Warlpiri

[Struthiomimus]

...Warumungu and other Aussie Aboriginal Languages are welcome as well

So I’ve searched Unilang, and thus far there hasn’t been an Aussie lang thread.
I’m really interested in learning Warlpiri and am working on it at the moment, so I thought we could use this thread as a place to gather and share info about Warlpiri or other Aboriginal languages, as resources on the web are scarce. Also, this thread can help Warlpiri learners and others find each other, to take up correspondence and spread the use of the language! Yay!

[Struthiomimus]

One of the few resources on the web, but a great starting place for finding info nonetheless:

anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/aust/wlp/

(just add "www." at the beginning if copying & pasting doesn't work)

Enjoy

[unzum]

You could try the AIATSIS ASEDA catalogue for wordlists and texts in Warlpiri. E-mail the website people to get the documents.

If you're serious about learning Warlpiri I think they have an audio course you can buy ... ah, here it is!

Good luck with your studies!

[Struthiomimus]

Cheers for the info, unzum! Wow! The AIATSIS ASEDA catalogue looks promising!
And I already know about the Papak website; that’s the book I’m working with, although it leaves some questions unanswered. (Hopefully Nash’s dissertation will clear up a few of my questions...)

Oh, and feel free to put a link to your Djabugay grammar here, if you’d like. As stated, other Aussie langs are welcome

Youtube videos : The channel “jabanungga” has a video divided into three parts of a Warlpiri lesson! How cool!!!

[warlpiri]

I’m really interested in learning Warlpiri and am working on it at the moment, so I thought we could use this thread as a place to gather and share info about Warlpiri or other Aboriginal languages, as resources on the web are scarce. Also, this thread can help Warlpiri learners and others find each other, to take up correspondence and spread the use of the language! Yay!

Hello! I'm a Warlpiri enthusiast from USA. I've been trying to learn the language for about a year. Since there are very limited resources I haven't gotten very far... I'm glad I found this forum, and am very excited to see there are Warlpiri enthusiasts other than myself Feel free to email me if you would like to remain in contact. Ngaka nangku nyanyi!

[Struthiomimus]

Hello! I'm a Warlpiri enthusiast from USA. I've been trying to learn the language for about a year. Since there are very limited resources I haven't gotten very far... I'm glad I found this forum, and am very excited to see there are Warlpiri enthusiasts other than myself Feel free to email me if you would like to remain in contact. Ngaka nangku nyanyi!

Yuwa! Ngurrju mayinpa? Nyiya-jangkanpa yanurnu?

Anyway, glad you're here! Welcome to Unilang, and more specifically, to the Warlpiri thread I hope you can help me get a convo going here in Warlpiri and help breathe some life into this thread.

[warlpiri]

Yuwa! Ngurrju mayinpa? Nyiya-jangkanpa yanurnu?

Anyway, glad you're here! Welcome to Unilang, and more specifically, to the Warlpiri thread I hope you can help me get a convo going here in Warlpiri and help breathe some life into this thread.

I have no idea what that means! Karna wawirri nyanyi? Lol. You definitely know more than I do. I need help!! What sources did you use to study? We should make a private Warlpiri study group of some sort. Like an online class or something. I'm thinking a chat room would be the easiest (and free) way to go...

[Struthiomimus]

Ok.

Yuwa = Hey!/Hi!/Hello!

Ngurrju mayinpa ? = Are you OK? (How are you?) So you can answer "Yuwayi, ngurrjurna" = Yes, I'm fine or "Lawa, majurna" = No, I'm not well

Nyiya-jangkanpa yanurnu? = What brought you here?

Karna wawirri nyanyi?

Well, I'm guessing that since you don't live in Oz, you either have a very strange pet or live in a zoo

What sources did you use to study? We should make a private Warlpiri study group of some sort. Like an online class or something. I'm thinking a chat room would be the easiest (and free) way to go...

I've basically been using the materials listed in this thread. I wish A Learner's Guide to Warlpiri went into greater detail, but it's probably a good starting point and something you should consider investing in. Or Nash's dissertation is cheaper and goes into greater detail, but it's dense/academic language. As for a chat group, I dunno, maybe you could set something up via Skype?

@unzum: Do you know how long it takes to get a response from the AIATSIS ASEDA site? I sent them an email about a month back and haven't heard anything.

