<translate> You see the balmbalka tree there.


<translate> Grandmother saw the rope in the shade.


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

Nyulu ngarrbal ngangkal-ngangkal baralka


<translate> I see the large round oyster here.


<translate> The old man read the signs early and moved the whole camp up to the high ground before the flood came.

Mukulungku dingkarangka yala nyajin ngadiku, bayan wubulku bubu wangkarka jurrkijin jalungkarr kadanyjiku.


<translate> Fearless is just fear walking on the right road.

Yinil-kari nyulu yinil baralba yukilba jilbalmuny nganga.


<translate> Those love handles are here.


<translate> Mother cooked food; meanwhile grandmother washed clothes.

Ngamu-ngku mayi wajun, babi-ngka kambi julurrin-kuda.


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


<translate> I saw the spear point there.


<lexeme> mountain and river flowing from mountain


<translate> They see the rock python here.


<glossary> jilba ; type=noun ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> The child can walk now


<translate> Father found tracks on the road.

Nganjan-angka baral-ba jina warrmba-bungan.


<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 child asked grandfather about water.


<translate> The green frog is cool and wet to the touch even in the hottest sun, the old man said, and the old people knew it as a sign of clean water close underground.

Karrkurr ngiki duna wungar-iji junkurr-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, mukul-bama binalman yala bana ngulkurr bubu bada ngundu.


<translate> The new camp is close to the spring.


<translate> The children learned the hardest lesson of all: that sometimes the other person will not make peace, will strike the open hand away, and that then you must have the strength to stop without striking back, and to leave the door open, and to wait.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman milbil dandi bajaku wubulmuny: kanbalka bama yindu kari wunbu-bungal, mara yaral kunil bawal, yalada yundu junkurr karrbanka kari kuni baja, jina yukil bawanka, maku-jananka.


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


<translate> You saw the baliji people here.


<translate> The dugout canoe went on the sea.


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


<translate> The old man said follow the flowers to find the food: when the wattle blooms, the fish are fat; when this tree flowers, the yams are ready to dig.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: nganka nyaji mayi warmba-nka — nganka yinya kulbul-ba, kuyu wandul; juku yinya nganka-ba, bambayal baka niji.


<translate> Do not put your hand near the dog's mouth, child, lest it bite you hard on the finger.

Balu, karrkay, yundu mara kaya ngandal ngundu kari nanda, kaya-ngka yununy bayka-nyji junkurr.


<translate> He saw the karrmbil parakeet there.


<translate> You all see the creek there.


<translate> Did your father come back from the hunt? Yes, he and my elder brother brought two wallabies, and my mother is cooking them.

Nyungu nganjan balbi-muny kada baja? Yuwu, nyulu yaba-ji kadar jambul wundin, ngayku ngamu yinya wajul.


<translate> You two saw the spear thrower there.


<glossary> walngkurril ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> The dog barked at the pig


<translate> I see the kakaji mangrove tree there.


<translate> He sees the freshwater turtle here.


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


<translate> They saw the karranda tree here.


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


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


<translate> The two young men were worn out from carrying the great heavy turtle so far up the steep sand to the camp, the old man said, and they rested a long while.

Warru jambul baja-burray, ngawiya yalbay kulngkul jarra-kulba-nya kala-kalbay jukar jarra-jarra-ka bayan-ka, mukul-dingkar balkan, jana wuna wumbul marri.


<translate> You saw the mukukanka tree there.


<translate> I saw the dog's food outside.


<translate> You all saw the kinga caterpillar there.


<translate> They saw the big spear here.


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


<translate> Maybe the child is hiding in the scrub.


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


<translate> The old woman said the grandparents and grandchildren often shared a special ease because they stood two steps apart, and the fierce responsibility that a parent felt for a child, with all its worry and correction, was softened across the extra generation into pure delight, so that a grandmother could simply enjoy a grandchild as a parent, weighed down by the daily duty of raising it, sometimes could not, and both the child and the old one were the richer for it.

Wulbumanangka balkan kami-babi jija-warra nganga karrbal wumbul-yamba jana janan jambul-jina jibarr, yamba-yukil junkurr ngamu-nganjan wawu-manin karrkaynka, nyungu wawu-mumbu murni-bungal baja, kima-manin wungar-kadal yindumuny yajarr nganga-nga, babi nganga yajarr jija-mundu yala ngamu-nganjan, wungar-daji junkurrbu kima-man, wungar nyubun kari, karrkay mukul jambul jana yamba-yukil-baja yinya-muny.


<translate> We see the giant herring here.


<translate> You two saw the kurriyala snake here.


<translate> You all see the domestic turkey there.


<translate> You all saw the jurriyan satin bower bird there.


<translate> We see the scarlet robin here.


<glossary> kumurr ; type=noun ; domain=time-deixis <usage_example> It's flower time now


<translate> The little child walked behind its mother all the way along the narrow track to the water.

Karrkay buban ngamu kudamundu jilban jina-burr wubulku bana-ka.


<translate> The mother's father made a small digging-stick for his little grandchild, the old man said, and showed the little one exactly where the sweet yams grow.

Ngaji-ngku kaminjarr buban baka-juku buban bunga, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu karrkay binal-bungal wanja bambayal jiba-wulay ngalkal-ma-nya.


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


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

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


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


<translate> The boss of the young men told them to go and hunt the kangaroo before the sun rose over the hills.

Maja warru-warru-nka balkan, jana balbi-ka dunga-y mayarriji-ka, wungar daka-nya kariku jamba-muny.


<translate> I saw you at the corroboree, but you did not see me.

Ngayu yununy nyajin malkarri-nga, yundu kari nganya nyajin.


<translate> The old woman said the young leaves and shoots of many plants are food when nothing else is, for in the hungry gap before the fruit comes and after the roots run low, the soft new growth of the right plants can be gathered and cooked and will keep a family alive, so she taught the girls the emergency-foods that a full-bellied person forgets but a starving one must know.

Wulbumanangka balkan mayi nyubun-nyubun birra buban jurrbu baja mayi yamba yindu nganga-karinga, dakwuy-jandu mayi kadanya ngadiku bangkan bada-mandanya baja, mayi yukil nyungu jirakal kima bangkal wajunku jawun-karra wunay-manil, nyulu jalbu-buban milbin dakwuy-mayi bama jiba-yajin milka-wulanmuny yambada dakwuy-bama binalka.


<translate> The old woman took a long detour around the flooded creek.

Wulbuman murni-ji wawubaja bana-yalbay kudamundu, kalbay-baja.


<translate> Why did you take the dog into the house, and not leave it outside? I took it in because the night was cold and the rain was falling hard.

Wanyurrimbu yundu kaya bayan-ba wundin, kari ngalkal-ba bawan? Ngayu wundin, wujurr ngiki, bana yalbay daran.


<translate> I see the black cockatoo here.


<translate> They saw the kujuway pigeon here.


<translate> You two saw the dijarr freshwater perch here.


<translate> Grandmother gave food to the child.


<translate> The child laughed at grandmother.


<translate> When they finally reached the sea after four days in the ranges, the children who had never seen it before ran straight into the waves shouting, and the old man stood on the sand and wept, for he had walked this same last mile as a boy with his own grandfather.

Jana dukul jalunba kadan wungar jambul-jambulmuny yumalngu, karrkay-karrkay jana kariku jalun nyajinmu wangkar warrin dunguru kaya-kaya, mukulungku dingkarangka jukara janay badi, nyulu baral yinya kilba jilban buban janaymuny nyungu kamiji.


<translate> We saw the liver in the bag.


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


<glossary> ngumanji ; type=adjective ; domain=body-part <usage_example> That man has teeth missing


<translate> You all saw the mayfly there.


<translate> I asked mother about the new house.

Ngayu ngamu-ndu babajin bayan-ka jirakal-ka.


<translate> The old man said the frog buries itself deep in the cracked mud all through the long dry, and lies as if dead until the first rain wakes it again.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: yirku-yirku kambal-kambal dumbarri-nya-ba dajali janku baka marral-wungar narmba, wuna yala wula-nya kaba yudal-nya-muny.


<translate> The young man went to the shade with a friend.


<translate> I saw the barka snake there.


<translate> My cousin and I are the same age; we grew up together, we learned together, and now we hunt the same country.

Ngayku bangunji ngali nyubun wungar-amu; ngali muru yalbay-man, ngali muru binal-man, ngali nyubun bubu balbil.


<translate> In the morning the children were still sleeping by the ashes.

Wunkuwingku karrkay-karrkay warngku wunanay nulungu.


<translate> The honey from that tree makes a person sick, so leave it alone.

Wunba yinya-muny juku-muny bama bambay-bungal, bawa yundu.


<translate> Auntie is carrying the baby on her back.


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


<translate> The woman said to the man: "That is fish."

Jalbu-ngku dingkar-anda balkan: "Yinya kuyu."


<translate> The children waved from the beach until the canoes were small.

Karrkay-karrkayangka mara milbin jukarmundu.


<translate> Mother sees the ironwood tree here.


<translate> Those calf muscles are here.


<translate> He came from that house with the tree.

Nyulu bayan-muny yinya-muny juku-jirr-muny kadan.


<translate> The father asked the young man: "To whom did you give my long spear and my good hunting boomerang?"

Nganjan-angka warru babajin: Wanyanka yundu ngayku kalka kalbay wangal balbi-mu dajin?


<translate> The old man's last teaching about the animals was the simplest and the deepest: we are one of the creatures too, not above them and not apart, we sleep and hunt and raise our young and die as they do, we read them and they read us, and the person who forgets this and thinks himself the master of the country soon finds the country does not agree, and takes him back.

Mukul nyungu milbil bada minyamuny yamba kima ngadiku bada bajaku: ngana minya nyubun baja, kari jana wangkar kari yindu, ngana wunay balbil buban warru-manil wulal jana yala, ngana jana ngaral jana ngana ngaral, bama nyulu yinya milka-wulan nyulu nyulu-nyulu balkan bubu-mukul nyulu buban-buban nyajil bubu kari nyubun-manil, nyulu murni manil baja.


<translate> They went across to the island for turtle eggs.

Jana burrira dungan, ngawiyamu diburrku.


<translate> That jinjajalka tree is there.


<translate> You and I saw the jalkay salmon here.


<translate> Mother saw the fire stick on the ground.


<translate> The old woman warned the child not to go near the deep water.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay milka-bakan, baluda dunga-y bana dajali-ka.


<translate> The old woman fed the sick child soft food, a little at a time into his mouth.

Wulbumanangka karrkay bambay mayi kima dajin, buban-buban ngandal-ba.


<translate> The old man's neck was thin and his throat was dry, so he drank the cool water slowly.

Mukul-dingkar jakay buban manu marral, nyulu bana ngiki buban-buban nukan.


<translate> He saw the julaji freshwater catfish here.


