubun-ka, kulur jarra-junkurr jambul-ka baja.


<glossary> kunjal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> They'll invite you to the wedding


<translate> The man laughed at grandmother.


<translate> She dug the deep hole for the ground oven with a strong, pointed digging stick in the morning.

Nyulu janku dajali bakan bubu-ngu, juwal junkurr-bu wunkuwingku.


<translate> Who is that woman walking along the beach with all the little children? — She is my mother.

Wanya yinya jalbu, jukar-a karrkay-karrkay-ji jilba-dunga-y? Nyulu ngayku ngamu.


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


<translate> You all saw the running water there.


<translate> You all saw the jingajalka tree there.


<translate> I saw the nyumbirr beeswax there.


<translate> Barking came, the child cried, and then mother came.

Ngangkurr kadan, karrkay banbadi, ngamu kadan-da.


<glossary> ngaluri ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> The flames leap up from the fire


<translate> When it was finished, the men set the net across the mouth of the creek at low tide.

Makarr ngulkurrmanda, dingkar-dingkarangka makarr yijarrin wawubajanga, jalun dunganya.


<translate> The dog jumped over the log.


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

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


<translate> They saw the scrub wallaby there.


<translate> You see the nikar oyster there.


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


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


<translate> The children roasted the clams on the coals until the shells opened, the old man said, and the sweet flesh inside was the taste of the whole sea.

Karrkay-karrkay darkay waju kubu-ba, kajarrbi ngalkal-ma-n kariku, mukul-dingkar balkan, julbi jiba-wulay bada-ba jalun narmba-mu jiba.


<translate> The hungry children ate near the fire.

Karrkay-karrkay dakwuy nukan baya ngundu-ba.


<translate> The old man was deaf in one ear, so you had to speak on his good side.

Mukul-dingkar milka-kari nyubun-ba, yundu nyungu milka ngulkurr karangkal balka.


<glossary> wawu-daki ; type=adverb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> He wants to live alone


<translate> I left the boomerang on the ground.


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


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


<translate> Today we're going to the dance.


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


<translate> The children climbed the tree and ate the sweet ripe figs, throwing the best ones down to the little ones below.

Karrkay-karrkay jukungu dakan, binanji kulbul jiba-wulay nukan, ngulkurr bajaku bada yilban karrkay bubanka badabada.


<translate> The paperbark tree grows near the water, and we take its soft bark for our warm beds.

Buyku bana ngundu janay, ngana nyungu warrur kima mani-l wunay-ka.


<translate> They came home from the great journey changed, thinner and browner and quieter, and the ones who had stayed behind gathered to hear the stories, and the children who went were no longer quite children, and the old man who went did not come all the way back, for a part of him stayed out on the road forever.

Jana bayan-mundu kadan jilbal yalbaymuny murni-manda, kiway-baja mula-baja janka-baja, bama jana kanban jangkar ngaranka bangkan, karrkay-karrkay jana dungan kari nyubun karrkay baja, mukul nyulu dungan nyulu kari dukul kadan, nyungu buban baral yaral wunay wawu-wubulmuny.


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


<translate> The children laughed at the cheeky little dog that kept running around and around the big fire.

Karrkay-karrkay yajarrin kaya buban-ka, kaya wanarri baya ngundu murru-murru.


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


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> The scrub turkey is standing there.


<translate> Grandmother grabbed the food with tongs.


<translate> You all see the pumice stone there.


<translate> Those small sticks are here.


<glossary> yakal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> you cut the meat up


<translate> A child with a mother wants for nothing, the old woman said, but a motherless child must be a mother to itself too early, and this is why the whole camp becomes mother to an orphan, so that no child is ever truly left motherless, for a group that lets its motherless children go hungry has forgotten the first law of being people together.

Karrkay ngamu-ji yamba nyubunku kari wawu-manil, wulbumanangka balkan, yambada karrkay ngamu-kari nyulu-nyulu ngamu-manda ngadiku bajaku, yinya jawun-karra wubulku ngamu-manda karrkay-ngamu-karinka, karrkay nyubun kariku bajaku ngamu-kari bawal, jawun-karra nyulu karrkay ngamu-kari dakwuy bawal nyulu milka-wulan kuku ngadiku bama nyubunji janaymu.


<translate> You all saw the wakuka bird here.


<translate> The vicious dog bit the child.


<translate> Mother saw the deep water there.


<translate> Do not touch the snake lest it bite you.

Kari jarba karrba, jarba-bu yununy bayka-nyji.


<translate> You see the grass-tree resin.


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


<translate> I saw the fish in the shade.


<translate> You two saw the jayju kangaroo rat here.


<translate> You and I saw the mawu grass there.


<translate> You saw the fire stick there.


<translate> The man speared a big turtle out on the reef, dragged it up onto the sand, turned it on its back, carried it to the camp on a bark sheet, dug the earth oven and heated the stones, cooked the turtle whole in the ground, and then shared the rich meat with everyone in the camp that evening.

Dingkar ngawuya yalbay jalun-ba daman, jukarmundu wangkar jarrakulban, muku-mundu murni-manin, wawun-birra-nga bayan-mundu jarrakulban, kurrma bakan kulji wumbul-manin, ngawuya wubulku bubungu wajun, yalada minya jiba-wulay bama bayanba wubulku daji-wanda kunarangkal.


<translate> The goose is standing in the scrub.


<translate> In the wet season the frogs always keep singing all night long in the water of the big swamp.

Kaba-wungar-a karrkurr wujurr wubulku balka-l-balka-l, daburri yalbay bana-nga.


<translate> You all saw the jadamu bananas here.


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


<translate> The woman took the axe from the ground.


<translate> Tomorrow the men will build the big shelter for the wet season.

Wunkun dingkar-dingkarangka bayan yalbay ngaral, kabaka.


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


<translate> The old man said even the animals ask questions in their way, and a hunter must learn to read them: the wallaby that lifts its head and freezes is asking what was that sound, the bird that gives a sharp call is asking is there danger, the whole silent bush that stops at once is asking together where is the hunter, so that the good hunter answers the country's questions before the country can warn its own.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan minya baja babajil nyungu yala, balbi-bama nyulu milbil ngaranka: darrba nyulu muku wangkar-manil janan nyulu babajil wanyu yinya kadil, buyi nyulu kuku jalngkun dayal nyulu babajil yinil ngundu, majaji dandi wubulku kajal nyubunku nyulu babajil nyubunji wanja balbi-bama, balbi-bama yukil kuku-yukil-manil bubu nyungu kuku-babaji ngadiku bubu nyulu jana warri-manilmuny.


<translate> They see the ridge pole there.


<translate> I want good meat without any bones, and sweet fruit without the bitter, hard skin on it.

Ngayu wawu minya-ka ngulkurr bajibay-kari-ka, mayi jiba-wulay-ka buyun-kari junkurr-kari.


<translate> In the morning a thunderstorm came.


<glossary> milka-burray ; type=adjective ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The kids are maing too much noise; I'm tired of it

Kaykay-kaykay nurra baka; ngayu milka-burray


<translate> The wild plums are ripe now; the children climb the tree to pick them.

Junda kulbul niji; karrkay-karrkay juku-ngu dakan, junda mani-nka.


<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> The old man tasted the fruit, then told the children it was good to eat.

Mukul-dingkarangka jidu nukan, niji karrkay-karrkay-nda balkan ngulkurr nuka-nka.


<translate> Turn the blanket before you lie down, and turn it again in the morning, the old man told the boys at the cattle camp, lest the snake sleep where you want to sleep, for the small piercing creatures love a warm dark camp that somebody else has built.

Kararr murni, yalada wuna, murni baja muduwajuny, mukulungku dingkarangka buban-buban milbin bulki-bayanba, jarba wunanyji wanja yundu wawu-manil wunanka, minya bakal-bama buban jana wawu-manil bayan wumbul wujurr bama yindubu murninmuny.


<translate> I made a spear for my son; he made a spear for his son; that spear will pass from us to them, down all the generations.

Ngayu ngayku kangkalka kalka bungan; nyulu nyungu kangkalka kalka bungan; yinya kalka ngalindamuny jananka dungay, bada mula-mula wubul-burr.


<translate> You two see the karrandal tree here.


<lexeme> someone who is continually talking


<translate> The crocodile grabbed the child.


<translate> Grandfather saw the wood on the ground.


<translate> You and I see the goose there.


<translate> He saw the maral-maral young girls there.


<translate> He sees the jinjay tree there.


<translate> You two see the scorpion there.


<translate> You and I saw the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish here.


<translate> We close the house before rain falls.


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


<translate> You and I see the freshwater eel there.


<translate> I see the frill necked lizard there.


<translate> The two of them saw the kurranday seagull there.


<lexeme> smoke the inside of a house after the owner dies


<translate> The child asked grandmother about water.


<translate> The son or daughter is here.


<translate> They walked through the scrub to the river.


<glossary> balbay ; type=noun ; domain=sky-weather <usage_example> Lighting might strike


<glossary> yamba-kari ; type=particle ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> I don't have any food


<translate> The old woman said the oyster holds its meat behind a hard shell, so you break it open on a stone.

Wulbumanangka balkan julul nyungu minya milbar dandi dukurr-ba karrbal, yundu kulji-nga dumbarril.


<glossary> wuyarr ; type=adjective ; domain=perception <usage_example> He can't see him well, hes too far away

Nyulu wuyarr nbajaku nyajiji, kala-kalbay bajakunda


<translate> They see the ghost crab there.


<translate> I did not break the billycan.


<translate> I would have caught many fish in the creek that morning, the old man said, but I had left the good net hanging back at the camp.

Ngayu kuyu wubul bana-jandu-ba mani-nyaku wunkuwingku-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, yamba ngayu makarr ngulkurr bayan-ka wandi-nya wuna.


<translate> Bring firewood before you sit down to eat — that is the family's oldest exchange.

Baya-juku mana bundanka nukanka ngadiku, yinya daji-way mukul bajaku jawun-karramuny.


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


<translate> For whom are you searching in the dark scrub at night?

Wanyanka yundu nubil madja-nga wujurr-ba?


<translate> We, not you, saw the kujuway pigeon there.


<translate> They see the shooting star there.


<translate> We see the casuarina pine here.


<translate> The folded clothing is there.


<translate> I see the murral tree kangaroo there.


<translate> The old man distinguished a man with words from a wordless man: the man with words can talk his way into peace or into war, can teach and remember and carry the law, while the wordless man, however strong, is cut off from half of what makes a person, so the old ones worked hard to fill every child with words, songs, names, and stories.

