<translate> My father taught me to make a straight, strong spear when I was still very young.

Ngayku nganjan-angka nganya milban kalka jinbal junkurr bunga-l, ngayu buban-nya.


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


<translate> The old woman said the careless camp feeds the dogs and the ants and the rats and goes hungry itself, while the careful camp eats well and sleeps sound, for the difference is only an hour's work before nightfall.

Wulbumanangka balkan: bayan daki-daki kaya minya nukamanil, minya baja, ngawiya baja, nyulu-nyulu dakwuy janay, yambada bayan nyaji-nyaji ngulkurr nukan warngku ngulkurr wunay, jambulku murni nganga kirraji nyubun kunarangkal ngadiku.


<translate> She sent the girls to gather certain leaves and a special bark, and boiled them together in water over the fire.

Nyulu maral-maral yungan birra kanbal bangkanka, dumbul yindu, jana nyaman bananga baya wuyar.


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


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


<glossary> nyangarril ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> Pour the tea into the pannikin


<translate> The father teaches his son the man's law and the way of the spear, the old man said, and the mother teaches the daughter the woman's law and the way of the dilly-bag.

Nganjan-ngku warru-karrkay binal-bungal dingkar-mu yalaku kalka-mu-jirr, mukul-dingkar balkan, ngamu-ngku jalbu-karrkay binal-bungal jalbu-mu yalaku ngunyin-mu-jirr.


<translate> The man came from there and turned back.


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


<translate> "How many big fish did you catch in the fish net at the river near the sea this morning?"

Wanjarrinya kuyu yalbay yundu makarr-ba manin wawubaja jalun ngundu wunkuwingku?


<glossary> babaji ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> I asked him, Who is he?


<translate> The light-coloured clothing is there.


<translate> Grandfather got the shield at camp.


<translate> Whose fire is that on the far ridge? I do not know whose it is; maybe hunters, maybe strangers from another country. We will watch it through the night and see who comes.

Wanyamba baya yinya wuyar kala-kalbay-mba? Ngayu kari binal wanyamba; balbi-bama nguba, bama yindu bubu yindu-muny nguba. Ngana wujurr-burr nyaji, wanya kaday nyaji.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> He saw the durra caterpillar there.


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


<translate> The kookaburra laughed loudly from the high branch just as the sun was coming up.

Kururrungka yirrka-y yalbay-bu dakil kalbay-ba, wungar wandi-nya.


<translate> Go there to the northern camp, stay one night, then come back here to your own country.

Dunga-y yinyay bayan kungkarr-ka, warngku nyubun wuna, kadan yala yunu bubu-ka.


<translate> You two see the jingajalka tree here.


<translate> In the morning grandmother got firewood.


<translate> That kuji-kuji tree is there.


<translate> They saw the grey kangaroo on the open ground.


<translate> The camp woke before the sun, when the morning star still hung low over the eastern hills.

Bayan wandin wungar wandinyjiku, kurrubijal bada janay manjalba nakanga.


<translate> Grandfather spoke to the child.


<translate> Father sees the black scrub goanna.


<glossary> baja ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> do you have more?


<translate> Father left the charcoal on the ground.


<translate> Father saw the shallow water.


<translate> One of them raised his hand to strike, but the old man stood up close to the two and spoke in a hard voice.

Nyubun warrungku mara wangkar manin damanka yala, yambada mukul dingkar janan jana jambul ngundu, balkan kuku junkurrji.


<translate> The woman put water in the baby's mouth.

Jalbu-ngku bana yijarrin ngawa-nda ngandal-ba.


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


<translate> Never put your foot where you cannot see the bottom, the old man said at the crossing full of floodwater, and never pick a fight with bad water, lest the river call you too, for the water-taken were all strong swimmers — the weak ones are still alive on the bank.

Kari jina bunga wanja yundu bubu badabada kari nyajil, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan bana-baralba bana-yalbay-ji, kari kuniway-maka banaka mumbuka, wawubajabu yununy kunjanyji baja, bama bana-manin jana wubulku maraji-bama junkurr, bama kala-burra jana juran jalkara yabarrka.


<glossary> yimbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He shouldn't come so close


<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.


<glossary> ngura-ngura ngal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> Aim the gun


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


<translate> You two see the black-tip shark there.


<translate> I see the kunjarri palm here.


<glossary> dakal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> he climbed the tree


<translate> The bloodwood tree is standing in the scrub.


<translate> The young man went down to the river to spear fish for his family.

Warru dungan wawubaja-ka, kuyu dama-nka jawun-karra-ka.


<translate> I see the water gum tree here.


<lexeme> bad spirit in form of crocodile


<glossary> bada-bada ; type=locational ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> The paper is under the table


<translate> In the cold season the dew lies white on the grass at dawn, the breath stands visible in front of the mouth, and the old people sit long at the fire telling the deep stories, for the cold season is the story season, when the night is long and the snake is sleeping.

Bulur-iji bulur wunay kambar jikanba muduwajuny, wawu janay nyajilmuny ngandal ngadiku, bama mukul bundal kalbay bayanga kuku-jangkar dukurr balkanya, bulur-iji nyulu kuku-jangkar-wungar, wujurr kalbay, jarba wunay.


<translate> You see the wankar tree there.


<translate> The digging-stick is fire-hardened at the point, the old man said, so it will split the hard ground and not break in the hand.

Juwal biyul baya-ba junkurr-mani, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu bubu junkurr baka, kari dumbarri mara-nga.


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> We hit the ball a long way


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


<translate> You saw the shooting star there.


<translate> The camp dog was limping badly from running over the sharp hot stones all through the long hunt, the old man said, so the boy carried it home.

Kaya bunku bambay, kulji jalbu wumbul-ba warri-warri-nya balbi wumbul narmba, mukul-dingkar balkan, karrkay-angka bayan-ka jarra-kulba.


<translate> I did not break the billycan.


<translate> They saw the karrkil jumper ant there.


<translate> The young man's neck is dry.


<translate> You and I see the nganyil haze there.


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


<translate> I saw the bajabaja lizard there.


<translate> We see the hickory tree here.


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

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


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


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


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

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


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


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


<translate> They saw the mawul freshwater eel there.


<translate> You all see the kookaburra there.


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


<translate> They saw the didgeridoo there.


<translate> You two see the waral stomach here.


<translate> We see the nyumbil coolibah tree there.


<translate> You all saw the binju snake here.


<translate> Bat evening: the sky moves like water over stones.

Mali-wujurr: jiri warril yala bana kuljiburr.


<translate> Many grey stones lay scattered on the flat ground where the old people once made their fires.

Kulji-kulji bubu jirakal-ba yindu-yindu wunay, mukul-bama baya bunga-nya-mu.


<translate> Walk straight through the scrub, but turn off at the big tree and go down to the hidden waterhole.

Madja yimba-y, yamba warrki juku yalbay-mba, bada dunga-y janku janka-ka.


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


<translate> You saw the wankar tree there.


<lexeme> the Aboriginal camp at Thompson Creek


<translate> I see the white-tailed rat here.


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


<translate> They saw the forest kingfisher here.


<translate> I gave clothes to the childless woman.

Ngayu kambi jalbu-ndu kangkal-kari-nda dajin.


<translate> The hunter's whole body was covered in sweat after the long, fast run through the thick scrub.

Balbi-bama bangkarr wubulku jila-warri-jirr, nyulu kalbay warri-nya madja-burr jinbal-baja.


<translate> They saw the axe in the bag.


<translate> You two see the wankar tree here.


<translate> The girl helped her mother make ochre paint for the dancers: they dug the red ochre from the known place in the bank, ground it fine on a flat stone, mixed it with water and a little fat to bind it, warmed it gently by the fire, tested the color on a piece of bark, filled the small shell cups for each dancer, and then watched the men paint the old designs on one another before the evening dance.

Karrkay-jalbu nyungu ngamu mara-daji murbuy-kabu bama-nka bunganka: jana murbuy mula-mula jalkar-a bubu-binalmuny bakan, kulji yaralba jinbal nyurrban, bananji wandul buban baja murni-manin, baya ngunduku buban-buban wumbul-manin, murni kambi-buban-ba murni-nyajin, dakilji-kuyalin buban buwan bama nyubun nyubun, yalada dingkar-dingkar nyajin murbuy-burri ngadiku nyubun-nyubunji birra-bungal kunarangkal janji ngadiku.


<translate> The old man said if you would know whether you have truly forgiven someone, notice what happens in your chest when you hear their name spoken well by another, for if there is still a small hot stone there, the forgiving is not finished, and that is not a failure but only more road still to walk.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kaki yundu binalka yundu yabarrka bama milka-wulanmu, nyaji wanya bungal nyungu jibanga yundu nyungu burri ngulkurr balkanya bama yindubu ngaranya, kaki kulji buban wangka yinya janay, milka-wula kari dumban, yinya kari mumbu yambada baral wubul-baja jilbanka.


<translate> They saw the maya vine here.


<translate> The rats came into the camp at night and ate the yams in the bag.

Kukur bayan-ba kadan wujurr-ba, bambayal nukal balji-nga.


<translate> You and I see the bamboo spear stick here.


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


<translate> The next day the younger brother caught more fish but the older brother caught a bigger fish, and the old man said each was best at his own thing.

Yindu wungara yaba bubanangka kuyu wubul-baja manin, yaba yalbaymu kuyu yalbay-baja manin, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan jambulku ngulkurr bajaku nyungu yambanga.


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

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


<glossary> karangkal ; type=adjective ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> I sat alongside the road


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


<translate> The children ate all the honey — granny laughed.

Karrkay-karrkayangka wunba nukanyarrku — babingka yajarrinda.


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


<translate> They dried themselves by the fire and laughed about it.


<translate> Father sees the shallow water.


<translate> Go up for the seeing, come down for the water — knowledge walks both roads every day.

Dungay wangkarku nyajinka, kaday badaku bananka: binal jilbal baral jambul wungar nyubun-nyubunba.


<translate> The rainforest gives food all through the year: fruit and nuts, roots and honey, each in its season.

Madja mayi daji wungar wubulku: mayi diburr, bangkan wunba baja, nyungu wungar ngulkurr-ba.


<translate> You all see the death adder here.