<translate> He saw the duburan directional sign there.


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


<glossary> juru-kulbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He led his friend wrong


<translate> You two see the charcoal there.


<translate> The child has a sleep if he is tired.

Karrkay warngku-wunay, kaki nyulu bangkarr bajaburray.


<translate> I see the milbarkal tree here.


<translate> The girl washed all the clothes thoroughly.


<translate> Grandmother dropped the stick on the old woman's back.

Babi-ngka juku daray-manin mukul-jalbu-ndu muku-ngu.


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


<translate> He sees the black cockatoo there.


<translate> She would have gathered the oysters, but the tide had already come in.

Nyulu julul bangka-nyaku, yambada yira yalada kadan.


<translate> Is the young man becoming a good hunter? Yes — he learned quickly, his aim became true, and now he never comes back empty-handed.

Warru ngulkurr balbi-bama-mal? Yuwu — nyulu warri binalman, nyungu mil yaral-man, nyulu kariku mara-kari kaday.


<translate> The child saw the snake being killed.

Karrkay-angka nyajin, jarba kuni-ji-nya.


<translate> Father filled the billycan with water.


<translate> Don't eat it yet — wash it first, little one.

Kari nuka nyiku, julurri-ka-rr, bubanku.


<translate> The two brothers set out to catch the big eel that lived under the old log in the deep pool: they blocked the downstream end with a stone wall, one felt carefully under the log with his hands while the other stood ready with the spear, the eel shot out and the spearman missed, they tried again more patiently, the eel came out slow and the spear went true, they carried the great eel home between them, and then their mother cooked it whole for a feast.

Yaba jambul badan kubarr yalbay maninka nyulu juku mukul badanga bana dukurr-bu wunaymu: jana bada-mundu karra kulji-bayanbu, nyubun buban-buban juku bada maranji nyajil yindu kalka yukil janji, kubarr wandin kalka-bama bawan, jana murni-nyajin maku-janalbu, kubarr buban wandin kalka murni dungan, jana kubarr yalbay nyubun-nyubun dukurr-bu jarrakulban, yalada nyungu ngamu bubungu wajun bangkarr-yalbaynka.


<translate> A mosquito sang at my ear all night — tonight I sleep in the smoke.

Kamubu badin milkaba ngayku wujurr wubulku: wujurrba yanyaba ngayu wunay kubungu.


<translate> Her voice in song is like running water over stones, the old man said, and it carried far in the still night.

Nyungu kuku wulngku-ba yala bana wanarri kulji-burr, mukul-dingkar balkan, kala-kalbay janay wujurr janka-nga.


<translate> The wood there is not rotten.


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


<translate> Mother saw the child's chest.


<translate> The old man taught the boy every star in the night sky, the old woman said, and how to hold his path by them when he walks in the dark.

Mukul-dingkarangka karrkay dawar wubulku jiri wujurr-mu binal-bungal, mukul-jalbu balkan, jina nyungu karrba-nka dawar-bu nyulu wujurr-ba jilba-nya.


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


<translate> You all see the mawal bee here.


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


<translate> The little boy stubbed his big toe hard on the rock and cried out loudly in real pain.

Warru buban durru yalbay kulji-nga kunin, nyulu yalbay-bu yirrkan kaka-baja.


<translate> You two saw the ngarkay waterhen there.


<glossary> kunukunu ; type=adjective ; domain=food <usage_example> That soup is too fatty


<translate> The heavy dilly bag hung at the old woman's neck as she walked.

Ngunyin kulngkul wulbuman-mu jakay-mba karrban, nyulu jilba-nya.


<glossary> jarrabina ; type=noun ; domain=fauna-mammal <usage_example> Nyungkul Yalanaji


<translate> We (my brothers and I) speared many fish; we cooked them by the water; the old people came to us; and we gave the fish to them.

Nganjin kuyu wubul daman; nganjin bana ngundu wajun; mukul-mukul nganjinanda kadan; nganjin jananka kuyu dayan.


<translate> In the hot season the whole camp went down to the big waterhole, the sun sinking, the children swimming and calling out big, the old people sitting in the shallow water like old logs going soft, and the old woman said: the body is a working thing, but in the water it remembers it was once only a small happy fish.

Jiri-wungara bayan wubulku dungan bada daburrika, wungar bada dunganya, karrkay-karrkay marajin kuku yalbay balkanya, bama mukul bundan bana bubanba yala juku mukul kima-manya, wulbumanangka balkan: bangkarr nyulu murni-yamba, yambada bananga nyulu milka-binalku nyulu ngadiku kuyu buban wawu-mini nganga.


<translate> You two see the domestic turkey there.


<translate> You two see the dilly bag here.


<translate> Grandad sang at the corroboree.


<translate> Cook the fish well, lest the little ones get sick.

Kuyu ngulkurr-baja waju, karrkay buban bambay-ma-nyji!


<glossary> baral ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> He was feeling for his torch in the dark


<translate> The grandmother divided the fish among all her grandchildren, gave the best part to the smallest, and kept the head for herself.

Babingka kuyu jija-karra-nka daji-way, bada ngulkurr buban-baja-nka dayan, dukul nyungu-nka ngakin.


<translate> The old people talked and talked about the law of the land until the bright morning light came.

Mukul-bama kuku bubu-mu balka-l-balka-n, wunkuwingku balbal kada-nyjiku.


<translate> They see the pig before it runs away.

Jana bikibiki nyajin, nyulu warri-nyjiku.


<glossary> yaral ; type=adjective ; domain=water <usage_example> You talk in the right way (not cheeky - talk as you should in a court case)


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


<translate> We saw the ngurrkul fig tree there.


<translate> Father saw the Moreton Bay ash tree.


<translate> Take food lest you get hungry.


<translate> He sees the bamboo spear stick here.


<translate> I see the running water here.


<glossary> majin ; type=adjective ; domain=texture <usage_example> Your hair is too oily


<translate> This is sharing, she said: you give much, and the country gives you much back.

Yanyu dajil, nyulu balkan: yundu wubul dajil, bububu yununda wubul dajil baja.


<translate> A hunter without a spear and a hunter with one walk the same forest very differently.

Balbi-bama kalka-kari balbi-bama kalka-ji yindu-yindu madja nyubun jilba-dunga-y.


<translate> Where is your mother now? I have not seen her since early this morning.

Yunu ngamu wanjabu niji? Ngayu nyunguny kari nyajin wunkuwingku-muny.


<translate> Those two old men argued for a whole lifetime about one fishing spot, and when one died the other stopped going there — the argument was the friendship.

Bula mukul balka-wan wawu wubulku bana-nyubunmuny, nyubun wulanya yindubu kariku dungan baja yinyaka: balka-way nyulu jawun jambulmuny.


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


<translate> How many days will you be away, and where will you sleep? Three days; I will sleep at my uncle's camp on the first night, then in the open scrub the other nights.

Wanjarrinya wungar yundu kari yinyabu, wanjabu yundu wuna? Wungar kulur; ngayu ngadiku wujurr ngayku kalnga-mu bayan-ba wuna, baja wujurr madja-nga wuna.


<translate> The old woman sat down by the fire to warm her cold hands.

Wulbuman baya karangkal bundan, nyungu mara ngiki wumbul-bunga-nka.


<translate> The brolga dances by the swamp, lifting its wings and stepping high, and the other brolgas come and dance too.

Kulbal daburri-nga wurin, nangki wangkar bungan, jina jarra-jarra jilban, kulbal yindu kadan wurin baja.


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


<translate> The white ant eggs are there.


<translate> You all see the whip snake there.


<translate> The little child kept asking its mother again and again for some more of the sweet honey.

Karrkay buban ngamu-nda babaji-l-babajin, wunba jiba-wulay baja-ka wawu.


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


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

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


<translate> Grandmother sees the scrub turkey.


<translate> I saw the dawa-dawa magpie here.


<translate> The child put liver in the bag.


<translate> The cockatoo crest is there.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> "My good knife is somewhere here in the camp, but I do not know where I put it in the dark last night."

Ngayku naybu ngulkurr wanjabu yala bayan-ba, yamba ngayu binal-kari wanja ngayu nanda ngungul-ba yilayku.


<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> Mother sees the hairy yam here.


<translate> The child asked why the moon changes, and the old woman said: it grows fat and thin like a woman carrying a child.

Karrkay-angka babajin wanyurringku kija yindu-mal, mukul-jalbu balkan: nyulu wandul-mal buban-mal yala jalbu karrkay jarra-kulba-nya.


<translate> You and I saw the jumper ant there.


<translate> They see the rock python there.


<translate> I saw the julaji freshwater catfish there.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> We see the knight fish here.


<translate> You two saw the creek there.


<translate> The children caught many small fish in the shallow water with a net of woven grass, and the old woman cooked them whole in the ashes.

Karrkay-karrkay kuyu jirril wubul mani bana buban-ba makarr jikan-mu-bu, mukul-jalbu-ngku narmba waju kubu-ba.


<translate> Are you coming with the hunters, or staying with the old people?

Yundu kaday balbi-bamanji yambada janay bama mukulanji?


<glossary> ngujungu ; type=noun ; domain=manner <usage_example> I pretend/play I'm a horse


<translate> The rains came, just as grandad had said, and the whole country turned green again.

Kaba kadan, yala kamingka balkan, bubu wubulku jirakalmanda baja.


<translate> He sees the ridge pole there.


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


<translate> We see the fighting stick here.


<translate> The bandicoot digs its little cone-shaped holes all through the soft ground at night hunting for grubs and roots, and in the morning you can read the whole story of its night in the fresh diggings, and the old man used this to teach the boys to read tracks, for every creature writes its night on the ground and a good tracker reads it like talk.

Kulngu janku buban-buban jalngkun-mabi bakan bubu jinbal wubulku wujurr jambun ngara baja balbinka, muduwajungu yundu binalka nyungu wujurr wubulku jina-jirakalba, mukulungku dingkarangka yinya kirrajin warru-warru milbin jina nyajinka, minya nyubun wubulku nyungu wujurr bubungu jarral bama jina-binal ngaral kuku yala.


<translate> They see the small conical shellfish there.


<translate> Mum made damper for the children.


<translate> You all see the lizard here.


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


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


<lexeme> child who has just learned to talk


<translate> The round moon is bright tonight, and it lights the whole quiet camp and the still, dark water below.

Kija murru-murru balbal wujurr niji, nyulu bayan narmba janka bana ngungul bada-bada balbal-mani.


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


<translate> I saw the jiwal-jiwal kingfisher here.


<translate> They saw the flat rock here.


<translate> The old man made fire with two dry sticks, rubbing them fast and hard together in the morning.

Mukul-dingkar-angka baya bungal juku marral jambul-bu, buyun-buyun junkurr murnin wunkuwingku.