Mukulungku dingkarangka dingkar kuku-ji buban-manin dingkar kuku-karimuny: kuku-ji bama balkan nyungu baral janka-yukilku yambada kuni-wayku, milbil karrbal kuku ngadiku jarrakulbal, kuku-kari dingkar junkurr yala, nyulu karra-manda yamba jarrba bama bungalmuny, bama mukul kirraji junkurr karrkay wubulku buwan kuku-bu, wulngku-badi burri jangkar baja.


<translate> In the hot season people stay near water.

Wungar-iji bama bana ngundu-ba bundanday.


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


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


<translate> She washed the boy with the warm water and gave him a little to drink, and told his mother not to fear.

Nyulu karrkay julurrin bana wumbulbu ngulkurrbu, buban dajin nukanka, ngamu balkan: kari yinil.


<translate> You two saw the wakuka bird here.


<translate> He sees the sugar glider here.


<translate> You two see the house there.


<translate> We, not you, saw the bujil-yiran ibis there.


<translate> The black bean tree is standing at camp.


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


<translate> The old woman said: When you are gone, you will not be remembered for your possessions or your victories, but for how you made people feel, and above all for whether the children were glad, or afraid, when you walked into the camp.

Wulbumanangka balkan: Yundu dunganya, jana kari yundu binalku yundu yambamu junkurr-manilmu, yambada yala yundu bama wawu-manilmu, wangkar bajaku karrkay wawu-mini, yinil baja, yundu bayanba wandinya.


<translate> I see the black beetle here.


<translate> You all saw the jumper ant here.


<translate> You and I see the outrigger canoe here.


<translate> The woman washed grandmother's shin.


<translate> You two see the kookaburra here.


<translate> The woman searched around for yams but got nothing.

Jalbu wukay-mba nubi-nubi-ji, kari mani.


<translate> The man put the fish in the bag.


<translate> The man watched the child reading the tracks.

Dingkar-angka karrkay nyaji-l-nyaji-n, jina nyaji-l-nyaji-nya.


<translate> The old woman taught the children the names for the whole body, starting from the head and going down to the feet, for a person who knows the true word for every part can say exactly where the pain lies, and a healer who listens to the true word finds the trouble fast.

Wulbumanangka karrkay-karrkay milbin kuku bangkarrmuny wubulku, dukulmuny ngadiku jinaka bada, bama nyulu kuku yukil binal yamba nyubun-nyubunku nyulu balkal wanja kaka wunay, yukil-bungal-bama nyulu kuku yukil milka-janay nyulu yamba-mumbu warri manil.


<translate> The old woman was strict about the mothers with young: never take a female bird from the nest in the laying season, never take a wallaby with a joey in the pouch, never dig out a burrow full of small ones, for the country stays full only if the mothers are let live, and a hunter who cannot wait for the right season is no hunter at all but a robber of the future.

Wulbumanangka junkurr ngamu buban-buban baja: kariku jalbu-buyi birra-bayanmuny mani dalkay-wungara, kari darrba jarrakay karrbal baja mani, kari janku buban wubulku bakan, bubu nyulu buwan nganga kaki ngamu wula-manda, balbi-bama nyulu kari maku-janal wungar yukilka nyulu balbi-bama-kari yambada bama-kulun wungar-kadalmuny.


<translate> The long brown snake lay hidden in the dry grass right beside the narrow track.

Jarba jinkalmu kalbay jikan marral-ba ngaki-nya wuna-l, jina buban karangkal.


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


<translate> Uncle goes with a stick in case the dog bites him.

Kalnga-ngka juku-ji dungay, kunka kaya-ngka nyunguny bayka-nya-mun-ku.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kajimarra food there.


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


<translate> The two children looked at each other and then laughed and ran off together.

Karrkay jambul nyaji-way, yalada jana warri muru dungan.


<translate> You and I saw the outrigger canoe here.


<translate> The old man said the young are always in a hurry to arrive, but arriving is the smallest part of a journey; the journey itself is the walking, the seeing, the meeting on the road, and the one who only wants to arrive has already missed the best of it.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: warru yabarrka warri kadanka, yambada kaday jilbalmu buban bajaku; jilbal nyulu jilbay, nyajil, nyaji-way baralba, bama nyulu nganga kaday wawu nyulu jilbal yukil bajaku kilba-baja.


<translate> That mungka-mungka tree is here.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> He said a journey of many days is walked one step at a time, and the person who looks only at the far end grows tired, but the person who walks step by step arrives.

Nyulu balkan: dungay wungar wubulmu jilban jina nyubun-nyubun, bama nyulu kalakalbay nganga nyajil baja-burraymal, yambada bama nyulu jina-jina jilbay badil.


<glossary> dikarr ; type=noun ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> Someone made mcdea sick with magic. The doctor took it out.

Bamangka nganya bambay-bungun, dikarrda. Doctorangka dikarr manin


<glossary> kunil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He hit the dog with a stick


<translate> The woman left the shield on the ground.


<translate> They saw the willie wagtail here.


<translate> You all see the ngarkay waterhen there.


<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> The old man said this is why you must know your ancestors: not to worship them, but to understand yourself, for you are a letter they wrote and sent forward into a future they would never see, and you are still being read.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: yinyamu yundu jawun-karra ngadiku binal: kari jana wawu-yukilka, yambada yundu nyulu-nyulu binalka, yundu kuku jana kunjanmuny yungalmuny wunkunka jana kari nyajilnya, yundu kariku milbil.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the murramu dingo here.


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


<translate> He hunts the very same way his father did, the old people said — quiet feet, patient eyes, and one true throw of the spear.

Nyulu balbi yala-rrku nyungu nganjan balbin, mukul-bama balkan — jina janka, miyil bundan, kalka nyubun dama-l nguymal.


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

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


<translate> The children walked behind, listening and learning.

Karrkay-karrkay kudamundu jilba dungan, milka-jananya, binalmanya.


<translate> You all saw the bujil-yiran ibis there.


<translate> After the big evening meal, the children ran down to the edge of the water in the last warm light of the day, the old woman said.

Wawu-mayi-muny wujurr-ma-nya, karrkay-karrkay bada warri bana ngandal-ba wungar wumbul kalbay-muny-a, mukul-jalbu balkan.


<translate> That satin bower bird is here.


<translate> You see the young cassowary there.


<translate> I saw the smouldering log there.


<translate> He carried the firestick carefully through the dark scrub so the small flame would not die out.

Nyulu jidi janka karrban madja ngungul-burr, baya buban kari wula-nyaku.


<translate> We two, not you, see the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish here.


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


<translate> Hold the dog tightly lest it chase the wallaby and run away!

Kaya karrba dandi, kadar kanga-nyji, warri-nyji!


<translate> They saw the striped water snake there.


<translate> The rhinoceros beetle is here.


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


<translate> They saw the yellow March fly there.


<translate> We saw the kira-kira black ant here.


<translate> The child has no cold; the child got well.


<translate> The men hunted the sea turtle out beyond the reef in the deep water.

Dingkar-angka yalnga balbin dulngku kudamundu jalun dukurr-ba.


<translate> The women dug a big earth oven near the camp.

Jalbu-jalbungku kurrma yalbay bakan bayanba ngundu.


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


<translate> There was too much noise in the camp, with everyone shouting and laughing all through the night.

Nyurra yalbay bayan-ba, bama narmba yirrka-l yajarri-l wujurr wubulku.


<translate> The old man said a warning with respect and a warning with contempt do opposite work though both point at the same danger, for the respectful warning is heard and heeded while the contemptuous one only shames and hardens the person against it, so he taught the young that to correct another well is a great skill, and to correct them badly is worse than not correcting them at all.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan kuku-milbil yulmbarril-ji kuku-milbil bikirr-daji-ji yindu-yindu murni jambul nyubun yinil-mundu jarra baja, yulmbarril-ji kuku ngaral kirrajil yambada bikirr-daji-ji nganga bikirr-bungal junkurr-manil bama yinya-mundu, nyulu warru milbin bama yindu yukil murni-bungalka janka-yukil yalbay, mumbu murni-bungalka nyulu mumbu-baja kari murni-bunganmuny.


<translate> Your father spoke to you, but you were not listening to him.

Yunu nganjanangka yununku balkan, yundu kari nyungunku milka-jana-l.


<translate> What did the old woman ask you? She asked whose child was crying by the river; I told her it was my elder sister's little one, lost from its mother.

Wanyu mukulungku yununy babajin? Nyulu babajin wanyamba karrkay wawubaja ngundu badil; ngayu nyungunku balkan yinya ngayku babarr-mu buban, ngamu-muny wuna.


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


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


<glossary> nguba ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Maybe he'll go, maybe not


<glossary> junkurr-murubuku ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> He talked earnestly


<translate> The children ate food in the shade.


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


<translate> They heard the thunderstorm here.


<translate> The old man kept coming and going along the same track, until his feet had worn it smooth and hard.

Mukul-dingkar kankaday dunga-l-dunga-n jina nyubun-ba, jina junkurr-ma-nyjiku.


<translate> Uncle followed its tracks from the camp to the river and along the wet sand.

Kalngangka jina wukurrin bayanmuny wawubajanga, jukara dunanga.


<translate> You saw the murramu dingo there.


<translate> The old man asked the child who had made all the tracks, the old woman said, but the little child did not know who it had been at all.

Mukul-dingkar-angka karrkay nyajin wanya-ngka jina wubulku bungan, mukul-jalbu balkan, yamba karrkay buban kari binal wanya nyulu.


<translate> The spirit frightened me in the dark scrub, and I ran quickly back to the warm fire.

Dubu-ngku nganya yararri-mani-n madja ngungul-ba, ngayu buyun-buyun nyunban baya wumbul-ka.


<translate> The spoon bill bird is there.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kulmba-kulmba gecko here.


<translate> We see the turtle spear point there.


<translate> The old man turned slowly towards the children and told them to sit down quietly by the fire.

Mukul-dingkar jurrkin buban-buban karrkay-karrkay-ka, balkan jana bundal janka baya ngundu.


<glossary> muna ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> That man is not afraid of wild pigs


<translate> I saw the ngurrkul fig tree there.


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


<translate> The two of them see the wurru-bulan small crab there.


<translate> You two saw the bububay blacktip shark here.


<translate> The old man did not see the snake; he saw the dog.

Mukul-dingkar-angka jarba kari nyajin, kaya nyajin.


<translate> The two of them see the small conical shellfish here.


<glossary> jakay-jakayku ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> He fell headlong


<translate> The old man said nothing about his warning; he only wrapped them in warm bark and gave them hot food.