<translate> Two dogs and one man went out hunting, but they came home with three big fat pigs.

Kaya jambul dingkar nyubun baja balbi dungan, jana bikibiki wandul kulur-jirr kadan.


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


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> The judge freed him (sent him back home)


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

Jana nyunguwunbu bayanba walan nyungungunbu ngambanga


<translate> The old woman said: The body heals itself if you help it and do not fight it; your only work is to keep it clean and let it rest.

Wulbumanangka balkan: Bangkarr nyulu-nyulu kakawarrimal, kaki yundu mara-dajil, kari kunil; yundu kirraji nyubun dayirr kujinka, mara-kunbanka bawanka.


<glossary> ngura-ngura ngal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> Aim the gun


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


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

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


<translate> You all see the kurruba freshwater fish there.


<translate> The boy earned his first real spear that season: he made the practice throws until his arm was true, he learned to move without sound through the grass, he watched the old men and copied how they read the animals, he made his first small kill of a bandicoot alone, he brought it back and shared it properly, the old man judged him ready and gave him a man's spear, and then the whole camp acknowledged him with quiet respect at the fire that night.

Buban nyungu kalka ngadiku yukil manin yinya wungarnga: nyulu yilbal-yilbal bungan dukul nyungu mara yukil, nyulu binalman kuku-kari jilbanka jikan dukurr-bu, nyulu mukul-dingkar nyajin murni-manin yala jana minya nyajil, nyulu nyungu minya ngadiku kulngu nyulu-nyulu kunin, jarrakulban daji-way yukil, mukulungku dingkarangka nyulu yukil nyajin dingkar-kalka dayan, yalada bayan wubulku nyulu yulmbarril janka-wawu-yukilbu baya ngunduku yinya wujurr.


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


<translate> Two women and three children walked down to the river to dig for the sweet white yams.

Jalbu jambul karrkay kulur baja wawubaja-ka bada jilba-dungan, wukay jiba-wulay bakal-ka.


<translate> The dugong is the best food of all; its meat is sweet and full of fat.

Biwuy minya ngulkurr-baja wubul-muny; nyungu minya jiba-wula-wula-baja.


<translate> The bukunjarra tree is there.


<translate> Now the hot season is here; soon the wet will come, and then the cold season after that.

Niji wungar-iji yala; nyiku-nyiku kaba kaday, yinyamun bulur-iji-baja.


<glossary> jamba ; type=noun ; domain=land-geography <usage_example> Up there on the hillside


<translate> When the tide went far out, the whole camp walked onto the reef to gather shellfish among the rocks.

Yira kalakalbay dunganda, bayan wubulku dulngkungu dungan, milbar bangkanka kulji ngundu.


<translate> Grandmother saw the river there.


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


<translate> We saw the jumul-jumul grass seeds here.


<translate> Drink in your own turn at the small water, the old man set the thirsty walkers in a line: the children first of all, then the carriers, then the old people, then the hunters, and the dogs after everybody, for thirst is loud but order is older, and the line at the water is the oldest line in the world.

Nuka jinanji yundumuny bana bubanba, mukulungku dingkarangka jilba-bama bana-dakwuy-ji yijarrin jinanga: karrkay-ngurr, yalada wundil-bama, yalada bama mukul, yalada balbi-bama, kaya bama wubulkumuny badaku, bana-dakwuy nyulu kuku yalbay yambada murni-jina nyulu mukul-baja, jina-karra banaba nyulu jina-karra mukul bajaku bubungu.


<translate> We saw the axe on the open ground.


<translate> The women filled their dilly bags with oysters and mussels at the low tide.

Jalbu-jalbu-ngka ngunyin julul-bu mukirr-bu yajin-bungan ngajal-ba.


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


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


<translate> The old man gave the boys the wallaby ladder: darrba of the open ground, jumar of the timber, kadar of the stone country — one English word, three lives, and the hunter who says only wallaby goes home with only wind.

Mukulungku dingkarangka buban-buban darrba-jina milbin: darrba bubu ngalkalmuny, jumar jukumuny, kadar bubu-kuljimuny: kuku waybala nyubun, wawu kulur, balbi-bama nyulu 'wallaby' nganga balkal nyulu bayanka muyar nganga wundil.


<translate> Did you see the tree kangaroo up there?


<translate> The child heard barking from down there.

Karrkay-ngku ngangkurr badabada-mundu nyajin.


<translate> The Torres Strait pigeon is standing there.


<translate> The men tracked the honey by following a single bee back and forth until it led them to a hollow tree, marked the tree, made a smoky torch to quiet the bees, climbed up and cut into the hollow, took out the dark comb dripping with honey, left some for the nest, and then came down and shared it around, still warm from the sun.

Dingkar-dingkar wunba wukurrin minya-buban nyubun walanya wukurrin dukul juku dimbirr-mundu jilbamanin, juku burri-manin, kubu-jimal bungan dandi janka-bungalka, wangkar dakan dimbirr-bu dakan, mandi-mandi wujurr wunba-bu jinbal-manda manin, buban bawan juku-bayanka, yalada bada kadan daji-wan, wumbul wungara baja.


<translate> At night the whole country talks, the old man said, and if you lie still and listen you can hear the possum moving in the branches, the bandicoot digging, the frogs in the gully, the dingo far off calling its family, the night birds passing over, and a person who learns to read all these voices in the dark is never lost and never truly afraid of the night.

Wujurr bubu wubulku balkan, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, kaki yundu janka wuna ngara yundu ngaral yawa juku-mara murninya, kulngu bakanya, diburr-kaya bubu-jandu, murramu kala-kalbay nyungu jawun-karra balkanya, buyi-wujurr wangkar dunganya, bama nyulu binalman kuku wubulku wujurr-bu nyulu kariku wulal kari wujurr yinilman bajaku.


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

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


<translate> You see the karranda tree there.


<translate> He saw the kalngkan small mullet here.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> The turtle spear point is here.


<translate> The man got fish at the sea.


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


<translate> The two children painted themselves with black charcoal and danced by the fire.

Karrkay jambul ngunjil-bu julngka-jin, baya karangkal wuri-l.


<glossary> kijar-kijar ; type=noun ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> My leg was asleep


<translate> The two brothers, who hunted together every day, speared a big fat pig in the deep swamp.

Yaba-bulal-angka bikibiki yalbay wandul daburri-nga daman, bula wungar wubulku muru balbi-nya.


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


<translate> You and I see the possum there.


<translate> Two apprentices learning the same craft helped each other more than the master could help either alone, for they made the same mistakes at the same time and could laugh at them together, and shame shared is shame halved.

Warru jambul nyubun kirraji binalji jana mara-daji-way wubul-baja mala-bama nyubunka mara-dajilmuny, jana murni nyubun ngaran nyubun wungara, jana yajarril nyubunji, milka-murruji daji-wanmuny buban-manil.


<translate> You all see the hillside there.


<translate> You see the giant herring here.


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

Bulimanangka nyungun jururr-jururr kunin


<translate> Don't go into the deep water — the crocodile is there!

Kari dunga-y bana-dukurr-ba — bilngkumu yinya-nga!


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


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

Ngayu minya kari manin, kuyungku kari bajaku baykan


<translate> The children did not spoil the food.


<translate> The old man said a question can be a greater gift than any answer, for when you ask a young person what they think, and truly listen, you tell them their mind matters, and when you ask a lonely person about their life, and truly listen, you tell them they matter, so he taught the boys that learning to ask good questions and then to be quiet and listen is one of the deepest ways one person can honor another.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan kuku nyulu daji yalbay kuku-yukil wubulmuny, yundu babajinnya warru wanyu jana milka-manil, kuku-yukil ngara, yundu jananka balkan jana milka yamba-yukil, yundu babajin nganga-bama nyungu wawu-kalbaymuny, kuku-yukil ngara, yundu jananka balkan jana yamba-yukil, nyulu warru-warru milbin babajinka kuku yukil yalada dandi-manda ngaranka nyulu nyubun dukurr-baja bama nyubun bama yindu yulmbarril-manilmuny.


<translate> The father made his daughter a small water-shell to carry water; she filled it at the spring, held it carefully, and did not spill a drop all the way home.

Nganjangka jalbu-karrkay-nka milbar buban bana-nka dayan; nyulu jirka-nga yajin-bungan, ngulkurr karrban, kariku bana daran bayan-ba.


<translate> We hear the clap sound there.


<translate> You see the sucker fish there.


<glossary> durru ; type=noun ; domain=body-part <usage_example> I stubbed my toe on a stone


<translate> Grandmother roasted the candlenut.


<translate> The old woman gently held the sick baby's little head in her own two hands.

Mukul-jalbu-ngka ngawa bambay dukul buban nyungu mara jambul-bu ngulkurr karrban.


<translate> Don't eat that fruit — it is not ripe, and it is hard like a stone.

Kari nuka-y yinya jidu — nyulu kariku kulbul, dandi yala kulji.


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


<translate> The women waited at the camp all afternoon for the men to come back from the long hunt.

Jalbu-jalbu bayanba maku-janan yilay-yilay wubulku, dingkar-dingkar kadanyjiku minyamuny kalakalbay.


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


<glossary> nganku ; type=adjective ; domain=manner <usage_example> He went too quickly, I didn't finish my letter

Nyulu ngankuku dungan ngayu letter kariku kunbay-manin


<translate> He sees the yurrunji tree there.


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


<translate> Where did you get that fine sharp stone from?

Yundu kulji dandi ngulkurr yinya wanjamuny manin?


<translate> The kuray-kuray tree is there.


<translate> The clothing here is narrow.


Ngayu yununy nyajin, mayi nuka-nuka-nya.


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


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


<translate> Grandfather got the club outside.


<translate> The children are playing outside.


<translate> The girls carried water from the river.

Maral-maralangka bana wundin wawubajamuny.


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


<translate> The little child's throat was sore from gobbling the food down too fast, the old man said, so the old woman told him to sit and eat slowly.

Karrkay buban manu kaka, mayi bila-bu nuka-nuka-nya, mukul-dingkar balkan, mukul-jalbu-ngku nyunguny balkan bunda janka nuka-nka.


<lexeme> Nganjin dungan, ngingkirr nyajin


<translate> Grandmother put the bone on the ground.


