Lesson 2: Practical Words and Sentences
Below are some words and sentences to help get you started speaking Lower Arrernte. Each section starts with a list of basic words for you to learn. Try saying them aloud. Below these, are examples of the words in sentences. Try comparing how the words look in the list to how they look in the sentences. Do some of them change? See if you can pick out as many words as possible in the sentences. All languages have words that change from the basic forms listed in a dictionary, and Lower Arrernte is the same. For now, try to say as much Lower Arrernte aloud as you can.
Greetings
There aren’t very many traditional greetings recorded for Lower Arrernte, but you might like to ask one of the following questions:
Lower Arrernte
English
Ilek athekirremay?
What are you hurrying for?
Coming and Going
Example Sentences
Unteke merekarle yenge petyeke
I came to your country
Yenge shop-ekarle petyalpeke
I come back from (going to) the shop
Yenge petyeke ngketye inenyele
I came to get some language
petyeke means came and inenyele means get
Talking and Singing
arntileme
telling
arlkeme
call out, sing out
irleme
singing
ngketye
language, word, story, message
Example Sentences
Ilekeke anthirrpeme?
what are you laughing for?
Food, Eating and Drinking
urlkeme
eating
untyeme
drinking
unernke
hunger
angkethe
thirst
Example Sentences
Yenge unernke
I am hungry
Yenge ankethele utnheme
I am thirsty
Athe merne urlkeme
I am eating food
Kere inenyele lhay!
go and get meat !
Yengenhe merne alenhe nthay, yenge urlkenyele!
give me that food so I can eat it!
Yenge alpeme kwatye untyenyele
I am going home to drink water