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


<translate> When you are happy, she said, that is wawu-mini, a bright spirit; and when you are sad, that is jiba-badiy, the liver weeping inside you.

Yundu wawu-mini janay, nyulu balkan, yinya wawu balbajil; yundu jiba-badi janay, yinya jiba dukurr badinya.


<translate> You all saw the ngumbul snake here.


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


<translate> Do you know how to find good water out in the dry country, the old man asked the boy, testing carefully all that the child had learned so far.

Yundu binal bana ngulkurr mani-nka bubu marral-ba? mukul-dingkar-angka karrkay nyajin, karrkay-mu binalman narmba nyaji-nyaji.


<translate> I heard barking from the house.


<translate> You two saw the jika-birra tobacco leaf here.


<translate> They saw the dakwurr-dakwun hammer bird here.


<translate> You all see the toadfish there.


<translate> The old man asked the hunter: "Did you kill the big kangaroo today?" and the young man said: "Yes, I killed it."

Mukul-dingkar-angka balbi-bama babajin: Yundu mayarriji yalbay kunin niji? Warru balkan: Yuwu, ngayu kunin.


<translate> I saw the durra caterpillar there.


<translate> Echidnas are hard work, said uncle, laughing.

Kalngangka balkan, yajarrinya: ngangkin dandi bajaku.


<glossary> muwul ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> That man is from Mossman, he's living secretly with his relation (so the Manager won't know)

Nyulu bama Mossmanmun, nyulu muwulku bundanday jawunyunji


<translate> You see the yurrunji tree here.


<translate> The water gum tree is there.


<translate> Gather all the oysters and crabs you can before the tide turns and comes back fast over the flat reef, the old woman said.

Julul kiju-jirr wubulku bangka yira nyunba-nyjiku, yira bila dulngku ngalkal-burr kaday, mukul-jalbu balkan.


<translate> He sees the mukukanka tree there.


<translate> The old woman said a person who listens well to the birds will never be lost or hungry in the country.

Wulbumanangka balkan bama nyulu buyi ngulkurr ngananka nyulu kariku bubu-ngu milka-wula, kariku dakwuy.


<translate> You all saw the ngurrkul fig tree there.


<translate> The old woman asked the child: "Do you see the dog?" The child said: "I see it."

Mukul-jalbu karrkay-anda babajin: "Yundu kaya nyajil?" Karrkay-ngku balkan: "Ngayu nyajil."


<translate> This light-coloured clothing is here.


<translate> I speared two fish and my elder brother caught three little crabs beside the reef.

Ngayu kuyu jambul daman, yaba-ngka minya kulur buban dulngku-ngu karrban.


<translate> The children caught many small fish in the shallow water with a net of woven grass, and the old woman cooked them whole in the ashes.


<translate> The good hunter speared a sea turtle.


<translate> We see the mukukana tree here.


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


<translate> They two see the wooden sword here.


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


<translate> The child does not know the language.


<translate> The old man said the wise never stop asking whether they are wrong, for the moment a person becomes certain they know everything is the moment they stop learning and start to fall behind, so he made a practice of asking himself where might I be mistaken about this, what would someone who disagreed say, what have I not tested, and this steady self-questioning, he said, is the whole difference between an elder and merely an old fool.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan binal-bama kariku bawal babajinka jana mumbu-manda, wungar bama nyulu kuku-junkurr-manda nyulu yamba wubulku binal nyulu bawal binalmanka wandin bada-mundu jilban, nyulu bungan yamba nyulu-nyulu babajinka wanja ngayu mumbu-manda yinya-mundu, wanyu bama nyulu kari nyubun-manin balkalmuny, wanyu ngayu kari nyajin, yinya nyulu-nyulu-babaji junkurr, nyulu balkan, nyulu bada bajaku mukul dingkar ngangkal mukul yindu-yindumuny.


<translate> The mother asked the crying child: "Why are you crying, and what is hurting you there in the dark?"

Ngamu-ngku karrkay badi-nya babajin: Wanyurringku yundu badi, wanyu yundu kaka-mani-l ngungul-ba?


<translate> They heard the sharp sound here.


<translate> The sea is calm this morning — marrka, the old people called it: the sea remembering its breath.

Jalun wunbu muduwajuny: 'marrka', bama mukulbu kunjan: jalun wawu nyungu milka-binalnya.


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


<translate> You and I saw the shield here.


<translate> You all see the tree kangaroo here.


<translate> The man put the grass at camp.


<translate> Pull the canoe up onto the sand!


<translate> You all saw the banamu snake here.


<translate> Down below in the deep hills the river ran fast and strong over the big grey stones.

Bada-bada jamba-nga, wawubaja wanarri junkurr kulji yalbay-muny.


<translate> He saw the ngadil hickory tree here.


<translate> The man lit the fire with a firestick.


<translate> You saw the barrbal black bream here.


<glossary> jarmbil ; type=noun ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> The boat is drifting


<translate> The old woman said the question a dying person most wants to be asked is often simply what do you want us to know, for the dying are full of things they are afraid it is too late or too self-important to say, and this one gentle question gives them permission to pass on the last of their wisdom, their forgiveness, their love, and she had sat with many at the end and never once regretted asking it.

Wulbumanangka balkan kuku wula-bama nyulu bajaku wawu-manil babajilmuny nyulu nganga wanyu yundu wawu-manil ngana binalmuny, wula-bama buwan yamba jana yinil-ji nyulu bada bajaku yambada nyulu-nyulu-yalbay balkalmuny, kuku nyubun kima yinya jananka dayal bada bajaku nyungu binal, nyungu bawa-way, nyungu wawu-jirray jarrakulbalka, nyulu bundanmuny wubulku bada bajaku kariku nyubun mumbu-manin babajinmuny.


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


<translate> We, not you, saw the jamal egg white there.


<translate> He sees the tree kangaroo here.


<translate> Carrying fire is an old and careful skill, for a lost fire means cold food and a hard night far from home.

Baya wundinka yala ngadiku wunbu, baya kilbanmuny mayi kiway, kunarangkal dandi bayanmuny kalakalbay.


<translate> Some stories made the children laugh until their bellies hurt, and some made them quiet and thoughtful.

Kuku kanbal karrkay-karrkay yajarrimanil jibar kaka bajaku, kuku kanbal jana wunbu bundanday milka-bu baykanya.


<translate> When the flying foxes argue in the fruit tree, close your eyes and count your own quiet things.

Kaki kambi balka-wal juku-junjunba, miyil nandaji, yamba wunbu yundumuny kunja kimabu.


<translate> You see the corkwood pine there.


<translate> That old woman is very experienced, for she has watched the plants and the birds all her long life.

Yinya wulbuman juburr-baja-ku, nyulu mayi buyi nyajin nyungu wungar-kadal wubulku kalbay.


<translate> They heard the whistle sound here.


<translate> The snake crawled through the scrub.


<translate> You and I saw the yarrka bee there.


<translate> Do not shout at me from a distance; come here close by, and tell me the news quietly.

Kari ngayku-nka yirrka-y kala-kalbay-mundu; kada-y yala ngundu, kuku janka balka-y.


<translate> That man speaks Kuku Yalanji well.


<glossary> nguwimal ; type=adverb ; domain=perception <usage_example> I saw him appear, a long ways off

Ngayu nyungun nguwimal nyajin, kala-kalbayku


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


<translate> The fish were all caught by the children with their bare hands in the shallow creek.

Kuyu wubul karrkay-anda mara-bu karrba-jin, wawubaja buban-ba.


<translate> You two see the archerfish here.


<translate> The sea turtle is in the water.


<glossary> wanjaburr ; type=interrogative ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> WHich way did you come?


<lexeme> someone who is continually talking


<translate> They see the jellyfish here.


<translate> The big crocodile lay still on the muddy bank, right beside the deep water where the fish swim.

Bilngkumu yalbay daburri jalkar-a janka wunay, bana dajali karangkal kuyu wanarri-nga.


<translate> They saw the juril-juril seashore plover there.


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

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


<translate> They run to the food-cooking woman.

Jana warri jalbu-ndu mayi waju-nyu-mun-bu.


<translate> You see the fighting stick there.


<translate> The two young men pulled out the bamboo, wrapped it up, and went on their way once again.

Warru jambul-angka nambarr kulban, kajan, dungan-baja.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> The marku species of oyster is here.


<translate> The old man said nothing on a creature is wasted, and the fat most of all: the fat of the goanna and the possum and the fish is the richest food of the lean time, rendered slowly over gentle heat and stored, and a spoon of it in the cold months does more than a whole meal of lean meat, so the fat is guarded and shared with the old first.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: minyanga yamba nyubun kari kudamundu, wandul wubulku bajaku: jadi kambi-mabi kuyu baja wandul mayi jiba-wulay bajaku dakwuy wungarmu, wumbul buban-bu buban-buban balamu-manin karrban, wandul buban kiway-kiway wungara ngulkurr-baja minya jiba-kari wubulmuny, wandul yabarrka kujil mukulnka ngadiku daji-way.


<translate> Left at the split rock, right at the big tree, straight to the water — with a road full of markers you never get lost.

Walmbi kulji dumbarrinmunyba, jurrubiji jukuba yalbayba, yaralbu banaka: baral milbil-ji yundu kariku wulal.


<translate> He sees the waterfall there.


<translate> You saw the running water there.


<translate> The old woman said no child raised knowing a hundred relatives ever truly believes themselves worthless, for a person who is loved by many cannot easily be persuaded that they are nothing.

Wulbumanangka balkan: karrkay nyulu jawun-karra wubul binalji kambanmuny kari yabarrka nyulu-nyulu yamba-kari binal, bama nyulu wubulbu wawu jirray janay kari junkurr binal-manil nyulu yamba-kari.


<translate> You all saw the murraja stonefish there.


<translate> Stand like this, he said. Feel the ground with your feet.

Yalaku janay, nyulu balkan. Bubu nyaka jinabu.


<translate> The children found turtle eggs in the warm sand, but grandad said: take only a few and leave the rest for next time.

Karrkay-karrkayangka ngawiyamu diburr nyajin jukara wumbulba; kamingka balkan: diburr kanbal nganga mana, yindu bawa wunkunka.


<translate> You two saw the jalbil lizard here.


<translate> You two see the tree snake there.


<translate> The big river runs right down from the high mountains all the way to the salt sea.

Wawubaja yalbay manjal jarra-jarra-muny bada dungan, jalun-ka kalbay-baja.


<translate> We saw the dawa-dawa magpie here.


<translate> You all saw the jimalili lizard there.


<translate> You saw the jurriyan satin bower bird there.


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


<translate> If the moon is full, the biggest tides come into the mangroves.

Kaki kija yalbay, yira yalbay-baja kajul-ka kaday.


<translate> I saw the fish net at the sea.


<translate> They saw the ngumbi bandicoot here.


<translate> We will stay at the camp if a strong wind comes.