Mukul dingkar kari balkan nyungu milbinmuny; nyulu nganga jana buykubu wumbulbu nandan, mayi wumbul dajin.


<translate> I saw two trees, one growing by the roadside and the other down on the sandy beach.

Ngayu juku jambul nyajin, nyubun jina karangkal nyubun jukar bada janay.


<translate> Give the meat with the bones to the dogs, but the good meat without bones to the old people.

Minya bajibay-jirr kaya-nka daya, yamba minya ngulkurr bajibay-kari mukul-bama-nka.


<translate> The men paint their own foreheads with white clay and put on the head-bands.

Dingkar wubul munju kambar-bu julngka-ji, jilngarr baja mani.


<lexeme> nyulu present ngayku dajin, "he gave me a present"


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


<translate> The old man taught that the wing bones of the big birds make the best whistles, the cassowary and the brolga and the black cockatoo.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan buyi yalbay-mu nangki bajibay ngulkurr bajaku kuwimbur-nka, kurranji kulbal kadanji-jirr.


<translate> They tied the paperbark bundles with cane and carried them home.

Jana buyku kajan yibuynju, bayanba jarra-kulbanda.


<translate> You two see the ngurrkul fig tree there.


<translate> You saw the wakuka bird there.


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


<translate> The old man said the fog was the breath of the country sleeping, and it would lift when the sun woke it, and it did.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: ngurrbal bubumu wawu warngku wunanya, wandinyjiku wungarbu wandimananya, yala kadan.


<translate> The boss asked the young man about the meat.


<translate> Go across at the wide shallow, not at the narrow deep — the river makes its short roads expensive.

Dungay naka-naka dubara yalbayba, kari dukurrba bubanba: wawubajabu baral buban dandi-bungal.


<translate> The old woman smiled and said: they learned slowly and paid dearly, and every plant we know cost someone long ago.

Wulbumanangka yajarrin, balkan: jana buban-bubanku binalman, dandi bajaku manin, mayi wubulku ngana binal bama ngadiku dajinmuny.


<translate> We hear the chewing sound there.


<glossary> kari ; type=particle ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> I didn't get any meat, the fish didn't bite at all

Ngayu minya kari manin, kuyungku kari bajaku baykan


<translate> The children got frightened and ran home.

Karrkay-karrkay yinilmarin, bayanba warrin.


<translate> Only two of the many hunters came back to the camp before the dark night fell down.

Balbi-bama wubul-muny jambul bayan-ka kadan, wujurr ngungul dara-nyjiku.


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


<glossary> nganya kayi ; type=interjection ; domain=interjection <usage_example> Ouch! My hand


<translate> Grandmother hears the thunderstorm there.


<translate> That person there is unskilled.


<translate> He saw the dawa-dawa magpie there.


<translate> The children were afraid of the dark and did not want to sleep away from the warm fire.

Karrkay-karrkay yinil ngungul-ka, jana kari wawu warngku wuna-nka baya wumbul-muny janka.


<translate> The whip snake is thin as a bootlace and moves faster than the eye can follow, the old man said, but its bite, though it burns, will not kill a grown person.

Jijirrbay dumbi yala karra bila miyil-muny-baja, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyungu baykal, wubul-bu yinbay-mani, kari bama yalbay kuni.


<translate> I see the ngadil hickory tree there.


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

Nyiku-nyiku bilngkumu walu karimanijinkuda


<translate> The people of that place are coming here.


<translate> My hands hurt from weaving all day.

Ngayu mara kaka, balji wukurrilwukurrinya.


<translate> That is a bad place; the old people never camp there in the night.

Yinya bubu bambay; mukul-bama kariku yinyay bundal wujurr-ba.


<translate> He sees the jumper ant there.


<translate> You see the scrub tree here.


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


<translate> The tree kangaroo climbs high into the fig tree and sleeps in the fork of the branches.

Jarrabina dukal-juku-ngu wangkar daka-l, dakil-jambul-ba warngku-wunay.


<translate> You see the little wallaby there.


<translate> We see the newly cleared scrub here.


<translate> As a child I used to eat echidna, cooked slowly in the ground oven between the hot stones.

Ngayu karrkay-nyja-ku minya ngangkin nuka-l-nuka-n, bubu-ngu waju-nya kulji wumbul dindarra-nga.


<translate> The old woman said if you find yourself despising a whole people, stop and find one of them and sit and eat with them, for it is easy to hate a word — a name for a crowd — but very hard to hate a face that is passing you the salt, and every wall between peoples is built of names and torn down by faces.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki yundu bama nyubun wubulku milka-mumbu, kalka nyubun jana manil bunda nuka nyulunji, kuku wawu-mumbu buban-buban, burri bama wubulmu, yambada miyil yundunka jalun dajilnya wawu-mumbu dandi-baja, bayan-junkurr bama jambulmu burribu bungan miyilbu kaka-manil.


<translate> The child went with father at night.


<translate> They took a net to catch a lot of fish.

Jana makarr wundin kuyu wubul bangka-nka.


<translate> You and I see the house there.


<translate> He saw the julaji freshwater catfish there.


<translate> The old man's guts are sick and sore, and the doctor gave him bush medicine from the Leichardt tree.

Mukul-dingkar julbi bambay kaka, murri-ngka nyungu mayi ngulkurr kabal-muny dajin.


<translate> That mujarr fig tree is there.


<translate> The child went outside with a stick.


<translate> The children chewed the sweet grass stems while they watched the birds.

Karrkay-karrkay-angka bilanji jiba-wula-wula majan, buyi nyaji-nya.


<translate> I see the ngamu-murramu dingo there.


<translate> You all see the jellyfish there.


<translate> The night bird called and the dogs howled back.

Ngurrku yirrkan, kaya-kaya yirrkan baja.


<translate> You all saw the kurriyala snake there.


<translate> The young men keep hitting at the log with sticks.

Warru-warru juku-ngu kuni-n-kuni-ji jaba-bu.


<translate> You see the ngadil hickory tree here.


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


<translate> That old woman is my mother's older sister.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the dijarr freshwater perch there.


<translate> Grandfather brought clothes from the house.


<translate> You all see the bamboo stick there.


<translate> The old man said the bees and the honey were a gift, and a gift must be taken with thanks and never with greed, or the bees would leave that place forever.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: dabu wunba dajil, dajil ngulkurr-bu maninka kari wawu-yalbaybu, dabu yinya bubu bawanka yabarrka.


<translate> We see the kuji-kuji tree here.


<translate> When will you finally teach me the deep old songs, grandfather, the boy asked, and the old man answered him only: when you are older.

Wanja-wanja yundu ngayku wulngku dajali kalbay-muny-mu binal-bungal, kami? karrkay nyajin, mukul-dingkar-angka nyubun balkan: yundu mukul-ma-nya-ka.


<translate> The man came from the river.


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


<translate> Where are they? Maybe they are hiding.


<translate> The wallaby came to the road.


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


<translate> The little boy climbed up the tall tree to look into the little bird's nest high above the ground.

Karrkay buban juku kalbay wangkar dakan, buyi buban-mu bayan nyaji-nka wangkar-wangkar bubu-muny.


<translate> The old woman said becoming a grandmother changed a woman's place in the world, lifting her from the hard middle years of bearing and raising into the honored role of the one who holds and passes on, and she said she had wept when her first grandchild was born, not only from joy but from feeling herself step across into that older country, becoming at last one of the old women whose word carried the weight of the law.

Wulbumanangka balkan babi-manda jalbu nyungu jarray bubungu yindu-manin, nyungu manin wungar dandi karrkay-wandil dingkar-manilmuny nyungu yulmbarril-yamba nyulu karrbal jilbal baja, nyulu balkan nyulu badin nyungu jija ngadiku wandinya, kari nganga yajarrmuny yambada nyulu-nyulu nyajilmuny jilban yinya bubu mukulba, mukul-manin bada bajaku jalbu-mukul nyungu kuku karrbal kuku nyungu junkurr baja.


<translate> They saw the balarri queenfish here.


<translate> Where do the big sea-turtles come up to lay their eggs along this coast, the young man asked the old fisherman who knew the whole shore.

Ngawiya yalbay wanjabu jukar-a kaday karrkay wuna-nka jalun yinya-ba? warru-ngku mukul-dingkar kuyu-bama jalun narmba binal nyajin.


<translate> We two, not you, see the nyumbil coolibah tree here.


<translate> You all saw the bakay snake here.


<translate> The woman washed the baby's face.


<translate> I saw the binjurr-binjurr honeyeater there.


<translate> I went hunting with that man, and we two caught two kangaroos.

Ngayu balbi-ka dungan yinya-nji dingkar-nji, ngali mayarriji jambul karrban.


<translate> We see the spear point here.


<translate> The old man called out again and again across the wide valley, but no answer ever came back.

Mukul-dingkar yirrka-l-yirrka-n jamba kalbay-burr, yamba kari balka kadan baja.


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

Jana kuyu yalbay bajaku dajin mukul dingkaranda.


<translate> The old woman dreamed about her mother.


<glossary> kinbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> You got his attention to show him


<translate> They see the kurubarr mangrove there.


<translate> The woman came from the scrub.


<translate> At sunset the sun falls down behind the trees and the whole sky glows warm.

Wungar dara-y juku kudamundu bada, jiri wubulku wumbul-baja.


<translate> Grandmother spoke to the child.


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

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


<glossary> yanday-nyajil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> I overheard them


<translate> We see the father's sister there.


<translate> The old woman said the surest sign that a person has truly changed is not what they say but what they now do easily that once was hard, for anyone can declare themselves changed, but only the deed proves it, so when a once-selfish person gives without being asked, when a once-fearful person acts calmly in danger, when a once-lazy person rises before the sun by simple habit, then the change is real, having gone all the way down from the words into the hands.

Wulbumanangka balkan milbil-yamba dukurr bajaku bama nyulu bajaku yindu-manin nyulu kari wanyu jana balkal yambada wanyu jana nganga kaka-kari murnil ngadiku dandi janaymuny, wanya nyulu-nyulu balkal nyulu yindu-manin, yambada nganga murni-bu milbil, bama ngadiku-jakay-dandi nyulu dayal babaji-kari, bama ngadiku-yinil nyulu wunbu murnil yinil-ba, bama ngadiku-junkurr-kari nyulu wandil wungar ngadiku yabarrka, yinya yindu nyulu bajaku, jilban bada bajaku wubulku kukumuny maraka.


<translate> The wet season is here, said grandad.


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


<translate> We see the big clam shell here.


<translate> They saw the light-coloured hair.