<glossary> jiyuy ; type=particle ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> He said "It's good", but (it was a trick), it isn't good

Nyulu yalaman, "Yinya ngulkurr", juyuy, yinya kari ngulkarr.


<translate> The children laughed at the dog.


<translate> They came to a fork where one path went up into the ranges and the other followed the river, and the old man chose the river path, saying: When you do not know the way, follow water, for water has walked this country longer than any person and always knows the shortest way down.

Jana baral jambul-manda kadan wanja nyubun baral wangkar-mundu yumalngu dungay yindu wawubaja wukurril, mukulungku dingkarangka wawubaja baral manin, balkan: Yundu murruji baral binal, bana wukurri, bana bubu jilbanmuny kalbay-baja bama wubulmuny, yabarrka binal baral buban bada-mundu.


<translate> The mudcrab hides deep in its hole in the mangrove mud, the old man said, and you must reach in with a careful hand, or the crab will bite it hard.

Kiju kajul jukul-ba nyungu bubu-mabi dajali-ba wawan, mukul-dingkar balkan, yundu mara janka-bu daka, kari kiju mara bayka.


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


<translate> The swallow flies low and fast over the water just before the rain, the old man said, and the old people read the coming weather in the way it flies.

Mabal bana wangkar-a bada bila marra-warri kaba kada-nyjiku, mukul-dingkar balkan, mukul-bama wungar kada-nya nyaji nyulu marra-warri-nya-ba.


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


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

Ngarri kurndan kambalkambalba. Can't kulbaji baja.


<translate> You two saw the river there.


<translate> They see the flathead there.


<translate> You and I saw the flea there.


<translate> He sees the bamboo stick here.


<translate> The tree's roots go deep to find water in the dry season.

Juku-mu bangkan bubu-dukurr-ba dungay, bana milbi-nka dukurr-wungar-a.


<translate> We, not you, saw the bilu-warra spoonbill here.


<translate> The fire flickered and shone on the shelter.


<translate> We see the black spotted dart there.


<translate> You two see the sugar glider there.


<translate> Long, long ago the old people lived in this country, and their fathers lived here before them.

Ngadi kalbay-muny mukul-bama bubu yinya-ba wuna, nyungu nganjan yinyay wuna jana kariku.


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


<translate> The two young men pulled out bamboo, tied it, and went on.

Bula warru-ngku nambarr kulban, kajan, dungan-baja.


<translate> The jealous one asked the moon why it praised the sun's light — and the moon kept walking.

Bama ngujan-jibu kija babajin wanyurrinku nyulu wungar milbil: kija jilban yabarrka.


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


<translate> The two of them saw the bujarr-bujarr bird here.


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


<translate> The camp dog was limping badly from running over the sharp hot stones all through the long hunt, the old man said, so the boy carried it home.

Kaya bunku bambay, kulji jalbu wumbul-ba warri-warri-nya balbi wumbul narmba, mukul-dingkar balkan, karrkay-angka bayan-ka jarra-kulba.


<translate> The cassowary eats the fallen rainforest fruit and carries the big seeds far through the scrub, the old man said, so it plants the forest as it walks.

Kurranji mayi madja-mu bubu-ba dara-nya nuka, diburr yalbay madja junkurr-burr jarra-kulba, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu juku madja jilba-nya-ba wandi.


<translate> The pigeons flew from the big tree.


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


<translate> The small patch of scrub is there.


<translate> I sat quietly up on the rock to watch the big fish, and when it came close I speared it.

Ngayu kulji wangkara bundan, kuyu yalbay nyajinka; nyulu ngundu kada-nya, ngayu daman.


<translate> For several days the boy rested and kept the wound clean, and each morning the old woman looked at it and changed the paperbark binding.

Wungar kanbalka karrkay mara-kunban, muja dayirr kujin, wunkuwingku wubulku wulbumanangka nyajin, buyku kaja jirakalmanin.


<translate> They saw the scarlet robin there.


<translate> Grandfather saw the axe on the ground.


<translate> The two of them saw the barinkan scrub bird there.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> We saw the bamboo stick there.


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


<translate> The clothing there is not baggy.


<translate> They two saw the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> I saw the jirimandi coconut tree here.


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


<translate> The man's mother's house is big.


<translate> My mother's father tells the old stories of long ago by the fire.

Ngayku ngaji kuku ngadiku balkal baya karangkal.


<translate> The girl dug where she was told, and soon the water came up into the hole, cold and fresh.

Maralangka bakan wanjabu milbinya, bana kadan wangkar bubungu, kiway jirakal.


<translate> The children grew restless and thirsty, and the smallest one began to cry hard for water.

Karrkay-karrkay wawu-wulan yilay-yilay-mba, badin banaka, karrkay buban bajaku badin junkurrku.


<translate> A prawn walks backwards and still gets where it is going — stop teasing your brother about his way of doing things.

Wakal jilbal muku-jinabu, nyulu kadal yabarrka wanja nyulu dungay: kari yaba yundumuny yajarr-bunga murni-jina nyungumuny.


<translate> The man cut the meat with a knife.


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


<translate> When a great storm caught them in the open on the third day, they could not go forward or back, so they made a shelter of bark against the wind and waited two days for the rain to pass, and the old man told stories the whole time so no one grew afraid.

Jarramali yalbay jana manin bubu yaralba wungar kulurmuny, jana murruji wangkar dunga bada dunga, jana bayan wawun bungan wangkarka, jana maku-janay jambul wungar bana dunganka, mukulungku dingkarangka jangkar balkan wungar wubulku bama nyubun kari yinil-manda.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


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


<translate> The old woman prises the oysters off the rock with a sharp stone, the child watching, and eats the first one straight from the shell.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku julul kulji-muny baka kulji jarran-bu, karrkay nyaji-nya, nyubun nuka kajarrbi-muny nyubun-bu.


<translate> You and I see the marsupial native cat here.


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


<translate> The father and the mother and all the little children walked down to the sea together.

Nganjan, ngamu baja, karrkay-karrkay buban wubul, muru jalun-ka jilba-dungan.


<translate> I see the milbarkal tree there.


<translate> They see the karranda tree here.


<translate> They saw the dukul-mukul lizard here.


<translate> Father saw the saltwater crocodile.


<translate> The child cried for its mother.


<translate> The two young men will come back soon, when the sun stands high at midday over the hills.

Warru jambul nyunba nyiku-nyiku, wungar wangkar-wangkar janay jamba-nga.


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


<translate> The old man said the whole of the law can be cooked down like fat over a slow fire until only the pure thing is left, and the pure thing is this: keep the fire, feed the people, waste nothing, share with the stranger, honor the old, teach the young, and remember the dead by cooking their dishes — do these, and you have done everything, and the fire your grandchildren light will still be warm from yours.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kuku wubulku wandul yala baya buban-buban wajul dukul yamba-yukil nganga karrbal, yamba-yukil yinya: baya kuji, bama daya, yamba nyubun kari kudamundu, bama-yindu daji-way, mukul yukil-bunga, warru milbi, bama wula milkal jana mayi wajulbu — yinya bunga, yundu yamba wubulku bungan, baya nyungu jija-jija wandiman nyungumuny wumbul baja.


<translate> You and I see the dulmbi umbrella palm here.


<translate> The wise old woman said: a good story is like the country — it feeds you and never runs dry.

Wulbuman binal-angka balkan: kuku ngulkurr yala bubu — nyulu yununy daji, kariku bana-kari-mal.


<translate> The yellow March fly is here.


<translate> The child put the fish net in the shade.


<translate> The dog cracked the kangaroo's bone with its teeth beside the fire.

Kayangka mayarriji-mu bajibay dirra-bu dumbarrin baya karangkal.


<translate> The little wallaby with its joey stayed close to the thick scrub, ready to run from any danger.

Kadar buban karrkay-jirr madja junkurr karangkal bundan, warri-nyaku buyun-muny.


<translate> The old woman's fire is always smaller than the young people's, but hers never goes out in the night.

Wulbuman-mu baya wubulku jarra-buban warru-warru-mu-ka, yambada nyungu kari wujurr-ba kunbayn.


<translate> The wind blew from the north.


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


<translate> The woman gave water to grandmother.


<translate> You two see the swallow there.


<translate> You saw the ngurran rope here.


<translate> What kind of tree gives that sweet fruit the flying foxes love?

Juku wanyunguy mayi jiba-wula-wula dajil, kambi-ngka wawu?


<translate> We saw the man after he had entered the house.

Ngana dingkar nyajin, wawu-wala-nya-muny bayan-ka.


<translate> The old man said big and small are not what they seem: the biggest thing may be empty and the smallest may hold a whole forest, so never judge a thing by its size alone.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: yalbay buban kari yala jana milbil, yamba yalbay bajaku yamba-kari, yamba buban bajaku madja wubulku kujil, kari yamba milbi nyungu yalbaybu nganga.


<translate> You see the spiderlily there.


<translate> The two of them saw the mirrku kidney bird here.


<translate> They went on again through the scrub.


<translate> You all see the oyster there.


<translate> You all see the crocodile there.


<translate> Grandmother saw the saltwater crocodile.


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


<translate> The children gathered the fallen nuts and fruits under the big trees, filling their dilly bags, and the old woman showed them which to keep and which to leave.

Karrkay-karrkayangka barka mayi badanmuny bangkan juku yalbay badabada, ngunyin nandan, wulbumanangka milbin wanya kujinka wanya bawanka.


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


<translate> The rain came. Everyone went into the house.

Kaba kadan. Jana bama wubulku bayanba dungarin.


<translate> The baby slept near the fire.


<translate> The old man sharpened the spear point on a pumice stone; he bound the barb on firmly; a sharp spear spears the game fast, a blunt spear does not.

Mukul-dingkarangka kurrajan jundi-bu jalngkun-bungan; jinil dandi karrban; kalka jalngkun-bu minya warri daman, kalka buyun kari.


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

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


<translate> They saw the karrmbil parakeet there.


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


<translate> He saw the murramu dingo here.


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


<translate> Don't push — everyone will get food!


<translate> They saw the durral tree there.


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


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


<translate> The old man cut the bark of the fig in one long strip, the child watching, and made a strong dilly-bag string that would not break under a heavy load.

