Lesson 1 – Sounds and Spelling

The Tanganekald alphabet has 28 letters and is quite different to the English alphabet, so you’ll need to learn the sound that each letter stands for in order to accurately pronounce the language. This spelling system is drawn from the 2019 Ngarrindjeri dictionary (Mary-Anne Gale & Phyllis Williams; 2nd Edition) as this is a familiar resource to many in the community.

Here is the Tanganekald alphabet:

a b d dh dj e g i k l ly m n ng ny o p r rr rl rn rt t th tj u w y

Vowels

Tanganekald has five vowels (a, e, i, o, u). Here are the vowels:

a

sounds like the ‘a’ in English father.

karanta
star

e

sounds like the ‘e’ in English pet.

kalkeri
liver

i

sounds like the ‘i’ in English bit. It can also sound like the ‘ee’ in beep when it is at the end of a word.

pilbali
soft rushes

o

sounds like the ‘o’ in English pot.

morin
to flow (water)

u

sounds like the ‘u’ in English put.

However, if this letter comes before the letters ‘rl, rn, rt, r’ then it sounds like the ‘ur’ sound in English ‘turn’.

tukabi
tortoise
rayimurumi
belly

 

Combined Vowels

Two vowel sounds can be combined to make a new sound. 

These combinations are: 

ai   sounds like ‘pie

au  sounds like ‘now

ei  sounds like ‘hey

oi  sounds like ‘boil’

kainggel
rainbow
yekau
yes
kareingk
reed
ngalakoi
cockle

 

Consonants

b

sounds like the ‘b’ in English ‘bit’.

tukabi
tortoise

d

sounds like the ‘d’ in English ‘dog’.

manda
house, home, camp

g

sounds like the ‘g’ in English ‘gum’.

gara
south

k

sounds like the ‘k’ in English ‘kite’, but without a puff of air when you say it.

keila
dusky moorhen

l

sounds like the ‘l’ in English ‘love’.

kelendi
grey currawong

m

sounds like the ‘m’ in English ‘mob’.

kurumi
marine snail

n

sounds like the ‘n’ in English ‘nail’.

manakar
beard

p

sounds like the ‘p’ in English ‘open’, but without a puff of air when you say it.

puruwi
forehead

r

sounds like the ‘r’ in English ‘parachute’.

tatiari
mallee desert

t

sounds like the ‘t’ in English ‘touch’, but without the puff of air when you say it.

peleti
egg

y

this sounds like ‘y’ in English ‘yellow’.

yari
what?

w

this sounds like ‘w’ in English ‘wing’.

Ngawiri
Southern Cross

 

Combined Consonants

Two consonants can be combined to make a new sound. 

dh

sounds like the ‘d’ in English ‘dog’, but with the tongue pushed into the back of the front teeth as you say it.

pardhung
granite rock

dj

sounds like the ‘dg’ in English ‘judge’.

peindjali
emu

ly

sounds like the ‘ll’ in English ‘million’.

pulyokuri
waterhen

ng

sounds like the ‘ng’ in English ‘sing‘.

mangun
everybody, everyone

ny

sounds like the ‘ni’ in English ‘onion’.

nyindimi
species of eel

rr

this is a rolled ‘r’. This sound does not exist in English. This sound is made by vibrating the tip of your tongue behind the front teeth. Try saying ‘ladder’ really quickly. The sound that the ‘dd’ makes is similar to the rolled ‘r’ in Tanganekald.

purranggi
small, short

rl

sounds like the ‘rl’ in English ‘curl‘, but with the tongue curled further back in the mouth as you say it.

warla
hut made of branches and leaves

rn

sounds like the ‘rn’ in English ‘barn‘, but with the tongue curled further back in the mouth as you say it.

turna
hand

rt

sounds like the ‘rt’ in English ‘heart‘, but with the tongue curled further back in the mouth as you say it.

tarti
younger brother, younger sister

th

sounds like the ‘t’ in English ‘touch’, but with the tongue pushed into the back of the front teeth as you say it.

parthi
hunting place, trap

tj

these two letters sound like the ‘tch’ in English match.

pelintjeri
boot

 

Other tips on pronunciation

Most Tanganekald words carry the stress or emphasis on the first syllable of the word. The ‘stressed’ part of the word is in bold in these examples:

ngaitji
totem
pondi
Murray Cod
tarupi
thigh
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