<translate> You and I see the domestic turkey here.


<translate> We see the kurunkal mangrove here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kukur rat here.


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


<translate> The children came to understand that all his rules and cautions were not the fussing of an old man but the distilled wisdom of everyone who had not lived to pass it on, spoken by the one who had.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman nyungu kuku nyaji-ngarr wubulku kari mukul dingkarmu milka-badil, yambada bama wubulku jana kariku nyiku janay balkanka wulanmuny binal, bama nyulu janaymuny balkan.


<glossary> wuyarr ; type=adjective ; domain=perception <usage_example> He can't see him well, hes too far away

Nyulu wuyarr nbajaku nyajiji, kala-kalbay bajakunda


<translate> They see the shooting star there.


<translate> You two saw the balarri queenfish here.


<translate> She put the sweet fruit into the child's small hand and told him to eat it there by the warm fire.

Nyulu mayi jiba-wulay karrkay mara buban-ka nanda, nyulu nuka-nka balkan baya wumbul ngundu.


<glossary> kandarr ; type=noun ; domain=bodily-function <usage_example> The child finished eating, then the mother burped him

Nyulu karrkaymayi kunban ngamungku kandarrda dakay-manin


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


<translate> She searched thoroughly through the whole camp, looking again and again for her lost dilly bag.

Nyulu bayan wubulku nyaji-l-nyaji-n nyungu ngunyin-ka, kari manin baja.


<translate> The woman took food to camp.


<translate> The kumin fig tree is there.


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


<translate> The old man shamed the child.


<translate> You two see the marsupial native cat here.


<translate> Carry a story the way you carry water, the old woman warned the young women, with both eyes on your own feet, lest the word that was given to one person alone go down and be lost on the road, for the camp that drinks that story wants more, but the carrier gets the bad name for the flood.

Kuku-jangkar wundi yala yundu bana wundil, wulbumanangka jalbu-buban milbin, miyil jambul jinanga nyungu-nyungunga, kuku dayanmuny bamanka nyubunku nganga bada dunganyji baralba, bayan nyulu kuku yinya nukal nyulu wawu-manil wubulku-baja, yambada wundil-bama nyulu kuku-mumbu manil bana-yalbaymuny.


<translate> The young men were proud, and the old man told them: a good canoe carries the whole family safely.

Warru-warru wawu-mini, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: marrakan ngulkurr jawunkarra wundil ngulkurrku.


<translate> The strong young man carried two bags at once.

Warrungku junkurrjingku balji jambul jarra-kulban.


<translate> The parrot is standing outside.


<lexeme> Nganjin dungan, ngingkirr nyajin


<translate> You all see the spear thrower there.


<translate> The whole high ground would have burned, the old man still shows the black trees, from one small fire left sleeping, so hear the oldest fire law twice: the fire you light is your own child until it is completely dead, and a fire has no younger brothers, every single one is firstborn trouble.

Bubu wangkar wubulku wajunyaku, mukulungku dingkarangka yabarrka milbil juku ngumbu, bayamuny nyubunmuny bubanmuny bawanmuny wunanya, yalada milka-janay kuku baya mukul bajaku jambulku: baya yundu wajunmuny nyulu kangkal yundumuny nyulu wulanyjiku bajaku, baya nyulu yabaju-kari, baya nyubun-nyubun nyulu yamba-mumbu ngadiku-wandinmuny.


<translate> Where is your husband? He went with my father and my elder brother to hunt wallaby in the high country.

Wanja nyungu dunyu? Nyulu ngayku nganjan yaba-ji dungan kadar balbinka bubu wangkara.


<translate> The woman watched the dog looking back.

Jalbu-ngku kaya nyaji-l-nyaji-n, kurrka-nyaji-ji-nya.


<translate> Before a case ending the with grows a tail, the old woman drilled the fine point: spear-with becomes kalka-jirr-ka when you aim the sentence at it, so listen for the rr — it says the with is about to work.

Kuku '-ji' bada karrbal '-rr' kuku-jina ngadiku, wulbumanangka kuku buban milbin: 'kalka-ji' nyulu 'kalka-jirr-ka'-mal, yalada milka-janay 'rr'-ka, nyulu balkal '-ji' murninka nyiku.


<translate> They saw the jama tree there.


<translate> You see the yinkunji fig tree here.


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


<translate> I see the kurrija octopus here.


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


<translate> They see the dulmbi umbrella palm here.


<translate> The old woman washed the child's mouth.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay ngandal julurrin.


<translate> He saw the kinga caterpillar here.


<translate> The two of them saw the kaya-kaya dogs there.


<translate> The old man twirled the fire drill on the dry wood, and the first smoke rose up.

Mukul-dingkar-angka jimal juku marral-ba dama-murnin, kubu nyubun wandin-baja.


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


<translate> The mother and child walked together to the water, while the father and son made spears by the fire.

Ngamu-manda wawubajanga muru jilban, nganjan-manda kalka kunjinba bungan.


<translate> The woman put the paperbark in the shade.


<translate> The blood ran from the cut on the hunter's hand, and the old woman washed it.

Mula warrin balbi-bama-mu mara yaka-ny-muny, wulbumanangka julurrin.


<translate> The green frog jumped from the flat rock into the muddy water and swam away down under the leaves.

Karrkurr balbal jalaman kulji-muny bana buyun-ka, janjin bada birra-burr.


<translate> The two hunters shared the sea turtle between each other and gave the best to the old man.

Balbi-bama jambul ngawiya daji-way, mukul-dingkar-nka ngulkurr-baja dajin.


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


<translate> The young men never went out again without watching the sky and the wind, as the old man had taught them.

Warru-warru kari baja dungan jalunba, jiri muyar nyajilnyjiku ngadiku, yala mukulungku dingkarangka jana milbinmuny.


<translate> If a man has no dog, he finds no pigs in the scrub.

Kaki dingkar kaya-kari, nyulu biki kari milbil madja-nga.


<translate> Grandfather took the paperbark from the ground.


<translate> The old man said the resin and gum of the trees are a hidden treasure most people walk past, for the hard gum seals and glues and makes the fixed spearhead and the watertight canoe, the soft sticky sap catches small birds and mends a net, and some gums even chew sweet or make a medicine, so he taught the boys to gather and store the gum of each good tree in its flowing season.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan juku nyungu kanunjul yikari baja nyulu yamba-yukil buyan bama wubulku ngundu-mundu jilbalmuny, yikari junkurr karra nyulu kalka-murru bungan marrakan bana-kari, jurrbu jinbal buyi buban karrbal makarr murni-manil, kanunjul nyubun nukal jiba-wulay yambada kalbal bungal, nyulu warru-warru milbin bangkanka karrbanka juku yukil nyubun nyungu dungay-wungara.


<translate> Carry a firestick with you when you travel far, the old man said, in case the cold night catches you a long way from the camp.

Buri-juku yundu-ndu jarra-kulba kala-kalbay-ka dunga-nya, mukul-dingkar balkan, wujurr ngiki yundu bayan-muny marri-ba mani kunka.


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


<translate> You two saw the kalmbangarr black diver bird here.


<translate> They two saw the bamboo stick there.


<translate> The sand goanna runs fast on the open ground but always makes for a tree when chased, and the trick the old man taught was never to chase it toward a tree but to cut it off from the timber and turn it into the open, where a person can run it down, and this is why you must know the country and where every tree stands before the chase begins.

Jadi warri bubu-yaral yambada juku-mundu dungay wukurrinya, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin kariku juku-mundu wukurri yambada juku-muny karra yaral-mundu wandiman, wanja bama warril, yinya yundu bubu binal juku wubulku wanja janan ngadiku wukurri kadalmu.


<glossary> walku ; type=adverb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> I went right past the house


<translate> You two saw the dukunjulu golden whistler here.


<translate> Everyone chased it but the dog was too fast.

Jana wubulku kangan, kaya jinbal bajaku.


<translate> They kept spearing fish in the river.


<translate> And the people were glad, for the old man had read the clouds truly, as the old people always do.

Jana wubulku wawu-mini, mukulungku dingkarangka ngurrban nyajin nguymal, yala kamba-kamba yabarrka.


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


<translate> They saw the jirimandi coconut tree there.


<translate> In the early morning the sun climbs up slowly over the big mountain in the east.

Wunkuwingku wungar manjal yalbay-muny wangkar-a daka-l.


<translate> They saw the ground lizard there.


<translate> I saw the bakay snake there.


<translate> Watch for the stingray in the shallow water, keep an eye on its tail, and spear it in the head!

Yawu nyaji bana badanga, biji nyaji, dukulbu dama!


<translate> Grandfather saw the child's navel.


<translate> They see the lightning there.


<translate> Grandfather left the grass outside.


<translate> You two saw the kulmba-kulmba gecko here.


<translate> The old woman rubbed the sweet white fat on her face and her long grey hair before the big meeting.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku wandul balbal walu mungka-ka murnin, muru yalbay kariku.


<translate> When the tide goes out the women walk far onto the reef and gather oysters and clams among the stones.

Yira dunga-nya jalbu kulji-nga kala-kalbay jilban, julul darkay kulji-nga manin.


<translate> Why did all the frogs suddenly fall completely silent in the middle of the night, the child asked, and the old woman answered him only: a snake.

Wanyurrimun yirku-yirku wubulku nyubun-bu yirrka kunbayn wujurr jarra-ka? karrkay nyajin, mukul-jalbu-ngku nyubun balkan: jarba.


<translate> The young cassowary is there.


<translate> My mother always cooked the fish first and the roots after; the other mother did it the other way around — and both families ate well.

Ngamungku ngayku kuyu-ngurr wajun yabarrka, bangkan badaku, ngamungku yindubu murnin muku-jinabu, jawun-karra jambul nukan yukil.


<translate> My mother's father died, and we cried for him for many days.

Ngayku ngaji wulan, ngana nyunguny-mu wungar wubul badil.


<glossary> karangal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> That man sneaked around to see if there was any meat


<translate> The fire was small, but it kept the whole family warm all through the cold night.

Baya buban, yamba jawun-karra wubul wumbul-manin wujurr ngiki wubulku.


<translate> The young men sang a song by the fire, and the old people heard them from the camp.

Warru-warru wulngku badin baya-nga, mukul-bama-ngku bayan-ba nyajin.


<glossary> bawal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> the fish wouldn't bite so I quit fishing

Kuyungku kari bajaku baykan, ngayu badu bawanda


<translate> Slowly the old man grew stronger, and after a while he could sit up and eat a little food again.

Buban-bubanku mukul dingkar junkurrmanda, nyulu bundandan, mayi buban nukan baja.


