Acknowledging Country

Setting off on your language learning journey? There’s no better place to start than acknowledging Country!

Let's keep it super simple:

- Yilu yamba [e.g. Yagara] - This is a [e.g. Yagara] camp

- Yilu yambarrambun [e.g. Yagara] - This is [e.g. Yagara] Country

- Yilu wulany wanduguli yumbarramban Yagara, ngawu! - This always was and always will be Yagara Country, this is true and good! [Literally this is first and always Yagara Country, this is true and good.]

Glossary:

ngawu - you’re right, this is true/correct/good

wandaguli - all the time, continuously, always

wulany - first, before another

yamba - camp

yambarrambun - country

yilu - this

Pronunciation guide:

ngawu - ngah/woo [the ng sound is the same as the sound that is at the end of the word song. You make it by touching the back of your tongue up on your pallet before pushing out the vowel sound that follows, in this case, that’s an “ah” sound. The oo sound is as in wood, just drop the d]

wandaguli - wan/dah/goo/lee [the dah sound is made by pressing the tip of your tongue to the back of your top teeth. It’s not the same as making a d sound. This is made by curling your tongue and touching it up onto the roof of your mouth. Try making a d sound now and you’ll see the difference. Dah is more like the th sound but your tongue is behind your top teeth instead of between your teeth. The oo sound is as in look]

wulany - woo/la/knee [oo as in wood]

yagara - country in and people from the place now known as Brisbane

yamba - yum/buh [buh as in busk]

yambarrambun - yum/buh/rrum/boon [roll the r if you can!]

yilu - yi/loo [the yi sound is as in yin without the n and the loo sound is as in loon without the n]

Some of you might notice that I haven’t used the technical phonetic method of explaining pronunciation. I know a lot of people find it difficult to follow phonetics. It might not be what academics expect but I have tried to take a common sense approach to help make it as easy as possible for the majority of us to understand. It’s also imnpotant to say that we are all learning together. If you think I’ve got it wrong, please reach out via the contact page!

Boundary Street, Kurrilpa - Place of the Water Rat, Magandjin (Brisbane, Qld)