The term affix is used for the set of terms which include prefix (attaches to the start of a word or morpheme) and suffix (attaches to the start of a word or morpheme), but also infix (attaches inside a word or morpheme) and circumfix (attaches around a word or morpheme)

Possessive forms indicate possession or ownership.

These are sometimes also called genitive.

In English we use words like myself or themselves to indicate reflexivity.

Sometimes a whole word can be a morpheme, sometimes a word can contain multiple morphemes

‘First person’ refers to the person speaking

‘Second person’ refers to the person being spoken to

Their is the possessive pronoun for 3pl.

The 3pl object pronoun in English is them.

The 1pl-POSS pronoun in English is our.

Us is the 1pl object pronoun in English.

The 3pl object pronoun in English is them.

We is first person plural (1pl) and them is third person plural (3pl)

In English, the first person singular (1sg) is I, and second person plural (2pl) is you.
But remember that English doesn’t distinguish between 2sg and 2pl.

In this case you is 2sg (since it is specified that the referent is singular), while me is always 1sg.

In English, 3pl is they when it’s the subject of the sentence, and 1pl is us when it’s the object of the sentence.

A ‘free translation‘ recomposes the original sentence in a natural way, even if this sometimes this leaves out some grammatical details.

This is a helpful way to demonstrate when certain constructions are grammatically incorrect, e.g. *boy dog walk

There is a great deal of variation in grammar between Indigenous Australian languages, even when they are geographically close.

Stone Country in Kunwinjku is “Kuwarddewardde” or “Kunwardde”

Bininj is the word for people and kunwok is the word for language

Balanda is a word used for non-Indigenous (or European) people. The word is commonly used in the Top End, and is based on the word for ‘Hollander’ which is what Macassan traders called the Dutch colonialists in Indonesia.

We’ll use these terms throughout the course, so it’s good to be familiar with them

For Bininj, skin group is always determined through the mother’s line

For Bininj, clan lines pass through the father’s line

Patrimoiety, matrimoiety and skin group are all taken into consideration in the selection of an appropriate marriage partner.

A person must always marry someone from the opposite moiety to themselves.

A person must always marry someone from the opposite moiety to themselves.

It is possible to know someone’s skin group from certain of their relatives.

Skin systems vary a great deal across Australia, and not all Indigenous groups use them

The two systems are quite distinct – skin comes from the mother’s side and clan from the father’s side

Kunwinjku has more pronouns than English – with dual and trial, as well as inclusive and exclusive forms

Kunwinjku pronouns differ from English, in that they only specify masculine or feminine gender in independent forms, but not as pronominal prefixes

Later we’ll see how nouns distinguish masculine and feminine (and other classes)

Plural in English refers to more than one, but in Kunwinjku plural refers to more than three!

Dual refers to two, and trial refers to three

Pronominal prefixes attach to the beginning of verbs in Kunwinjku (that’s why they’re called prefixes!)

If the subject is a pronoun, such as I see a buffalo, you use a pronominal prefix on the verb.

Pronominal prefixes are always marked on nouns in Kunwinjku

Kunwinjku has a more flexible word order than English, with different grammatical ways of showing the relationship between words

Kunwinjku often follows the same pattern, but not always. Using the pronominal prefix means you can always identify the subject, even if the sentence is not in the order subject-verb-object

The subject of the sentence Duruk kanan nganabbaru is duruk.

The object of the sentence is nganabbaru

A subject may have more than one component – in this case the subject involves multiple people and an animal

The object refers to what is being impacted by the verb – in this case, the billabong is not impacted, it’s just the location of the action, so it’s not the object

Pronominal prefixes attach to verbs to indicate the subject of the verb.

Sometimes independent pronouns are used to focus on the subject.

Since this animal is not native to Australia, the Kunwinjku word is borrowed from English (but notice the difference in pronunciation)

Djenj is a generic word for fish, there are lots of other words for different species

This word is used to describe a camp dog or a wild dog, but not a dingo.

This is a generic name for all macropods. There is a rich vocabulary for different types, and for males and females, and for the different ways they move.

This is a generic word for all snakes, and there are many words for different species.

Since this is an introduced species, the Kunwinjku word is based on an English word.

Another introduced species, but this time the word is borrowed from Makassarese, who were traders across the top end of Australia in the years prior to colonisation.

This is the word for a saltwater crocodile, commonly found in waterways in West Arnhem Land

Manimunak are commonly seen during the wet season right across the top end. Apparently they’re delicious!

This is a generic term for birds of any species, also used as a collective term

There are different species of this kind of fish, but this is commonly used to describe any kind of barramundi (sometimes spelt namarnkorl)

A spectacular bird, also used in promotion for NT tourism

Also an introduced species, but has been incorporated into mythology as one of the manifestations of the rainbow serpent.

Known for its distinctive screeching sound, in English this is called either white or sulphur-crested cockatoo

There is considerable variation in the understanding and expression of totems in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups around Australia.