<translate> You and I saw the kalngkan small mullet here.


<translate> Do not tell lies to your own family; the old people say a liar is left all alone in the end.

Kari jurri-l yunu jawun-karra-nka, mukul-bama balka warmbiji-bama nyubun-bu wuna-nya kariku-muny.


<glossary> jiba-yararri ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> He's frightened because people are fighting


<lexeme> child who has just learned to talk


<translate> You two see the kurruba freshwater fish here.


<translate> You and I saw the walkarr goanna here.


<translate> You two saw the mali small bat here.


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


<translate> The old people turned back at the swamp.


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

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


<translate> You and I saw the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> The flood is a hard teacher, said the old man, but it teaches the most important lesson of all: read the country, and move in time.

Jalungkarr binal-bungabama dandi, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, yambada nyulu milbil yamba ngulkurr bajaku: bubu nyaka, jurrkiji ngadiku.


<translate> Grind the dry seeds on a flat stone to make the food for everyone.

Diburr dandi nyurrba kulji-nga, mayi bunga-nka bama wubul-ka.


<glossary> kalbariji ; type=noun ; domain=flora-plant <usage_example> If you eat the finger cherry, you'll get blind when you get to be an old woman

Yundu kalbariji nukal, yundu wulbumanmal, yundu miyil-burramalda


<translate> They saw the corkwood tree there.


<translate> The old man said: If you follow the law of the country, then the country will keep you; if you break it, then the country will not.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: Kaki yundu bubumu kuku milka-janay, bububu yundu kujil; kaki yundu murnil, bububu kari.


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


<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> He hooked the fish by the tail.


<translate> They two saw the spear barb there.


<translate> If a big wind comes up while you are on the water, the old man warned, then go straight for the shore and do not fight it.

Kaki muyar yalbay wandil yurra bananga jananya, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, yurra yaral bungkarrka dungay, kari muyar kunil.


<translate> The man dropped the stone on the old woman's back.

Dingkar-angka kulji daray-manin mukul-jalbu-ndu muku-ngu.


<translate> He walks like an old man now, slow and bent, though once he ran like the wind across the open plain.

Nyulu jilba yala mukul-dingkar niji, buban-buban bangkarr-baka, yamba kalbay-muny nyulu wanarri yala muyar bubu ngalkal-burr.


<translate> The old woman said the worst thing was not the grief but the fear of the grief, for people who run from their sadness carry it unfelt forever, but people who sit with it are set free by it in the end.

Wulbumanangka balkan: yamba mumbu bajaku kari jiba-badi, yambada jiba-badimu yinil, bama nyulu nyungu walu-jirrbu-jirrbumuny warri yinya wundil milka-kari yabarrka, yambada bama nyulu ngundu bundanay yinyabu kaja-kari-manda ngadiku.


<translate> The yellow March fly is here.


<translate> Mother sees the Leichhardt tree here.


<translate> Long ago the moon was a man who made all the women at the big waterfall.

Kalbay-muny kija nyulu dingkar-baja, nyulu jalbu wubul bana-yalbay-ba bungan.


<translate> I see the large mud clam here.


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


<translate> You and I see the queenfish there.


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


<translate> Mum put the honey in the water.


<translate> And so another good day ended in the camp by the river, as so many had before and so many would again.

Yalaku wungar ngulkurr yindu dunganda bayanba wawubajanga, yala wubul ngadiku, yala wubul kadanyjiku baja.


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


<translate> The hunters shared the meat, and the old man was given the liver, the best part.

Balbi-bama minya daji-way, mukul-dingkar-nka jiba dajin, ngulkurr-baja.


<translate> You and I see the liver here.


<translate> The little child cried and cried in the dark night, and the old woman sat close by her and sang until at last she slept.

Karrkay buban banbadi wujurr ngumbu-ba, mukul-jalbu bundan nyungu ngundu, wulngku murrun nyulu warngku wuna kariku.


<translate> They see the murrkul tree here.


<translate> The woman wove the dillybag absorbed in the work.


<translate> The grey kangaroo is in the scrub.


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


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


<translate> How many days will you stay at the other camp before you come home?

Wanjarrinya wungar yundu bayan yindu-ngu bundal, kada-nyjiku?


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


<translate> The palm stands in the scrub.


<lexeme> bad spirit in form of crocodile


<translate> The country is the real grammar, the old man ended the lesson: north of the fire, inside the family, ahead of the hunger, behind the promise — live in the right cases, and the sentences look after themselves.

Bubu nyulu kuku-jina manubaja, mukulungku dingkarangka kuku kunbay-manin: kungkarr bayamuny, kana jawun-karramuny, jakalba dakwuymuny, kudamundu kuku-dandimuny: bunda bubungu yukilba, kukubu nyulu-nyulu kujil.


<translate> Is your mother well again now, after her long sickness?

Yunu ngamu ngulkurr-baja, bambay kalbay-muny?


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


<translate> You and I see the dalkari bladder there.


<translate> That person there is truthful.


<translate> The man saw the sand crab in the water.


<translate> Grandmother gave green ants to the child with the cough.

Babi-ngka yangka dajin karrkay-anda ngiki-ji-nda.


<translate> That loose clothing is there.


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


<translate> The turtles came up onto the beach that night to lay their eggs in the warm sand.

Ngawiya-ngawiya jukara kadan yinya kunarangkal, diburr yijarrinka jukara wumbulba.


<glossary> ngarra-yilbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> The Bloomfield team beat the rest


<translate> You see the mukukana tree there.


<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> You two see the marsupial native cat there.


<translate> We see the mungari kaori pine here.


<translate> You and I saw the yirku-yirku frog there.


<translate> At daybreak the child got up.


<translate> We came to the river, ate food, and then lay down.

Nganjin wawubaja-nga kadan, mayi nukan, wunan-da.


<translate> Grandmother's calm was not weather; it was built.

Wunbu babimuny kari wungar-yamba: nyulu bunganmuny.


<translate> One evening the old man stopped at a bend in the river.

Yilay-yilay mukul dingkar janan wawubajanga.


<translate> The old man said grief is love with nowhere to go, and the more you loved the heavier the grief, so a heavy grief is not a thing to be ashamed of but the measure of a great love.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: jiba-badi wawu jirray wanja-kari, yundu wawu jirray wubul-baja, jiba-badi dandi-baja, jiba-badi dandi kari milka-murrujimu, yambada wawu jirray yalbaymu dandi.


<translate> The hunter did not see the kangaroo, though he searched the whole scrub.

Balbi-bamangka mayarriji kari nyajin, nyulu madja wubul nubin.


<translate> The man speared a big fish, but it was strong, so he held the line firmly, waited, and at last brought it onto the sand.

Dingkarangka kuyu yalbay daman, yambada nyulu junkurrji, dingkar dandi karrban, bundan, jukara wundinda.


<translate> There was really nothing at all.


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


<translate> The two of them saw the jurriyan satin bower bird there.


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


<translate> "How many days did you all walk through the scrub before you came to the big river country?"

Yurra wanjarrinya wungar jilban madja-burr, yurra wawubaja bubu yalbay-ka kada-nya kariku?


<translate> That baggy clothing is there.


<glossary> bubu ; type=noun ; domain=land-geography <usage_example> the clothes are dirty now


<glossary> wurril ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> Don't sit on the edge of the boat, sit right

Yundu wurril kari bunday boatbu. Junkayku bunday.


<translate> The dugong feeds on the sea grass in the shallow water of the bay, and the old people hunt it in the shallows.

Biwuy bilanji jalun-mu bana-buban-ba nukal, bama mukul nyulu bana-buban-ba balbil.


<translate> You see the boxwood tree there.


<translate> You and I see the queenfish here.


<translate> They saw the big clam shell here.


<glossary> marra-warril ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The man was angry and throwing things around


<glossary> marra-warril ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The kids went down river (when a floor was running)


<translate> Grandmother called the girl: "Eat!"


<translate> When the wet season comes the barramundi go down the flooded river to the sea, and all of them travel together.

Bana-wungar kada-nya judi wawubaja bada dungay jalun-ka, jana wubulku muru dungan.


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


<translate> You two see the large mud clam here.


<translate> She asked all the old women of the camp about the medicine leaves for the child's bad fever.

Nyulu mukul-jalbu narmba bayan-mu-nda babajin, birra kalbal-ka karrkay wumbul-buyun-ka.


<translate> We two (not you) saw the rain there.


<translate> You all saw the kajimarra food here.


<translate> They saw the yarrkay-yarrka group of children there.


<translate> Wake the young men before the sun comes up, make the fire big, and heat the water so we can leave early!

Warru-warru wandi-mana wungar kada-nyjiku, baya yalbay-bunga, bana wumbul-bunga ngali ngadiku dunga!


<translate> The old people say it is not good to hold anger in your liver for too long a time.

Mukul-bama-ngka balka, kari ngulkurr kuli karrba-l jiba-nga kalbay-baja wungar-mu.


<translate> The old woman's long grey hair hung loose down over her thin shoulders.

Mukul-jalbu mungka ngungul-ngungul kalbay bada-baja wunan, wabarr karangkal.


<translate> If the fish do not come to the shallows, the old man said, then we will look for other food in the country instead.

Kaki kuyu kari kaday bana bubanka, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, ngana mayi yindu nyajil bubungu baja.


<translate> The man asked the old woman: "What did the dog eat?"

Dingkar mukul-jalbu-ndu babajin: "Wanyu kaya-ngka nukan?"


<translate> We see the jumper ant there.


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


<translate> In the hot season the sun burns fierce, the waterholes dry right up, and the people move to the sea.

Wungar-iji wungar wumbul wajun, janku marral-ma-l, bama jalun-ka dunga-y.


<translate> The whole camp looked after him: the women bringing warm food and water, the children keeping his fire high, the old woman watching him through the nights.

Bayan wubulku nyungunka nyajin, jalbu-jalbungka nyunganka mayi wumbul bana wundin, karrkay-karrkayangka nyungu baya wangkar kujin, wulbumanangka nyulu nyajin kunarangkal wubulku.


<translate> How many little children does your younger sister have now, the old woman asked, for it has been so very many seasons since I last saw her.

Wanjarrinya karrkay-karrkay buban yunu jinkurr-mu niji? mukul-jalbu-ngku nyajin, wungar-jarra wubul bajaku ngayu nyungu kari nyaji-nya-muny.


<translate> The two women, who always went everywhere together, burnt the dry grass on the hillside.

Jalbu-bulal-angka jikan marral wajun jamba-nga, bula wungar wubulku muru jilba-nya.


