There are two ways to find words in the e-dictionary:
1. Scroll: browse all the different pages (e.g. All Words, Animals, Birds) in the main menu.
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2. Search: go to the All Words link (on the main menu) and use the search instructions below for phone/tablet or computer.
How to search:
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2. if you're on a computer, use Control+F (or Apple+F) and type the English word e.g. kangaroo. This will find all the language words for 'kangaroo'.
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If your phone search won't work, we suggest to just browse the different pages (e.g. All Words, Animals, Birds) in the menu.
The Wangaaypuwan dialect of Ngiyampaa is the language of the Pilaarrkiyalu, Nhiilyikiyalu and Karulkiyalu people that come from the dry, riverless country of Western NSW. Some people still live in and around the ngurrampaa 'homelands' but many now live in larger towns and cities around NSW and other states and territories.
Map
1 – The Ngurrampaa
The shaded area encloses the area in which the Ngiyampaa speakers
whose language is represented in the e-Dictionary were born, their
ngurrampaa or 'camp-world. Black circles mark towns where speakers
have made recordings of their language. (Map by Brenda Thornley,
based on TD1980).
Map 2: The Pilaarrkiyalu and their neighbours. This is a closer view of the shaded area of Map 1, showing the creeks which bound it to the north and south. The Paawankay call themselves and their language Paakantyi, often spelling the name Paakantji; and the Kaliyarrkiyalu would add -ng to the name in their language, Wraathurray, now commonly spelt Wiradjuri. (Map by Brenda Thornley, based on a map by Margaret Tyrie).
This e-Dictionary is based on the words contained in the Ngiyampaa Wordworld, available for purchase.
Many Ngiyampaa people contributed to the words in the dictionary over the years. Some key contributors included: Liza Kennedy, Fred Biggs, Lily Hampton, Dave Harris, Bessie Johnson, Doreen Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Archie King, Mamie King, Angeline Kirby, Eva Longmore, Lena Parkes, Tommy Williams, Lizzie Williams.
The database this e-Dictionary is based on was compiled by Tamsin Donaldson, Lesley Woods, and Isabel O'Keeffe.
The information in the Ngiyampaa Wordworld was collated by Tamsin Donaldson, based on her work with Ngiyampaa people from the early 1970s until her passing in 2014. As she writes in the front section of the First Edition of the Ngiyampaa Wordworld:
“This book is about the Ngiyampaa spoken by the Pilaarrkiyalu, 'people from the belar country'. Both the people and their language are also known as Wangaaypuwan. The Ngiyampaa of the Nhiilyikiyalu and the Karulkiyalu can both be called by the name Wangaaypuwan as well. This name comes from wangaay, these groups' word for 'no' and -puwan meaning 'with' or 'having'. It has often been spelt Wongaibon. To the north and east of the Karulkiyalu, beyond Map 2, lies the country of people with another kind of Ngiyampaa, pronounced more like Ngemba and often spelt that way. Their word for 'no' is wayil and their alternative name is Wayilwan, from wayil and -wan, the form that -puwan takes in that language after words ending in -l."
This e-Dictionary contains Ngiyampaa words with English translations. You can look up words in either in Ngiyampaa or in English in the menu. You can search by alphabetical order or by topic. If you click on the topic name, this will take you to a page with all the words related to that topic in English and then the Ngiyampaa translations (and you can then click on the Ngiyampaa translations for more information about the word). If you click on the word 'Ngiyampaa' next to the topic (e.g., 'body'), this will take you to a page with all of the words related to the topic in Ngiyampaa with English translations.
The e-Dictionary contains some examples of how to use the different words as well as cultural and scientific information. There are audio recordings of some words and phrases. These are from old recordings of Ngiyampaa people recorded by Tamsin Donaldson. More audio recordings and information will be added in future.
Materials (including text, sound and images) included in this catalogue are subject to access conditions:
Intellectual property:
The Ngiyampaa knowledge in this e-Dictionary is the intellectual
property of Ngiyampaa people. This knowledge should only be used
with the written consent of the intellectual property owners and
with proper attribution. Please contact
Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation.
No part of this database can be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from the intellectual property holders.
Copyright:
This database is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the
purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no
part of this database may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
written permission. Please contact
Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation.
Copyright © 2022 Database compilation: Tamsin Donaldson, Lesley
Woods, Isabel O'Keeffe.
Copyright © 2022 Ngiyampaa people. Ngiyampaa language words and
texts only.
Copyright © 1997 Tamsin Donaldson. The copyright is in the
compilation only.
Copyright © 2022: Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation, photographs
of Ngiyampaa country (1. Kegenni Ranges, Mawonga, NSW; 2 & 3.
Artsites, Kegenni Ranges, Mawonga, NSW)
The e-dictionary format was created by Caroline Jones and Jesse Tran (media files from Gemtracks) with additional help from Caroline Hendy, using the freely available WordSpinner software.
The funding for this e-dictionary was provided by the Aboriginal Languages Community Investment Program 2020/21 and was administered by Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation.