Lesson 13 – Asking Questions
In this lesson you will learn question words in Arabana. You can then listen to some example questions and answers using these new words. Practise by pairing up with a buddy and asking/answering the questions in this lesson.
In this lesson you will learn how to ask ‘who, what, where, why, when, which, how and how many’ type questions.
Question Words
Practice questions and possible answers:
who?
pidla means name and uka means she
uka means she, pidla means name and –nha is an ending to show that ‘Marie’ is someone’s name
unanha means you and ngunta– means tell
NOTE: As waṟa is a pronoun, it also has an ergative form ‘waṟaru’ and an accusative form ‘waṟanha’. See Lesson 6: Making sentences (pronouns) for more information about the ergative and the accusative.
whose?
mukardi means hat and nhiki means this
the ending –kunha shows that something belongs to Mervyn
what?
anpa means you and waya– means want
athu means I, tyalpa means food and waya– means want
anpa means you and yanhi– means speak, talk
NOTE: As minha is a pronoun it also has an ergative form ‘minharu’ and an accusative form ‘minha’. See Lesson 4: starting to make sentences (pronouns) for more information about the ergative and the accusative.
why? what for?
urkari means you all, ananha means me and warni-warni- means gossip about somebody
anpa means you and waya– means want
athu means I, tyalpa means food and waya– means want
where?
ankunha means your and madla means dog
madla means dog, anthunha means my, karla means creek and the ending –nga means in, kutha means water and ngapungka– means swim
antha means I and parndu means don’t know
antha means I and manu-purdu means no idea. Manu means mind, thought and purdu means nothing
NOTE: This is a little bit sarcastic, reinforcing your point after telling someone a few times already
which one?
NOTE: Intyaranha is used when asking someone to choose between two or more options for something.
how?
anpa means you, Kardlirdi means Adelaide, –(ru)ku is an ending that means to and yuka– means go
antha means I, paya means bird, -alka-wili is an ending that means like and ngarri– means fly
thanthi means grandfather, ananha means me and yuki– means bring
antha means I, thanthi means grandfather, the ending –nga in this context means with and yuka– means come
how many?
wardu-kupa means children and anpa means you
paya means bird and awarda mean there
Simple ‘yes/no’ questions
In Arabana you can ask simple aṟayi ‘yes’ or padni ‘no’ questions by raising your voice in a questioning way at the end of a sentence.
For example, if you want to simply state that someone will be going soon, you can say:
uka means he, anti means soon and yuka– means come
To turn the statement into a question, simply raise your voice in a questioning way at the end of the sentence: