Ngarinyin

This Ngarinyin field guide and phrasebook allows anyone in the world to access this amazing part of Australia's cultural heritage for free. Download and explore today!

Ngarinyin or Ungarinyin is the traditional language of the Wilinggin Native Title Determined Area, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Ngarinyin speaking people are linked to Worrorra and Wunambal people through their law and belief in the Wanjina creator being. These days only old people speak Ngarinyin well.

This app is designed for people of all ages, to enable and increase use of the Ngarinyin language. The hope is that younger people will use the Ngarinyin they have learnt from this app to better understand Ngarinyin country and keep the language alive. It provides a companion resource to the book 'Bunda Ngaala-gu di Wuran-gu Wurlawa Ngadi: We are Talking about Animals and Trees'. The content in this app is the same as that in the book but with extra features and a few extra photos.

Features:


• All the field guide and phrasebook entries from the book
• Search for Ngarinyin or English words
• Audio recordings from native speakers for many entries
• Subject areas include kinship, plants, animals, material culture, the seasons, land and country and many more

For many of the words and phrases you can tap the orange audio icon on the right side of the screen to hear a recording of the word or phrase spoken by a Ngarinyin speaker. You can practice pronouncing words even when you are by yourself. If you want to find a word or phrases quickly and easily, pull down from the top of the screen and type a word into the white rectangle 'Search' that appears. You can use the App offline without internet access or mobile phone signal. All you need to do is keep your phone charged.

The language and information produced in this app is the traditional knowledge of the Wilinggin People. It has been provided to contribute to knowledge preservation, language maintenance and general education. Information should not be used for commercial purposes in any way without following the Indigenous cultural protocols of prior informed consent, appropriate attribution, cultural integrity and the sharing of benefits. Caution should be used when using and playing audio of this app as it contains the names and recorded voices of people who have passed away. Although some of the Ngarinyin speakers are deceased, their names and voices have been used with the permission of living elders so their language knowledge will be used and not forgotten.

The book that the material in this app is based on grew out of a week-long language workshop for the Wunggurr Rangers, held at Gibb River community in April 2015. Without the support and contributions from Traditional Owners and Ngarinyin Speakers the production of the book and app would not have been possible and the knowledge contained within it would eventually be lost. We are grateful and thankful for the work and input by all community members. The creation of this app has been funded and coordinated by Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation.