that munanga linguist

My recollection of being first taught the Kriol word wangulu was that it means 'orphan'. It's an interesting word in that it is a very common word (in Ngukurr at least) but part of the relatively smaller set of Kriol words that come from Indigenous languages rather than English. But it's the semantics of it that I find more interesting, particularly when faced with trying to translate it into English. The basic definition I learned - orphan - is a quick, shorthand definition. What linguists call a gloss. But, like all words, there's a fuller and more subtle range of English translations if you delve deeper... I started thinking about the word wangulu again recently because of fortnightly 'advanced beginner' Kriol lessons I've started running for munanga in Ngukurr. At each session, I ask students for a 'word of the week' - a Kriol word they like or want to know more about. One of the words was wangulu but the person who 'brought'

I was pleased with myself that I got to take a bunch of things I like and wrap them up in a single section of academic writing I was working on the other day: pop culture as linguistic data, social justice in linguistics, Aboriginal English and the semantics of 'grab'. I was particularly pleased with the bit that I wrote so I thought I'd share it. (Let's see what happens when I get feedback on my work though!): In some cases, differences in semantic ranges [between Aboriginal English varieties and how white people talk] can have serious consequences. Across Englishes, the verb ‘grab’ can have more physical, forceful meanings (‘grab someone by the collar’) as well as senses that are synonymous with ‘obtain’ (‘grab some lunch’). Aboriginal people appear to use ‘obtain’ senses more widely, as in (9) - another quote from Bran Nue Dae’s Uncle Tadpole (Kershaw, Isaac & Perkins 2009). The context of (9) is Uncle Tadpole telling his nephew to pursue his crush but

Tonight, like many nights, I got on my scooter to go to Woolies to get food for dinner. I scoot down one of Katherine's roads with a steady flow of traffic, the Victoria Highway. Halfway there, near Dominos, the usually mundane trip looked different. I saw 2 big 4WDs stopped on the road in front of me. A split second later I saw why they were stationary... Someone was sprawled flat in the middle of the road in front them. They were dark-skinned. Aboriginal, likely. I was still approaching. I heard one of the 4WDs beep. My brain kicked into instinctual assessment mode. What was this scene I was scooting towards? My greatest fears: this person may be dead. It may have been a hit and run. Less bad: she was flat on the road as a victim of violence. Less bad again: she was out of it and relatively okay but a major hazard. Regardless of which scenario it was this woman needed assistance. Fast. I was in instinct mode. I zoomed past the two 4WDs, parked my scooter near her and with zer

Note and Disclaimer Dijan Saikloun Stori im “unofficial translation” burru Greg Dickson (Wamut). If yu lugunat dijan en im afta 8pm Sadadei, im olwan na. Gu la http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/warnings/ bla det nyuwan Saikloun Stori. Dijan im laswan trensleishin ai garra duwum, dumaji det saikloun im guweiguwei na. This is an unofficial translation of Tropical Cyclone Advice 50 (5:00pm Saturday March 23). It was written by an accredited Kriol-English interpreter and second-language Kriol speaker who is most proficient in the dialect of Kriol spoken in Ngukurr. It was done quickly and will likely contain some errors. Please do not use in lieu of the official Tropical Cyclone Advice from the Bureau of Meteorology. *If you are reading this after 8pm Saturday, it is out of date. Please go to http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/warnings/ for the latest Cyclone Advice. This is the last Kriol translation that will be done because the cyclone is weakening and moving away from Kriol-speaking areas.

Ai bin digimat dis woning dumaji im olwan na. Det nyuwan yu gin faindim iya:  https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html This warning has been removed as it is no longer current. You can find the latest unofficial translation (of Cyclone Advice 50) here: https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html

Ai bin digimat dis woning dumaji im olwan na. Det nyuwan yu gin faindim iya:  https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html This warning has been removed as it is no longer current. You can find the latest unofficial translation (of Cyclone Advice 50) here: https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html

Ai bin digimat dis woning dumaji im olwan na. Det nyuwan yu gin faindim iya:  https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html This warning has been removed as it is no longer current. You can find the latest unofficial translation (of Cyclone Advice 50) here: https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html

Ai bin digimat dis woning dumaji im olwan na. Det nyuwan yu gin faindim iya:  https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html This warning has been removed as it is no longer current. You can find the latest unofficial translation (of Cyclone Advice 50) here: https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html

Ai bin digimat dis woning dumaji im olwan na. Det nyuwan yu gin faindim iya:  https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html This warning has been removed as it is no longer current. You can find the latest unofficial translation (of Cyclone Advice 50) here: https://munanga.blogspot.com/2019/03/unofficial-kriol-translation-of_26.html