that munanga linguist

Here's a crazy scene : two guys outside a beachside shopping centre. One guy is harassing the other one for money. The guy being harassed announces he's a cop so the first guy gets spooked, runs off into the bush and subsequently strips off and goes into the water. He eventually gets caught and does what could only be described as the ultimate walk of shame: stark naked, trailing a cop, as you go off to be held in police custody. Now, if you were someone who witnessed this scene, wouldn't it sound a bit odd to describe it like this: "I was laughing to myself because it was the first time I have seen people naked." Why say there were naked people , when there was only one? Why would an adult not have ever seen a person or people naked before, as the quote implies? The answer lies in that the term people  used here is a euphemism for Aboriginal person/ people. What the above quote really means is " ...it was the first time I have seen an Aboriginal per...

I spent last week in Ngukurr and it was great to be back. It’d been eight months since my last visit which is waaay too long. In addition to that, a lot of the time I spent there last year was dedicated to helping the Language Centre . But this trip I actually got to devote some time to doing proper language work again. My academic mission for the week was to find out about what young people know about bush medicine and how much they use it. But on a personal level I was just looking forward to going back, seeing everyone again and seeing the Language Centre in operation again. It was a great week with many highlights, despite my arm being in a cast due to a fractured hand (3 rd metacarpal to be precise). Highlights of the week included: Seeing many many people from Ngukurr who I realise now, kind of for the first time, that I’ve known for a really long time. I was interviewing a guy who’s now 27 and it dawned on me that I’ve known him since he was 19! Kinda f...