Many totems are living beings, but stone and water can also be totems

Stewardship of totems is one aspect of Caring for Country, which incorporates looking after the environment

Siblings share the same skin name, only the prefix changes according to male and female

All female skin names start with Ngal- and all male names start with Na-

Right way marriage is important, and is determined by the skin system

Follow up the skin chart to find the mother, and remember to use the right prefix

To identify options for a father, go up the skin chart to find your mother (in this case Ngalbulanj), then work out her two marriage options

Remember, female names always start with Ngal-

A woman’s children will be the same skin as her sister’s children – they are considered like her own children

Each skin group fits into one patrimoiety and one matrimoiety. Each person fits the same patri- and matri-moiety as their mother’s mother.

Kunwinjku only distinguishes between PAST and NON-PAST in the form of the verb.
Any distinction between present and future will be shown by context, or in another way, such as using a time word (eg ‘tomorrow’)

Only in the 3rd person past tense form is the pronominal prefix not required

In the past tense, with a 3rd person subject, there is no pronominal prefix on the verb

In the past tense, with a 3rd person subject, there is no pronominal prefix on the verb

In this case, we definitely have a plural subject, so it’s a matter of matching the tense (nan is non-past, and nang is past) with the prefix. Because it’s past, with a 3rd person subject, the ka- is not required, but the birri- is.

That little h sound is important! It shows that something is happening now

It’s important to be able to listen to some minor distinctions between words, as many of them seem very similar

Often Aboriginal people will use kin terms to address relatives, even in English

A person’s biological mother and all her sisters can be called ‘mother’ and sometimes other women in the community

It is common for grandparents to be the main care-givers in Aboriginal families

This can be challenging for non-Indigenous westerners who may have a different attitude to individual possessions.

While it’s important not to generalise about a ‘typical’ family, Bininj society is a complex blend of several generations of kin relations who may or may not live in the same house, from different moieties and with different skin names.

There are many different ways to refer to people in Kunwinjku, with much variation between speakers

Ngalbadjan is the term of reference for a person’s mother. The term of address for a mother is karrang or karrard

While there is variation between speakers, in general people use different terms for older or younger siblings

While nakornkumo does mean father, it’s a term of reference about the concept of father, not a term of address.

The term ngabbard is also a term of reference about a specific person, rather than a concept.

A woman can call either a son or daughter by this name

A man uses this term for a younger brother, and a woman uses this for any of her brothers and her younger sisters

Males call their children korlonj, while females call their children djedje

While ngalbadjan does mean mother, it’s a term of reference about the concept of mother, not a term of address.

The term karrard is also a term of reference about a specific person, rather than a concept.

A man can call either his son or daughter by this name

A man can call any of his sisters yabok, but a woman might use this term only for an older sister – though there is much variation among speakers

Birri- is a 3rd person plural prefix, so refers to ‘them’ and danginj is a morpheme meaning sibling (of either gender)

Ngane-danginj refers to my sibling

Talking about herself and the two other people in this picture, she would use a first person trial pronominal prefix.

This requires the third person dual (3du) pronominal prefix meaning “they two”

There are more than 3 people, so you would use the 3pl form. But the verb is in the past tense, so the third person form does not include ka-.

She’s telling them something that doesn’t include them, so she uses the first person dual exclusive pronoun

Those two were talking about something that didn’t include the two daluk they were talking to, so they use the first person dual exclusive form.

Since they are describing something that includes all four of them, they use the first person plural inclusive pronoun.

Ngudda is the independent pronoun for 2sg, so the verb needs the matching pronominal prefix yi.

Ngaleng is the 3rd person singular feminine (3sgFEM) independent pronoun. So the 3sg pronominal prefix is required (ka-) on the verb re.

Bedda is the 3rd person plural independent pronoun, so it requires the corresponding pronominal prefix kabirri-

Note that some forms have two different possible answers (possessive or independent) but the quiz couldn’t handle this level of ambiguity 🙂

In conversation, if you forget the dual form, you can always use the plural instead – people will understand.

You will probably need to refer to your chart until these become more familiar to you

Note that the independent pronouns often take the same form as the possessive pronouns (with some exceptions)

The word literally means ‘we look after each other’ but the concept is much wider than that.

You might like to pray or ask the council, but it’s not required. You MUST however ask the TOs

This is an important concept that characterises many Indigenous communities.

Kunbalak is the special register of Kunwinjku used for people within these avoidance relationships.

Your father’s father also calls you mawah

You also call your mother’s mother kakkak, whether you’re male or female

Normally, your mawa (father’s father) would be married to your makka (father’s mother)

The nakornkumo (father) of my ngalbadjan (mother) also calls me mamamh

You normally call your mawa by the same term (whether you’re male or female)

If you get your moiety from your mother, then she gets it from her mother, which is your kakkak.

It can be helpful to know what other people call your relatives, as the same person can be called many different things

Boys learn from their grandfathers on both sides of the family

(You had to get both right to get the correct answer)

Girls learn from their grandmothers on both sides of the family

(You had to get both right to get the correct answer)

These terms apply to your grandparents and their siblings so your mamamh could be your mother’s father and any of his sisters or brothers

Well done!

This particular centipede is a dreaming for some clans.

Kunak can also refer to firewood, or fire in a hearth

Kunkanj refers to the meat of any animal

This is sometimes written nawarlah.

The ngal- prefix always refers to a female, so this question Ngalngale ngalkka? means Who is she? or Who is that (female) person?<