The most common Nyungar word for ‘dog’ is durda : Australian respelt English Eng JSM source “door-da” durda “dog, a” dog: [4] Grey 1840 [:256:10] [NYUNGAR] “tdoor-da” durda “dog, a” dog: [4] Grey 1840 [:256:12] [NYUNGAR] “durda” durda “dog” dog: [8 (E)] Salvado [:255:49] [Balardung] “dur-da” durda “dog” dog: [5] Symmons 1841 [:256:7] [Wajuk] “door-da” durda “dog, a” dog: [4] Grey 1840 [:256:10] [NYUNGAR] There were various spellings: “dorder” durdir “dog” dog: [24] Hassell, E

What can ‘nest’, ‘barb’, ‘spear’, ‘leaf’, ‘hair’ and ‘shoulder’ have to do with one another? They all appear to be linked through manga / munga . The basic idea appears to be ‘strand’, ‘thread’. NEST A nest is composed of many strands: Australian respelt English EngJSM source “munga” manga “a nest” nest [4] Grey 1840 [:120:45] [NYUNGAR] “Mân-ga” manGa “Bird, (nest of)” nest Symmons, Charles [:7:55] [NYUNGAR] BARB Grey, below, links ‘barb’ and ‘hair’. A barb is a single point

It often happens that a word appears in a list, with alongside it a simple translation, such as windu : ‘old’. Australian respelt English EngJSM source “Win-do” windu “Old” decrepit Symmons, Charles [:10:31] [NYUNGAR] “windo” windu “man, an old” decrepit [5] Symmons 1841 [:319:48] [Wajuk] There being several additional examples in the wordlists of windu , an idea emerges that windu is not so much ‘old’ as a characteristic of ageing — ‘bad’, ‘thin’, ‘useless’ or ‘worn out’: “w

A large number of Nyungar words end in -gur but no common thread jumps out to suggest a meaning. gur also occurs on its own, as does the similar garu : Australian respelt English EngJSM source “garoo” garu “more, (beeliar)” more [3] Lyon 1833 [:325:42] [NYUNGAR] “kar-ro” garu “again; more” again [4] Grey 1840 [:199:41] [NYUNGAR] “kor, kor” gur “Again” again Bates Grammar [:75:8] [NYUNGAR] “Garro” garu “Again; then.” again Moore 1842 [:40:11] [NYUNGAR] The meanings are ‘again’

On p. 283 of A Nyoongar Wordlist from the Southwest of Western Australia (Bindon and Chadwick, 1992) there is an entry of which the following is an adaptation: Australian respelt English EngJSM source “gur-rab-a-ra” gurabara “[(wangurt yugow) having pierced through]” hole [4] Grey 1840 [:283:21.1] [NYUNGAR] This entry started off a trail of enquiry in which the following played a part: — gurubara : hole — wangurd : ??? — yugawu : stand —pierce —through —hole —intend HOLE “gu

Australian wildflowers yuda occurs in all the following expressions connected with flowering plants: Australian respelt English EngJSM source “beljie-ah-yootah-boolyah” bildyiya yuda bulya “leschenaultia (blue flowering bush) ” blue shrub flowering  [16] Hammond [:309:41] [NYUNGAR] “beljie-yootah-kwiljee” bildyi yuda gwildyi “runner, red (red flowering climber) ” red runner  [16] Hammond [:365:31] [NYUNGAR] “{beljie-yootah, boolyah}” bildyi yuda “everlasting, red” red flower

English commonly has specific words to express shades of meaning. It has, for example, endless words for colour names: not only ‘red’ but ‘scarlet’, ‘crimson’, ‘vermilion’, ‘pink’ and so on. Australian indigenous languages might have words for ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘red’, ‘green’ and perhaps ‘yellow’, with ‘black’, for example, being also the word for ‘night’, and the other colour words being terms for entities of the colour concerned. Indigenous languages were specific about som

high/deep hard/firm bald rat young night There seem to be two distinct concepts here, one or the other possibly underlying several of the additional ideas presented below. HIGH/DEEP Australian respelt English EngJSM source “mor-da” murda “high; steep; deep” high [4] Grey 1840 [:289:6] [NYUNGAR] “moorda” murda “blue mountains” high [3] Lyon 1833 [:221:4] [NYUNGAR] “marda” mada “hill” hill [10 (q)] Curr [:289:30] [Natingero] “Mordo” murdu “A mountain. …” hill Moore 1842 [:77:5]

dog / wild / bad / turtle / arouse/ alarm /startle / disturb / drive / chase  Australian respelt English EngJSM source “yockine” yagan “bad” bad: [10 (p)] Curr [:208:23] [Kaniyang] “yokine” yagan “dingo” dog: [17] Markey 1942 [:191:50] [NYUNGAR] “yuckine” yagan “wild dogs” dog: [11 (a)] Hassell, A.A. [:195:24] [NYUNGAR] “yakkine” yagan “dog, wild” dog: [10 (m)] Curr [:257:1] [Kaniyang] “yockine” yagan “wild” wild: [23] Buller-Murphy [:442:12] [Dordenup [Wardandi]] “yekyn” yig

bidya : ‘sleep’ and bidyag : ‘stinking’ — is there a connection? and if so, what? Australian respelt English EngJSM source “bidjar” bidya “a state of repose” sleep: [4] Grey 1840 [:13:35] [NYUNGAR] “beedjar” bidya “sleep” sleep: [3] Lyon 1833 [:381:25] [NYUNGAR] “bidjar” bidya “sleep” sleep: [6] Brady 1845 [:381:48] [NYUNGAR] “bid-jak” bidya[a]g “stinking; offensive” stinking: [4] Grey 1840 [:394:50] [NYUNGAR] “Bidjak” bidya[a]g “Stinking” stinking: Moore 1842 [:161:14] [NYUN

There are several words to express ‘bad’, but it is interesting to note one similarity between the Nyungar language of south-west Western Australia and the Sydney language, and elsewhere in New South Wales:  Australian respelt English EngJSM source “[Wiribü´ngadyémi]” wiribanga “[Thou didst wrong or badly.]” bad DO, to: Dawes (b) [b:24:18.11] [BB] “Wiribi´” wiribáyi “Worn out (as clothes etc.)” bad did: Dawes (b) [b:24:13] [BB] “we-ree no-rar” wiri ngura “a bad country” bad c

In 2010 I have been working on the Nyungar language area of south-west Western Australia. I used to live in Darlington not far from Perth, and in those days there used to be a train from Mundaring to Perth, passing through the siding of Boya. I would get off at East Guildford. Darlington is not that far from Kalamunda. I would go for holidays to Mooliabeenie. At the time indigenous names such as these meant nothing to me: they were just names. It was intriguing to discover th

Not surprisingly, no-one has found the Naabawinya site so far, but perhaps this will change. I have put into modest circulation some language databases, which have been named the Bayala Databases . These include information on the Sydney Aboriginal Language, and on languages adjacent to Sydney to the north and south. There is also information on some languages across the Blue Mountains, notably Wiradhuri and Kamilaroi . The original data was compiled by people in the century

I have an interest in the Sydney Aboriginal Language. I wrote a 16-page ‘ Tourist’s Guide ’ to it [now on website Aboriginal Languages Australia, https://www.aboriginallanguages.com , link updated to 2026 edition]. I would like to put it here, but have not found out yet how to do so. ‘Tourist’s Guide.pdf’ is the title of the document, and if anyone wants to see it, send a request, and I will see what I can do.  In fact what I am looking at in a rectangular box for this blog