Is Kangaroo an Aboriginal word? What does brolga mean? Many of the words Australians use every day have their origins in some of the hundreds of Aboriginal languages once spoken across the land. this book is a fascinating reference for anyone interested in knowing more about the original inhabitants of this vast continent.
Macquarie Aboriginal Words is a dictionary of words from a selection of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. This ebook covers the languages of Diyari & Kaurna from South Australia. For each language, the following information is provided: · a brief history of the language · points on the grammar, spelling and pronunciation · an extensive wordlist organised by categories, such as animals, body parts, kin relationships, placenames, etc. · a dual index, i.e. English to Language and Language to English This ebook series is based on Macquarie Aboriginal Words originally published in print in 1994. The sheer diversity of indigenous languages in Australia must be close to the greatest and richest component of this country's national cultural heritage ... This book is much needed, as it gives a sense of the richness of a heritage which is disappearing in many areas of the country. NOEL PEARSON
Australian Aboriginal Words in English records the Aboriginal contribution to Australian English and provides the fullest available information about their Aboriginal background and their Australian English history.
Aboriginal approaches to the naming of places across Australia differ radically from the official introduced Anglo-Australian system. However, many of these earlier names have been incorporated into contemporary nomenclature, with considerable reinterpretations of their function and form. Recently, state jurisdictions have encouraged the adoption of a greater number of Indigenous names, sometimes alongside the accepted Anglo-Australian terms, around Sydney Harbour, for example. In some cases, the use of an introduced name, such as Gove, has been contested by local Indigenous people. The 19 studies brought together in this book present an overview of current issues involving Indigenous placenames across the whole of Australia, drawing on the disciplines of geography, linguistics, history, and anthropology. They include meticulous studies of historical records, and perspectives stemming from contemporary Indigenous communities. The book includes a wealth of documentary information on some 400 specific placenames, including those of Sydney Harbour, the Blue Mountains, Canberra, western Victoria, the Lake Eyre district, the Victoria River District, and southwestern Cape York Peninsula.
This 1988 book was the first full-length study ever to be published on the subject of sign language as a means of communication among Australian Aborigines. Based on fieldwork conducted over a span of nine years, the volume presents a thorough analysis of the structure of sign languages and their relationship to spoken languages.
This is a concise edition of the Australian National Dictionary (OUP 1989) which was hailed as a major asset for readers studying Australian literature that made all earlier dictionaries of Australian English obsolete. The volume contains nearly as many headwords as the original edition, yet provides fewer collations, and indicates the first recorded, and most recent, use of a word. It retains the parent volume's comprehensive coverage of uniquely Australian words and phrases; words for indigenous flora, fauna, and pastimes; and Aboriginal terms.
A people's language is their treasure, and the words of a language represent a shared knowledge developed over centuries. This dictionary is a Dhurga treasure. In it you'll find words showing the natural history knowledge and culture of the Dhurga speaking people; words for family members, which reveal complex ways of relating to people; words that are hauntingly familiar that take you on a journey and fill you with warm memories. For many years Dhurga was a sleeping language. People spoke a few words, but not sentences. The Dhurga Dictionary and Learner's Grammar is a source of great pride, a crucial step forward in revitalising the Dhurga language so that it will be more widely spoken in our Aboriginal communities. This dictionary is the most concise, authentic and valid representation of the Dhurga language ever published.
A collection of traditional Aboriginal tales, myths and legends. Learn how Yhi the sun goddess introduced life to the world, why the emu cannot fly and how the kangaroo got its tail. This new edition includes a glossary, giving the English translation for many Aboriginal words used in the text.
A paradigm-shifting book in the vein of Sapiens that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability—and offers a new template for living. As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from a unique perspective, one tied to the natural and spiritual world. In considering how contemporary life diverges from the pattern of creation, he raises important questions. How does this affect us? How can we do things differently? In this thoughtful, culturally rich, mind-expanding book, he provides answers. Yunkaporta’s writing process begins with images. Honoring indigenous traditions, he makes carvings of what he wants to say, channeling his thoughts through symbols and diagrams rather than words. He yarns with people, looking for ways to connect images and stories with place and relationship to create a coherent world view, and he uses sand talk, the Aboriginal custom of drawing images on the ground to convey knowledge. In Sand Talk, he provides a new model for our everyday lives. Rich in ideas and inspiration, it explains how lines and symbols and shapes can help us make sense of the world. It’s about how we learn and how we remember. It’s about talking to everyone and listening carefully. It’s about finding different ways to look at things. Most of all it’s about a very special way of thinking, of learning to see from a native perspective, one that is spiritually and physically tied to the earth around us, and how it can save our world. Sand Talk include 22 black-and-white illustrations that add depth to the text.