Mukul-dingkarangka dukal dumbul yaba-l nyubun kalbay, karrkay nyaji-nya, karra junkurr bungal yinkar-nka, kari dumbarri mayi kulngkul-muny.


<translate> I gathered the wattle flowers and the candlenut seeds in the scrub, and brought them home in my coolamon.

Ngayu madjanga yalngkal nganka bilar diburr baja munjan, dubalba wundin bayanka.


<translate> You all saw the jiwurrmal pheasant cuckoo here.


<translate> The spear struck the man in the chest, and the red blood ran down over his belly to the ground.

Kalka-bu dingkar damu-ba daman, mula kulbul bada wanarri jibar-burr bubu-ngu.


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


<glossary> kayal ; type=adjective ; domain=value-quality <usage_example> They eat raw meat


<translate> The wet season has not come yet; the old people are still watching the clouds.

Bana-wungar kariku kadan; mukul-bama ngurrban nyajil baja.


<translate> The old woman held up the long grey wing feather of the big eagle, and the child looked at it closely.

Mukul-jalbu-ngka wandi yalbay-mu nangki kalbay milban, karrkay-angka ngulkurr nyajin.


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


<translate> The old man tested the young hunter with a hard question before letting him go out alone: when you find two sets of tracks crossing, how do you know which is older, which animal is bigger, which way each was going, and whether the beast is still near or long gone? And the young man had to answer every part before the old man nodded.

Mukulungku dingkarangka warru-balbi-bama babajin kuku dandibu ngadiku nyulu nyulu-nyulu dungayka: yundu jina jambul nyaji-way manilnya, wanjarr yundu binal wanyu mukul, wanyu minya yalbay, wanjaburr nyubun nyubun dunganmuny, yambada minya nyulu ngundu yambada kala-kalbay dunganmuny? Warru nyulu balkan yamba wubulku ngadiku mukul nyulu kuku-yukil-manin.


<translate> The person there is stubborn.


<translate> The old woman watched the two sisters and said to them both: what you two build, you two must also mend.

Wulbumanangka babarr-jinkurr nyajin, balkan bulanka: wanyu yubal bungal, yubal murnil baja.


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

Babingka nyajin bayanmundu, wawu ngadikuka.


<translate> You hear the rustling noise here.


<translate> A little whirlwind spun across the dusty ground and lifted the dry leaves up high.

Wurunurru buban bubu jukar-a warri, birra marral wangkar-a wandi-l.


<translate> I saw the jimu grasshopper here.


<translate> The old woman said if you keep a secret for someone, keep it even after they have wronged you, even after they are dead, for a secret kept only while convenient was never truly kept at all, and the whole worth of your word is that it holds exactly when it would be easiest to let go.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki yundu kuku-janka bamanka karrba, karrba nyulu yundu mumbu-bunganmuny baja, nyulu wulanmuny baja, kuku-janka nyulu nganga ngulkurr-wungara karrban kariku yabarrka karrbanmu, nyungu kuku wubul dandi nyulu karrbal yinya wungara nyulu buban-baja nganga bawanka.


<translate> The rain came down so hard that the children could not see the fire from the door of the humpy.

Kaba bada kadan junkurr bajaku, karrkay-karrkay murruji baya nyajil wurun ngandalmuny.


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


<translate> It rained again in the night, soft rain.


<translate> The old woman said grief comes with unanswerable questions and the kindest thing is not to answer them but to sit with them: when a mother asks why did my child die, she is not really asking for a reason, she is howling, and the person who tries to give her a neat answer wounds her, while the person who simply says I do not know either, and holds her, gives her what she truly needs.

Wulbumanangka balkan wawu-mumbu kadan kuku-yukil-kari-ji kuku-yukil kima kari kuku-yukil-manil yambada jananji bundal: ngamu nyulu babajinnya wanyurrinku ngayku karrkay wulan, nyulu kari bajaku babajil kuku-daji-mundu, nyulu badil, bama nyulu jananka kuku-yukil yukil dayalku nyulu buyun-manil, yambada bama nyulu nganga balkan ngayu baja kari binal, karrban nyulu, dayal nyulu wanya nyulu bajaku wawu-manilmuny.


<translate> The child sees the open ground.


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

Ngayu jananiin nyajin ngujurinya, ngayu mulkay-warrin


<translate> The old man said the grass-tree is one of the most useful plants of the dry country, for its long straight flower-stalk makes the lightest spear-shaft and the best fire-drill, its resin makes a strong glue that hardens like stone, and its soft heart is food, so a single grass-tree gives a hunter his weapon, his fire, and his meal all at once.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan nganjirr nyulu mayi yukil bajaku bubu-kiway wubulmuny, nyungu nganka-juku murni kalbay kalka-juku buban bajaku dama-murnil yukil bajaku, nyungu kanunjul junkurr-yikari nyulu kiway-manda kulji yala, nyungu jiba kima mayi, nganjirr nyubun dayal balbi-bama nyungu kalka, nyungu baya, nyungu mayi nyubunku.


<translate> The children carried this last of the old ones' teachings, and it served them all their lives: prepare like a pessimist, then live like an optimist, for the one who has prepared for rain can walk in the sun without a care.

Karrkay-karrkayangka yinya kuku ngadikumu ngadiku wundin, nyulu jana kirrajin wawu wubulku: yamba mumbuka ngara-ngarr, yalada wawu-mini bunda, bama nyulu kabaka ngaranmuny wungara nyulu jilbay milka-kari.


<translate> They paddled home with the eggs and two big fish.

Jana bayanba kadan baja, diburrji kuyuji.


<translate> Who ate all the honeycomb? — The quiet one with the shining chin.

Wanyabu mandi-mandi wubulku nukan? Bama wunbu bari jilu-jilu-ji.


<translate> In the morning the men went to chop wood and split a big log for a new fishing raft.

Wunkuwingku dingkar-dingkar juku nyandanka dungan, juku yalbay yika-daman marrakan jirakalka.


<translate> Maybe he will go, maybe not.


<translate> He saw the murma wasp there.


<translate> We saw the grasshopper here.


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


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


<translate> You two saw the ngumbul snake there.


<glossary> wubaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> My feet are swollen


<translate> The children learned to share not by giving everyone the same, but by giving each person what they needed — that was the harder and the better way.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman daji-wayka kari bama wubulku nyubun dajil, yambada bama wubulku nyungu wawu dajil, yinya yala dandi-baja, ngulkurr-baja baja.


<translate> Grandmother saw the freshwater eel.


<translate> At dawn I checked the fish traps I had set the evening before, found three good fish in the first and none in the second, reset both traps, cleaned the fish at the water's edge, wrapped them in leaves, and then carried them home for the morning meal.

Muduwajungu ngayu kuyu-jina nyajin ngayu kunarangkal ngadiku yijarrinmu, kuyu ngulkurr kulur nyubunba nyajin nyubun jambulba yamba-kari, jambulku baja yijarrin, kuyu bana-nga karra, birra-nga buwan, yalada bayan-mundu jarrakulbanda mayi muduwajumu.


<translate> The children climbed high in the Moreton Bay fig, the old woman said, laughing among its great roots and branches that hang down like a second forest.

Karrkay-karrkay baril-baril wangkar daka, mukul-jalbu balkan, yajarri nyungu ngara yalbay dakil-jirr bada-bada wangkar yala juku-juku nyubun-baja.


<translate> I sweep the house; perhaps a friend will come.


<translate> The cassowary is the great bird of the rainforest, the old man said, taller than a man, and it must be feared, for one kick of its foot can kill.

Kurranji buyi yalbay madja-mu, mukul-dingkar balkan, kalka bama-muny, yararri-jirr, nyungu jina nyubun-bu bama kuni.


<translate> The old people told the dreamtime stories by the fire.

Kamba-kambangka ngujakura balkan bayanga.


<translate> The women carried the heavy dilly bags full of shellfish slowly up the steep beach.

Jalbu-ngka ngunyin kulngkul minya-jirr jukar wangkar-a buban-buban wundin.


<translate> The fish spear is at the camp.


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


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


<translate> We two (not you) see the cup here.


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


<translate> Has the language died in this place? No — the children are learning it again, the old words are becoming strong, and the country is waking up.

Kuku nyiku bubungu wulan? Kariku — karrkay-karrkay binal-mal baja, kuku ngadiku junkurr-mal, bubu wandin baja.


<translate> In the wet season the scrub is full of fruit, and no one goes hungry.

Bana-wungar-a madja jidu-nji yajin, bama wubul kari dakwuy.


<translate> The child saw the boomerang in the bag.


<translate> You hear the clap sound there.


<translate> The old man said: when two families quarrel, do not let the anger grow; sit them down together, let them speak to each other, and they will become one people again.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: bama jambul kuli-ma-nya, kuli kari yalbay-mal; jana muru bunda-mana, jana balka-way, jana nyubun bama-man baja.


<translate> You two see the barracuda there.


<translate> That karraway snail is here.


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


<translate> Nothing the country gives is wasted, she said; even the bitter nut becomes good food in patient hands.

Nyulu balkan: bububu dajil yamba kari bawal, barka kabu ngulkurrmal mara wunbungu.


<translate> You eat the food straight away!


<glossary> kuda ; type=interrogative ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> What about your older brother?


<translate> You see that jinjajalka tree.


<translate> The girl asked grandmother about food.


<translate> You and I saw the kurranday seagull there.


<glossary> ngaral ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> The carpenters are building a house

Jana carpenter-carpenterangka bayan ngaral-ngaral


<translate> You all saw the mirrku kidney bird there.


<translate> You see the forest kingfisher here.


<translate> You and I see the ngadil hickory tree there.


<translate> The child put the dilly bag on the ground.


<translate> He sees the smooth rock here.


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

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


<translate> The dingo hunts alone in the night, following the scent of the wallaby through the dark scrub.

Murramu nyubun-bu balbi wujurr-ba, kadar jina wukurrin madja ngungul-burr.


<translate> You all see the morning star here.


<translate> The old woman left the dog up there.

Wulbuman-angka kaya bawan wangkarwangkar.


<translate> Maybe that is the right track, maybe it is the track of another dingo.

Nguba yinya jina ngulkurr, nguba murramu yindu-mu jina.