Ngana bayan-ba bundanday, kaki muyar junkurrji kaday.


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

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


<translate> Are you coming out with us to hunt the wallaby in the scrub today, the young man asked his younger brother by the morning fire.

Yundu ngananji kadar balbi-nka madja-ka niji? warru-ngku nyungu yabaju buri-ngka wunkuwingku-ba nyajin.


<translate> Do not go into deep water; that is deep water.

Kari-ku dunga-y dajali-mun-bu, yinya dajali.


<translate> The old men sat in the cool shade all day, telling long stories of the old, old days.

Wulman-wulman wabarr ngiki-ba wungar wubulku bundan, kuku kalbay mukul wungar-mu balkan.


<translate> The old man taught the boy to read every track: the kangaroo, the dingo, and the goanna.

Mukul-dingkar karrkay binal-bungan jina wubul ngara-nka: mayarriji, murramu, jadi.


<translate> You two saw the dawa-dawa magpie here.


<translate> Mother saw the Moreton Bay fig tree in the scrub.

Ngamu-ngku baril-baril madja-nga nyajin.


<translate> I quickly killed the brown snake before it could bite me on the foot.

Ngayu jinbal-da jinkalmu kunin, nganya bayka-nyjiku jina-nga.


<translate> We see the kookaburra there.


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


<glossary> kuljan ; type=noun ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> I drummed the water


<translate> You two saw the wawukuna long wild yam there.


<translate> You two see the warrabuka yam here.


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


<translate> The old woman said: you all are my family, and I am yours forever.

Kambangka balkan: yurra ngayku jawun-karra, ngayu yurranga baja.


<translate> How many big turtles did the men bring back from beyond the far reef today, the old woman asked the breathless boy.

Wanjarrinya ngawiya yalbay dingkar-dingkar-angka dulngku kala-kalbay-muny bada-baja wundin niji? mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay wawu-baja-nya nyajin.


<translate> He sees the kubu-kubu tadpole there.


<translate> You saw the kukur rat there.


<translate> Who goes hunting today? — The ones with strong legs and without small babies.

Wanya balbinka dungay nyiku? Bama jandal-junkurr-ji, ngawa-kari.


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


<translate> One day a young man cut his leg on a rock as he was climbing down to the water.

Nyubun wungar warru jandal yakajin kuljinga, bananga dakanya bada.


<translate> Stand like this, he said. Feel the ground with your feet.


<translate> Father put water on the child's foot.

Nganjan-angka bana yijarrin karrkay-anda jina-nga.


<translate> The two came, saw the food, and then ate.


<translate> The tide came in, the sand became wet, the crabs came out of their holes, and the children ran to catch them.

Bana kadan, jukar duna-man, ngalngal bubungu-muny dungan, karrkay-karrkay warri karrbanka.


<translate> I see the ngadil hickory tree here.


Yinya-ngka kaya-ngka yalbay-ngka karrkay baykan.


<translate> The women crack the candlenut on a flat stone, the old man said, and the oily white meat inside burns like a small lamp at night.

Jalbu-jalbu-ngku bilar kulji balbal-ba dumbarri, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyungu julbi balbal wandul waju yala baya buban wujurr-ba.


<lexeme> see and know someone before he sees and knows you


<translate> They saw the munungkul ground pigeon here.


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


<translate> You all saw the diwalngku bird here.


<translate> Dad caught a big eel in the river.

Nganjanangka kubarr yalbay karrban wawubajanga.


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


<translate> Mother gave food to the child.


<translate> You all see the ghost crab there.


<translate> They kept standing at the crossing until the flood water went down.

Jana janjanay bana-baralba jalungkarr bada dunganyjiku.


<translate> You all see the cheek there.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> You and I see the shellfish here.


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

Dingkar-angka bajibay balji-nga yijarrin.


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


<glossary> baya ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> he collected firewood


<translate> The old man said the way to change a bad habit is not to fight it head-on, which only feeds it with attention, but to slowly grow a good habit in its place, for a person who merely tries to stop being lazy stays fixed on laziness, while a person who takes up an absorbing daily work finds the laziness has quietly withered from lack of room, so that the truest way to end an old thing is to change into a new thing that leaves it no space.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan yala murni-mumbu yindu-bungalka nyulu kari yinya-nka kuli-mal, yinya nganga nukal milkabu, yambada buban-buban murni-yukil yalbay-bungal nyungu jarraymba, bama nyulu nganga wawu-manil junkurr-kari bawanka nyulu janan junkurr-kari-nga, yambada bama nyulu wungar-daji milka-manil manil nyulu manil junkurr-kari nyulu wunbu bada-manin jarray-karimuny, yala yukil bajaku murni mukul bada-bungalka nyulu yindu-mal murni jirakal nyulu yinya jarray-kari dayal.


<translate> The parrot is standing at camp.


<translate> The old man said the country has no roads of its own; every path was made by the feet of those who walked before, and every time you walk it you make it a little deeper, so that to walk the old paths is to walk with all the ancestors at once.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: bubu nyungu baral kari; baral wubulku jina bama jana ngadiku jilbanmu bungan, wungar wubulku yundu jilbanya yundu buban bada-baja bungal, yinyabu baral ngadiku jilbanka bama ngadiku wubulku nyubunji jilbanka.


<translate> They saw the jellyfish there.


<translate> You and I saw the spear barb here.


<translate> The possum is sleeping in the tree.


<translate> You two see the fire stick there.


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


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

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


<lexeme> child who has just learned to talk


<lexeme> mountain and river flowing from mountain


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


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

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


<translate> I saw the kaya-kaya dogs here.


<translate> You see the waddy club there.


<translate> After the big water the dry creek filled again, the grass grew fresh, and the whole country became alive with birds.

Bana yalbay-muny wawubaja bana-ji-man, jikan kulbul-man, bubu dikal-ji juran-man.


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


<translate> I sweep the ground before setting up camp.


<translate> The kestrel hovers in one place beating its wings fast, the old woman said, its sharp eyes fixed on the ground, watching for a grasshopper or a small lizard.

Kalin-kalin bubu nyubun-ka nangki bila-bu jurrki-jurrki, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyungu miyil jarran bubu-ba wandi, jimu bajuy buban-jirr nyaji-nyaji.


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


<translate> They crossed the river where the water is shallow.

Jana wawubajanga marijin, bana buban yinyay.


<translate> The base of the tree is big.


<translate> The old man made a big warm fire with a dry firestick in the cold, dark early morning.

Mukul-dingkar-angka baya yalbay wumbul bungal jidi marral-bu, ngiki ngungul wunkuwingku.


<glossary> kalkandiji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> You hang on to (your) work, don't pull out

yundu workmunbu kalkandijika, kari kulbajika


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

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


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


<translate> The old woman heard a song from far away and told the children to sit quietly near the fire.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku wulngku kalakalbay-mundu nyajin, karrkay-karrkay-nka baya ngundu-ba janka bunda-nka balkan.


<translate> And so another day in the camp came to its end, the same as ten thousand days before it and ten thousand still to come.

Yalaku wungar yindu bayanba dungan baja, yala wungar wubul ngadiku, yala wungar wubul kadanyjiku baja.


<translate> The sun climbs slowly up the sky all morning, and by midday it burns hot upon the open plain.

Wungar wangkar daka buban-buban wunkuwingku wubulku, wungar wangkar-wangkar wumbul wajun bubu ngalkal-ba.


<translate> You two saw the shooting star there.


<translate> Keep the family stories in more than one head — a single fire can take a whole camp of words.

Kuku-jangkar jawun-karramuny karrba dukulba wubulba: bayabu nyubunbu bayan kukumuny wubulku manil.


<translate> You saw the dalmbal flathead there.


<translate> The fish is for tonight, the yams for tomorrow, and the honey for the day your uncle comes.

Kuyu wujurrku, juwal wunkunyku, wunba wungarku kalnga kadanya.


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


<translate> The man grabbed the young man while he was spearing turtle.

Dingkar-angka warru nyarrman, ngawuya dama-l-dama-nya.


<translate> You saw the kujuway pigeon there.


<translate> Three big trees are standing there.


<translate> Pour water into the billycan.


<translate> The boy carried his first wallaby home himself, and his mother met him at the edge of the camp, smiling.

Karrkayangka nyungu darrba bayanba jarra-kulbanyarr nyulurrku, ngamungka nyungu bayan ngundu karrban, yajarrinya.


<translate> The children jumped straight into the deep part and swam and splashed, while the old people washed more slowly at the water's edge.

Karrkay-karrkay bada badaka dungan, janjin, bana yilban, kamba-kamba buban-buban julurri-jin bana bungkarra.


<translate> In one cold season a boastful young man said, I sleep without a fire in the dark, and by the second dawn he was sitting close by the old woman's fire with the blanket around his ears, and she gave him warm food and said only one word: the cold and the young men have been arguing since before the first fire, and the cold has never once lost.

Bulur-iji nyubunba warru kuku-yalbay balkan, ngayu baya-kari wunay wujurrba, muduwaju jambulbu nyulu bundan wulbuman bayanga ngundu, nyulu bundan kararr-ji milkanga, wulbumanangka nyulu mayi wumbul dayan, kuku nyubun nganga balkan: kiway warru-warrunji balka-way baya ngadiku ngadikumuny, nyulu kariku nyubunbu bada-manin.


<translate> Grandmother saw the stone on the road.


<translate> You two see the high bank there.


<translate> The black snake and the brown snake both bite, and their bite makes you very sick.

Bindimu jinkalmu jambul baykal, nyungu jindal bama bambay-baja-bungal.


<translate> You and I saw the jumul-jumul grass seeds there.


<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


<translate> The man sees the black scrub goanna on the ground.


<translate> In the big flood the deep brown water carried away the trees and the old camp.

Jalungkarr-ba bana yalbay-angka juku, bayan mali baja wundin bada-mundu.


<translate> He saw the jadi goanna here.


<lexeme> {'english': 'The doctor man knows that woman will die'}


<translate> Watch the sky closely in the afternoon, the old man told them, in case the great black storm comes up quickly and suddenly from the sea.

Jiri manubu-dama wujurr-ma-nya, mukul-dingkarangka jana-nka balkan, kunka jarramali yalbay ngumbu bila nyubun-bu jalun-muny ngalkal-ma-nya.


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


<translate> The spears, the boomerangs, and the shields all belong to the men, and the dilly bags to the women.

Kalka, wangal, kunjuri, narmba dingkar-mu; ngunyin jalbu-mu.


<translate> Mother made the clothes dirty.


<translate> Say the soft things while the ears can still hear them, the old woman told the proud young man, go to your father before the long sleep takes him, for a visit made in its right day is short and light, but the visit not made walks close beside you for the whole rest of your life.