<translate> The loose clothing is there.


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


<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> That messmate tree is there.


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


<translate> They two saw the shield there.


<translate> The octopus hides in the reef pools and changes its color to match the rock so you can walk right past it, but the old woman taught the girl to watch for the one wrong shape among the stones and the slow curl of an arm, and once you see it you never lose the trick, for the eye learns to catch what does not quite belong.

Kurrija jalun-ba-janku dukurr-bu buyan nyungu nganja-jarray murni-manil kulji yala yundu ngunju jilbanya, wulbumanangka karrkay-jalbu milbin nyajinka yamba nyubun yukil-kari kulji dukurr-bu mara buban-buban murninya, yundu nyajinya kariku binal bawal, miyil binalman maninka yamba nyulu kari yukil janji.


<translate> My old grandfather was a hinterland man, one of the people of the high, dry inland country.

Ngayku kami mukul jibarr dingkar, nyulu bubu wangkar marral jibarr-warra nyubun.


<translate> Grandad's eyes are weak, but his ears are good.

Kamimu miyil nganjay, yambada milka ngulkurr.


<translate> I put the rope in the shade.


<translate> That nakawarra bee is there.


<translate> My name is my mother's gift; your name is your grandfather's road — carry them clean.

Burri ngayku daji ngamumuny, burri yunu baral kamimuny: wundi jana yukilbu.


<translate> You and I saw the rain here.


<translate> I saw the kalkamuku snake here.


<translate> The old woman said fair does not mean equal, for a big man needs more food than a child and a sick person needs more care than a well one.

Wulbumanangka balkan: yukil kari nyubun, dingkar yalbay mayi wubul-baja wawu karrkaymuny, bambaybama nyajil wubul-baja wawu kakawarribamamuny.


<translate> The pebble here is not round.


<translate> You all saw the kalngkan small mullet there.


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


<translate> By the middle of the day the bags were full of lily roots and the women started for home.

Wungar wangkar janan, balji kababinamu ngaraji mumban, jalbu-jalbu bayanka dungan.


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


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


<translate> Grandad cut paperbark from the tree.


<translate> The two of them saw the jimalili lizard there.


<translate> Always remember the names of the old people and the name of your own country, the old man said, for a person who forgets those is lost.

Binalku marri mukul-bama-mu burri bubu yunu burri-jirr, mukul-dingkar balkan, bama yinya milka-wula-nya nyulu wula-nya yala.


<translate> You saw the jiwal-jiwal kingfisher there.


<translate> The mother holds her child close in the dark, lest the bad spirit come and steal it away.

Ngamu-ngku nyungu karrkay junkurr karrban ngungul-ba, dubu buyun kada-ba-nyji, karrkay ngaki-nyji.


<translate> You and I saw the river there.


<translate> That clothing there is not narrow.


<translate> The river is running fast after the rain.


<translate> You saw the jalkay salmon there.


<translate> That fresh water lily is here.


<translate> The woman saw the shallow water.


<translate> The young man was bitten by a shark.


<glossary> dalbarril ; type=noun ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> the man scolded (him), (then left)


<translate> You saw the bajalji python there.


<translate> The old net is torn; take the new one.


<translate> When two young men fought each other over a foolish insult, the whole camp gathered, not to take sides, but to hold both of them until the anger cooled and they could see each other as men again.

Warru jambul nyubun-nyubun kuni-wanda kuku mumbu bubankamuny, bama wubulku bangkan, kari nyubun karrbanka, yambada jambulku karrbanka dukul-wuri kiwaymanyjiku jana nyubun-nyubun dingkar yala nyaji-way baja.


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

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


<glossary> kunbayn ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> Today is break-up day; school's finished now

Nyiku break-up day, kunbayn yundu school


<translate> You two came from the mountains; I saw you two at the river; I gave water to you two; and your camp is near mine.

Yubal bubu wangkara-muny kadan; ngayu yubalan wawubajanga nyajin; ngayu bana yubalanka dayan; yubalanga bayan ngayku ngundu.


<translate> Do not leave the meat on the ground, lest the hungry dingo come in the night and steal it away.

Balu, minya bubu-ngu kari nandal, murramu dakwuy wujurr-ba kada-ba-nyji, nyulu ngakin.


<translate> They saw the giant herring there.


<translate> They see the karraway snail here.


<glossary> ngangkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I found him here without expecting him


<translate> We hear the rattling sound there.


<translate> You and I saw the kira-kira black ant there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the dukul-mukul lizard there.


<glossary> damal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> she washed clothes in the creek


<glossary> karangaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=hunting-fishing-gathering <usage_example> The man stalked the wallaby


<translate> The old man said the difference between a green branch and a dead one is the whole difference between a thing that will bend and a thing that will break, and he used this to teach the young: the green wood of youth bends under a blow and springs back, but the dry wood of age, though harder and stronger-seeming, snaps, so treat the very old as you would carry dry wood, gently and with both hands.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan juku jirakal juku wula-mabi yindu-yindu yamba nyulu badaman yamba nyulu kakan yindu-yindu, nyulu yinya kirrajin warru milbil: juku jirakal warru-mu nyulu bundabu badaman nyunbal, yambada juku kiway-kiway mukul-mu, junkurr dandi-mabi yala, nyulu kakan, mukul bajaku murni yundu juku kiway-kiway jarrakulbal yala, kima mara jambulbu.


<translate> The old man said every animal had its own place and its own law, and a person who learned the ways of the animals learned the ways of the whole country.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: minya wubulku nyungu bubu, nyungu kuku, bama nyulu minyamu yala binalmal bubu wubulmu yala binalmal.


<translate> You two saw the durra caterpillar here.


<translate> We see the mungari kaori pine here.


<translate> Come and sit beside me here, on this side of the fire.

Kada, bunda nganya karangkal yaluy, baya yanyu ngundu.


<translate> The children ate some grubs and roasted others on the coals, and the old woman said a good grub was as fine a food as any meat in the country.

Karrkay-karrkayangka jambun kanbal nukan, kanbal ngunjilba wayjun, wulbumanangka balkan jambun ngulkurr mayi ngulkurr yala minya wanyu bubungu.


<translate> You two saw the karrandal tree here.


<translate> You see the clean ground there.


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


<translate> We split the long straight lawyer cane to weave the strong dilly bags and baskets.

Ngana kaku jinbal kalbay kulban, ngunyin junkurr bunga-nka.


<translate> You and I saw the creek here.


<translate> The old man laughed at mother.


<translate> You two saw the kalkamuku snake here.


<translate> The old woman said even stone changes, though so slowly that a person cannot see it, for the old people pointed to the great grinding-stones worn into deep hollows by countless generations of women grinding seed, and said each single grinding changed the stone a hair, invisible in one lifetime but a deep bowl across many, so that even the hardest thing in the country was being slowly changed by the softest — by hands, by seeds, by patience, by time.

Wulbumanangka balkan kulji baja yindu-mal, buban-buban bajaku bama nyulu kari nyajilmuny, bama mukulungku milbin kulji-yalbay, jalbu wubulbu diburr yurrinmuny dimbirr dukurr-man, balkan nyubun-nyubun yurril nyulu kulji yindu-bungal buban bajaku, nyaji-kari wawu nyubunba yambada dimbirr dukurr wawu wubulba, yindu dandi bajaku bubungu nyulu buban-buban yindu-manil kima bajakubu, marabu, diburrbu, wawu-karrbabu, wungarbu.


<translate> We see the kawarr bloodwood tree here.


<lexeme> nyulu present ngayku dajin, "he gave me a present"


<translate> He saw the kaykay-kaykay children there.


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


<glossary> yunu ; type=adjective ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Where is your dog?


<translate> Mother saw the dog at the camp.


<translate> A camp without water is no good, and a country without food cannot hold the people for long.

Bayan bana-kari kari ngulkurr, bubu mayi-kari bama kari karrbal wubulku-ku.


<translate> You see the scrub wallaby there.


<translate> He whispered very quietly to the frightened child so that the wild pig would not hear them.

Nyulu yayngkar janka bajaku karrkay yini-yini-nka, bikibiki kuli kari nyaji-l jana-nka.


<translate> All night long the hard rain beat down on the little bark shelter by the creek.

Kaba junkurr wujurr wubulku daran, bayan buban wawubaja karangkal.


<translate> The young man practised throwing the boomerang until it came back to his hand each time.

Warru-ngku wangal mumal-mumal, nyulu mara-ka kada-ny-baja wungar wubulku.


<glossary> dandi ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> The meat is tough, I cooked it a short time


<translate> The old woman said: know the animals, and you will never go hungry or be bitten.

Wulbumanangka balkan: minya wubul binalman, yundu kariku mayi-kari, kariku bayka-ji.


<translate> The very big man's spear broke when he threw it at the running pig.

Dingkar yalbay-baja-mu-ku kalka dumbarrin, nyulu minya warri-nga bawan.


<translate> The dog kept biting and biting at the snake until at last the long snake lay dead and still.

Kaya jarba bayka-l-bayka-n, jarba kalbay wula-nyjiku janka wunay.


<translate> They two see the mudcrab there.


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


<translate> You all saw the kukur rat there.


<translate> She said each generation carries two duties: one upward, to care for the old who cared for them, and one downward, to raise the young who will one day care for them, and a life well lived pays both in full.

Nyulu balkan: bama wungar wubulku kirraji jambul karrbal: nyubun wangkarka, mukul nyaji jana ngadiku nyajinmuny, nyubun badaka, warru kamba-mani jana nyubun wungara nyajilnya, wawu ngulkurr bundanmuny jambulku yukil dajil.


<translate> You saw the karrkurr frog there.


<translate> Cook the fish and share it out to everyone before the night comes down, the old woman said, for no one eats alone in this camp.

Kuyu waju, bama wubulku-nka daji wujurr kada-nyjiku, mukul-jalbu balkan, kari bama nyubun-bu nuka bayan yaluy-mba.


<translate> They saw the burnt patch of grass here.


<translate> I saw the julaji freshwater catfish here.


<translate> You all see the parrot here.


<translate> You two see the mayfly there.


<translate> The person there is selfish.


<translate> The crown of the head is there.


<translate> The old man kept making the spear-points hard in the fire, one after another, turning each in the coals until it would not bend or break.

Mukul-dingkarangka biyul dandi-bal-bal baya-ba, nyubun-nyubun-baja, nyubun jurrki kubu-ba kari jurrki kari dumbarri kariku.


<translate> Where did your people go? We (not you) went to the ceremony in the north; they did not invite you; but we brought back gifts for you all.