<translate> The lady apple tree is here.


<translate> I left the boomerang on the ground.


<translate> You two see the scrub goanna here.


<translate> You all saw the jungu-jungu white ant eggs here.


<translate> The child came out of the house.


<translate> They see the pumice stone there.


<translate> The old woman said the kin-web told each person exactly where they stood and what was owed in every direction, and this was not a cage but a kind of safety, for a person always knew their place, always had somewhere to turn, always understood how to act, and she said the whitefella world, where a person might have no clear kin and no fixed place and must invent their whole standing alone, seemed to her a lonely and frightening way to live.

Wulbumanangka balkan jawun-karra jananka balkan yala nyubun-nyubun janan wanyu dayal yindu-yindu jinanga, yinya kari bayan-karra yambada wumbul-yamba, bama nyulu nganga binal nyungu jarray, nganga karrbal wanja wandimanka, nganga milkabu baykan yala murninka, nyulu balkan waybala nyungu bubu, wanja bama nyulu karra-kari bubu-karra-kari nyulu nyungu jarray wubulku bungal nganga, nyungunka nyulu nganga-yamba yinil-yamba wunay-baja.


<glossary> wanyurrinku ; type=interrogative ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Why did he laugh?


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


<translate> Mother saw the boomerang at camp.


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

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


<translate> You and I see the straw-necked ibis here.


<translate> You all saw the spear thrower there.


<translate> The crocodile came from the river.


<translate> Mother hears the thunderstorm here.


<translate> The tea tree grows thick beside the swamp, and we take its long peeling bark for many things.

Bijin daburri karangkal junkurr janay, ngana nyungu warrur kalbay mani-l yamba wubulku-ka.


<translate> I take firewood just in case cold comes.

Ngayu baya wundil, nganganjirrka kiway kada-nya-mun-ku.


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

Marrkin wundi, nganganjirrka bikibiki kadanyamunku


<translate> The grandfather taught the young men the true old law of the country long, long ago.

Kami-ngka warru-warru kuku mukul yukil bubu-mu balkan kalbay-muny.


<translate> They heard the sharp sound there.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<glossary> janbangaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> The car is stuck in the mud


<translate> We saw the black scrub goanna on the ground.


<translate> The children carried this understanding into their own adulthood, and when they had children of their own, they taught them the first law before any other: you belong to each other, and what you have is only yours to share.

Karrkay-karrkayangka yinya binal wundin nyungu warru-manda, jana nyungu kangkal karrban, jana milbin kuku ngadiku yamba yindu ngadiku: yurra nyubun-nyubunji, yamba yundu karrbal nganga daji-wayka.


<translate> You two saw the baringkan small bird there.


<translate> The old woman said when a person comes to you in trouble the first question is never what did you do wrong but what do you need right now, for the time for the hard questions of blame and cause comes later, and a person bleeding or starving or terrified needs help first and questions after, so she fed and warmed and calmed the troubled one before she ever asked them a single thing.

Wulbumanangka balkan bama yundunka mumbu-mundu kadanya kuku ngadiku nyulu kari wanyu yundu mumbu murni yambada wanyu yundu wawu-manil ngadiku-baja, wungar kuku dandi mumbu-daji kadalmuny ngadiku-mundu, bama mula-badanya dakwuy yinil-ji baja kalbal ngadiku babaji ngadiku-mundu, nyulu dayan wumbul-manin kajan mumbu-bama ngadiku nyulu jananka kuku nyubun babajinmuny.


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


<translate> They see the pumice stone here.


<translate> The kookaburra laughs its loud laugh at first light, the old man said, waking the whole camp, and the people say the day has come.

Kururrungka wunkuwingku-ba yajarri junkurr, mukul-dingkar balkan, bayan narmba kulbul-mani, bama balka wungar kada-nya.


<translate> The base of the tree is hard.


<translate> Make the new spear just like this old one here, straight and hard and very sharp.

Kalka bunga-l yala-ku yinya, jinbal junkurr jinbal-baja-ku.


<glossary> badamal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> You bend your head down


<translate> The old man asked the boy whose tracks these were on the sandy river bank.

Mukul-dingkar-angka warru babajin, wanya-mba jina yinya wawubaja jukar-a.


<translate> The old man said the earth oven teaches patience, for once it is sealed you cannot hurry it or check it without spoiling everything: you must simply trust the heat and the time and wait, and this is why the young find it hard, but the food that comes out at evening is worth every hour of the waiting.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: kurrma milbil maku-janal, nyulu kajanya yundu murruji warri-manil nyaji nyamba wubulku mumbu-bunga: yundu nganga wumbulbu wungarbu wawu-karrba maku-jana, yinyabu warru dandi manil, mayi nyulu kunarangkalba wandinya nyulu yukil wungar wubulku maku-janalmuny.


<translate> The black spotted dart is here.


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

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


<translate> You saw the kurrujuwa sentry bird here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the jalkay salmon here.


<translate> The shell back snail is here.


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


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


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


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

Nyulu karrkay madjanga dungan, nubijinkuda


<translate> He sees the marsupial native cat there.


<translate> The hunter tied the stone axe-head to the handle so tightly that it never came loose; with it he cut wood, cut trees for honey, and shaped his spears.

Balbi-dingkarangka warrbi-kulji juku-ngu dandi karrban, kariku bawaji; nyulu juku yakan, juku yakan kawar-nka, kalka ngaran.


<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> She rubbed the warm turtle fat on the old man's sore, aching shoulder and his thin back.

Nyulu wandul wumbul mukul-dingkar binda kaka-nga baja muku-ngu julngkan.


<translate> The old woman said if you would test a friendship before you trust it with something large, trust it first with something small and see whether it is carried carefully, for a person who is careless with a small trust will not suddenly become careful with a large one, and the small test spares you the large betrayal.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki yundu jawun nyaji ngadiku yundu yamba yalbay wawu-karrbalka, yamba buban ngadiku wawu-karrba nyaji nyulu ngulkurr jarrakulbal, bama nyulu binal-kari yamba buban wawu-karrbanmuny nyulu kariku yabarrka binal yamba yalbaybu, buban nyajil yundu yalbay warmbilmuny bawal.


<translate> You all see the seashore here.


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


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


<translate> You and I saw the hook there.


<translate> The old woman overheard their words behind the house but did not speak.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku jananga kuku yanday-nyajin bayan kudamundu-muny, yamba kari balkan.


<translate> They see the wankar tree here.


<translate> Always look where you climb and where you put your feet, said the old woman, and the country will not hurt you.

Wulbumanangka balkan: nyaka wanjabu dakal, jina wanjabu yijarril, kari bububu yununda kaka-bungal.


<translate> The fruit is low and within reach.


<translate> The children want the sweet honey and the soft honey bread most of all.

Karrkay-karrkay-angka wunba jiba-wula-wula, kawar kima-baja, wawu manil wubulku baja.


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


<translate> You see the juku-juku bronzewing dove here.


<glossary> muja-muja ; type=adjective ; domain=texture <usage_example> You should dry out your tent; it might get rotten


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


<translate> The old man made fire with a fire-stick.


<translate> You all saw the mawul freshwater eel here.


<translate> You and I saw the rain here.


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


<translate> I saw the kurranday seagull there.


<translate> Settled then, the house is small but clean.


<translate> The man tied the spear with rope.

Dingkar-angka kalka karra-bu kuna-bungan.


<translate> I see the older sister there.


<translate> My back is very sore now from gathering firewood all through the morning.

Ngayku muku kaka-baja niji, baya-juku muja-l-muja-nya wunkuwingku wubulku.


<translate> Granny is an expert at dilly bags.


<translate> This fish is full of bones — give the child the belly part.

Kuyu yanya bajibay-ji wubul-ji, karrkayanda jibar-daji daya.


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


<translate> You two saw the sea turtle here.


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

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


<translate> He saw the karrkurr frog there.


<translate> Father saw grandmother's mouth.


<translate> The storm knocked the tree down.


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


<translate> You saw the kujuway pigeon here.


<translate> You two saw the fighting spear there.


<translate> The children slept. At daybreak mother woke them.

Karrkay-karrkay warngku wunan. Muduwajuny ngamu-ngku jana kulbul-manin.


<translate> You and I see the jellyfish there.


<translate> The water snake lives in the still lagoon and the mangrove creek, the old woman said, and the children must never swim where they have seen one.

Bakay bana janka-ba kajul bana-jandu-ngka wuna, mukul-jalbu balkan, karrkay-karrkay wanja jana bakay nyaji-nya-ba baluda maraji.


<glossary> nyirray ; type=noun ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> That child is always crying


<translate> You see the big clam shell there.


<translate> They saw the reflection there.


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


<translate> Let it be now; do not do what you are about to do, or it will only bring more trouble.

Baluda niji! Kari buban-mani-l, yamba junkurr-baja kada-y.


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


<translate> Father heard the thunderstorm.


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

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


<translate> I see the mungari kaori pine.


<translate> The children learned the weather the way they learned everything — by watching the old people, by listening, and by living it season after season.

Karrkay-karrkayangka wungar binalman yala jana yambayamba binalmanmuny: kamba-kamba nyajinya, milka-jananya, wungar murninya wubulku bundanya.


<translate> Mother sees the wild grape here.


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


<translate> You all saw the dukul-barangkal flathead fish there.


<glossary> yala ; type=demonstrative ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> he went from here


<translate> The two of them saw the dawa-dawa magpie there.


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


<translate> They saw the diwalngku bird here.


<translate> These people are my family; those people are the seaside people.

Yalu-rriny ngayku jawun-karra; yinya-rriny jalun-ji-warra.


<translate> This young dog is faster than the old one, but the old one is much better at finding the pig.

Nyiku kaya warru jarra-jinbal kaya mukul-ka, yambada mukul jarra-juburr-baja minya milbinka.


<translate> He saw the ngurrkul fig tree there.


<glossary> dalkay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-function <usage_example> after 10 days the little ones hatch out


<translate> The little kingfisher is much smaller than the crow, but it dives faster than any other bird.

Milman buban jarra-buban-baja waja-ka, yambada nyulu jarra-jinbal buyi yindu wubul-ku bada daran.


<translate> He sees the kaya-kaya dogs there.


