Lesson 16 – Conversation practice
In this lesson, find a partner and practise some short conversations in Arabana! Learn how to make a cuppa tea, ask where someone is going, and if they are hungry.
Would you like a cuppa?
In this conversation, practise asking someone if they would like a tea or coffee and how they would like it. Speaker 1 is in bold and asks the questions to Speaker 2.
Thiti means ‘tea’, the ending -ku marks the object that are talking about in the sentence, wayarnda means ‘to want’, yuka means ‘sugar’, ngama means ‘milk’, -ku-li means ‘only’, arayi means ‘yes’ and ma means ‘ok’.
Remember you can change some words in this conversation to suit how you prefer your cup of tea or coffee. Or try making a really strange request like asking for 10 sugars and see if the other person understands you!
Go back to the numbers lesson to learn how to ask for more sugars. Remember you can say padni ‘no’ if you don’t want any of those things offered to you.
Where are you going?
In this conversation, practise asking where someone is heading off to. Learn how to ask them for a ride too.
intyara means ‘where’, yukarnda means ‘going’, -ruku means ‘to’, unkulu means ‘when’, anpa means ‘you’, anti-ki means ‘soon’, antha means ‘I’, unanha-kirnda means ‘with you’, nhurdu means ‘also’, mai means ‘ok, sure’ and yukapa means ‘let’s go!’.
Remember you can change some words in the conversation once you’re feeling confident. Try saying that you’re going to somewhere else other than Marree. Try changing the time of your departure. Review the direction/location and time lessons if you’re feeling unsure.
Why are you going there?
Let’s expand on our previous conversation and ask for some more detail about why this person is travelling to Marree.
minha is short for minhaku which means ‘why’, anpa means ‘you’, -ku is short for -ruku which means ‘to’, yukarnda means’ ‘going’, athu means ‘I’, -inha is added to the end of a person’s name to show it is a name, nhanhilhuku means ‘in order to see’, -nga means ‘in’, anpa means ‘you’, thangkanha means ‘will stay’, nhuthi means ‘brother’ and -nga in this sentence means ‘with’, mai means ‘ok, sure’, unanha means ‘you’, wangarra means ‘later’, and nhanhinhanga means ‘will see’.
Once you’re feeling confident, try saying that you are visiting someone else or staying with another person. You might like to review the family lesson.
Are you hungry?
In this conversation learn how to ask if someone is hungry and what they would like to eat.
anpa means ‘you’, wadlhampu means ‘hungry’, antha means ‘I’, -arla means ‘really’, minha-ku means ‘what-for’, wayarnda means ‘to want’, puntyu means ‘meat’, ngura means ‘home’, ananha means ‘my’ and the ending here is short for -ruku ‘to’, yukara means ‘come’, unanha means ‘you’, tyalpa means ‘food’, wad(nh)ilhuku means ‘in order to cook’ and arayi means ‘yes, ok’.
Ukarai! Deadly! Try saying that you would like to eat something else. You can review the plants and animals lessons for some ideas.