Chapter 3: Yaru ngani?
Yaru! Hello! Gudjal birraya ngali. Let's talk Gudjal together. In this lesson, we'll learn how to talk about other people.
Dialogue
Gudjal
(Or click on any line of dialogue to hear just that line.)
| William: | Yaru, Jane. Wandhamundu yandjana yinda? |
| Jane: | Yaru, William. Gunggarimundu yandjana ngaya. |
| William: | Dharibara. Yaru ngani? |
| Jane: | Nhula ngaygu mugina. Nhungu riyala Max. |
| Max: | Yaru, William. |
| William: | Yaru, Max. Wandhamundu yandjana yinda? |
| Max: | Cairnsmundu! Gunggarrimundu yandjana ngaya. |
| William: | Ah, Jane! Ganimundu yandjana nhula. |
| Jane: | Yuway! Gani. |
English
| William: | Hello, Jane. Where are you coming from right now? |
| Jane: | Hi, William. I'm coming from the north. |
| William: | Ah, good. Who's this? |
| Jane: | He is my brother. His name is Max. |
| Max: | Hi, William. |
| William: | Hi, Max. Where do you come from? |
| Max: | From Cairns. I just came from the north. |
| William: | Ah, Jane! He's come far. |
| Jane: | Yes! It's far. |
Word List
Click on a vocabulary item to hear how it's pronounced.
| Mugina | Brother |
| Gudjina | Sister |
| Yabudhana | Younger Sister |
| Yanga | Mother |
| Gayala | Father |
| Bimu | Auntie |
| Bulu | Uncle |
| Nhula | He / she |
| Nyungu | His / her |
| Dharibara | Good |
| Gani | Far |
Grammar
Ngaya, yinda and nhula
These words are known as subject pronouns. They usually tell us who is doing the action.
“I see him.” In this sentence, we know who is doing the looking and who is being looked at because of the pronouns we use. “I” is the subject pronoun, so we know that we are the ones using our eyes. “Him” is an object pronoun. We know whichever guy we’re talking about is being looked at because we used the object pronoun “him”. We will talk about object pronouns more in a later lesson.
The subject pronouns that we’ve seen in Gudjal so far are:
| Ngaya | I |
| Yinda | You |
| Nhula | He / she |
Vocabulary
Nhula
In Gudjal, when we say "he" or "she", we don't have to say if someone is a man or a woman. We use the same word for both: nhula. The same goes for "his" and "her". We just use the word nyungu.
Practice Activities
Classroom Activity
1. Write a short text about a family member, or someone you know. Write about their name, where they come from, and their skin, if applicable.
2. Get into groups of three. The first person talks about themself. They say their name, and where they come from: "My name is..." and "I come from..." The second person then tells this same information to the third person: "His name is..." and "He comes from...". Rotate between the roles so that everyone has a chance to speak.