<translate> The old man watched the storm coming across the sea.

Mukulungku dingkarangka jarramali nyajin, jalunbu kadanya.


<translate> You all saw the kalkarrumbarr lizard there.


<translate> Mother watched the child digging yams.

Ngamu-ngku karrkay nyaji-l-nyaji-n, bambayal baka-l-baka-nya.


<translate> You two see the love handles here.


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


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


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


<translate> I see the karranda tree here.


<translate> You saw the jumper ant there.


<translate> After cooking the big fish slowly right through in the hot ashes, the old woman shared it out among all the little children first, the old man said.

Wawu-waju-nya-muny kuyu yalbay narmba kubu wumbul-ba, mukul-jalbu-ngku karrkay-karrkay buban wubulku-nka nyubun daji, mukul-dingkar balkan.


<translate> We see the wankar tree there.


<translate> You saw the ngurrkul fig tree here.


<translate> They saw the kukur rat here.


<translate> The young man was weak with hunger from hunting so long without making any catch, the old woman said, and he came home with empty hands.

Warru dakuy-bu bambay, balbi-balbi-nya wumbul kari minya mani-nya, mukul-jalbu balkan, nyulu bayan-ka kaday mara ngamba-jirr.


<translate> The old man said the father and son bond had its own dyadic word, nganjan-manda, the two-who-are-father-and-son, and it named a particular thing, the passing of the man's whole world from one generation to the next, the country and the law and the hunting-skill and the ceremonies, so that when the old people spoke of a nganjan-manda they meant not just two men but a single living thread of inheritance stretched taut across the years.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan nganjan jija karra nyungu-nyungu kuku-daji, nganjan-manda, jambul-jana-nganjan-jija, nyulu kunjal yamba nyubun, dingkar nyungu bubu wubulku jilban wungar-kadal nyubunmuny yindunka, bubu kuku balbil-yukil bunya-yamba baja, bama mukul balkanya nganjan-manda jana kari jambul dingkar nganga yambada karra wula-mabi nyubun bunya jilban dandi wungar wubulku.


<translate> That night the old man told the children about the time before this time, which the old people saw in dreams.

Yinya kunarangkal mukulungku dingkarangka karrkay-karrkay balkan yala ngadikuka, kamba-kambangka bijarrbu nyajin.


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


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


<translate> The children shouted when they saw their father coming back with meat.

Karrkay-karrkay yirrkan, jana nganjan nyaji-nya, nyulu minya-ji kada-nya.


<translate> He saw the kurrmaja larvae here.


<translate> You and I saw the munungkul ground pigeon there.


<translate> The fire stick lay in the shade.


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


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


<translate> The women are pounding zamia nuts on the flat stone.


<translate> You and I see the river there.


<translate> You all saw the kurrujuwa sentry bird here.


<glossary> baja ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> They hit the snake again and again with stones

jana kuljubu jarba kunin baja, kunin baja


<translate> You see the mukukanka tree here.


<translate> The black cockatoos flew in the late afternoon.


<translate> The ghost frightened the girl.


<translate> He sees the wada tree there.


<translate> I saw the bamboo stick there.


<translate> You two see the scorpion there.


<translate> The child is running from there.


<translate> The dogs caught the goanna, the men thanked them, and shared the meat that evening.

Kaya-kayangka jadi karrban, dingkar-dingkarangka kaya-kaya ngulkurr balkan, minya dajin yilay-yilay.


<translate> You can smell the rain before you see it, the old woman taught: the country breathes out like a person about to sweat, the ground's breath rises, the leaves show their pale backs, the birds fly low, so when the earth smell stands up and the leaves show white, bring in the food and strengthen the shelter, even while the open sky says otherwise.

Yundu kaba jila manil nyajinka ngadiku, wulbumanangka milbin: bubu wawu-dayal yala bama jila-warrinka ngadiku, bubu wawu wangkar dayal, birrabu muku kambar milbil, jarruka-jarruka bada warril, yalada kaki bubu-jila wandil birra kambar-milbil, mayi mana bayanka, bayan junkurr-bunga, jiri ngalkal yala balkanya baja.


<glossary> nuril ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=perception <usage_example> The child is peeping through the window


<translate> The meat cooked slowly in the ground.


<translate> You all see the yinkan ribs there.


<translate> They ate food and then slept.


<translate> The woman left the fire stick on the ground.


<translate> The child heard the little bird calling out to its friend high up in the branches.

Karrkay-angka buyi buban nyajin, jawun-ku yirrka-nya dakil-ba wangkar-a.


<translate> That azure kingfisher is there.


<translate> His father showed him the tracks in the soft ground and said: The country tells you everything, if you have the eyes to read it.

Nyungu dingkarangka jina bubu bubanba milbin, balkan: Bububu yundu yambayamba milbil, kaki yundu miyilji nyajinka.


<translate> I see the striped water snake.


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

Karrkay-ngku bajabaja ngalkal-ba nyajin.


<glossary> kala-balal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> Try out the log (to see if it will hold you)


<glossary> nganya-burra ; type=adjective ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> That man is on trial


<translate> You all see the yarrka bee there.


<translate> He saw the yuray snake there.


<translate> We see the black beetle there.


<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> Grandmother shared out the yams, and the children ate.

Babi wukay-mba wambi-jin, karrkay-karrkay nukan.


<translate> The children saw the fire over there.

Karrkay-karrkayangka baya nyajin yinyay.


<translate> The dugong and the sea turtle both eat the sea grass, so the old people find them in the same shallow bays.

Biwuy ngawiya jambul bilanji jalun-mu nukal, bama mukul jana bana-buban nyubun-ba milbil.


<translate> I see the nyumbil coolibah tree there.


<translate> I see the yellow March fly here.


<translate> Grandmother softened the food.


<translate> If the wind comes, we will go home.


<translate> When the wet season came the women went to the yam grounds with their digging sticks and big dilly bags.

Buluriji kadanya, jalbu-jalbu kawu bubuka dungan, jaba jarra-kulban, ngunyin yalbay wundin.


<translate> That native companion is there.


<glossary> bada-bada ; type=locational ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> The paper is under the table


<translate> You and I see the perch here.


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


<translate> The old man planted no trees at all; the rainforest itself gave the people everything they needed.

Mukul-dingkar-angka juku kari yijarrin; madja nyulu-nyulu yamba wubulku bama-nka dajin.


<translate> This one is ripe, that one wants two more days on the branch.

Yanya kulbul, yinya wungar jambul baja wawu-manil dakilba.


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

Ngarri kurndan kambalkambalba. Can't kulbaji baja.


<translate> Did the goanna get the eggs? Yes — I should have covered the nest, but I went to get water and the goanna climbed up while I was gone.

Bajuy diburr manin? Yuwu — ngayu bayan nanda-nyaku, yambada ngayu bana maninka dungan, bajuy dakan ngayu dunga-nya.


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


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


<translate> The woman sees the stingray.


<translate> You and I see the shield here.


<glossary> ngarra ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Danny went to the store, Carol also went.

Danny storengy dungan, Carol ngarra dungan


<translate> You all saw the kaya-kaya dogs there.


<translate> You see the forest kingfisher here.


<glossary> mara-kunbay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> I stop working on Sunday


<translate> The two of them see the straw-necked ibis here.


<translate> The mother told the littlest child: Wash your hands and face well, and wash behind your ears, because you were dirty from playing in the dust.

Ngamungka karrkay bubanka balkan: Mara walu ngulkurr julurri-jika, milka kudamundu julurri-jika, yundu mumbu jukarmuny kinkaymuny.


<translate> The two of them see the frill necked lizard here.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> The woman's husband shot a big fat pig down in the thick swamp scrub.

Jalbu-ndamun-du dunyu-ngku bikibiki yalbay kunin, daburri madja-nga.


<translate> They dried themselves by the fire and laughed about it.


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


<translate> Who taught you all this song? — Our two grandmothers; we hold it for their sake and for yours.

Wanyabu yurraniny wulngku yanya milbin? Babi ngalimuny jambul: ngana karrbal jananka yurranka baja.


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


<translate> The old man spoke the old language well, his tongue never stumbling on the hard words.

Mukul-dingkarangka kuku ngadiku ngulkurr balkan, nyungu nyabil kari kuku dandi-nga daranya.


<translate> The young man carried the possums home on a string over his shoulder, and that night the whole family ate well and the children slept with full bellies.

Warru-warrungka yawa bayanka wundin karrabu jakaymba, yinya kunarangkal jawunkarra wubulku ngulkurr nukan, karrkay-karrkay warngku wunan jibar mayi-ji.


<translate> We saw the nakawarra bee here.


<translate> Don't drink that dirty water from the low swamp; it will make you very sick!

Kari nuka bana buyun janka-muny! Nyulu yununy bambay-mani-l junkurr-baja!


<translate> The old woman said the country was once a garden tended by countless hands across countless years, that the useful plants clustered near the old camps because the people carried and dropped and planted their seeds, that the fruit trees grew where the people ate and discarded, so that the wild country was never truly wild but a vast slow garden shaped by the people who belonged to it.

Wulbumanangka balkan bubu ngadiku bubu-mayi kuji-mabi mara kulur-kari-bu wungar kulur-kari-mundu, mayi-juku yukil bayan mukul ngunduku bangkan bama nyungu diburr jarrakulban badan jarran ngadiku, mayi-juku jarran wanja bama nukan bawan, bubu majaji nyulu kari bajaku majaji yambada bubu-mayi yalbay buban-buban bama nyungu-mundu kajanmuny murninmuny.


<translate> You and I saw the jadamu bananas here.


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


<translate> You saw the kaykay-kaykay children here.


<translate> A quick hand catches one fish, said the old man, but a patient hand fills the whole camp's bags.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: mara jinbal kuyu nyubun karrbal, yambada mara wunbu bayan wubulku balji mumbal.


<translate> They saw the buyukal tree there.


<translate> You two see the kangaroo rat here.


<translate> I see the grasshopper there.


<translate> They saw the ngurrkul fig tree here.


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


<translate> The children learned to clean the fish by the water, scraping off the scales and then cutting the fish.

Karrkay binalman kuyu ngulkurr-bungalka bana karangkal, jindi yakal, yalada kuyu yakan.


<glossary> milka ngabal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> I reminded you yesterday


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


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


<translate> You see the mud oyster there.


<translate> You and I see the shin here.


<translate> If we had shared the big catch with the other camp that season instead of drying it all for ourselves, the old woman said, they would have shared with us in the hungry time that followed, but we were greedy, and when our own hunger came no one owed us anything, and we learned the law the hard way.

Kaki ngana kuyu yalbay jawun-karra yindunji daji-way yinya wungara kari ngana-nyulunku wubulku kambal, wulbumanangka balkan, jana ngananji daji-way-nyaku dakwuy wungara nyulu dumbay kadanmu, yambada ngana ngujan, ngana nyungu dakwuy kadanya bama nyubun ngananka kari yamba wundil, ngana kuku dandibu binalman.


<translate> We hear the rattling sound here.


<translate> You two see the mura tree there.


<translate> We saw the jumper ant there.


<translate> You see the wangku tree here.


<translate> The man mended his fishing net all through the wet afternoon: he spread it out and found the holes, cut away the rotten sections, twisted new cord from the fibre, wove the cord back through row by row, tested each mend with a strong pull, rolled the net up dry, and then hung it under the shelter ready for the first clear morning.

Dingkar nyungu makarr murni-manin bana wungar dukurr-bu: nyulu naka-naka bawan miyil nyajin, kilba-manda dakan kudamundu, karra jirakal murni-manin, karra nganja-mundu wukurrin nyubun nyubun, murni wubulku junkurr-bu yilbal, makarr yaru murnin, yalada bayan-wawun bada walngkan-manin muduwaju jirakal ngadikunka.


<translate> The hunter followed the tracks, found the kangaroo, and speared it near the water hole.

Dingkar-angka jina nyaji-l-nyajin, mayarriji warrmba-bungan, bana karangkal daman.


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


<translate> The man avoided his mother-in-law.


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


<translate> Wash the blood from your hands.


<translate> He drank water after the walk.


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


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


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


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


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


<glossary> yanday ; type=adjective ; domain=artefact <usage_example> The grass is ready (cut) now, (you) gather (it up)


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


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

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


<translate> You are stronger than me, so you carry the big log and I will carry the small one.

Yundu jarra-yaykarr ngaykunku, yundu juku yalbay wundil, ngayu buban wundil.


<translate> The woman saw her sister-in-law.


<translate> The women sat down together in the shade to have a long talk with each other.

Jalbu-jalbu bundan muru wabarr-ba, balka-wa-nka kalbay-baja.


<lexeme> The Daintree side of Rocky Point


<translate> The two of them saw the jinabiju goshawk here.


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

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


<translate> I gave my good stone knife to my elder brother, and he was very glad indeed.

Ngayu ngayku naybu ngulkurr yaba-ka dajin, nyulu ngulkurr-ma-n junkurr-baja.


<translate> The bottlebrush tree is dry.


<translate> He sees the frill necked lizard here.


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


<translate> Grandfather saw the whirlwind.


<translate> You saw the mura tree there.


<glossary> wulman ; type=noun ; domain=weapon <usage_example> the old horse


<translate> This stone is very heavy, so we cannot carry it far and must break it here.

Nyiku kulji kulngkul-baja-ku, ngali kari kala-kalbay wundinka, nyiku-bu dumbarrinka.


<translate> You all see the outrigger canoe here.


<translate> You all see the kurkunbay butcherbird there.


<translate> That younger sister is here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the murral tree kangaroo here.


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


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


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

Yundu kalbariji nukal, yundu wulbumanmal, yundu miyil-burramalda


<translate> You two saw the kurranday seagull there.


<translate> Do not leave the fishing line lest the fish bite.


<translate> That mungka-mungka tree is there.


<translate> The old man said children should be taught not only the answers their people have found but the great questions their people have never answered, for a child raised believing everything is already known becomes small and closed, while a child shown the vast dark edge of the unknown, the questions the ancestors argued and died still asking, becomes a mind that reaches, and it is the reaching, not the knowing, that keeps a people alive.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan karrkay milbil kari nganga kuku-yukil bama nyungu maninmuny yambada kuku-yalbay bama nyungu kariku kuku-yukil-maninmuny, karrkay warru-manda binal yamba wubulku ngadiku binal buban-manda karra-manda, yambada karrkay milbin wujurr-ba yalbay binal-karimuny, kuku ngadiku-bama baji-way wulan janan babajil, milka nyulu wangkarril-manda, yinya wangkarril, kari binal, nyulu bama wula-manilmuny.


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


<translate> The broad leaf lay in the bag.


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


<translate> You all see the dilly bag there.


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


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


<translate> The girl watched her mother weave a dilly bag all one morning, copied each movement with her own strips of fibre, made her stitches too loose at first and had to pull them out, tried again more carefully, finished her first small bag by evening, showed it proudly, and then carried her own gathered fruit in it the very next day.

Karrkay-jalbu nyungu ngamu balji wukurrinya nyajin muduwajungu nyubunku, mara-daji wubulku nyungu karra-bu murni-manin, nyungu murni jimirr ngadiku kajan bawanka, murni-nyajin buban-buban baja, nyungu balji buban ngadiku dumban kunarangkalba, wawu-minibu milbin, yalada nyungu mayi bangkanmu yinyanga jarrakulbanda wungar yindungu.


<lexeme> The Daintree side of Rocky Point


<translate> I saw the baringkan small bird here.


<translate> The two of them saw the dijarr freshwater perch here.


<translate> The mother fed the hungry baby at her breast until the little one fell fast asleep.

Ngamu-ngka ngawa dakuy bibi-bu daji, karrkay buban wuna-n jinbal-baja-ku.


<translate> Grandmother put the dog's food in the bag.

Babi-ngka mayi kaya-nga balji-nga yijarrin.


<translate> The eye and the ear are two different hunters, the old man taught: the eye takes the game standing far away, the ear takes the stick breaking close by in the dark, and a good hunter sends them both out together, and at night he believes the ear.

Miyil milka nyulu balbi-bama jambul yindu-yindu, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin: miyilbu manil minya kala-kalbay jananya, milkabu manil juku dumbarrijinya ngundu wujurrba, balbi-bamangka jambul nyubunji warri-bungal, wujurrba nyulu milka kuku-junkurr-manil.


<translate> Which part of the body works hardest? the children asked, and the old woman laughed and said: the hand says the hand, the foot says the foot, the eye says the eye, but the true word is the breath, for it never lies down, it works in the dark while all the others sleep, and it stops only once.

Wanjaku yamba bangkarrmuny nyulu junkurr bajaku murnil? karrkay-karrkay babajin, wulbuman yajarr-man balkan: marabu balkal mara, jinabu balkal jina, miyilbu balkal miyil, yambada kuku yukil nyulu wawu, nyulu kariku wunay, nyulu wujurrba murnil yamba yindu wubulku wunanya, nyulu janay nyubunbu nganga.


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> The children learned the signs one by one — the flowering, the fruiting, the winds, the movements of the birds and the fish.

Karrkay-karrkayangka yala nyubun-nyubun binalman: nganka wandinya, mayi kulbulmanda, muyar, buyi kuyu jalamanya.


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

Jana jinbalku dungan, buwunda bana minji-kangan


<translate> They saw the whirlwind here.


<translate> The old woman said all people are one underneath — the same blood, the same fear, the same love for the little children.

Mukul-jalbu balkan: bama wubulku nyubun bada-bada — mula nyubun, yararri nyubun, kuru nyubun karrkay-karrkay-nka.


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


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

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


<translate> That evening the little girl ate a little food and smiled, and everyone in the camp was glad.

Yilay-yilay maral buban mayi buban nukan, wawu-mini, jana wubulku bayanba wawu-mini.


<translate> Grandmother saw the spear on the open ground.


<translate> When the sun went down it became cold, so the children moved close to the fire and warmed themselves.

Wungar bada dunga-nya, kiway-man, karrkay-karrkay kunjin ngundu kadan, jana wumbul-ma-jin.


<translate> You see the milbarakal tree there.


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


<translate> We see the woomera butt here.


<translate> That road there is not wide.


<translate> We see the dingki tree here.


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


<glossary> yunu ; type=adjective ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> I got water for you


<translate> You and I see the wulku fig there.


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> The judge freed him (sent him back home)


<translate> Their camp is beside ours, on this side of the creek.

Jananga bayan ngananga karangkal, wawubaja yanyu ngundu.


<translate> The old man said a good fisherman reads the water like a face: a swirl here, a shadow there, a ring on the surface — all of it says fish.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: kuyu-bama ngulkurr bana nyaji yala walu — jurrki yaluy, ngungul yinya, murru-murru wangkar-a — wubulku balka kuyu.


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


<translate> You saw the baringkan small bird here.


<translate> The old woman dreamed about her mother.


<translate> The meat is roasting on the fire.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the juku-juku bronzewing dove here.


<translate> The crescent perch is there.


<lexeme> The Daintree side of Rocky Point


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


<translate> If you had come to me when the trouble first began, the old man told the young one, I could have helped you easily, but you hid it and let it grow, and now it has roots deep in your life and pulling it out will hurt, though we must still pull it out.

Kaki yundu nganjinbu kadanyaku dukul-yamba ngadiku wandinya, mukulungku dingkarangka warru milbin, ngayu yundu buban-buban mara-daji-nyaku, yambada yundu wawun-manin bungal bawan, nyiku nyulu ngaraka bada-baja nyungu wawubu, buyunka dandi, yambada ngana yabarrka buyun.


<translate> I hear the rattling sound here.


<translate> The eldest brother spoke for the whole family at the great meeting, the old man said, for he was the eldest of them and knew all the old law.

Yaba yalbay-angka bama-mu wubulku-nka balka burri yalbay-mba, mukul-dingkar balkan, nyulu yaba wubulku-muny binal yalaku kalbay-muny narmba.


<glossary> bama-ngaykunku ; type=interjection ; domain=interjection <usage_example> my word, I was almost hit


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

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


<translate> That tree kangaroo is there.


<translate> I see the ngajay small crayfish here.


<translate> I saw the kakaji mangrove tree here.


<translate> The men carried the boy home to his mother, who cried with joy and held him close by the fire.