Balka kuku kima milka milka-jananya baja, wulbumanangka warru walu-dandinka milbin, dungay nganjananka nyulu warngku kalbaybu maninyjiku, jilba murninmuny wungara nyulu buban kima, yambada jilba kari murninmuny nyulu jilbal yundu ngundu wawu wubulku.


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


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


<translate> The two of them saw the kinga caterpillar there.


<lexeme> the Aboriginal camp at Thompson Creek


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


<translate> The old man looked at the far blue mountains, and he knew that far distant country.

Mukul-dingkar-angka manjal kala-kalbay nyajin, nyulu bubu kalbay yinya binalman.


<translate> I saw the jimalili lizard here.


<translate> Every weapon and every dilly bag in the camp was made by hand from the country itself.

Jarrngkurr ngunyin baja bayan-ba wubul bama-ngka mara-bu bubu-muny bungan.


<translate> Which one is your camp? — The one with the big fire and the two dogs.

Wanjaku bayan yundumuny? Bayan baya yalbay-ji, kaya jambul-nji.


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


<translate> The woman asked father about the spear.


<translate> The young men practised throwing their light spears at a soft bark target all morning.

Warru jana kalka buban warrur kima-ba mumal-mumal wunkuwingku wubulku.


<translate> We saw an octopus hiding in a hole in the reef, still and quiet.

Ngana kurrija nyajin janku-ngu dulngku-ngu, janka-baja wunay.


<translate> You two see the dijarr freshwater perch here.


<translate> Do not shout so loudly here; speak quietly, for the sick old man is trying to sleep by the fire.

Kari yirrka-l yalbay-bu yinya-nga, balka-y janka, dingkar mukul bambay warngku wuna-l baya ngundu.


<translate> Did the old man see the big snake near the camp? — No, he did not see it at all.

Mukul-dingkar-angka jarba yalbay bayan ngundu nyajin? Kari, nyulu kari nyajin.


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


<translate> When did the old people first come to live in this good country, long, long ago?

Wanjawanja mukul-bama nyubun-bu bubu yinya-ka kadan, kalbay-muny bunda-nka?


<translate> In the cold season the people rubbed charcoal and fat on their skin to keep warm and to stop the skin cracking in the wind.

Bulurijinga bama ngunjil wandul bangkarra yijarrin wumbuljinka, bangkarr muyarbu kari yika-damanyji.


<translate> You saw the marril ti tree here.


<translate> They danced and sang all night, until the stars turned in the sky and the little ones fell asleep.

Jana wurin, wulngku badin kunarangkal wubulku, dawar wangkar murnijinya, ngawa-ngawa warngku wunanda.


<translate> You see the kuralbi tree there.


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


<translate> You two see the bamboo stick here.


<translate> You saw the kinga caterpillar there.


<translate> The echidna and the bandicoot both dig, but their tracks are quite different.

Ngangkin kulngu jambul bakan, yambada nyungu jina yindu-yindu-baja.


<translate> The old woman's eyes were weak now, and she could not see the far tracks.

Wulbuman-mu miyil bambay-baja niji, nyulu kari jina kalbay-mba nyajil.


<translate> The old man asked the boy who had taken his good spear away from the camp.

Mukul-dingkar-angka warru babajin, wanyangka nyungu kalka ngulkurr bayan-muny manin.


<translate> Carry two firesticks when you walk at night, the old man taught, one burning and one sleeping, lest the wind kill the first and you stand in the whole dark, for the traveller with eyes is his own dawn, and the careless one stands very still until the true dawn comes.

Baya-juku jambul wundi jilbanka wujurrba, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin, nyubun wajunya nyubun wunanya, muyarbu nyubun ngadiku kuninyji, yundu janay wujurrba wubulba, jilba-bama miyil-ji nyulu muduwaju nyungu-nyungu, jilba-bama milka-kari nyulu janay warri-kari bajaku muduwaju yukil kadanyjiku.


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


<translate> I still remember the old song my grandfather sang to me when I was a small child long ago.

Ngayu binalku kariku kuku mukul ngayku kami-mu balka-nya-muny, ngayu karrkay buban kalbay-muny.


<translate> The mother's brother is there.


<translate> Why are you crying? I am crying because my mother has died. And why did the old man come here? He came for food, for his own camp has none.

Wanyurringku yundu badil? Ngayu badil, ngayku ngamu wulan. Wanyurringku mukul-dingkar nyiku kadan? Nyulu mayi-nka kadan, nyungu bayan-ba mayi kari.


<glossary> baykal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> the dog bit the pig and held on


<translate> The bearded man speared the fish.

Dingkar-angka walarr-iji-ngka kuyu daman.


<translate> The honey was the best thing the children had ever tasted, and they ate it from their fingers and their faces and laughed, happy in the sun.

Wunba mayi ngulkurr bajaku karrkay-karrkayangka nukanmuny, jana marabu walubu nukan, yajarrin, ngulkurr wungara.


<translate> The man sees the road there.


<glossary> nulngkun ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> That girl has big breasts


<translate> You two see the wubun hump here.


<translate> You and I saw the marril ti tree there.


<translate> The girl watched the old women grinding the seeds on the flat stones, the old man said, learning the whole way of it with her eyes.

Jalbu-ngku mukul-jalbu-jalbu nyaji-l-nyaji-n, diburr murni-l-murni-nya kulji balbal-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, narmba yalaku miyil-bu binalman.


<translate> The rope has grown thin where it holds the branch — bind it with new bark today, not tomorrow.

Karra bala-man wanja nyulu dakil karrbal: kaja warrur jirakalbu nyiku, kari wunkuny.


<translate> Are you coming hunting with us in the morning, or will you stay in the camp?

Yundu ngananji balbi-ka kaday wunkuwingku, bayan-ba bundal-baja?


<translate> You all see the flames there.


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


<translate> The child ran to me crying; I held her, I spoke softly to her, and I carried her back to her mother.

Karrkay ngaykundu badil warrin; ngayu nyunguny karrban, ngayu nyungunku ngulkurr balkan, ngayu nyunguny nyungu ngamu-nka wundinda.


<translate> The child saw the stone at the camp.


<translate> We see the grass wallaby there.


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


<translate> The two of them saw the kujuway pigeon there.


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


<translate> You take a fishing line; perhaps the fish will bite.

Yundu badur wundil, nguba kuyu-ngku baykal.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the kalngkan small mullet there.


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


<translate> The man got mussels at the river.

Dingkar-angka mukirr wawubaja-nga manin.


<translate> The fish are biting this morning.


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


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


<translate> When the children became deaf to advice and would not heed their mother's words, she grew angry and growled.

Karrkay-karrkay milka-kari-ma-n, jana kari binal ngamu-mu kuku, ngamu kuli-ma-n yirrkan.


<translate> The two of them saw the yawa possum there.


<translate> The old woman would have cooked the crayfish, but there was no fire.

Wulbuman ngajay waju-nyaku, yambada baya-kari.


<translate> The child went to the sea with father.


<translate> We two, not you, see the grass wallaby 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.


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


<translate> The woman saw the bottlebrush tree.


<translate> You see the exposed place there.


<translate> The father scolded his own little child, the old man said, because it had kicked the sleeping camp dog hard and made it cry out in pain.

Nganjan-angka kangkal buban murru-kanga-l, karrkay-angka kaya warngku-nya jabi-nya junkurr badi-bungal, mukul-dingkar balkan.


<translate> At daybreak grandmother got up.


<translate> After the cyclone the flood water slowly went down and left wet mud everywhere.

Wadjal-muny jalungkarr bana bada dunga-y, bubu bana-ba nganga wuna-l.


<translate> That night a big storm came, and lightning flashed above the whole range of mountains.

Yinya kunarangkal jarramali yalbay kadan, balbay balbajin wangkar manjalba.


<translate> The eggs are in the dilly bag.


<translate> I saw the jiwurrmal pheasant cuckoo here.


<translate> We saw the karkunbay stockwhip bird here.


<glossary> balkaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-function <usage_example> there are are flowers now


<glossary> walngkal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> The log is floating on the water


<translate> Cover the food — the flies are coming!


<translate> Grandmother saw the freshwater eel in the water.


<translate> My head is sore and I'm tired.


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


<translate> I have waited a long time for the rain, but the sky stays dry and the hot sun burns on and on.

Ngayu kaba-ka bundan marri, yamba jiri marral wuna, wungar wumbul wajun-baja.


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


<translate> The sea has its own law, said the old man, and a wise person learns it instead of fighting it.

Jalun nyungu yala wubulku, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, bama binal nyungu binalmal, kari nyungu kunil.


<translate> You all saw the bajalji python there.


<translate> The men wove the big fish net from strong string, working together for many days by the evening fire.

Dingkar-angka makarr yalbay bungal karra junkurr-bu, muru bungal wungar wubul baya ngundu.


<translate> You all saw the yalnga turtle there.


<translate> The two men found the goanna's burrow at the base of the tree, one dug down carefully following the tunnel while the other watched the back exit, the goanna bolted out the hidden hole, they chased it, the first man caught it by the tail, they killed it quickly and cleanly, and then divided it fairly and carried the halves to two hungry families.

Dingkar jambul jadi-bubu juku badanga nyajin, nyubun buban-buban bakan juku-bubu wukurrin yindu dumbay-jina nyajil, jadi dumbay-bubu warrin wandin, jana wukurrin, dingkar ngadiku junkan-bu manin, jana warri ngulkurr-bu kunin, yalada yukil buban-manin daji-wan jawun-karra jambul dakwuynka.


<translate> The two of them see the dirrmbay seagull here.


<translate> The big rock python swallowed a whole kangaroo and then lay still for many days.

Kabul yalbay-angka mayarriji nyubun durrban, yalada kalbay-baja janka wuna-l wungar wubulku.


<translate> I saw the kalngkan small mullet here.


<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> 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> They see the barracuda there.


<translate> The dingo took the wallaby meat we had left by the fire, and ran off into the dark scrub with it.

Murramu minya kadar bama-ngku baya ngundu nanda-nya manin, madja ngungul-ka wanarrin.


<translate> The old man watched the boy digging for the yams all morning, the old woman said, and he saw the child had learned the work well.

Mukul-dingkarangka karrkay nyaji-l-nyaji-n, bambayal baka-l-baka-nya wunkuwingku narmba, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu nyaji karrkay kirraji ngulkurr binalman.


<translate> You hear the rattling sound there.


<translate> The old woman said: "Something is moving there in the long grass. Is it a snake, or a little bandicoot?"

Mukul-jalbu-ngku balkan: Junjuy jilba yinyay jikan kalbay-mba. Jarba yinya, kulngu buban yinya?


<translate> Who saw the big crocodile down at the river early this morning? — The young men saw it.

Wanyangka bilngkumu yalbay bana-nga nyajin wunkuwingku? Warru-ngku nyajin.