[unzum]

@unzum: Do you know how long it takes to get a response from the AIATSIS ASEDA site? I sent them an email about a month back and haven't heard anything.

Did you send them an e-mail with the code number and name of the materials? You also need to tell them what you want to use the material for, and if you're with a university/an individual student.
I'm not entirely sure how long it takes to get a reply, as I haven't tried it before, but I do know people who have contacted AIATSIS and gotten a reply.
Maybe give it a couple more weeks and if you haven't heard anything send them another e-mail.

[Struthiomimus]

Hey, unzum, thanks for the prompt response.

Did you send them an e-mail with the code number and name of the materials? You also need to tell them what you want to use the material for, and if you're with a university/an individual student.
I'm not entirely sure how long it takes to get a reply, as I haven't tried it before, but I do know people who have contacted AIATSIS and gotten a reply.
Maybe give it a couple more weeks and if you haven't heard anything send them another e-mail.

Aye, I did indeed. If I remember correctly, I listed about 3 items for Warlpiri from the site and explained that I was an independent learner and what materials I was using already...but I guess you’re right, and I even thought while writing that post, that I should have just sent them another email. So, I'll see what happens.

[Struthiomimus]

Yay! I finally got a response that they're processing my request.

A Numbers Lesson?

Traditionally, Warlpiri didn’t use words for very high numbers...so the traditional numbers are:

1 – jinta/yangarlu
2 – jirrama
3 – jirrama-jinta
4 – jirramakari–jirramakari

but now there exist more words:

1 – jinta
2- jirrama
3 – marnkurrpa/wirrkardu
4- mirdi/murntu
5 – rdaka(pala)
6 – jika(pala)
7 – wirlki(pala)
8 – milpa(pala)/mapurlu
9 – narntirnki(pala)/kartaku
10 – karlarla(pala)

[Struthiomimus]

Another resource...still not completely sure of the ins and outs of it, but for the curious anyway:

nlp.stanford.edu/kirrkirr/


Cheers

[Struthiomimus]

Yuwa!

Lesson 2:

Ngana ka wangkami? = Who's speaking?
Who+auxiliary+speak-verb

Kurdu ka wangkami. = A/The child is speaking.
Kulaka ngana wangkami. = Nobody is speaking.

Ngaju karna wangkami. = I'm speaking. (pronoun "ngaju" is optional here)
Ngaju kulakarna wangkami = I'm not speaking.

Nyuntu kanpa wangkami. = You're speaking.
Nyuntu kulakanpa wangkami. = You're not speaking.

[pittmirg]

so the traditional numbers are:

1 – jinta/yangarlu
2 – jirrama
3 – jirrama-jinta
4 – jirramakari–jirramakari

but now there exist more words:

1 – jinta
2- jirrama
3 – marnkurrpa/wirrkardu
4- mirdi/murntu
5 – rdaka(pala)
6 – jika(pala)
7 – wirlki(pala)
8 – milpa(pala)/mapurlu
9 – narntirnki(pala)/kartaku
10 – karlarla(pala)

So apparently they've replaced the old expressions for 3 and 4 with something else... I'd like to see the etymologies of all the newer numerals.

no, i jestem fanem pittmirga

Boże, głupek! ;p

[dnash]

I'd like to see the etymologies of all the newer numerals.

Well, first -pala is from Kriol etc fella from English fellow, which is used as a nominaliser in Kriol etc, here with to distinguish the number word from the sense of the stem.

3 – marnkurrpa/wirrkardu
both traditional words meaning 'several'

4- mirdi/murntu
mirdi 'knee' alludes to the shape (seen from above) of a person's legs when reclining with knees up and one leg crossed across the other
murntu 'ripe, cooked' also means 'cross-legged'

5 – rdaka(pala)
rdaka 'hand, fingers'

6 – jika(pala)
I think this is just a copy of English six.

7 – wirlki(pala)
wirlki 'hook boomerang, "number seven" boomerang type'

8 – milpa(pala)/mapurlu
milpa 'eye(s)'; I didn't know mapurlu can mean this -- it is from English marble (as in the children's game) and two marbles together resemble 8

9 – narntirnki(pala)/kartaku
narntirnki 'bent, curved'
kartaku 'cup, billycan' I suspect from the shape (viewed from above)

10 – karlarla(pala)
karlarla 'mid-morning, 10am'

[Struthiomimus]

!!!

