Voices of the Past The Sydney Language Natural Elements

Merely half a decade has passed since It is a great shame that there is no name recorded or badu water draconian laws existed preventing Aboriginal remembered for the language once spoken by bamal earth people from speaking their native tongue. Aboriginal people in the Sydney Basin. The birrung star Fortunately, attitudes have changed and we have reason for this may be that this region was the first, burra sky entered a new era of understanding. The voices and possibly the hardest hit by the effects of duruga falling star from the past are able to speak clearly once more colonisation. It is often mistakenly believed that the garaguru cloud without fear of punishment. There is a dream language name for the Sydney area was ‘’ or giba stone that in the future these voices of the past can be ‘Iyora’, however, this is merely a term in the Sydney gura wind heard loudly and understood by all. Language meaning ‘person’ and was adopted for guwing sun use as the language name in the mid-twentieth mungi lightning Languages of century. Despite the language being regarded as murungal thunder functionally extinct there were many words walan rain In New South Wales alone there are too many borrowed by the colonists which are still recognised yanada moon language groups to mention them all here. Just in English today (e.g warada is waratah). A great to name a few: - number of words from the Sydney Language have Location, Direction and Time Bundjalung managed to survive against all odds by wordlists Dunghutti compiled from old documents written by colonists barani yesterday Darkinjang who had direct contact with the language and barawul far (distance) Dharuk people who once spoke it. The following words barrabugu tomorrow Karenggapa listed in this brochure are from this language. baruwa near Ngiyampaa duriyumi left gamarruwa day guwagu presently Wodiwodi nguwing night nung now warrangi right and many, many more. Physical Qualities Placenames badjal sick Banarung Rose Bay bali thirsty Baramada Parramatta binya pregnant Daralbi South Head bulgaga green Daruwiya Sydney Cove LANGUAGES daidyai painful (west point) The Voice of the Aboriginal People dyirra white Dubuwagali Sydney Cove gangat bald (east point) ganunigang old Gamai Botany bay garungarung pretty Garangal North Head gungun dead Gayimai Manly Bay marrai wet Madala Camp Cove mudai soft Warran Sydney Cove mudung alive More Information Colours of the Aboriginal Flag For more information contact: ngana black yarragal yellow David Watts, mudjil red Aboriginal Heritage Manager 500 different nations Ph: (02) 9936 8262 500 different languages

The great richness of Aboriginal Reference for Language/Information: Thieberger, N., and McGregor W., (eds.) culture is manifested in its sheer Macquarie Aboriginal Words, The Macquarie diversity of languages. The Library Pty Ltd, 1994. preservation of these languages will ensure preservation of cultural identity and belonging.