<translate> The old woman said the frogs are the true voice of the water: when they call loud from the swamp the wet is here and the country is full, when they go silent and bury themselves the dry is coming and you must husband the waterholes, and when they call from a dry gully at night there is hidden water there that will save you, so learn the frog and you will never die of thirst.

Wulbumanangka balkan diburr-kaya bana kuku ngadiku: jana balkan junkurr bubu-yaralmuny bana-wungar yinya bubu buwan, jana dandi-manda yinil-ji bana-kiway kadanya yundu bana-janga karrbal, jana balkan bubu-jandu kiway-kiway wujurr bana buyan yinya ngundu nyulu yundu wula-manilmu, diburr-kaya binalma yundu kariku wula bana-dakwuybu.


<translate> I see the black bream there.


<translate> You see the straw hat there.


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


<translate> The dogs are fighting again.


<translate> The poor motherless children, with no camp and no food, wandered from country to country.

Karrkay-karrkay ngamu-kari, bayan-kari, mayi-kari, bubu-muny bubu-ka jilban wubulku.


<translate> I saw the marril ti tree here.


<translate> The two of them saw the shooting star there.


<translate> They heard the thunderstorm here.


<translate> The bird is standing in the tree.


<translate> The native cat is a small, fierce hunter that kills the rats and the little birds in the night.

Jungarr buban, balbi-bama kuli-ji, kukur buyi buban kunil wujurr-ba.


<translate> Eat your soup while it's hot!


<translate> The old man said if you meet a person carrying a heavy grief, do not try to lift it off them with easy words, for grief is not a weight to be taken but a road to be walked, and the kindest thing is simply to walk beside them in silence until they are ready to speak, and then to listen.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu bama walu-jirrbu-jirrbu dandi jarrakulbal nyaji-wan, kari nyaji jana kuku bubanbu wangkar-manilka, walu-jirrbu-jirrbu kari dandi manilmu yambada baral jilbalmu, wawu-yukil bajaku nganga nyungu ngundu janka jilbanka nyulu wawu balkanka janaynya, yalada ngaranka.


<glossary> ngulkurrijin ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> Yinya nganka ngulkurrijin


<translate> The two of them saw the ngumbi bandicoot there.


<translate> Come close into the shallow water.


<translate> They got mussels and threw them.


<translate> The grasshoppers went up from the dry grass as the children ran through it, and the birds followed to eat them.

Jimu jikan marralmuny wangkara dungan karrkay-karrkay jilba-nya, dikal wukurrin nukanka.


<translate> The women worked hard all morning, digging and digging until the dilly bag was full of yams.

Jalbu-jalbu bakal-bakan wunkuwingku wubulku, ngunyin-ba wukay wubul-ma-n.


<translate> You see the morning star here.


<translate> The old man who was sitting there by the fire told us the story of the great flood.

Mukul-dingkar yinyay baya karangkal bundanda-nya nganangan kuku balkan bana-yalbay-mu.


<translate> The child without a mother cries alone in the dark, and nobody comes to hold her by the fire.

Karrkay ngamu-kari nyubun-nyubun badi ngungul-ba, bama kari kaday nyungu karrba-nka baya ngundu.


<translate> The old man said if you cannot decide between two paths, sleep one night at the fork, and in the morning your feet will know what your head could not, for the body carries an older wisdom than the mind, and it does not argue, it simply leans, and you have only to notice which way you lean.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu murruji binal baral jambulmuny, wuna nyubun wujurr baral jambul-mandanga, muduwajungu nyungu jina binal wanya nyungu kaba murruji binalmu, bangkarr wawu-binal ngadiku-baja karrbal milkamuny, nyulu kari kuni-way, nyulu nganga bada janji, yundu nganga nyaji wanya-mundu yundu janjil.


<translate> They saw the mali small bat here.


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


<translate> The two of them see the wurarr-wurarr dragonfly here.


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


<glossary> janbar ; type=noun ; domain=texture <usage_example> I'm very sticky, want to take a bath


<translate> He saw the durra caterpillar here.


<translate> They climbed, kept taking fruit from the tree and eating it.

Dakan, juku-muny manil-manin mayi nukal-nukan.


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


<translate> You all saw the freshwater turtle there.


<glossary> baya ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> he collected firewood


<translate> Bring your two dogs here quickly, and we will follow the kangaroo's fresh tracks.

Kaya jambul yununy ngundu-ka mani jinbal-baja, ngana mayarriji jina wukurri-l!


<translate> We saw the karrandal tree there.


<translate> You two saw the jadi goanna there.


<glossary> badi ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The birds were singing early in the morning


<translate> The children love to play, but the rain comes.

Karrkay-karrkay wawu jirray kinka-n-kinka-nka, kari kaba kaday.


<translate> The old woman said the greatest change a person ever makes in another is the change a good teacher makes in a child, for to take a small one who knows nothing and, over years of patience, change them into a person who holds the whole knowledge of the country, its law and language and stories and skills, is to make a whole new keeper of the people, and she said there is no greater work a person can do than to change a child, well, into a carrier of everything that matters.

Wulbumanangka balkan yindu yalbay bajaku bama nyubun murnil bama yindungu nyulu yindu milbil-bama yukil karrkayanda murnil, karrkay buban nyubun yamba-kari binal maninka yambada, nganga wungar wubulku wawu-karrbabu, jana yindu-bungalka bama nyubun karrbal bubu binal wubulku, nyungu kuku-yukil kuku kuku-jangkar binal baja, bama-jirakal bungal karrbal-bama bamamuny, nyulu balkan yamba-yukil kari yalbay bama nyulu murnilmuny karrkay yindu-bungalmuny, yukil, karrbal-bama yamba wubulku bajakumuny.


<translate> The singing voice is breath that has learned the corroboree, the old woman said before the dance: the chest is its ground, the throat its narrow road, the tongue and the lips its two dancers, so warm the song slowly at dusk, and it will carry through the whole night and never break.

Wulngku nyulu wawu malkarri binalmanmuny, wulbumanangka balkan malkarri ngadiku: damu nyulu bubu nyungu, manu baral buban nyungu, nyabil yimbi baja malkarri-bama jambul nyungu, yalada wulngku wumbul-bunga buban-buban miyil-wujurr-wujurrba, nyulu wulngku karrbal wujurrburr wubulku, kariku dumbarriji.


<translate> You all see the nyumbil coolibah tree there.


<translate> The old woman's tongue and mouth are dry, and she asked the child for the cool sweet water.

Mukul-jalbu nyabil ngandal marral, nyulu karrkay bana ngiki jiba-wulay-ka babajin.


<glossary> bala ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> You became skinny from not having enough food


<translate> They saw the white-tailed rat there.


<translate> You two see the mirrbangku pencil cedar tree there.


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


<translate> The two brothers-in-camp shared the meat between each other after the hunt.

Dingkar jambul daji-way minya, balbi-ny-muny.


<translate> The children are at the spring.


<translate> When they returned, the old woman went straight to the graves of her parents and sat with them a long while telling them everything she had seen, for she said the dead travel with us on every journey, riding quiet in our memory, and it is only courteous to tell them of the country when we come home.

Jana kadanya, wulbumanangka mula-mulamu bimu-mu wulanmu dungan yaral bundan kalbay jananka wubulku nyulu nyajinmu milbin, nyulu balkan: bama wula ngananji jilbal wubulku, janka wunay ngana milkanga, yukil yala jananka bubu balkanka ngana bayan-mundu kadanya.


<translate> We close the house before rain falls.


<glossary> kulun ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> He didn't give any food because of selfishness


<translate> Grandmother washed the baby's mouth with water.

Babi-ngka ngawa ngandal julurrin bana-bu.


<translate> You two saw the dalmbal flathead there.


<glossary> majin ; type=adjective ; domain=texture <usage_example> Your hair is too oily


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


<translate> They see the bamboo stick here.


<translate> Granny made a warm drink and the child slept at last, and by midday the fever had gone.

Babingka diyi wumbul wajun, karrkay warngku wunanda, wungar wangkar wumbul dunganda.


<translate> My father speared a big dugong at the full moon when the tide was high.

Ngayku nganjanangka biwuy yalbay daman kija yalbay-nya, yira balar-nya.


<translate> Come here and sit down beside the warm fire, and I will tell you a good long story.

Kada-y ngundu, baya wumbul karangkal bunda, ngayu yununy kuku ngulkurr kalbay balka-l.


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


<translate> We came back winners: three-fish-with, two-crab-with, and story-with for a week.

Ngana kadan baja yukil-ji: kuyu-kulur-ji, kiju-jambul-ji, kuku-jangkar-ji wungar wubulkunka.


<translate> You and I saw the kurrmaja larvae there.


<translate> They saw the bilbil-bilbil gecko here.


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


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


<translate> The old man said a good child listens well, for the ear is the home of memory.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan karrkay ngulkurr milka-bu ngaral, milka nyulu binal-mu bayan.


<translate> Mother's fishing line is in the house.


<translate> You all saw the jandu starch here.


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


<translate> The fire is the heart of the camp, he thought, and the stories are the fire of the people, and neither must ever go out.

Baya bayanmu jibar, nyulu milka-bu baykan, kuku bamamu baya, jambulku kari yabarrka wulanka.


<translate> I heard the kookaburra laugh at dawn, then the curlew cried in the dark, and I knew the camp was safe.

Ngayu kururrungka milkabu nyajin nyulu yajarr-nya, kuyir badin wujurrbu, ngayu binalman bayan jani.


<translate> You and I see the high bank here.


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


<translate> Everyone carried something back to camp: yams, honey, and one big eel.

Jana wubulku bayanba wundin: wukay, wunba, kubarr yalbay nyubun.


<translate> The children are hiding in the grass — find them!


<glossary> nganganjirrka ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Bring (your) gun, in case a pig comes

Marrkin wundi, nganganjirrka bikibiki kadanyamunku


<translate> He saw the kalkamal locust there.


<translate> You saw the jangkan swift here.


<translate> That stringybark tree is here.


<glossary> kanyil ; type=noun ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> to sing a curse song


<translate> They saw the jellyfish here.


<translate> The mother sent the cooked food to the old people at the far camp with the two girls, the old woman said, so no elder would go hungry that night.

Ngamu-ngku mayi waju-n mukul-bama-nka bayan kala-kalbay-ka yunga jalbu jambul-anda, mukul-jalbu balkan, kari mukul dakuy wuna wujurr yinya.


<translate> We see the yellow March fly here.


<translate> Why did you go all the way to that place and not to the nearer water hole?

Wanyurrimbu yundu yinya-ka dungan, bana ngundu-ka kari?


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


<translate> Grandmother saw the bloodwood tree outside.


<translate> There are lots and lots of ripe fruits on that tall tree; go and gather plenty for us all.

Mayi kulbul jirray juku kalbay yinya-nga; dunga-y bangka wubul ngana-nka.


<translate> You two see the shield there.


<translate> The camp dogs answered back.


<translate> They saw the manta ray there.


<glossary> nyumba-buyun ; type=noun ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I crab crab meat


<translate> Do not trick your younger brother with bad words, the old woman said.

Baluda yabaju jurril-bunga kuku buyun-bu, mukul-jalbu balkan.


<translate> The mudcrab hides in the mangrove holes at low tide, and catching it takes a careful hand and a quick one, for it will grip a finger with a claw that can break the bone, and the old woman showed the girl to take it from behind across the back where the claws cannot reach, and to respect the strength of a creature so small.

Kiju juku-bana-janku dukurr-bu buyan jalun bada, maninka mara maku-janal warri baja, nyulu mara nyubun karrbal jalan-bu nyulu kuku-mula kakalmu, wulbumanangka karrkay-jalbu milbin karra-dukurrmuny muku naka-naka wanja jalan kariku manil, minya buban bajaku nyungu junkurr yukil-bungalka.


<translate> We see the flat-tailed ray there.


<translate> The child saw the crocodile in the river.

Karrkay-ngku bilngkumu wawubaja-nga nyajin.


<translate> Mother washed grandmother's stomach.


<glossary> yimarr-yiman ; type=adjective ; domain=body-part <usage_example> That man has a round face


<translate> The woman put the dilly bag at camp.


<translate> The woman made a dilly bag and they put the food in it.

Jalbungku balji balkan, jana mayi mumban baljinga.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


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


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


<translate> The two of them saw the barrbal black bream here.


<translate> That country far away to the north is very hot and very dry in the middle of the year.

Bubu kala-kalbay kungkarr-a wumbul-baja-ku marral-baja-ku, wungar dindarra-nga.


<translate> We saw the bajarr fern leaves here.


<translate> Before dawn the hunters set out to look for kangaroo tracks in the soft ground near the water.

Muduwajunyjiku balbibama dungan, mayarriji jina nyajinka bubu bubanba bana ngundu.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> The old man said a little care at night keeps the morning free of trouble, and an hour of trouble in the morning can cost you the whole day's hunt.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: nyaji buban kunarangkal wunkuwingku mumbu-kari kujil, wungar mumbu wunkuwingku balbi wungar wubulku kilba-manyji.


<translate> He sees the smooth rock here.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> I see the light bellied black snake here.


<translate> Whose knife is on the stone?


<translate> We saw the kundurr-kundurr crescent perch here.


<translate> The broad leaves are used to wrap the meat before it is cooked in the ground.

Bindi birra minya nanda-nka, waju-nyji bubu-ngu.


<translate> The old man said the brolga pairs stay together all their lives, and when one dies the other calls and calls across the empty swamp for many days.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: kulbal jambul muru bunda wuna narmba, nyubun wula-nya, yindu yirrka-yirrka daburr yamba-kari-ba wungar wubul.


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


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

Yundu kari wurrmay-bakamaka, ngukal-badiku


<translate> The war spears slept a whole generation in the shelter roof, and the old man took them down only once — to show the boys how heavy they were, and how happy he was that his arms had forgotten the weight.

Dikarra wunan bayan-dukulba wawu wubulku, mukulungku dingkarangka jana manin badaku nyubunbu nganga: buban-buban milbinka jana wanjarrinya dandi, nyulu wawu-mini bajaku wakuybu nyungubu dandi milka-wulanya.


<translate> The leaves from the tree are very big.


<translate> We, not you, saw the barrbal black bream there.


<glossary> dalngarri ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> make the fire give light


<translate> The old man spent the wet season days making and mending tools, for a camp with good tools lives well.

Mukulungku dingkarangka buluriji wungar yamba ngaran ngulkurr-bungan, bayan yamba ngulkurrji ngulkurr bundanday.


<translate> The young man went to the road with father.


<translate> The old woman said: I have walked this country for seventy years, and I have learned that you never really arrive anywhere; you only stop for a while, and then the road picks you up again, and the last road, the one we do not speak of, is just the longest walk of all.

Wulbumanangka balkan: Ngayu bubu yinya jilban wungar wubulku bajaku, ngayu binalman yundu kariku nyubun bubu nganga kaday; yundu nganga mara-kunbay buban, baral yundu manil baja, baral bada bajaku, nyulu ngana kari balkalmu, nyulu jilbal kalbay bajaku wubulmuny.


<glossary> kayil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=hunting-fishing-gathering <usage_example> People hooked out crabs


<translate> The men shared the dugong meat among all the families in the camp.

Dingkar-angka biwuy minya daji-wa-y jawun-karra wubul-ka bayan-ba.


<translate> I see the small lizard here.


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


<translate> You all saw the torch there.


<translate> He saw the murrkul tree here.


<translate> The little girl was not afraid of dying anymore, and she went to sleep holding the old man's hand.

Maral buban kari yinil wulaka baja, nyulu warngku wunan mukulmu mara karrbanya.


<translate> He saw the yirku-yirku frog there.


<translate> The man left the hook and line at camp.


<translate> The white-tailed rat is there.


<translate> The food is taste-without today — put in a little meat.

Mayi nganja-kari nyiku, minya buban daya.


<translate> He saw the barinkan scrub bird here.


<translate> The young man went far away to the northern country and did not come back for many long years.

Warru kala-kalbay dungan bubu kungkarr-ka, kari nyunban wungar kalbay wubul-muny.


<translate> We walked north along the river.

Ngana kungkarr jilba dungan wawubajanga.


<translate> The child stands on the mountain.


<translate> You two see the kalkurr yam here.


<translate> The child asked the girl about the bag.


<translate> Water is there in the billycan.


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


<translate> The younger brother cut open the log with his axe while the older one held the dogs, so it could not get away.

Yabajungku juku yakan waymbilda, yaba kaya-kaya karrbanya, kulngu murruji warri.


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

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


<glossary> baya ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> he collected firewood


<glossary> juru-kulbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He led his friend wrong


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


<translate> They saw the fingernail here.


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


<translate> You all see the smooth rock there.


<translate> The little fiddler crabs come out of the sand in their thousands at low tide, the old woman said, waving one big claw like men dancing.

Karruku buban jukar-muny daka wubul ngajal-ba, mukul-jalbu balkan, mara yalbay nyubun murni-murni yala dingkar-dingkar jurbu-nya.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<glossary> kiji-kijiyal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He is tickling the child


<translate> You all see the dulmbi umbrella palm here.


<translate> The old woman smiled while she watched the children bathe in the cool waterhole.

Mukul yajarrin, nyulu karrkay-karrkay nyaji-nya, jana bana ngundu janji-nya.


<glossary> bajaku ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> I'm definitely not going


<translate> The two of them see the jumper ant there.


<translate> What did they get from the store down in the town yesterday? — They got flour and sugar.

Wanyu jana bayan-muny yilayku manin? Jana mayi wubul, kambi baja manin.


<translate> Grandfather sees the open ground there.


<translate> We came to a good camping place by the creek in the late afternoon, cleared the ground, cut poles and set up a bark shelter, gathered firewood and lit a fire, cooked the fish we had caught on the way, ate well, and then lay down and slept.

Ngana bubu ngulkurr bana ngunduku kadan kunarangkal ngadiku, bubu karra, juku dakan bayan-wawun jajirrin, juku-baya bangkan baya wandiman, kuyu ngana baralba maninmu wajun, ngulkurr nukan, yalada wunan-da.


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


<translate> The rainbow stands after the rain has fallen, one foot at the falls and one foot in the swamp, the old woman showed the children, and the old people say: do not point at it with the finger, greet it with the whole quiet hand, for the rainbow belongs to the big story, and a child's good manners reach all the way into it.

Yiril janay kaba badanmuny, jina nyubun bana-badanga jina nyubun walngkanga, wulbumanangka karrkay-karrkay milbin, bama mukulungku balkal: kari nyulu milbi birribu, yulmbarrika nyulu marabu wubulkubu wunbubu, yiril nyulu kuku-jangkar yalbaymuny, karrkay murni yukil nyulu kaday dukurrku yinyaka.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the kurruba freshwater fish here.


<translate> We hear the barking sound there.


<translate> I take a fishing line; perhaps the fish will bite.

Ngayu badur wundil, nguba kuyu-ngku baykal.


<translate> We loaded the canoe with our gear at first light, pushed off from the bank, paddled across the wide river against the current, landed on the far side, hid the canoe in the reeds, walked inland to the good hunting country, and then made our camp there for several days.

Ngana marrakan ngayku yamba-bu buwan muduwajungu, jalkar-muny jurrnga, wawubaja yalbay naka-naka bana-mundu jarrakulban, ngubara badan, marrakan jikan-ba buyan, bubu balbil ngulkurr-mundu jilban, yalada yinya ngana bayan bungan wungar wubulku.


<translate> I saw the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> The old woman said a rather good story makes the children listen, but a very good story makes them forget the fire has gone out and the night is cold.

Mukul-jalbu balkan: kuku jarra-ngulkurr karrkay-karrkay milka-janay-mani, yamba kuku ngulkurr-baja-ku jana baya wulan wujurr ngiki-jirr milka-wula-mani.


<glossary> jindi ; type=noun ; domain=fauna-fish <usage_example> We gathered the green ants in dishes


<translate> The people of that place are coming this way for the big meeting.

Yinyay-arra kaday yaluy, malkarri yalbay-ka.


<translate> What else do you want to take with you on the long walk to that far camp?

Wanyu-baja yundu wawu wundi-nka, jilba kalbay bayan kalbay-ka?


<translate> By the time the tide turned again, every dilly bag was heavy with shellfish and the children's bellies were full.

Yira baja kadanda, ngunyin wubulku dandi milbarji, karrkay-karrkaymu jibar mumbay.


<translate> Granny watched them from the doorway, remembering her own wet seasons.

Babingka nyajin bayanmundu, wawu ngadikuka.


<glossary> wulman ; type=noun ; domain=weapon <usage_example> Where is your husband?


<translate> The children laugh and laugh about the funny old dog down by the water.

Karrkay-karrkay kaya-nka yajarri-n-yajarri-ji, bana karangkal.


<translate> Father sees the swamp there.


<translate> The stars came out and the children watched them.

Dawar wandin, karrkay-karrkayangka nyajin.


<translate> The little children were frightened and cried, but grandad told them the storm would pass by morning.

Karrkay-karrkay buban yini-yini, badin, yambada kamingka balkan: jarramali dungay wunkuwingkuku.


<translate> You and I see the rain here.


<translate> They saw the mackerel sky there.


<translate> The frill-necked lizard spreads its great collar wide and rises up on its back legs and hisses to look big and fierce, but it is all show and cannot hurt you, and the old man laughed and said it was just like a certain kind of man he had known, all frill and noise and running away the moment you stand your ground and do not blink.

