Ruth Singer - Mawng Dictionary

Mawng to English Dictionary

Mawng

to English Dictionary

Compiled by Ruth Singer, Nita Garidjalalug,

Rosemary Urabadi, Heather Hewett, Peggy Mirwuma,

Philip Ambidjambidj, Anne Fabricius

First published in 2021

by Aboriginal Studies Press

Dictionary compilation, Ruth Singer and Warruwi Community 2021. Mawng speakers own the Mawng language. They also own their knowledge of plants, animals, kinship, Mawng country, customs and history which is compiled in this dictionary.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its education purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

The opinions expressed in this book are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect the view of AIATSIS or ASP.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are respectfully advised that this publication contains names and images of deceased persons and culturally sensitive information.

Aboriginal Studies Press is the publishing arm of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

GPO Box 553, Canberra, ACT 2601

Phone: (61 2) 6246 1183

Fax: (61 2) 6261 4288

Email:

Web: www.aiatsis.gov.au/asp/about.html

ISBN: 9781925302707 (hb)

9781925302714 (ePub)

Cover image and interior graphics by Linda Najinga

Illustrations by David Le May (courtesy Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation); NT Parks and Wildlife Commission; Catholic Education Office, Kimberley Region

Design by Christine Bruderlin

Map and typesetting by Brenda Thornley

Printed in Australia by Ligare Pty Ltd

Contents

Preface

This dictionary brings together the knowledge of Mawng speakers and their ancestors. It includes words that people use every day, for example, to call out to their sister, or name a fish that they have caught. The dictionary also includes many words that are not used much anymore, such as the names of fighting spears. This introduction explains how to use the dictionary. If you cannot find the word you are looking for, read the explanation of how Mawng is spelled and how Mawng words can change shape. Only one shape, or form, of each word is listed in the dictionary. The dictionary also has an English to Mawng word finder that you can use to find Mawng words.

CONTRIBUTORS

Mawng people have been working on this dictionary for over 50 years. Peggy Mirwuma and Philip Ambidjambidj worked with missionary linguist Heather Hewett on the first Mawng dictionary (196479). That dictionary was printed at Warruwi School for students to use as part of the MawngEnglish bilingual program (19732000). Linguist Anne Fabricius expanded the dictionary in collaboration with Mawng speakers at Warruwi (199092). She created the first electronic version of the dictionary, which was archived with AIATSIS in 1990. Since 2002, linguist Ruth Singer has expanded and edited the electronic dictionary file in collaboration with Nita Garidjalalug, Rosemary Urabadi and others at Warruwi Community (2002present). It was first published online in 2015 as the Mawng Dictionary 1.0. This printed dictionary reflects the work undertaken on the dictionary up to 2020 and is the same version of the dictionary as the Mawng Dictionary 2.0 at .

The authors whose names are on the front of this book include four Mawng Elders, experts in language and linguistics, and the other three linguists who worked with them to make the dictionary. Together, they added words to the dictionary. They spent a long time talking about each word: how to spell it, how it can be used and its meanings. The Mawng Elders also created many of the example sentences found in the dictionary. Other example sentences have been taken from recordings and schoolbooks in Mawng. Many Mawng people worked with Ruth Singer on the dictionary (200220). These include Rachel Meiyinbara, Frank Nabalameiri, Paul Milaidjaidj, Ralph Gumurdul, Ilijili Lamilami and Elijah Apurriyarnka. Elders Jenny Manmurulu, Nancy Ngalmindjalmag, Jenny Inmulugulu, Johnny Namayiwa, Billy Nawaloinba and Bunug Galaminda also provided important support for research on Mawng (200220). The work of arrarrkpi (Indigenous people) in the school, church, out bush and everywhere has kept the Mawng language going.

AUTHORS

Ruth Singer, Ngalngarrij

Linguist Ruth Singer has been working with Warruwi Community since 2002. She worked closely with Nita Garidjalalug and Rosemary Urabadi, updating, editing and expanding the dictionary with a particular focus on plants and animals, and words for family. Her work on Mawng has included research on gender agreement, verbal semantics and prosody. She also researches multilingualism at Warruwi and the origins of linguistic diversity in western Arnhem Land. In addition, she manages the Mawng Ngaralk online resource, produces films in Mawng and other local languages and supports Warruwi Schools Mawng classes. She is currently based at the University of Melbourne.

Nita Garidjalalug, Ngalawmut

Nita Garidjalalug worked closely with linguist Ruth Singer from 2003 to 2013, checking each dictionary entry in detail. Between 2003 and 2005, they investigated the shapes and meanings each verb could have. They also worked on plant and animal names and kunteypi kin terms. Previously, Nita Garidjalalug worked at Warruwi clinic as a health worker, writing a book on traditional plant medicine with Peggy Mirwuma. The information from that book has been included in this dictionary.

Rosemary Urabadi, Ngalawmut

Rosemary Urabadi is a recognised expert on the Mawng language. She trained in linguistics at Batchelor Institute and worked at the literature production centre at Warruwi School during the bilingual education period, teaching Mawng literacy, writing books in Mawng and recording the knowledge of Elders. She has worked with linguists Heather Hewett, Anne Fabricius and Ruth Singer, and taught Ruth Singer how to spell Mawng words when she started work on Mawng. Rosemary Urabadi researched kunteypi kin terms in the community so they could be included in the dictionary. She was also one of the translators of the Mawng Gospel of St Mark (2016).

Heather Hewett, Ngalwangari

Heather Hewett (ne Hinch) arrived at Warruwi in 1952 as a missionary nurse and is still known at Warruwi as Larla Hinch (Sister Hinch). She learned to speak Mawng to be able to provide better care for her patients. Later, she studied linguistics with the Summer Institute of Linguistics and linguist Arthur Capell. She compiled the first version of this dictionary and produced many other valuable resources on the Mawng language. She was instrumental in the establishment of the MawngEnglish bilingual program at Warruwi School (19732000) and continued to support the program after she left Warruwi in 1979. She returned to Warruwi in her eighties to help translate the Gospel of St Mark (2016).