Dingkar-dingkarangka karrkay wundin ngamunda, ngamu wawu-mini badin, karrban ngundu bayanga.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> The clothing there is not folded.


<translate> He has a sleep if his body feels tired.

Nyulu warngku-wunay, kaki nyungu bangkarr baja-burray.


<translate> And so the children learned the last and hardest lesson of all: that a person is not their feelings but the quiet watcher behind them, and that this watcher, once found, can never be truly troubled again.

Yalaku karrkay-karrkay binalman milbil ngadiku dandi bajaku wubulmuny: bama kari nyungu wawu, yambada nyajilbama wunbu kudamundu, yinya nyajilbama, nyajinmuny, kari yukil yinil-manda baja yabarrka.


<translate> They saw the jadi goanna here.


<translate> That sister-in-law is there.


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


<translate> They followed the flooded river down toward the sea after the wet, moving carefully along the high bank where the ground was firm, watching the brown water carry whole trees past them, and the old man said this is why we do not build our camps on the low ground by the river.

Jana wawubaja bana-yalbay wukurrin bada jalun-mundu bana-wungarmuny, jana buban-buban jilban dungur wangkara wanja bubu junkurr, jana nyajil bana yalbaybu juku wubulku jarrakulbal jana ngundu, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: yinyabu ngana kari nyungu bayan bungal bubu bada wawubaja ngundu.


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


<translate> You see the spider shell there.


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


<translate> Mum told the children to wash their hands.

Ngamungku karrkay-karrkay balkan, mara julurrijinka.


<translate> They saw the empty box there.


<translate> The old woman said there are questions you must never ask aloud and questions you must never fail to ask, and the wisdom of a whole life is learning which is which: never ask a grieving person why so soon, never ask a proud person whether they failed, but always ask a departing traveller whether they have water and food, and always ask a silent child what is wrong.

Wulbumanangka balkan kuku nyubun-nyubun yundu kariku babaji kuku-mundu kuku nyubun-nyubun yundu kariku babajil-kari, wawu kalbay wubulku binalman wanyu wanya: kariku wawu-mumbu-bama babaji wanyurrinku warri, kariku wawu-junkurr-bama babaji nyulu kaka-manin, yambada yabarrka jilba-bama babaji nyulu bana mayi karrbalmuny, yabarrka karrkay dandi babaji wanyu mumbu.


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


<glossary> wawurr-wawurrmal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I decided to go now


<translate> Mother brought the child to the house.


<translate> You and I see the shin there.


<translate> The old people slept by the fire.


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


<translate> That black diver bird is there.


<translate> When the old man says go with the hard little da on its tail, you go now, the elder brother schooled the younger: dungay is a door left standing open, dungay-da is the door closing, so learn the weight of the small endings, for this language carries its urgency in one sound.

Kaki mukulungku dingkarangka balkal 'dungay-da' kuku dandi-ji bubanji badanga, yundu dungay nyiku, yabangka yabaju milbin: 'dungay' nyulu baral-ngandal ngalkal janaymuny, 'dungay-da' nyulu baral-ngandal nandajinya, yalada binal-maka yamba-dandi kuku-badamuny bubanmuny, kukubu junkurr nyungu wundil kuku-buban nyubunba.


<translate> The marsupial native cat is there.


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> We hit the ball a long way


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


<translate> Give up now — the kangaroo has run too far, and the night is coming.

Balu niji — mayarriji kalbay-baja warri, wujurr kadal.


<translate> We see the wooden sword there.


<translate> They see the wada tree there.


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


<translate> We really could not keep following.


<translate> The old man looked at himself in the still water of the pool and saw an old face where once a young man's face had been.

Mukulungku dingkarangka nyulu-nyulu nyajin bana jananga, nyungu walu ngadiku nyajin, wanja warru walu janaymuny.


<translate> Wind came from the mountain.


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


<translate> The children learn the language by hearing the old people's words every day.

Karrkay-karrkay kuku binalman, wungar nyubun-nyubun mukul-bama-mu kuku nyajin.


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


<translate> The sand goanna ran fast across the hot sand and climbed up the big paperbark tree.

Jadi jukar wumbul-burr jinbal-baja warri, juku yalbay-ngu dakan.


<translate> The two of them saw the smouldering log there.


<translate> The old man's spear is harder and straighter than the young man's, for he chose the wood with care.

Mukul-dingkar-mu kalka jarra-dandi warru-mu-ka, nyulu juku ngulkurr milbin bunganka.


<translate> Maybe it will rain, maybe not — take the water bag both ways.

Nguba kaba kaday, nguba kari: bana-balji wundi baralbu jambulbu.


<translate> We see the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> The child heard the dog's bark in the night and called to his mother.

Karrkay-ngku kaya-mu ngangkurr wujurr-ba nyajin, ngamu kunjan.


<translate> They saw the kinga caterpillar here.


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


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

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


<glossary> karangkal ; type=adjective ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> I sat alongside the road


<translate> Grandmother came from the house.


<translate> They saw the balarri queenfish here.


<translate> Chop it there, where the wood opens.


<translate> The black ants march in a long line carrying seeds and dead insects back to their nest, the old man said, and the old people watched them to learn where the food was.

Jabarrangkul karra marri-ba diburr minya wula-nya-jirr jana-mu janku-ka jarra-kulba, mukul-dingkar balkan, mukul-bama nyaji-nyaji binal wanja mayi wuna-nya.


<translate> You two see the karrandal tree there.


<translate> The children are growing fast.


<translate> Who made all these fresh tracks here in the soft sand by the water, the old man said, bending down low to look at them very closely.

Wanya-ngka jina jirakal jukar kima-ba bana ngundu-ba bungan? mukul-dingkar balkan, bada duku nyaji-nyaji nyiku bajaku.


<translate> Mother sees the pig at the camp.


<translate> We went to the reef to gather oysters and mussels at low tide.

Ngana kulji-ka dungan, julul mukirr bangka-nka yira buban-ba.


<translate> You and I saw the jakalkulu tree stump there.


<translate> The old woman poked her foot.


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


<lexeme> Nganjin dungan, ngingkirr nyajin


<translate> Grandmother saw the baby's navel.


<translate> The girl asked father about food.


<glossary> julngkal ; type=noun ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> I rubbed the medicine on the sore


<translate> You see the marku species of oyster there.


<translate> You all saw the mali small bat there.


<glossary> jamba ; type=noun ; domain=land-geography <usage_example> Up there on the hillside


<translate> The young man asked mother about meat.


<translate> You and I see the dulmbi umbrella palm here.


<translate> You see the morning star here.


<translate> Put the baby on the blanket and cover it up well, for the night is very cold.

Ngawa kararr-ba yijarri-ka, ngulkurr nanda, wujurr ngiki-baja!


<translate> Many leaves are there on the tree.


<translate> You see the small red ant there.


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


<lexeme> Rattlesnake point - Fritz Creek


<translate> We saw the jurriyan satin bower bird here.


<translate> The hunter came from the north, but he watched the whole plain from the top of the hill.

Balbi-bama kungkarr-muny kadan, yamba bubu narmba nyajin jamba-mundu.


<translate> In the early morning the men went out onto the grassy flats to hunt the wallabies that fed there in the cool before the sun grew hot.

Wunkuwingku dingkar-dingkarangka bubu jikanba dungan darrba balbinka, jana wanja nukanya kiway wungar wumbulmanyjiku.


<translate> That flooded river is far more dangerous now than the deep sea out beyond the reef.

Wawubaja bana yalbay-nya jarra-kuli niji jalun dajali-nka, dulngku-muny.


<translate> You two saw the biyangkal yam there.


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


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


<translate> The old man said: a child belongs to many people — the mother feeds it, the uncle teaches it, the grandmother keeps its stories — so no child is ever without family.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: kangkal bama wubul-amu — ngamungku mayi dayal, kalnga-ngka binal-bungal, babingka kuku kujil — kangkal kari mula-kari.


<translate> They saw the fern tree here.


<translate> You and I saw the kurrubal freshwater cod there.


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


<translate> Mother saw grandfather's hand.


<translate> We see the dingki tree here.


<translate> Grandfather put the bark at camp.


<translate> You see the nyumbil coolibah tree there.


<translate> When the small birds all suddenly go silent and fly up into the thick cover at once, the old man taught, look up, for a hawk is hunting overhead, and the same silence that saves the small birds can warn a person too, for the country is full of signals if you learn to read the sudden quiet as sharply as you read the calls and the songs.

Buyi buban wubulku warri dandi-manda marra-warri wangkar juku junkurr-mundu nyubunku, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin, wangkar nyaji, jinabiju balbil jiri wangkar, dandi nyubun nyulu buyi buban wula-manil bama baja milbil, bubu jina-mabi wubulku kaki yundu binalman dandi warri ngaral warri yala yundu kuku wulngku-badi baja ngaralmu.


<translate> They saw the kalkuri tree there.


<translate> The little child would not sit still, but kept jumping up and running around the big warm fire.

Karrkay buban kari bundal janka, jalama-l-jalaman wandi, wanarri baya wumbul murru-murru.


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


<translate> You all see the lightning here.


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


<translate> I see the newly cleared scrub here.


<translate> The children learned that ngujan and wawu-mini could not live in the same heart at the same time, so filling your heart with gratitude leaves no room for envy to take root.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman ngujan wawu-mini murruji nyubun wawungu nyubun wungara bundanka, wawu wawu-minibu nandanmuny ngujan kari wanja janay bangkanka.


<translate> You two saw the jamal egg white there.


<translate> I doubted the story until I stood where it happened — the ground is a stubborn witness.

Ngayu kuku-jangkar warmbin, ngayu jananyjiku wanja nyulu murninmuny: bubu nyulu nyaji-bama dandi.


<translate> The whole camp was glad, and there was singing and dancing late into the warm night.

Jana wubulku bayanba wawu-mini, wulngku badin, wurin kunarangkal wumbulba wubulku.


<translate> I see the corkwood tree here.


<translate> My cousin came from the seaside people to get spears from us.

Ngayku bangunji jalun-ji-warra-muny kadan, kalka mani-nka.


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


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


<translate> He made the spear carefully.


<translate> The woman got mussels at the river.


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