Lesson 5 – Family
In this lesson we will be learning some Arabana words to talk about family. There are lots of words for family in Arabana, so in this lesson we will start by learning some of the basic terms. At the end of the lesson we can use these new words in sentences and practice talking about ourselves and our families.
Check out this video for more listening practice around family words.
Words for family
Generation below you>
Same generation as you
Generation above you
NOTE: Ngawilyi can also be said as ngawilya.
Two generations above you
Other kinship terms
Other words for people
Talking about yourself and your family
If you want to let people know that you are an Arabana person, you can say the following.
antha means I and nharla means person
This sentence can be said if you have a mardu (totem) and want to tell someone your mardu.
antha means I, warrukathi means emu and mardu means totem
You can practice using words for your family at home. Here is a sentence to use in order to get someone to come quickly.
kakuai is kaku sister said with an excited tone. Kalka means quickly, anari means this way, and yuka means come
This sentence can be said to introduce someone.
mita-mita means girlfriend, anthunha means my, pidla means name and the ending –nha is used at the end of Julia to show that it is a name
These two questions could be used when you are at a family gathering and want to know who people are and how they are related.
waṟa and waṟanha both mean who, awarda means there and ankunha means your.
Here is one way to answer the above question.
kadnhini means grandmother, anthunha means my and awarda means that there.
Here is how you would tell someone how many younger siblings you have
This sentence can be said by an adult to mean that they have a lot of children, grandchildren and other family members
antha means I, wardu means child, the ending -wathili means own/true to mean that the speaker is talking about their own children specifically, nhuka means many and the ending –purru means have
The following conversation might occur when you are talking with someone about a relative.
apityi means father, ankunha means your, parra-parra means tall. Anthunha means my, piṟi-piṟi means short. Aṟayi means yes, padni means no
Here is a sentence to describe a family member’s appearance.
wardu means child, anthunha means my. Wiṟi means hair, waka means black and the ending –arla means really/very, miltyaardi means eyes and ngadlyurru means green
