Lesson 2

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Vowels
Bininj Kunwok has just five vowels and their pronunciation does not vary. Read about the vowels in our Pronunciation Guide.




 * wak.wak crow
 * de.lek white paint
 * bik.bik pig
 * bo.bo bye
 * du.ruk dog

word-initial ng
English speakers know this sound from words like sing, sang, sung. The challenge is to learn how to produce this sound at the start of words. It takes practice.

The first step is to become aware of what your tongue does to produce this sound. We'll try this by repeating a nonsense word. We'll do it in three stages:


 * 1) "nanga nanga nanga" (notice what your tongue is doing)
 * 2) "na-nga-na-nga-na-nga" (join up the words and speak slowly; try to say the ng at the start of the following syllable)
 * 3) "na nga na nga na nga" (break them up into separate words)

Here are the "ng" words we've heard so far: ngare I go, ngawokdi I speak, ngabolknan I'm looking around. Here's some more: ngaye I, ngudda you, ngalyod rainbow serpent, ngadburrung sibling, ngalng yabby. As before, check your pronunciation with a local. If possible, record someone saying these words slowly, so you can listen to them later.