Binanjal nyungu jarrba yalbay naka-naka kajal dakan muku-jina-nga janan kuku junkurr balkan yalbay yinil nyaji-manilka, yambada nganga janka nyulu yundu kari mumbu-bungal, mukulungku dingkarangka yajarrin balkan nyulu dingkar nyubun yala nyulu binalmuny, jarrba kuku-yalbay baja warri dungay yundu bubu karra miyil kari wujurr-mandanya.


<translate> The man opened his mouth wide and put out his tongue, showing the children the sweet fruit held inside.

Dingkar-angka ngandal yalbay bungal, nyabil ngalkal nanda, karrkay-karrkay mayi jiba-wulay dukurr nyaji-mani.


<translate> By the third try, the water stayed in.


<translate> We see the grass wallaby there.


<translate> How many teeth on the pronged spear? — Four, like the fingers of a closed hand.

Wanjarrinya dirra yirrmbanga? Jambul-jambul, yala birri maramuny nandajinmuny.


<translate> Never leave the fire burning when you go off to hunt in the far scrub!

Kari bawa baya balbal-nya, yundu balbi-ka madja kalbay-ka dunga-nya!


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


<glossary> kunil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He killed (shot) the pig with a gun


<translate> Father laughed at the child.


<lexeme> The Daintree side of Rocky Point


<translate> The old woman held out her arm close beside her granddaughter's and laughed: look, two arms like one, mine has walked further, the hair turns clay-white, the shin grows skinny, the lower legs grow weak, but listen to this: the ear stays hard and the word stays strong, for the body gives its strength to the ear before it goes.

Wulbumanangka wakuy nyungu dayan ngundu kaminjarranda, yajarr-man: nyaji, wakuy jambul nyubun yala, wakuy ngayku jilban kala-kalbay-baja, mungka kambar-mal, bibar bala-mal, ngarri kala-burra-mal, yambada milka-janay yinya: milka janay dandi, kuku janay junkurr, bangkarrbu junkurr nyungu milkanga dayal dungay ngadiku.


<translate> We saw the kinga caterpillar here.


<translate> Every bag has its own story, the old people say.

Kamba-kambangka balkal: balji wubulku kukuji.


<glossary> yinyarrin ; type=demonstrative ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> Those carpenters, they work down (there) now

Yinyarrin carpenter jana bada-badada workmal


<translate> Grandmother dropped the stick on the child's back.

Babi-ngka juku daray-manin karrkay-anda muku-ngu.


<translate> Many big trees are standing there.


<translate> The old woman asked the boy: "What did you see in the dark scrub when you went hunting last night?"

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay babajin: Wanyu yundu nyajin madja ngungul-ba, yundu balbi-ka dunga-nya wujurr-muny?


<translate> The children asked why the old grow slow and forgetful, and the grandmother said: The mind is a dilly bag; when it is full of a whole long life, you must set some things down to pick up others, and we have simply gathered more than we can carry.

Karrkay-karrkayangka babajin wanya mukul buban-buban janay milka-wulay baja, babingka balkan: Milka balji yala; nyulu wawu kalbay wubulji nandanya, yundu yamba kanbal bada bunga yindu maninka, ngana wubul-baja bangkan ngana wundilmuny.


<translate> The taboo thing grabs you and holds you.


<glossary> walu-nukal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I'm annoyed, too much noise


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


<translate> Grandad tied cane in the tree for the children to play on.

Kamingka yibuy kajan jukungu, karrkay-karrkay kinkanka.


<translate> Grandfather put the grass outside.


<translate> The men speared the big sea turtle out beyond the reef and shared the meat with everyone.

Dingkar-angka ngawiya yalbay dulngku kudamundu daman, minya bama wubul-ka dajin.


<glossary> kiji-kijiyal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He is tickling the child


<translate> You see the big spear there.


<translate> The old man walked through the scrub.


<translate> He sees the whip snake there.


<translate> After the meal, mother washes her hands.


<translate> The old man said the sea people, the Jalunji, know the water as the inland people know the scrub, and the sea is their whole country.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: jalun-bama, Jalunji, jalun binal yala bubu-bama madja binal, jalun nyungu bubu narmba.


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


<lexeme> mountain and river flowing from mountain


<translate> The two men lashed logs together with cane to make a raft; they poled it across the flooded river, the belongings piled high and dry in the middle.

Bula dingkarangka juku karra-bu dandi-bungan, marrakan bungan; bula jaba-bu wawubaja jalungkarr-ba yungan, yamba-yamba jambul-bu wuyar-a marral.


<translate> They saw the ground lizard here.


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


<translate> Little by little the old man grew stronger, and after many days he could sit up, and then eat by himself, and at last walk a little in the sun.

Buban-buban mukul dingkar junkurrmanda, wungar wubul kudamundu nyulu bundan, yalada nyulu-nyulu nukan, ngadiku jilban buban wungara.


<translate> The old woman said the road always looks longer going out than coming back, though the distance is the same, for on the way out you carry the weight of not-knowing, and on the way home you carry only your tiredness and your stories.

Wulbumanangka balkan: baral yabarrka kalbay-baja wangkar dungalmu kadalmuny, murni nyubun, wangkar dungalba yundu jarrakulbal dandi binal-karimu, bayan-mundu kadalba yundu jarrakulbal nyungu wawu-wula-y nyungu jangkar baja.


<translate> The children learned the final truth, which was also the first: that a human being alone is not fully a human being, that we become ourselves only through each other, and that the deepest word in the language is not 'I' but 'we'.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman kuku yukil bada bajaku, nyulu ngadiku baja: bama nyubun nganga kari yukil bama, ngana ngana-manda nganga nyubun-nyubunbu, kuku bada bajaku kukungu kari 'ngayu' yambada 'ngana'.


<translate> Long ago the eggs of the blue-tongue lizard lay in the dry river, and now two big rocks sit there.

Kalbay-muny bajabaja-mu diburr wawubaja marral-ba wuna-l, niji kulji jambul yalbay yinyay bunda-l.


<translate> He saw the jiljay grub here.


<translate> The old woman cooks the meat at dusk, when the last red light fades from the western sky.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku minya wajun wujurr-ma-nya, balbal kulbul jiri kudamundu-muny wula.


<translate> We see the spider shell there.


<translate> The blue spotted fantail ray is here.


<translate> The men pulled hard against the tide.

Dingkar-dingkarangka marrakan kulban junkurrku.


<translate> They saw the karranda tree there.


<translate> The man found mussels in the river.

Dingkar-angka mukirr wawubaja-nga warrmba-bungan.


<translate> You and I saw the grasshopper there.


<translate> The younger sister is there.


<lexeme> see and know someone before he sees and knows you


<translate> You and I saw the morning star here.


<translate> Night falls quickly in this country, and the darkness lies over the hills and the deep river valleys.

Wujurr buyun-buyun kaday bubu yinya-ba, ngungul jamba wawubaja dajali-ba wuna.


<translate> You all saw the yalnga turtle here.


<translate> You two see the mura tree here.


<translate> The bloodwood tree is standing at camp.


<translate> The children got frightened and ran home.

Karrkay-karrkay yinilmarin, bayanba warrin.


<translate> The old people sat around us; they told us the stories; we listened to them all night; and in the morning we knew our country.

Mukul-mukul nganangan ngundu bundan; jana ngananka kuku balkan; ngana jananda milkabu nyajin wujurr yalbay; wunkun ngana ngananga bubu binalman.


<translate> The woman ground the black bean seeds on the flat stone and then cooked them.

Jalbungku baway diburr kuljinga nyurrban, wajun baja.


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


<translate> You all see the bamboo stick there.


<translate> They saw the mawar vine here.


<translate> You saw the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> I saw the ngurran rope there.


<translate> The old woman told the girl to look after the baby.

Wulbumanangka maral balkan, ngawa kujinka.


<translate> In the deep wet the camp turns inward like a closed hand, the old woman said: the rivers own the country, the paths have become water, so the wet is the making season — string, nets, spear-points, songs — and the person who can sit busy in the rain walks out rich when the sun returns.

Bana-wungara dukurrba bayan murnil dukurrku yala mara nandanmuny, wulbumanangka balkan: wawubajabu bubu karrbal, baral bana-mal, yalada bana-wungar nyulu murni-wungar: karra, makarr, kalka-murru, wulngku, bama nyulu bundal murni-ji kabanga nyulu jilbal ngalkalku yamba-ji wubul-ji wungar kadanya baja.


<translate> Those small sticks are there.


<translate> The two of them saw the bayil jungle perch there.


<translate> You saw the jinabiju goshawk here.


<translate> They see the toadfish there.


<translate> The old man said the water-gum and the trees that line the creek are the guardians of the water, for their roots hold the bank against the flood, their shade keeps the water cool and the fish alive, and their fallen leaves feed the whole creek, so he taught that to clear the trees from a waterway is to kill the water itself within a few short years.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan dakumbar juku wawubaja-nga janan nyulu bana-kuji-bama, nyungu bangkan jalkar karrbal bana-yalbaymuny, nyungu wabarr bana kaka-manil kuyu wunay-manil, nyungu birra badanmuny wawubaja wubulku dayal, nyulu milbin juku bana-baralmuny janga-manilka nyulu bana nyulu-nyulu kuninka wungar buban jambulba.


<translate> The friend asked mother about the house.


<translate> The two of them saw the mawal bee here.


<translate> The small horse walks slowly.


<translate> They two see the mullet there.


<translate> The frog is sitting on the stone.


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


<translate> Why did you put the dog in the house and not somewhere else — was it the rain?

Wanyurrimbu yundu kaya bayan-ba wunan, wanja-baja kari?


<translate> The spider mended its net before dawn, without one complaint about the storm.

Malalbu makarr nyungu murnin muduwaju ngadiku, kuku-kuli-kari jarramalimuny.


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


<translate> The kangaroo and the wallaby feed together on the plain, but the wallaby keeps close to the scrub.

Mayarriji kadar muru nukal bubu-ba, yamba kadar madja karangkal janka bundan.


<translate> The young man got fish, cooked it, and then gave it to grandmother.

Warru-ngku kuyu manin, wajun, babi-nda dajin-da.


<translate> Perhaps the child is only tired from the long day, not sick, the old woman said, so let her sleep now and we will see in the morning.

Nguba karrkay baja-burray nyubun-bu marri-muny, kari bambay, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu niji wuna, ngana wunkuwingku-ba nyaji.


<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 burnt patch of grass there.


<translate> You all see the marrku fruit there.


<translate> I went hunting with that man.

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


<translate> The old woman knows every yam-ground in the country, the people said, and even in the driest year her dilly-bag comes home full.

Mukul-jalbu binal bambayal-bubu wubulku bubu-ba, bama balkan, wungar marral bajaku-ba nyungu ngunyin bayan-ka warmba diburr-jirr.


<translate> That man is climbing the mountain.