Wanja nyungu bama dungan? Nganjin kuwa bubu-mundu dungan; jana yurrangan kari kunjan; yambada nganjin yurranka mayi wundinda.


<translate> They heard the chewing sound there.


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


<translate> The old woman said that when a marriage was arranged the two families weighed the match carefully, asking whether the moieties were right, whether the two lines were already too closely tied, whether the young people would be well matched in temper, whether each family could meet its obligations, so that a marriage was a considered joining of two kin-groups and not, as the young sometimes wished, a simple following of the heart alone.

Wulbumanangka balkan dunyu-manil kuku-manin jambul jawun-karra nyaji-way yukil, babajil bama-jambul junkurr, karra-jina jambul ngadiku karra baja, warru jambul milka-nyubun-manda, jawun-karra nyubun-nyubun nyungu yamba-yukil dayalmuny, dunyu-manil nyulu kuku-manin yukil jawun-karra jambul jani-mabimuny kari, warru wungar nyubun wawu-manin, wawu-milka nganga wukurril baja.


<translate> The old people listened near the fire.


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


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


<translate> You two see the wubali yam here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kujuway pigeon there.


<translate> The baringkan small bird is here.


<translate> Cook the meat well in the hot coals, lest the people get sick from the raw red flesh.

Minya nguymal waju ngunjil wumbul-ba, bama minya kulbul-muny bambay-ma-nyji.


<translate> They see the waterfall here.


<translate> You see the cloudless sky here.


<translate> The large mud clam is there.


<translate> They saw the spiderlily there.


<translate> This good digging stick was once my old grandmother's, before she died long ago.

Juku yinya ngulkurr ngayku babi-mu-muny, nyulu wula-nyjiku kalbay-muny.


<translate> Where is your mother right now, the old man asked the little lost child gently, for I have not once seen her since the early morning.

Yunu ngamu wanjabu niji? mukul-dingkar-angka karrkay buban wula-nya janka nyajin, ngayu nyungu kari nyaji wunkuwingku-muny.


<glossary> balnji ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> cook the meat properly


<translate> I would have caught the big one, every fisherman says, and the old woman laughs at them all: the line was too thin, the sun was in my eyes, the bank was wrong — but the caught fish is the only one the camp can eat, so praise the small caught one, not the big escaped one.

Ngayu kuyu yalbay bangkanyaku, balbi-bama nyubun-nyubun balkal, wulbuman yajarr-mal jananka wubulku: badur bala bajaku, wungar miyilba ngayku, jalkar mumbu, yambada kuyu maninmuny nyulu nyubun nganga bayanda nukalmuny, yalada yulmbarrika kuyu buban maninmuny, kari kuyu yalbay warrinmuny.


<translate> The old people came from the south, following the coast up to this river mouth.

Mukul-bama naka-muny kadan, jalun karangkal wangkar-a wawubaja-ka.


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

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


<translate> They heard the chewing sound there.


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


<translate> We see the sucker fish there.


<translate> I hear the thunderstorm here.


<glossary> ngarra-yilbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> The Bloomfield team beat the rest


<translate> The big paperbark tree is there.


<translate> A ghost is not coming; a man is coming.


<translate> He saw the spear point there.


<translate> The children gathered the ripe seeds that had fallen down under the great old tree.

Karrkay-karrkay-angka diburr kulbul bangkan, juku yalbay mukul bada dara-nya-muny.


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


<translate> The women dug up the poisonous yams that keep well, sliced them thin, wove a loose basket, packed the slices in it, sank the basket in the running creek and weighted it with a stone, left it a day and a night for the water to carry the poison away, lifted it out and tasted a piece, roasted the rest, and then stored the safe food for the lean season.

Jalbu juwal ngambuy nyulu ngulkurr karrbal bakan, buban-buban dakan, balji jimirr wukurrin, buban-buban dukurr-bu buwan, balji bana warri kuljinga bundan kulji-bu wangkar-manin, wungar wujurr baja bawan bana ngambuy kala-kalbay jarrakulbanka, wangkar-manin nyubun nganja-kangal, yindu wubulku dindan, yalada mayi yukil karrban dakwuy wungarka.


<translate> He sees the tree snake here.


<translate> We saw the baban angelfish here.


<glossary> bambal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=kinship <usage_example> I call her grandmother


<translate> I see the nakawarra bee there.


<glossary> kunjal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> They'll invite you to the wedding


<translate> The old woman gave us all the sweet honey and told us the old stories.

Wulbumangka ngananka wunba jiba-wula-wula dajin, nganangan kuku ngadiku balkan.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the barinkan scrub bird there.


<glossary> kambal ; type=noun ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> Get the food from the low (branch)


<translate> We two, not you, saw the murma wasp here.


<glossary> manubu-wundil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> The boss deceived him


<glossary> dandi ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> I took the medicine and am better now


<translate> Is the turtle meat cooked right through yet, the hungry child asked, and the old woman told him to wait a good while longer by the coals.

Minya ngawiya narmba waju-n niji? karrkay dakuy nyajin, mukul-jalbu-ngku nyunguny balkan bunda wumbul-baja kubu ngundu-ba.


<translate> You saw the jimalili lizard here.


<translate> The boys waited at the crossing.


<translate> You saw the mirrki kidney bird there.


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


<translate> The blue-tongue lizard is slow and gentle and no danger at all, the old woman said, and it shows its bright blue tongue only to frighten away the birds.

Bajabaja ngulkurr buyun-kari bajaku, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu nyabil ngumbu-jarra balbal nyaji-mani buyi yararri-bungal-nka nyubun-bu.


<translate> Grandmother washed the sore with water.


<translate> That black tip shark is there.


<translate> The little dilly bag is for the small things, but the big one carries the heavy load of yams.

Ngunyin buban minya buban-mu, yamba yalbay wukay kulngkul wundi.


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


<translate> The women pulled up the yams and shook off the dirt.

Jalbu-jalbungku wukay kulban, bubu yilbanda.


<translate> You two see the diburr-miyil eyeball here.


<translate> You saw the bakay snake there.


<translate> You saw the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> I see the kalbariji tree here.


<translate> You two see the jellyfish there.


<translate> He saw the nakawarra bee here.


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


<translate> The stones here are close together.


<translate> My father made a strong fish spear with many prongs from the hard wood.

Ngayku nganjanangka yinba junkurr bungan yirrmba-baja juku dandi-muny.


<glossary> balbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> The sun shone brightly


<translate> They saw the newly cleared scrub there.


<glossary> mujal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=hunting-fishing-gathering <usage_example> Ngayu baya mujan


<translate> Grandmother put the fish net in the shade.


<translate> You two saw the stick there.


<translate> This cold water is sweet and good for the long walk in the heat.

Yanyu bana ngiki jiba-wula-wula ngulkurr jilba kalbay-ka wungar wumbul-a.


<translate> The old man smiled and said: they go into the country itself — the hills, the water, the stars.

Mukul dingkar wawu-mini, balkan: jana bubungu dungay — manjalba, bananga, dawara.


<translate> Grandfather saw the scrub turkey at camp.


<translate> Rain came and then stopped. After that, the ground was dry.

Kaba kadan, wulan-da. Wawu-yinya-muny, bubu marral.


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


<translate> The people of this place hunt in the scrub; the people of that place fish in the sea.

Yaluy-arra madja-nga balbil; yinyay-arra jalun-ba kuyu damal.


<translate> The old man put water on the child's shin.

Mukul-dingkar-angka bana yijarrin karrkay-anda bibar-a.


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


<translate> The old man said a quiet child learns more than a noisy one, for it listens instead of talking.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan karrkay janka jarra-binal karrkay kuku-yalbay-ka, nyulu nganay kari balkal.


<translate> Get up! The sun has come up.


<translate> Everyone was wet but nobody was hurt.


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

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


<translate> We two, not you, saw the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish here.


<translate> They saw the wakuka bird here.


<translate> You saw the karrmbil parakeet there.


<glossary> balkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> I already told you


<translate> The old man said: teach the children to ask well. A good question opens the country; ask who, ask what, ask where and when — the one who asks learns, the one who is silent stays small.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: karrkay-karrkay binal-bunga ngulkurr babaji-nka. Babaji ngulkurr bubu bakal; wanya babaji, wanyu babaji, wanjabu, wanja-wanja babaji — babaji-bama binalmal, nganga-bama buban wunay.


<translate> They saw the carpet snake there.


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


<translate> The old man pointed south along the beach to the place where his father was born.

Mukul-dingkar-angka naka milban jukar karangkal, nyungu nganjan wandin-muny.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jiwurrmal pheasant cuckoo here.


<translate> Grandmother saw the Leichhardt tree.


<translate> They sent the boys to meet grandad at the river.

Jana dabal maku-yungan, kami wawubajanga.


<translate> They see the kurubarr mangrove there.


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


<translate> A strong wind blows through the tall trees and scatters the dry leaves everywhere.

Muyar junkurr juku kalbay-burr warri, birra marral wubul bubu-ngu dunga-y.


<translate> You all saw the kungkun snake there.


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


<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> The old woman said if two people carry a heavy log and one lets go early, the other is not merely left with half but crushed with the sudden whole, so if you must set down your end of a shared burden, say so first, and set it down slowly, and never simply let go.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki bama jambul juku dandi jarrakulbal nyubun ngadiku bawal, yindu kari nganga buban bawan yambada wubul buban-buban-karibu kaka-manda, kaki yundu yabarrka nyungu dandi buban bada yijarrinka, balka ngadiku, buban-buban bada yijarri, kari nganga bawa.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> The cottontree has big flowers.


<translate> You see the mackerel sky here.


<glossary> kaki ; type=particle ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> When/if you go, close the gate


<translate> The warrior held the broad wooden shield up and turned the flying spear aside.

Dingkar-angka kunjuri juku yalbay wangkar-a karrban, kalka mumal-nya nyunban.


<translate> They see the frill necked lizard here.


<translate> The children did not fully understand, being young, but they remembered the grandmother's calm face as she spoke of it, and later, when they were old themselves, they finally understood, and were not afraid.

Karrkay-karrkay kari yukil binalman, warru janaymuny, yambada jana binalku babingkamu walu janka nyulu yinya balkanya, yindu wungara, jana mukul-mandanya nyulu-nyulu, jana yukil binalman, kari yinil janay.


<translate> Maybe grandmother knows where the water is.


<translate> He sees the murral tree kangaroo there.


<translate> The two of them saw the bulnja frogmouth here.


<translate> They saw the kungkun snake here.


<translate> You two saw the kurkunbay butcherbird here.


