Kalyakoorl Waangkaniny

For the season finale, Kelsi and Dylan speak with Demi Maam Yok Roma Winmar, Kylie Bracknell and Clint Bracknell about the importance of revitalising Nyoongar language, their groundbreaking roles in the education space and what it means to be a Nyoongar language speaker. To find out more about Dr Roma Yibiyung Winmar’s work you can visit mayakeniny.com.au. Explore the work of Kylie and Clint Bracknell on their website.

Boodjar, country, land, mother earth. There is nothing more important for us Nyoongar than boodjar. From the meaning of boodjar to yarning about boodjar, we’re going to unpack how we talk about country in today’s episode.

Any language in the world requires two things to make a proper sentence – a noun and a verb! Learn the most important ‘doing’ words in Nyoongar to help you build moorditj sentences.

What do Jarrah, Marri, Tuart and Karri have in common? If you said trees, you’d be right! They’re also all Nyoongar words. Today, we’re learning the Nyoongar words for boorn (trees) as well as the ancient knowledge surrounding them.  

Today, we’re talking about our favourite feathered friends – Djert!

When mob meet other mob we always like to ask, “who’s your mob and where are you from?”. It helps us make the necessary connections to each other as Nyoongar people, making moort (or family) a significant addition to our vocabulary. Today we’re talking all about moort and the many different roles in the family!

Beaut, strong, tired, sad, angry! Kwop, moorditj, bidibaba, winyarn, karang! Humans feel many emotions. Let’s learn how to express ourselves in Nyoongar.

Before colonisers brought their strict gender binaries to Australia, most Indigenous languages were gender inclusive. Nyoongar language is a great example of this as it always was and always will be inclusive. Ngiyan baal? Today we’re learning about Nyoongar pronouns.

Kaya, kaya, kaya! What better way to start our Nyoongar language journey than by learning how to introduce ourselves and greet people.