RIRRATJIŊU MATHA
Introductory Workshops on the Rirratjiŋu Clan Dialect of Northeast Arnhemland
Raymattja Marika-Munuŋgiritj

RIRRATJIŊU PHONEMES
Vowels: short - 	a	u 	i 
		long - 		ä	o 	e 
Consonants:
Tongue Position	Nasal	Stops	
						voiced	voiceless
bi-labial		m		b 		p 
Interdental		nh 		dh 		th 
Alveo-palatal	ny 		dj  	tj 
Alveolar		n 		d 		t 			l 
Retroflexed		ṉ 		ḏ  		ṯ 			r ḻ 
Velar			ŋ 		g 		k 			
OTHER SOUNDS:		rr (flapped)	y 	w 	' (Glottal stop)

WORKSHOP 1 
RIRRATJIŊU SENTENCES WITHOUT VERBS
Word List:
father, mäḻu/bäpa
mother, ŋäṉḏi
brother, wäwa
sister, yapa
boy/man, ḏirramu
baby/child, yothu
girl/woman, miyalk
food, ŋatha
water, gapu/ŋarkula
name, yäku
I, ŋaya
he/she/it, nhan
you (sing), nhunu
where?, ŋala
who?, yol
there/that, ŋunha
here/this, dhaŋu
you (plural), nyeli
what?, nhä
how (what condition)?, nhämi
good/well, manymak/ŋuwakurru
bad/naughty, maḻiku
small, nyumukuṉiny/yutjuwaḻa
big, yindi
no/not, yaka
yes, yow

1.  Nhämi nhunum?  Ŋuwakurru.  Yaka ŋuwakurru.
How are you?  Good/well.  Not well.

2.  Nhämi nhanma?  Manymak.  Yaka manymak.
How is she?  Good/well.  Not well.

3.  Nhämi nyeli?  Ŋuwakurru.
How are you all?  Fine.

4.  Yothum nhämi?  Maḻiku.
How is the child?  Naughty.

Note:
1.  The suffix -m (after a vowel) and -ma (after a consonant) makes no difference to the meaning of the words, and may be omitted, but it is usual for it to be added to the last word of a question, and in other places.
2.  In Rirratjiŋu, the word order is not fixed.  The meaning is the same, even if the words are in a different order.
eg.  	Miyalk ŋala?  Where's the woman?
		Ŋatha dhaŋu.  The food is here/This is food.

5.  Ŋala miyalkma?  Dhaŋu.  Ŋunha.
Where's the woman?  Here.  There.

6.  Ŋala mäḻum?  Dhaŋu nhan.
Where's father?  Here he is.

7.  Ŋala nhunum?  Dhaŋu ŋaya.
Where are you?  Here I am.

8.  Dhaŋu miyalk.
This is a woman/ Here is the woman/ The woman is here.

9.  Dhaŋu ŋatha.
This is a food/ Here is the food/ The food is here.

10.  Dhaŋu ŋäṉḏi.
This is mother/ Here is mother/ Mother is here.

11.  Ŋunha mäḻum.
That is father/ There is father/ Father is there.

12.  Ŋunha nhanma.
That is him/her/ There he/she is/ He/she is there.

13.  Ŋunha wäwam.
That is brother/ There is brother/ Brother is there.

14.  Yol dhaŋu?  Yol ŋunha?
Who is this?  Who is that?

15.  Nhä dhaŋum?  Nhä ŋunham?
What is this?  What is that?

16.  Yol dhaŋum miyalk yäku?
Who this woman name?  What's this woman's name?

17.  Yol nhunu yäku?  Ŋayam yäku Tom.
Who you name?  What's your name?  I  name Tom.  My name's Tom.

18.  Yol nhan yäku?  Nhan yäku Mary.
What's her name?  Her name is Mary.


19.  Yol dhaŋum yäku?
What's this (person's) name?

20.  Nhä dhaŋu ŋatham yäku?
What's this food name?  What's the name of this food?

21.  Nhä dhaŋum yäku?
What's this (thin's) name?  What's the name of this thing?

Note:
Always use ‘yol' when referring to a person, and nhä when referring to a thing.

22.  Dhaŋum yothu yindi.  Ŋunham yothu yindi.
This child is big.  This/here is a big child.  That child is big.  That/there is a big child.

23.  Dhaŋum yutjuwaḻa yothu.  Ŋunham yothu nyumukuṉiny.
This is a little child.  This child is small.  That/there is a little child.  That baby is small.

