Lesson 2 – Everyday Conversation

 

In this lesson we will be learning some basic conversation in Tanganekald ruminyeri (Tanganekald language). 

You will learn how to welcome someone, to ask how they are, their name, where they’re from and also ask where they are going.

 

 

Greetings

 

Here’s how you would welcome someone if they are a guest to your manda (home) or ruwi (country).

nguldi means ‘well’, arndu means ‘come’, ananyi means ‘my’, ruwi means ‘country’ and manda means ‘house, home, hut’.

 

There is no exact word for ‘hello’ in Tanganekald ruminyeri. Here’s how you would greet someone in a simple way.

ngankuri means ‘good’ and nanggi means ‘day’.

 

How are you? 

 

Here’s how you can ask how someone is.

ngenta means ‘you’ and nguldi means ‘well’.

 

Here’s how you might ask after someone’s family members. For more family words take a look at Lesson 8 – Family and People.

ngomanyi means ‘your’ and nguldi means ‘well’. Nangar means ‘mother’, matjurunu means ‘father’, ngatjanu means ‘mother’s father’, mayanawi means ‘father’s father’, pakanu means ‘mother’s mother’, mutha means ‘father’s mother’, tarti means ‘younger brother/younger sister’ and kilawi means ‘older brother’.

 

Here’s how you could respond to these questions.

yekau means ‘yes’, ngapa means ‘I’, nguldi means ‘well’, ya means ‘he/she’, tau means ‘no’ or ‘not’, wirin means ‘being sick’.

Instead of just shaking your head ‘no’, Tanganekald people would zig-zag their head side-to-side and forward and down to indicate ‘no’.

 

Where are you from?

 

You might like to ask where someone is from and what is their nation. There are many different language groups in the Coorong region which together form the Ngarrindjeri nation. This includes Yaraldi, Ramindjeri and Tanganekald.

Here’s how you would ask someone where they are from.

ngenta means ‘you’ and tandulnd means ‘what nation’.

 

To reply to this question, you might say the following.

ngapa means ‘I’ and the ending -kald means ‘nation’.

 

Here’s how you would ask where someone’s from.

ruwi means ‘country’. 

 

ngapa means I and the ending -nendi means ‘from’. Menengeng is the name of Meningie and literally means ‘muddy place’. Tanganalun is the name of Salt Creek.

 

What’s your name?

 

Now that you’ve worked out where someone is from you can ask their name.

yari means ‘what’, ngomanyi means ‘your’ and mitji means ‘name’. 

 

To answer, you can say

ananyi means ‘my’ and mitji means ‘name’.

 

However, it may be more polite to ask someone’s name indirectly. Here’s how you would ask someone else for a person’s name:

kinanyi means ‘his/hers’ and mitji means ‘name’.

 

Where are you going?

 

Let’s now learn how to ask where someone has been or where they are going.

ngenta means ‘you’, yandurli means ‘where from’ and puntun means ‘coming’.

 

Here are some ways you might respond to this question.

ngapa means ‘I’, manda means ‘house, home, camp’, the ending -nendi means ‘from’, puntun means ‘coming’, parpi means ‘mother’, the ending -aldi means ‘belonging to’ and kuri means ‘river’.

 

ngenta means ‘you’, yauwi means ‘where’ and the ending -al means ‘will’ so put together yauwal (yauwi-al) means ‘where will’, ngopal means ‘will go’.

yawand is a quicker water of asking ‘where are you going’.

 

Here are some ways you might respond to this question.

ngapa means ‘I’, manda means ‘house, home, camp’, the ending -ungai means ‘to’, ngopal means ‘will go’, mayanawi means ‘father’s father’, the ending -aldi means ‘belonging to’ and Kurangk means ‘Coorong’.

 

Saying goodbye

 

Urti! (Deadly!) Let’s learn how to say goodbye after our great conversation in Tanganekald ruminyeri.

nakun means ‘to see’.

loro means ‘up’ and the ending -al means ‘will’, so together lorowal means ‘will-up’. Ngenta means you, andili means ‘right here’ and lew is telling someone to ‘sit’. So literally this sentence means something like ‘I will get up and you sit here’.

kin means ‘let’s go’.