If this is the real David Nash, then I…um..am speechless. Thanks so much for this contribution!!!

Well, first -pala is from Kriol etc fella from English fellow, which is used as a nominaliser in Kriol etc, here with to distinguish the number word from the sense of the stem.

Really? So then the dual construction, like for "Ngarrka-karra kapala ngarlarrimi," was also an introduction from English via Kriol and not originally Warlpiri?

Struthiomimus's signature wrote:no, i jestem fanem pittmirga



Boże, głupek! ;p

Mést jem , leno…
Czë të ni napisôł:

Ba, pan uczący mnie podstaw przedsiębiorczości (czy czegoś w tym stylu...) w liceum mawiał: "Raz się jest nawozem, raz się jest pod wozem"...

Osoba pode mną jest moim fanem.

Wic,

[warlpiri]

Is this the real David Nash???

If so, it's a true honor having you visit our humble forum! I don't know if you remember but I emailed you last year asking some questions and you had suggested me to get the Learner's Guide to Warlpiri. Thanks for your help, still wish Warlpiri enthusiasts like ourselves could have enough sources to help us really progress and maybe even have a chance to become fluent at this unique language. Unfortunately I live in the US and there isn't anyone that has answers to the many questions I have about the language, because no one has even heard of it.

For instance, how do you say things like "I want to...." or better yet, how do Warlpiri speakers communicate with each other in the modern world when they are referring to a TV, computer, or even a lamp? Are they able to say things like "I have to make a phone call to so-and-so" etc.?

I thought about this when I read that Kenneth Hale taught his sons Warlpiri and now they are very fluent at it. I thought, they must speak Warlpiri with each other all the time. But how can they carry on a basic conversation in today's world when there are no definitions for so many things like mentioned above? I am dying to know, so if you could please answer, I would be forever appreciative!!!

Thank you again for taking your time to visit our forum, I am completely star-struck!

[dnash]

Well, first -pala is from Kriol etc fella from English fellow, which is used as a nominaliser in Kriol etc, here with to distinguish the number word from the sense of the stem.

Really? So then the dual construction, like for "Ngarrka-karra kapala ngarlarrimi," was also an introduction from English via Kriol and not originally Warlpiri?

In "Ngarrka-jarra kapala ngarlarrimi" this is a different =pala, 3rd person dual agreement pronominal enclitic, cf. =npala 2nd person dual agreement pronominal enclitic. These are in a number of languages of the area, and are an old inheritance.

[Struthiomimus]

In "Ngarrka-jarra kapala ngarlarrimi" this is a different =pala, 3rd person dual agreement pronominal enclitic, cf. =npala 2nd person dual agreement pronominal enclitic. These are in a number of languages of the area, and are an old inheritance.

Thanks for clearing this up...can the pronominal enclitics also be used to say "X is Y"? I haven't seen it explicitly stated in my book, but there have been examples like "Ngurrju mayinpa?" and "Napaljarrirna" or "Ngajurna Napaljarri," so can I say "wirirna," "watinpa," or "matarli-karra/matarnalu/matarlipa"? Also there's an example, "Nyiya-jangka mayirna" and I don't understand the use of "-rna" here. Could you explain this?

I also haven't come across a word for "to think" in Warlpiri or the phrase "I think that...," so do propositional particles like "mayi," "marda," "nganta," "kula-nganta," etc. serve this function?

Yay! The Warlpiri thread has been doing great lately !

[pittmirg]

I'd like to see the etymologies of all the newer numerals.

Well, first -pala is from Kriol etc fella from English fellow, which is used as a nominaliser in Kriol etc, here with to distinguish the number word from the sense of the stem.

[snip]

Wow, frankly, I didn't believe anyone would reply to that, given the - after all - quite obscure topic, as far as most posters here are concerned. Indeed, the suffix -pala looks similar to -pela used in Tok Pisin.

Mést jem , leno…
Czë të ni napisôł:
(...)

Jo, jo, jo, chcemë le so zażëc.

For instance, how do you say things like "I want to...." or better yet, how do Warlpiri speakers communicate with each other in the modern world when they are referring to a TV, computer, or even a lamp? Are they able to say things like "I have to make a phone call to so-and-so" etc.?

Not really an answer to the question, however, as for recent developments in the Warlpiri-speaking area, I've heard of this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Warlpiri
http://www.linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/r ... rlpiri.pdf