<translate> You see the wurmbariji scrub tree there.


<lexeme> the Aboriginal camp at Thompson Creek


<translate> They saw the ironwood tree here.


<translate> They saw the yawarr palm here.


<translate> He sees the ngadil hickory tree there.


<translate> Granny met them at the beach.


<translate> We, not you, saw the milkul soup there.


<translate> He saw the jayju kangaroo rat here.


<translate> The old man said to the camp: You have given me my life back, and a person cared for by his people never truly dies, for he lives on in their care.

Mukulungku dingkarangka bayanka balkan: Yurra ngayku wawu dajin baja, bama nyulu bamabu nyajil kari yukil wulay, nyulu bundanay nyungu wawungu.


<translate> They see the ngadil hickory tree there.


<translate> We saw the jakalkulu tree stump here.


<translate> The old woman said the fire is the great changer of the world, for it makes the wet wood dry and the hard clay soft, it makes the tough root tender enough to eat, it makes the green bark curl, it makes the cold body warm and the frightened heart calm, so that a person who has learned to master fire has learned to change a hundred things that without it would stay forever as they are.

Wulbumanangka balkan baya nyulu yindu-bungal-bama yalbay bubumuny, nyulu juku ngawa kaka-bungal dandi-kambar kima-bal, nyulu bangkan dandi kima-bungal nukanka, nyulu warrur jirakal murrnga-bungal, nyulu bangkarr kiway-kiway wumbul-bungal wawu yinil-ji wunbu-bungal, bama nyulu baya karrbanka binalman nyulu binalman yindu-bungalka wubul yamba nyulu baya-kari-ji janan wungar wubulku yala jana janan.


<translate> Mother sent a message to father.


<translate> The old woman scolded the cheeky children for making too much noise near the sleeping baby.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay-karrkay murru-kangan, jana nyurra yalbay bunga-nya karrkay warngku wuna-nya ngundu.


<translate> Maybe the rain will come in the morning, maybe it will stay away another day.

Nguba kaba kaday wunkuwingku, nguba wanja-baja wungar yindu-ngu.


<translate> You all see the charcoal there.


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


<translate> Grandmother washed the child's upper leg.


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


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

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


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


<translate> We two saw you two at the swamp yesterday, hunting for meat.

Ngali yubalan nyajin daburri-nga yilayku, minya-ka balbi-nya.


<translate> The old man taught the boys to read the tides, for the sea gives its food only at the low water.

Mukulungku dingkarangka dabal binalbungan yira nyajinka, jalunbu mayi dajil nganga ngajalba.


<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 two leaders sat down facing each other and talked together for a long time, watching each other with careful words, each trying to understand the other before deciding whether to trust.

Mala-bama jambul nyubun-nyubun yaral bundan, balka-wan kalbay, jana nyubun-nyubun nyaji-nyaji-way kuku nyaji-nyajiji, wubulku yindu binalka manu-baja-bunganka ngadiku.


<translate> We see the tiger shark there.


<translate> The man saw the wood in the scrub.


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


<translate> You see the young cassowary there.


<translate> Grandmother rested after washing clothes.


<translate> The wound with pain is the one that is healing, the old woman told the frightened boy, but the wound without pain, gone cold and numb, is the one to fear, for pain is the body speaking and a body that has gone silent about its own hurt is a body in the deepest trouble, so she was glad, not sorry, that his cut still hurt.

Buyun kaka-ji nyulu kalbal-mabi, wulbumanangka buban yinil-ji balkan, yambada buyun kaka-kari, kiway-manda, nyulu yinilmanka, kaka nyulu janka balkal janka nyulu dandi-manda nyungu buyunmuny nyulu janka dukul-yamba bada bajaku, nyulu wawu-mini, kari mumbu, nyungu janka-kaka kaka janji.


<translate> The fire kept the camp warm.


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


<translate> They saw the little wallaby there.


<translate> Cook the sweet potato in the coals with its skin still on, the old woman showed the girls: the bark is its cooking bag, and the one who peels it first throws the pot away.

Bangkamu dinda ngunjilba warrur-ji nyungu, wulbumanangka jalbu-buban milbin: warrur nyulu balji nyungu wajunka, bama nyulu warrur-ngurr manil nyulu balji yilbal kala-kalbay.


<translate> They poured water into the bark.


<translate> The old woman knows how to find water even in the driest country, the old man said, by the green trees and the tracks of the birds and the bees.

Mukul-jalbu binal bana mani-nka bubu marral bajaku-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, juku biral-bu buyi dabu-mu jina-bu.


<translate> The old man told the young fellows to get wood.

Mukulungku dingkarangka warru-warru balkan, juku maninka.


<translate> The two of them see the jungka wild cherry tree there.


<translate> They saw the jalkay salmon here.


<translate> You and I see the spring here.


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


<translate> You two saw the grasshopper here.


<translate> Finish the fish before your father wakes, the old woman said quietly to the children, and throw the bones to the fire before the dogs come, for a camp that moves fast after eating stands with nothing to be said against it.

Kuyu kunbay-mana nganjan wandinyjiku, wulbumanangka karrkay-karrkay balkan wunbu, bajibay yilba bayaka kaya kadanyjiku, bayan nyulu warri murnil nukanmuny, nyulu kuku-kari janay.


<translate> A pig has torn up the soak — pig tracks, pig diggings, pig manners.

Bikibikibu bana-buban bakan wubulku: jina bikibikimuny, bakal bikibikimuny, murni-jina bikibikimuny.


<translate> Grandmother saw the bloodwood tree outside.


<glossary> wawu-darra ; type=noun ; domain=dimension-size <usage_example> The house is too small for all the people (just can't fit in)


<translate> The old dog lay down beside the fire, put its head on its paws, and slept the whole night through.

Kaya mukul wunan baya karangkal, nyungu dukul mara-nga nanda, warngku wuna wujurr wubulku.


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


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jika-birra tobacco leaf here.


<translate> This wide country belonged to my old grandfather, and now at last it belongs to me.

Bubu kalbay yinya ngayku kami-mu-muny, niji nyulu ngayku.


<translate> The husband and wife built their camp near the water; the wife wove the baskets, and the husband made the spears and the fish nets.

Dunyu biwar bayan bana ngundu ngaran, biwarangka balji wukurrin, dunyungku kalka makarr bungan.


<translate> You two saw the murrabal barramundi here.


<translate> You and I saw the karrandal tree here.


<translate> Granny smiled at the sleeping children.

Babingka karrkay-karrkay nyajin, warngku wunanya.


<translate> You and I saw the yirku-yirku frog there.


<translate> The child washed his stomach.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> Get the spear to hunt the wallaby, and bring the dog to chase it!

Kalka mana, kadar damanka; kaya wundi, kanganka!


<translate> Grandmother went into the grass with the baby.


<translate> The old man named all these people, and told how each one is related.

Mukul-dingkarangka yalu-rriny wubul burri-bungan, jawun kuku balkan.


<translate> I see that wuymbariji scrub tree.


<translate> I see the karraway snail here.


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

Jana kaykay-kaykay janjanay jakalba school


<translate> The grandmother is the one who keeps all the old stories, the old woman said, and tells them to the grandchildren one by one by the evening fire.

Babi-ngku kuku kalbay-muny-mu wubulku karrba, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu jija-karra-nka balka nyubun-nyubun buri-ngka wujurr-ma-nya.


<translate> We see the umbrella palm here.


<translate> You two see the bikarrakal fruit here.


<translate> You see the large bat there.


<translate> "Whose little dilly bag is this, the one lying here by the fire in the cold morning?"

Wanyamba ngunyin buban yala, wuna-nya baya ngundu ngiki wunkuwingku?


<translate> You two see the grass wallaby there.


<glossary> badi ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> They are wailing because their older brother died


<translate> You see the scarlet robin there.


<translate> The old woman washed his leg with clean water, put green ant medicine on it, and bound it with bark.

Wulbumanangka jandal julurrin banabu ngulkurrbu, yangka yijarrin, dubalji kajan.


<translate> At the end of the warning nights the old woman tied all the teachings into one short rope: look first, act early, want one thing, answer tomorrow, and leave every camp so that you can walk back into it, for the person who lives by those words is never rich in things and never big in name, only alive, old, and welcomed at every camp, and that is taking everything.

Badanga wujurrmuny milbilmuny wulbumanangka milbil wubulku kajan karraka nyubunku bubanku: nyaji ngadiku, murni ngadiku, wawu-mana yamba nyubun, balka wunkuny, bawa bayan nyubun-nyubun yundu kadanka baja, bama nyulu kuku yinyabu juran, nyulu kariku yamba-ji wubul, kariku kuku-yalbay-ji, nganga juran, mukul, yulmbarrinmuny bayanba nyubun-nyubunba, yinya nyulu yamba wubulku maninmuny.


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

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


<glossary> binju ; type=noun ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> tea that is too strong


<translate> If you hunt well and share the meat, the whole camp eats well, the old man said, and no one goes to sleep hungry.

Kaki yundu ngulkurr balbi minya daji, bayan narmba ngulkurr nuka, mukul-dingkar balkan, kari bama dakuy wuna.


<lexeme> The Daintree side of Rocky Point


<translate> That woman wants to go with a fishing line, but she is sick.

Jalbu yinya wawu badur-iji dunga-nka, kari nyulu bambay.


<translate> The march fly bit the hunter on the thigh and he hit it with his hand.

Wajangka balbi-bama waba-nga baykan, nyulu mara-bu kunin.


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


<translate> He saw the jangkan swift there.


<translate> Mum is calling out from the house.


<translate> We see the dukul-dukul bush here.


<translate> We see the murrabal barramundi here.


<translate> The old woman said: you belong to your mother's country and your father's country; both are yours; hold them both, and give them both to your children.

Mukulungku balkan: yundu yunu ngamu-mu bubu, yunu nganjan-amu bubu; jambul yunu; yundu jambul karrba, jambul yunu karrkay-karrkayka daya.


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


<translate> When the big rain fell hard in the black night, all the children shivered and were frightened.

Kaba yalbay daran junkurr wujurr ngungul-ba, karrkay-karrkay narmba yararrin yini-yini.


<translate> When the two family groups met at the river for the first time in a year, they saw each other from across the water and called out to each other with joy.

Jawun-karra jambul bananga nyaji-wanda wungar nyubunmuny ngadiku, jana nyaji-wan bana kudamundumuny, jana kunja-wan wawu-minibu.


<translate> I see the dukul-mukul lizard here.


<translate> I did not eat the food; the child ate it.

Ngayu kari mayi nukan, karrkay-angka nukan.