24.  Ŋala manymakma yothu?
Where is the good child?

25.  Yol dhaŋu maḻikum yothu?
Who is this naughty child?

26.  Ŋala nhuŋu?  Dhaŋu ŋaya.
Where are you?  Here I am.

RIRRATJIŊUWU ŊAYI 

WORKSHOP 2  
SOME PRONOUNS AND VERBS
Personal Pronouns
These are the basic forms of the Rirratjiŋu personal pronouns.  There are many other forms derived from these.
You will notice that, whereas in English we have only singular and plural Rirratjiŋu has singular (one person), dual (two people), and plural (3 or more).
Rirratjiŋu also has inclusive and exclusive in the Dual and Plural First Person.  In the inclusive pronoun, the person addressed is included.  In the exclusive pronoun, the person addressed is excluded.
Person	SINGULAR 	DUAL 			PLURAL 
1st - 	ŋaya  I    	ŋali  we    	ŋalma, we   INCLUSIVE
					ŋalinyu, we 	ŋanapu  we  EXCLUSIVE
2nd - 	nhunu  you  nhuma  you (2)  nyeli  you  (pl)
3rd - 	nhan  s/he  dhupal  they(2)	dhanal they (pl)

Word list:
go/walk, ŋarruŋa
stand, dhäya
cry, ŋätji
later, yalala
when?  nhätha?
now, djinaŋ-wala
sit, nyena
sleep/lie down, ŋoya
eat, ṉoka
today, gäthura
tomorrow, goḏarr'
morning, goḏarr'mi

Tense:
will/shall, ŋarru
present tense, yaka
,past tense, -n

Note:
In Rirratjiŋu there are several groups of verbs.  The verbs used in this workshop belong to groups which add the suffix -n to show past tense.  There are other groups of verbs which act in different ways in Rirratjiŋu, which we will not cover.
In Rirratjiŋu there are a number of different past tenses.  This past tense form of the verb is only used when the action was done today, or in the indefinite past.  If the verb was done yesterday, or in the recent past, there is a different ending on the verb.

1.  Yol ŋarru ŋarrunŋa?  Miyalk ŋarru ŋarruna.
	Who will go?  The woman will go.

2.  Yol ŋarruŋan?  Miyalk ŋarruŋan.
	Who went?  The woman went.

3.  Nhan ŋarruŋan?  Yaka nhan ŋarruŋan.
	Did he go?  He did not go.

4.  Nhan ŋarru yaka ŋarruŋa.  Nhan ŋarruŋan.
	He will not go.  She went.

5.  Yol ŋarru.  nyena?  Dhanal ŋarru nyena.
	Who will stay?  Who will sit?  They will stay.  They will sit.

6.  Yol nyenan?  Dhanal nyenan.
	Who sat?  Who stayed?  They sat.  They stayed.

7.  Dhaŋu yothu ŋätjin.  Dhaŋum yaka ŋätjin.
	This child cried.  This one did not cry.

8.  Ŋali ŋaya ŋarru djinaŋ-wala.
	We will sleep now (ie.  You and I, one person to another)

9.  Nhätha mäḻu ŋarru ŋarruŋa?  Yalala.
	When will father go?  Later.

10.  Mäḻum ŋarru ŋarruŋan yalalam.
	Father will go later.

11.  Nhätha yothum ŋarru ŋoya?  Djinaŋ-wala.
	When will the baby sleep?  Now.

12.  Djinaŋ-wala yothu ŋarru ŋoya.
	The baby will sleep now.

13.  Nhätha ŋarru dhupal ŋarruŋam?  Goḏarr'.
	When will those two go?  Tomorrow/in the morning.

14.  Nhätha nhan ŋarruŋan?  Gäthura.  Gäthura goḏarr'mi.
	When did he go?  Today.  This morning.

15.  Nhätha nhan ŋarru ŋarruŋam?  Yaka nhan ŋarru ŋarruŋa.
	When will he go?  He will not go.

	
16.  Nhuŋu ŋarru yaka ŋarkula ṉoka.
	You must not drink water.  You will not drink water.

17.  Yaka nhan yaka ŋatha ṉoka.
	He is not eating food.

18.  Nhäwu nhan ŋayiḻi ŋarruŋan?  Ŋathawu.
	Why did he go home?  For food.

This drawing was done by the late Wandjuk Marika O.B.E., in 1986,
“Gapu ḻarryuman nhän djambatj nhanguway Mararru ŋurula'yu.  
Ŋurrum nhän djambatj ḻupthun nhangu ŋarirri Bunbitjala.
Dhumbuḻ Merri gulyundayŋum Warraṉa gulyuwan Mandulmandul.
Wekarram Merri ŋarruŋanan, barkam nhän Yanayalma ga Bulunuwuŋ buṉakim ŋarruŋ.
Buṉakim ŋarruŋ Bulunuwuŋ Ḻanbubuwuŋ Gurrtharawuŋ.”

“Wet with the swell of the ocean is my beak
As I dip down to catch my prey
My Sacred Merri string is short,
Resting here between Warraṉa and Mandulmandul.
The long Merri has gone.
My wings are called Yanayalma, and the East wind blows into them (Carrying me high over the sea and over the mainlands of Rorrtji Gunbulul)
Carrying me with the last of the Easterly sea breeze.  Bulunu Ḻanbubu, Gurrthara.”
Translation:  Raymattja

WORKSHOP 3:  SUFFIXES
Word List:
beach, raŋi
boat, mitjiya
camp/place, ŋayi
fish, guya
whose?  yolku?
fire/firewood, gurtha
bush, ḏiltji
house, bala'
what for?  nhäwu?

Suffixes:
in/at/on, -ŋa
to, -ḻi
for/belonging to, -gu/-ku/-wu
with/to (person), -guḻ/-kuḻ/-wuḻ

Note:
1.  The suffixes -ŋa and -ḻi are not added to people.  The suffix -guḻ/-kuḻ/-wuḻ is used instead.
The form of the suffix varies according to the last letter of the word to which it is attached.  Here are the rules:
	- After a nasal (m, n, nh, ny, ṉ, or ŋ) add -guḻ and -gu
	eg.  Johnguḻ, with John, to John;  Johngu, for John.
	- After a stop (p, t, tj, ṯ, k, or glottal) add -kuḻ and -ku
	eg.  miyalkkuḻ, to the woman, with the woman;  miyalkku, for the woman.
	- After a vowel or l, ḻ, r, rr, y, or w, add -wuḻ and -wu
	eg.  yapawuḻ, with sister, to sister;  yapawu, for sister.
2.  The suffix -ŋa is not added to a place name.
	Ŋala yothum?  Ŋunha Darwin.
	Where's the baby?  There in Darwin.

1.  Ŋala miyalkma?  Raŋiŋa.  Ŋunha raŋina.
	Where's the girl?  On the beach.  There on the beach.

2.  Ŋala bäpam?  Nhan ŋarruŋan Darwinḻi.
	Where's father?  He went to Darwin.

3.  Ŋala ŋatham?  Ŋunha bala'ŋa.
	Where's the food?  There in the house.

4.  Ŋala ŋäṉḏim?  Ŋunha gurthaŋa.  Ŋarruŋan ŋayiḻi.
	Where's mother?  There by the fire.  Gone home.

5.  Yolku dhaŋum ŋatha?  Yapawu.
	Whose food is this?  Sister's.

6.  Ŋala bäpam?  Ŋunha guyaŋa.
	Where is father?  There at the fish place.  Out fishing.

7.  Ŋala yapam?  Ŋäṉḏiwuḻ.
	Where's sister?  With mother.

8.  Ŋunha yothu nyena yaka ŋäṉḏiwuḻ.
	The baby is sitting there with mother.

9.  Dhaŋu mäḻu ŋatha ṉoka yaka ŋäṉḏiwuḻ.
	Father is here eating food with mother.

10.  Ŋala yothum?  Ŋunha yaka ŋarkula ṉoka miyalkkuḻ.
	Where's the baby?  There drinking water with the woman.

11.  Ŋayiŋa ŋarru yothum nyena ŋäṉḏiwuḻ.
	The baby will stay at home with mother.

12.  Dhanal nyenan mitjiyaŋa bäpawuḻ.
	They sat in the boat with father.

13.  Ŋaḻma yaka dhäya.
	We (all of us) are standing.

14.  Nhunu ŋuwakurru yothu.
	You are a good child.

15. Ŋala dhanal?  Dhaŋu raŋiŋa.
	Where are they?  Here on the beach.

© 1990 YIRRKALA LITERATURE PRODUCTION CENTRE
BOX 896 NHULUNBUY 0881
Prepared by R. Marika & M. Christie
I.S.B.N. 0 86409 208 6